North Vietnam by Gravel Bike

We ride a total of 518 km over 7 days of cycling, for an average of 74 km per day.. Day 2 (our first ride) is a moderate elevation gain of just over +1200 m. From then on, each ride will feature elevation gains of at least +1500 m per day, with over +2000 m on Days 3 & 7. Daily distances vary: Days 2-5 are approx. 60-70 km, while Days 6 & 7 are 100 km each. The final day’s ride dials back the distance once more to 61 km. Your guide’s expert knowledge of the area and terrain ensures you always know what is coming up in terms of distance and difficulty. This makes a tremendous difference, as does the constant supply of water and refreshments along the way.

Suitability: This tour is for cyclists in very good physical condition who can handle distances of 60-100 km per day, and daily elevation gains of over +1500 m, in potentially hot, humid conditions, for a full week. The climbs can be quite steep at certain sections, and at certain moments, it may be advantageous to walk for a short distance to reach a gentler grade. Certain descents will require advanced ability to control braking and steering. Our support vehicle will be available at regular intervals, but there are sections throughout the tour where the vehicle cannot enter the cycling route, meaning communication with the guide will be very important, and each rider will need to know their comfort level with the sections ahead.

Biking Conditions: roads with moderate traffic. The riding surfaces are also diverse, including broken asphalt or concrete; champagne gravel; occasional chunky sections; and some smoothly-paved sections here and there. With ongoing road works and periodic damage, road surfaces can also change with little notice before the ride. You may encounter some traffic in villages and towns (the busiest being the town of Cao Bang). The roads are relatively seldom-traveled, but it’s always important to be aware of obstacles on the road (such as branches, stones, and livestock), as well as the unexpected approach of vehicles.

You will sometimes be separated from the support vehicle when it cannot enter a particular section of narrow road, but your guide will always indicate these sections in advance. When you rendezvous with the van, it’s always possible to take a break and skip ahead to a later section in the ride, or directly to the end.

Air quality is generally very good in this region, with the exception being the periodic burning of rice fields and other organic debris, which can result in some smoke. The weather in the mountains can change quickly, from hot and sunny one moment to a downpour the next. Microclimates result in considerable temperature variation. We generally ride rain or shine, but based on the guide’s discretion or your level of comfort, modifications to the planned route can be made. It’s all part of the adventure!

Hotels: We have chosen hotels, resorts and guest houses that combine location, comfort, and authentic connections with local communities to ensure that your experience of Vietnam’s north is truly memorable and enjoyable. For our first night in Hanoi, our hotel is within walking distance of the Old Quarter’s many attractions, and features a rooftop bar, pool, and gym, as well as a spa. At Ba Be Lake, our uniquely-constructed hillside resort overlooks the lakeshore. For the evening of Day 3, Kolia Organic Farm welcomes us to its exclusive setting near one of the region’s highest peaks, with massages available if booked in advance. In remote Thong Nong, we will stay in a basic but comfortable local hotel, allowing us to have the best tour flow and cycling experience, while engaging with this small village, seldom visited by outsiders. Our accommodations for Days 5 & 6 are charming guesthouses built with natural materials and traditional techniques, in stunning locations amid mountain ridges and nearby rivers. Day 7, in Cao Bang town, we will stay in a modern, central hotel overlooking the Hien River, just a short walk away from the town’s thriving main street and riverside promenades. Day 8 features a return to our initial hotel in Hanoi, the perfect place to recover and unwind from your cycling tour.

Bikes

Because some people can't imagine going on a trip without their own beloved bicycle, we do not include them in the price as part of this tour. However, we offer high-quality Giant Contend AR 2 endurance road bikes for hire, fitted with 38c width tires, at the price listed in the tour pricing section. Depending on the size required and availability, a different model of equal quality may be used. While not purpose-built gravel bikes, this configuration is ideally suited to the road surfaces encountered on this tour. If you bring your own bike, please make sure it is a similarly fitted road bike or gravel bike in good mechanical order.

Bike Repairs

Basic spares and tools are carried by the guide and on the support vehicle, though we cannot guarantee having spares for every conceivable problem. Carrying a basic tool kit, a spare tube and a pump while riding is recommended.

Safety

Wearing a helmet is required on all our biking adventures and is non negotiable. If you do not wear a helmet you will not be allowed to cycle. Your tour leader is trained in first aid and emergency rescue, but to a large degree you must be responsible for your own safety while riding. It is therefore compulsory that you take out travel insurance that will cover you for a mountain biking tour.

Guides

You will be led by a local English-speaking guide and if the group is 9 people or more we will add another guide to the tour. All our guides are well informed in the history, culture and religions of the area where you are biking and are skilled at passing that knowledge on to you. Your guide is also medically trained and an experienced cyclist, able to handle most minor repairs en route.

If this is the tour for you here's what you need to do to confirm your place:

FLEXIBLE BOOKING CONDITIONS

CONFIRMING YOUR BOOKING

Just complete our online booking form or send your booking details offline (email or post), and we will confirm your participation. No deposit is needed to confirm your place on a SpiceRoads tour.

You are advised to read our Booking Conditions in full before you make your payment and should you require further clarifications of any of the conditions below, please email us or call our office.

TRIP STATUS

There is a minimum number of participants (usually 2) required to enable the trip to go ahead. Once the minimum number is reached, the trip status will change from 'Available' to 'Guaranteed to Depart'. Once a trip is guaranteed to depart you are free to book your flights and make other travel arrangements. If the trip status is ‘Limited’ will mean we have only a small number of spaces available for booking. If you are unsure about the trip status, please email us or call our office.

BOOKING ONLINE

From the tour page, click the 'Book Now' link. All departures for this tour will appear, just select the date you'd like to travel. For the next steps, you'll need to know the names of the people travelling. If you wish you can also provide extra details such as passport numbers, height (for bike hire), or you can add that later by logging into Manage My Trip (we'll set up an account for you automatically if you don't already have one). Our system will contact you from time to time to fill in the missing information, as it will be required before departure. However, if the trip that you are booking offers a child discount, you will have to fill out the date of birth of each rider (so we can calculate the appropriate discount).

If you are having any problems please send us an email, or give us a call (+66 026 3295) and one of our travel specialists will assist you with your booking.

BOOKING OFFLINE

Just call us or send an email indicating which trip you want to join and we will happily send you a list of questions and process your booking for you.

DEPOSITS AND PAYMENTS

We do not require a deposit or full payment to book a place for you on a tour.

The balance of the tour’s cost (final invoice) will need to be paid 60 days before the departure date with fees for any bicycle rental(s), single supplement(s) and extra hotel nights.

In the case where a booking is made when there are less than 60 days until the tour departure date, the tour’s cost should be paid in full within 72 hours of receiving an invoice from SpiceRoads. Payment can be made by credit card using our online payment gateway or by bank transfer. When making payment online you will need to confirm that you have read these booking conditions during the "checkout" process, which equates to agreeing to the terms of services and stipulations as indicated in this document.

In all cases, tour fees need to be paid “in full” before participation in a tour. No person(s) will be allowed to join a tour without fully settling their invoice and receiving a confirmation number from SpiceRoads.

The exception can be made for last-minute miscellaneous fees that can be paid locally (visas, additional local hotel bookings, etc.) can be settled on the day of arrival.

FULL FLEXIBILITY FOR TOUR CANCELATIONS

If the tour is cancelled or postponed by SpiceRoads because we didn't make the trip numbers and the tour can’t run, we will make a full cash refund (by bank transfer or on your credit card).

If the tour is cancelled for any other reason, including due to Covid related travel restrictions, we will give you a full credit (with no deductions for admin or any other small-print item) to use on any SpiceRoads tour with no time limit. (Exceptions being flights, special permits and other non-refundable items and these will be advised when booking the trip).

Before paying for your tour, you can cancel your booking with no charge and up until 40 days before departure, you can change your booking to another travel date or move your booking onto another SpiceRoads tour with no charges.

If you need to cancel after you have made full payment, please see our cancellation policy.

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