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Rally Indochina

8 Day North Vietnam Charity Ride for Blue Dragon Children's Foundation

Rally Indochina Route Map - Explore Indochina
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Availability

We run this tour once a year, in April. This is when the weather’s best: it’s not too hot and visibility up in the mountains is good.

Spaces are extremely limited.

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Tour Highlights

Vietnam's Premier Charity Ride

Visiting the kindergarten near the Chinese border that the Rally directly supports
Learning from Blue Dragon representatives exactly how their Foundation works when we visit their centre in Hanoi
Cruising remote roads past countless hill tribe villages
Climbing high mountain passes rarely seen by foreign visitors
Riding past incredible rice-terraced mountains
Enjoying a long-boat ride through a massive cave and into a national park

Tour Description

Vietnam motorcycle tour

Rally Indochina is an exciting fundraising road trip in the far north of Vietnam, which directly supports the highly respected Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation. The Rally has raised US$321,000 for the Foundation since its inception in 2011. Kick-starting your journey in Hanoi, you will explore remote hill tribe villages, climb high mountain passes and enjoy areas rarely seen by foreign visitors. Not only will you see the world through new eyes, but by working side by side with the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, your donations will go directly towards their fight against child labour abuse and trafficking. Rally Indochina is a fabulous experience of a lifetime.

Location

north Vietnam

Duration

8 days, 9 nights

Total Distance

980 km

Motorcycle

Honda XR 150

Pillion

suitable for pillion riders and non-riders

Difficulty

chill

The Motorcycle

Honda XR 150

Engine Typeair cooled, OHC, single cylinder
Displacement150 cc
Bore X Stroke57.3 x 57.8 mm
IgnitionCDI
Fuel System20mm piston valve carburettor
Compression Ratio9.5:1
Starterelectric/kick
Gearbox5 speed
Wheelbase1362 mm
Seat Height825 mm
Ground Clearance243 mm
Kerb Weight129 kg
Fuel Capacity12 litres
Dimensions2091 mm (L) x 811 mm (W) x 1125 mm (H)
Suspension Fronttelescopic fork, 180 mm axle travel
Suspension Rearsingle shock swing arm, 150 mm axle travel
Brakes Frontdual piston caliper, 240 mm disc
Brakes Rearmechanical drum
Tyres Front90/90 19
Tyres Rear110/90 17

Tour Itinerary

Lao Cai to Hanoi

Rally Indochina rider with a Blue Dragon Children's Foundation flag
  • 150 km
  • homestay
  • remote road up and down into the Si Mai Cai Gorge
  • We’ll take advantage of a new freeway to the Chinese border that is not open to motorbikes and enjoy a very comfortable private VIP bus that will quickly cover the morning’s 300 km drive to the border town of Lao Cai. The motorbikes will be waiting at the border, gassed and primed for an immediate climb up into mountains terraced with rice fields and tea plantations. We’ll hug the sides of an enormous gorge, right on the border, before descending to Bac Ha town, famous for its multitude of colourfully dressed hill tribe people.
local man walking through a rice field in north Vietnam
  • 150 km
  • homestay
  • incredible rice-terraced mountains and isolated hill tribe villages
  • We’ll strike upwards on small village roads back towards the border, passing another enormous gorge that marks the border with China. This area is awe-inspiring for its rice terracing, tended to by Nung, Dao and H’mong hill tribe people, and we will spend the day high on the sides of mountains blanketed by the terracing in its full green splendour. We will spend the night at the splendid Pan Hou Village Resort.
stepped rice fields in the mountains of north Vietnam
  • 140 km
  • homestay
  • incredible rice-terraced mountains and isolated hill tribe villages
  • This region is now listed as a national heritage area due to its amazing rice terracing, so we will spend a lovely day riding quiet village roads up, over and around stunning mountains before descending to a quiet village on the outskirts of Ha Giang City, where we will enjoy a very comfortable homestay with local Kinh people.
riding down into a gorgeous valley in north Vietnam
  • 140km
  • hotel
  • the incredible Dong Van Rocky Plateau
  • The next three days will be spent in arguably the most beautiful region of Vietnam. Recognized by UNESCO as an area of significant geological significance, expect out-of-this-world scenery. It’s hard to describe how remarkable this region is, as it’s basically one enormous succession of passes up, over, and around massive karst mountains. There are hill-tribe villages perched high on the sides of mountains, old French castles, and relentless passes with names like “Heaven’s Gate” and “Panting Horse”.
Explore Indochina visits a school in north Vietnam
  • 40 km
  • hotel
  • visiting the kindergarten that the Rally directly supports and hanging out with the hill-tribe children and families that benefit from Blue Dragon’s efforts to fight human trafficking.
  • Today’s we visit a Blue Dragon facility near Dong Van that Rally Indochina directly supports. A representative from Blue Dragon will accompany us, explain their objectives, and introduce us to the children. This is a special day and the Rally’s heart and soul. There will also be a little downtime the afternoon, so you can take it easy and have lunch and dinner wherever you want.
riding through the steep mountains of Ha Giang
  • 100 km
  • hotel
  • Dong Van’s vibrant hill tribe market and the incredible Ma Li Peng Pass
  • Dong Van hosts an enormous hill-tribe market on Sunday, so look forward to an excellent morning hunting for bargains. We will then strike out into the world-famous Ma Li Peng Pass, around a kilometre deep. Local people plant crops on slopes that are easily 70% steep. We will pass yet another remarkable hill-tribe market in Meo Vac before making a long, winding descent into the remote settlement of Bao Lac.
swimming by a cave in Ba Be Lake, North Vietnam
  • 130 km
  • homestay
  • enjoying an afternoon cruising down a river through a cave and into Ba Be Lake National Park
  • Heading southwards, we’ll take half a day riding small country roads to get to the delightful Ba Be Lake National Park and spend the night at a homestay on the banks of the lake under an enormous cliff karst mountain. While getting to this village by road is possible, it’s much more enjoyable to load bikes and bikers onto several long boats and spend the afternoon cruising downriver through the jungle-clad park. Along the way, we will drift through a 200-metre-long river cave and have lunch on the banks of the river, deep in the forest.
Explore Indochina donation cheque to Blue Dragon Children's Foundation
  • 130 km
  • hotel
  • cheque signing ceremony at the Rally’s gala farewell dinner
  • Due to the heavy traffic and unpleasant roads north of Hanoi, today’s plan will be to ride for half a day through the quiet, pleasant countryside where Ho Chi Minh initially held out when fighting the French back in the late 1940s and early 1950s. After lunch, we will load the bikes onto a large truck and return to Hanoi in comfort and safety in the same VIP vans used on the first day, arriving in Hanoi late afternoon. This will give us a chance to freshen up before a gala farewell dinner, where we will present our total donation to representatives of Blue Dragon.

Tour Gallery

Rally Indochina

Pricing Options

Per Rider

Inclusions and Extras

All-Inclusive Vietnam motorcycle tour

You’ll be riding a 150cc Honda XR.
Your guide pays for all fuel.
A 4WD support truck will carry all luggage, while additional 4WD trucks or SUVs will carry non-riding participants.
All accommodation (twin share) is covered, including one night in Hanoi before and after the Rally. If you prefer a private room, just pay an additional US$300 p/p.
Each day you will be provided with breakfast, lunch and dinner, except for the rest day in Dong Van, where lunch and dinner are on you.
A full damage waiver covers all motorcycles.
Western and Vietnamese guides will accompany the Rally, as well as a mechanic.
We’ll arrange airport transportation to and from your hotel in Hanoi.
All tickets and permits to national parks and border areas are covered.
To secure a place on the Rally, you first must make a US$400 donation to the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation.

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