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Ho Chi Minh Trail Laos

10 Day Hardcore Dirtbike Adventure Down the Original HCM Trail

Ho Chi Minh Trail Laos Route Map - Explore Indochina
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Availability

We have a confirmed tour starting Monday, January 29, 2024, and finishing on Wednesday, February 07, 2024.

Spaces are extremely limited. Get in touch if you want to join the adventure.

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Tour Highlights

Conquer the Infamous Blood Road

Bomb cratered route littered with UXO
Original Trail cobblestones deep in the jungle
UXO north of Villabury
Challenging trails south of Sepon
Mu Gia Pass, the dramatic start of the Trail
Villages filled with live UXO
Ruins of an F4 Phantom fighter jet
Enormous craters south of Chavan
Deep river crossing north of Sepon
Ruined tank east of Attepeu
Entrance to the Xe Bang Fai river cave
Washed out stream east of Bualapha
Remote rocky trails south of Ta Oi
Ruined APC south of Nong
Bamboo bridge near Nong

Tour Description

Laos motorcycle tour

This adventure is only suitable for experienced dirt bikers who want to test their skills on the original cobblestoned Ho Chi Minh Trail through impoverished regions still blighted by unexploded ordnance. Digby Greenhalgh, whom the BBC has hired two times to guide film crews down the Ho Chi Minh Trail on both sides of the border, personally leads all tours.

Location

southern Laos

Duration

10 days, 11 nights

Total Distance

2,150 km

Motorcycle

Honda CRF 250

Pillion

unsuitable for pillion riders

Difficulty

off-road experience essential

The Motorcycle

Honda CRF 250

Engine Typeliquid cooled, single cylinder, 4-stroke
Displacement249 cc
Bore X Stroke79 x 50.9
Ignitioncomputer-controlled digital transistorized with electronic advance
Fuel SystemPGM-FI fuel injection
Compression Ratio13.9:1
Engine Typeliquid cooled, single cylinder, 4-stroke
Displacement249 cc
Bore X Stroke79 x 50.9
Ignitioncomputer-controlled digital transistorized with electronic advance
Fuel SystemPGM-FI fuel injection
Compression Ratio13.9:1
Engine Typeliquid cooled, single cylinder, 4-stroke
Displacement249 cc
Bore X Stroke79 x 50.9
Ignitioncomputer-controlled digital transistorized with electronic advance
Fuel SystemPGM-FI fuel injection
Compression Ratio13.9:1
Engine Typeliquid cooled, single cylinder, 4-stroke
Displacement249 cc
Bore X Stroke79 x 50.9
Ignitioncomputer-controlled digital transistorized with electronic advance
Fuel SystemPGM-FI fuel injection
Compression Ratio13.9:1

Tour Itinerary

Loop from Vientiane

Explore Indochina Ho Chi Minh Trail Laos group photo
  • 330 km
  • motel
  • stunning riding through Karst mountains
  • A day to cover some ground blasting on tarmac south along the Mekong River before cutting east through dramatic karst wilderness to the border town of Lak Sao.
taking a bike over the water on a boat being paddled by two local lads
  • 200 km
  • motel
  • Mu Gia Pass and Ban Phanop Valley
  • A day that starts with lovely tarmac cruising through dramatic karst limestone peaks leading to the base of the Mu Gia Pass, one of the main entrance points where Vietnamese trucks entered Laos during the war. Explore Ban Phanop village and valley, which was absolutely smashed by USA bombing. There are so many craters that the entire area looks like the moon when seen from above. Time permitting, we will enjoy a swim at the mouth of an enormous river cave before following the cobblestones to the remote village of Bualapha.
riding through the Laotian jungle
  • 210 km
  • boutique hotel
  • Ban Laboy Crossing, Ban Karai border pass with Vietnam, Route 20, The Chokes and caves filled with NVA war material
  • A challenging day to tackle single tracks in the jungle and explore the cobblestoned trails and caves near the infamous Ban Laboy Crossing, a route the Vietnamese used to enter Laos. This area was also smashed by relentless bombing and is the real deal.
dirt path near Sepon
  • 150 km
  • boutique hotel
  • tunnel HQ of the NVA leadership that controlled the Trail and a cave with a 500,000-litre NVA petrol tank
  • We’ll strike up into the hills above Sepon and explore the former HQ of the 559 Corps, a tunnel complex hidden in the forest. Then head towards the Vietnamese border to discover a supply cave that houses enormous petrol tanks. Digby will show you the mountain where he used a drone to find a crashed F-104 Super Sabre fighter bomber.
enormous bamboo bridge on the Laotian Ho Chi Minh Trail
  • 220 km
  • motel
  • military museum at Ban Dong, a 200-metre long bamboo bridge, challenging single tracks, the infamous Oscar 8 battle site and the mighty Sekong River
  • An early start is imperative because we have some excellent cobblestones to ride in the morning before riding across an impressive 200-metre-long bamboo bridge. If the group is strong enough, we’ll take on the challenge of riding a deteriorated section of the Trail before hitting the tarmac and settling down in the remote settlement of Kaelum.
Explore Indochina riders on a ruined tank in Laos
  • 200 km
  • riverside hotel
  • ruined tanks and SAAM missiles
  • Tackle small cobblestone trails through dry, sandy pine forests, past ruined tanks, surface-to-air missiles, and very remote hill tribe communities. We’ll end our day swimming in the Sekong River as the sun goes down.
riding a dual sport past a man on an elephant in Laos
  • 150 km
  • eco resort
  • afternoon rest in a series of waterfalls
  • We deserve a day off, so after a quick tarmac ride past the impressive Bolaven Plateau, we’ll settle into a lovely eco-resort surrounded by waterfalls and the odd elephant.
river crossing with a motorcycle in Laos
  • 230 km
  • motel
  • forest trails and the ruins of the Tad Hai Bridge
  • Time to head northwards up former French Colonial Route 13 on sandy forest trails, past the ruins of the Tad Hai Bridge, before heading up another dirt trail used by the NVA during the war.
crazy river crossing on the Laos HCM Trail
  • 130 km
  • boutique riverside hotel
  • heavily bombed Chokes area of the Trail, lovely karst scenery and the former colonial town of Thaket
  • An easy, delightful day up through the infamous ‘Chokes’, a series of interdiction points ruthlessly bombed during the war, past villages that still contain many war relics. Then we’ll ride past beautiful karst mountains. Before we know it, we’ll be sitting comfortably by the banks of the Mekong River, enjoying the afternoon in the former colonial town of Thaket, which boasts beautiful old French architecture.
sunset on the Laotian Ho Chi Minh Trail
  • 340 km
  • boutique hotel
  • getting back!
  • Time to push out some kilometres so that we get back to Vientiane in time to toast our successful ride down the Trail by the banks of the Mekong River.

Tour Gallery

Ho Chi Minh Trail Laos

Pricing Options

Per Rider

Inclusions and Extras

All-Inclusive Laos motorcycle tour

You’ll be riding a 250cc Honda CRF.
Your guide pays for all fuel.
On tours of six riders or more, a support vehicle carrying tools, extra fuel, more medical supplies, excess luggage and sometimes a spare motorcycle is standard. If your group has fewer riders than six riders, you can choose to be accompanied by a support truck for an additional charge of US$180 per day (shared between all the riders as an additional cost).

Just note that sections of this tour are inaccessible for anything other than a motorcycle—sometimes, your support vehicle will have to break off and take an alternate route.
Enjoy a private room throughout and a night in Vientiane both before and after the adventure.
All meals are included.
Each adventure will be led by Digby Greenhalgh, a world expert on the Trail’s history, who has been exploring it since 2004, and a Laotian guide/mechanic.
We’ll arrange airport transportation to and from your hotel in Vientiane.
All tickets and permits to national parks and border areas are covered.

Tour Video

The Experience

Ho Chi Minh Trail Laos

Conquer the Infamous Blood Road

Ho Chi Minh Trail Laos Route Map - Explore Indochina
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