Cycle the New Ho Chi Minh Trail
May 3 - 18, 2010

During the Vietnam War, North Vietnam spirited a million soldiers into South Vietnam along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, an elusive 12,000 mile web of paths and primitive road ways most of it covered by a jungle canopy . The trail principle artery was in Laos and Cambodia, with branches eastward. In 2000, the Vietnamese government has linked sections of the trail, as the Modern Ho Chi Minh Highway as a parallel alternative to the congestion on the only other north-south road, Highway 1 on the coastal areas of Central Vietnam, and to stimulate the economy in one of Vietnam’s poorest and remote regions. In the north, the wide smooth undulating highway is a cyclist dream as there is little traffic on the road.


Our tour starts in the north, the capital city of Vietnam, Hanoi, as city of lakes and tree shaded boulevards, sometimes referred to as the “Paris of the Orient.” Hanoi will give you a leisurely exposure to the Vietnam’s culture and history with visits to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Stilt House. On our first cycling day, we will visit the Ho Chi Minh Trail Museum on the way to our destination that day, the Cuc Phuong National Park, on of Vietnam’s most protected areas, and home of the Primate Rescue Center.

From the national park we will cycle south on Highway 15, with overnight stops in Ben En, Huong Khe to the attractive city of Dong Hoi, on the Nhat Le river. On the way we have great scenery and numerous mountain ranges and mountain passes to cross. North of Dong Hoi, we stop at one of UNESCO World Heritage sites, the spectacular limestone grottos of the Phong Nha Caves, which we will visit by dragon boat.

The tour continues south crossing the famous Ben Tat bridge over the Ben Hai river, the past border between North and South Vietnam to Dong Ha, on the south side of the DMZ during the American War. From there we take highway 9 west to the town of Huong Hoa and the Khe San battle field. Crossing the Dakrong River Bridge we are on Highway 14 with the Truong Son Mountain range on the west, to the central highland cities of A Luoi, Kham Duc, Kontum, Pleiku and Buon Ma Thuot. This exceptional track is now an excellent road, winding along the edge of the mountain, with deep valleys and picturesque waterfalls. After visiting and riding around Lak Lake, south of Buon Ma Thuot, we cycle across three mountain passes with green dense foliage on each side to the resort city of Dalat.


From Dalat, there are two fantastic downhill stretches of about 6 miles each to the city of Phan Thiet and the Mui Ne beach resort area. Along the way, we have some rolling hills dotted with coffee, tea, and sugar cane plantations. After arriving in Mui Nhe you will be able to relax on the beach for an extra day to recover from your cycling extravagance. The last cycling day is smooth and flat, as we enter the Ho Chi Minh City delta region

Tour Duration: 16 days/15 nights

Tour Cost: $2295, double occupancy
Single Room Supplement: $ 550
Minimum of 6 tour participants