The Best Motorbike Tours in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Exploring Vietnam on a motorbike makes for an epic adventure. You may drive one yourself, or even ride pillion, while flowing among the waves of traffic and down the small streams that are the streets of Vietnam. Stopping by a street-side stall to get a banh mì (baguette sandwich) and a ca phe sua da (Vietnamese iced coffee) during this journey is an essential part of the Vietnamese experience. Many tour operators around the country have adjusted their services around this type of trip, and Ho Chi Minh City is no different. You can find many operators offering day trips within the city or overnight tours to the Mekong Delta, Mui Ne or Nha Trang. Here are our top choices for tour operators in this city.
Vietnam Vespa Adventures
Vietnam Vespa Adventures have been offering unique and authentic tours for over 10 years. They are the number one recommended company when it comes to motorbike tours around the city. All tours are done on vintage orange-colored Vespas, and you will most likely come across groups of them while walking down the streets of District 1 or District 3. In Vietnam, they have tours not only in Ho Chi Minh City, but also Hanoi, Hoi An and Hue. They’ve even gone international, offering tours in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, Cambodia, which should be a testament to their success. They offer one-day or multi-day packaged tours. The most exciting tour offered in Ho Chi Minh City is the coastal drive to Nha Trang through Mui Ne. Their motto is that you are guaranteed the ‘ride of your life’. You can meet some guides in person and discuss your ideas if you head to their café, Café Zoom, located in the heart of the backpacker district of Bui Vien. Naturally, they also have great food and beer!
Onetrip
Onetrip tour guides are newcomers to the tour scene, having launched their first tour in 2015. Currently based in Ho Chi Minh, they have rapidly expanded throughout the country, now offering tours in Hoi An, Da Nang and soon, in Nha Trang and Hanoi. Their quick expansion is due to the amazing culturally immersive and intimate tours they provide, catering to the needs and comforts of their guests while paying superior attention to detail. With Onetrip, you can choose either a motorbike or a comfortable car to take you to your destination. In Ho Chi Minh City, they only offer four tours: the Cu Chi Adventure, Mekong Delta Experience, Student City Tour and the Evening Food Tour. Their Student City Tour is purely donation-based and customized to the guest’s requirements. The trained student guides want to exchange cultural experiences, to add new words to their ever-growing English vocabulary, and to share their love of Vietnam with the rest of the world.
XO Tours
Theater
XO Tours is the first all-female motorbike tour company in Vietnam. It is the brainchild of a man named Tung who wanted to provide more opportunities for women in tourism in Vietnam. He was born in the early ‘70s and immigrated to the US shortly after, only to return back to his beloved homeland after the Vietnam War. After falling in love with his country, he was inspired to create XO Tours, a unique tour company that combines the fascinating motorbike culture in Vietnam with Vietnam’s incredible women. Give their Foodie Tour a go. It is the original food tour in Vietnam and was voted one of the Top 9 Food Tours in the World by Forbes. For their fantastic work, they have been recognized by Lonely Planet, Rough Guides and Fodor’s Travel. Also, Tung was one of 11 men who was awarded the World of Difference Award by the International Alliance for Women in 2015 for the impact his work made.
Back of the Bike Tours
Restaurant
Consistently ranking high on lists of motorbike tour agencies, Back of the Bike Tours have been offering fantastic tours for over six years, mostly revolving around food in Ho Chi Minh City. The agency was started by Chad and Thuy who met in a restaurant purely by chance. Thuy showed Chad around her city on her motorbike and together, they explored every nook and cranny of Ho Chi Minh, as they slowly fell in love. Together, they created this company with one goal in mind: changing the face of Vietnam by providing excellent customer service in the tourism industry and getting travelers to fall in love with the country so that they’d return time and time again. The pair has done just that. There are four tours to choose from, each with a perfected, yet customized itinerary. No matter which tour you choose, you will undoubtedly have a great time, make new friends and create memories to last a lifetime.