Description
Northern Vietnam Biking Tour 7 Days offers the chance to discover Thac Ba lake, Song Thao, Mai Chau, Tam Coc, Ninh Binh, and Cat Ba island. This is a mixture of road cycling, countryside cycle, and classic boat trip in Cat Ba bay.

Day 1: Hanoi – Thac Ba Lake.
Today is the first day of this amazing Northern Vietnam Biking Tour 7 Days. Before starting to cycle, we will have a short briefing to know about the tour as well as practical information about cycling in Vietnam. If you arrive Hanoi days in advance we recommend the briefing to be organized one day in advance at our garage. After about 2 hour drive, the van will drop us off in Viet Tri where we begin our cycling adventure. In general, the road is easy and mostly sealed. Tonight we will spend the night at a local house of the Dao.

Day 2: Thac Ba Lake – Song Thao.
A boat is waiting to take us and our bikes to cross Thac Ba Lake in the morning to Yen Binh (1.5 hours). After lunch in Yen Binh, cycle to Song Thao. In fact, Song Thao is a very small village lost in the hills on the west bank of Black river. The particular thing is that this is the place where we grow lacquer trees to collect the precious substance called lacquer.

Day 3: Song Thao – Mai Chau.
Today ride offers very beautiful landscape. You will bike through the valley of wax-tree, native land of lacquer makers in Vietnam until Hoa Binh. Then we head straight at the main range before breaching a high and beautiful forested pass, which descends into the hidden valley of Mai Chau where we spend the night with friends in a traditional Thai stilt house.

Day 4: Mai Chau – Ninh Binh.
After breakfast, depart for Ninh Binh which is around 150 km from Mai Chau. The 4-hour drive takes you through paddy fields, rural hamlets of Hoa Binh and Ninh Binh provinces, and you arrive in Kenh Ga around noon. Set on the banks of the Hoang Long River, Kenh Ga is a remarkable place, not only because it is surrounded by the same massive rocks that dominate Hoa Lu, but also because for most of the year the entire community lives on the water itself. Lunch will be served in a local restaurant. After lunch, enjoy a 2-hour cycling along the Hoang Long River, then turn right, passing by countryside, rural villages. You ride for about 25 kilometers on flat roads before arriving in Tam Coc around 5 pm. Check-in hotel and spend the rest of the day free at leisure. Overnight at hotel in Tam Coc (or Van Long).

Day 5: Ninh Binh – Cat Ba Island.
The road between Ninh Binh and Cat Ba Island is quite long and busy and early departure is recommended. We will be transferred by car from Tam Coc to Dinh Vu where we will stop for lunch, then we take a ferry to Cat Hai. Once we are on the other side we will get our bikes down on the road for a 2 hour ride till we arrive Cat Ba Island. Check-in hotel for overnight.

Day 6: Cat Ba Island – Lan Ha Bay – Cat Ba Island.
Breakfast at the hotel. We will be transferred by car to boat pier. There we will embark on a wooden boat for a full day cruise. The boat takes us through Lan Ha Bay. In fact, Cat Ba is the far end of Halong Bay. In general, Cat Ba still live from the resource that the sea offers. However, the tourism is developed and of high quality. The Cat Ba Bay is a condensed of Halong Bay, its labyrinth of limestone so dense that it is difficult to imagine we are in the sea. Then have lunch with seafood on the boat. Visit local people in the floating village of Van Gia. Enjoy kayaking or swimming (if weather permit). The boat can also drop you off at a pier where you take a short bike ride to discover Viet Hai village. Enjoy the sunset while the boat is getting back ashore. Overnight in Cat Ba Island at hotel.

Day 7: Cat Ba Island – Hanoi.
This morning we will travel to Cat Ba national park, either by bicycle or by car. There we will take a short hike to discover the park. Once we are at the top of the mountain range, we will have a spectacular view over the Lan Ha bay. Visit the Army Hospital Cave on the way back to Cat Ba town. We have lunch at local restaurant, then travel back to Hanoi by car. End of this 7 day Northern Vietnam Biking Tour.