Mai Chau - Ta Xua Dirtbike Tour 4 Days: Offroad Path Expedition

Your dirtbike adventure begins with a morning meet-up at your hotel in Hanoi for a detailed ride briefing. Once geared up, we leave the city using small dyke roads to avoid traffic and warm up with light trails on the outskirts of Hanoi.
Heading toward Mai Chau, we will take detours onto off-the-map dirt tracks, farm trails, and gravel roads, where you can get comfortable handling your dirt bike on loose surfaces. These sections take you through rice paddies, river crossings, and small village paths, offering real riding challenges and an authentic taste of Vietnam’s countryside.
After a local lunch in Hoa Binh Province, we continue to Thung Khe Pass, tackling its tight bends and variable surfaces, with sections of gravel and broken tarmac to keep you engaged. Descending into the Mai Chau Valley, you will experience a mix of sweeping mountain roads and optional dirt sections for riders seeking extra challenges before arriving at your stilt-house homestay in a local Thai village.
Dinner will feature regional dishes, and in the evening, you’re invited to join a traditional music performance with the community, where you can taste local rice wine (“happy water”) to wrap up your first day of dirtbike exploration in northern Vietnam.

Summary:
Accommodation: Best Homestay in Area
Distance: 180km
Meal: Lunch, Dinner

Once we’re geared up, we leave Mai Chau and immediately begin exploring the off-road trails cutting through hidden valleys and hillside farms, offering rocky tracks, dirt paths, and river crossings to warm up your handling skills.
We continue toward Moc Chau, taking backroads and forest trails when possible to avoid highway riding. Moc Chau’s highlands provide a fabulous break, where we stop for lunch and refuel both bikes and bodies.
In the afternoon, we follow QL43 briefly before diverting onto dirt and mixed gravel sections running parallel to the Da River, taking on forest single tracks and technical climbs that require confident throttle and clutch control. At Van Yen, we cross the Da River by ferry, then continue on winding backroads and optional off-road sections until we rejoin QL37, heading toward the remote Ta Xua Nature Reserve.
As we approach Ta Xua, a series of steep climbs and switchbacks will challenge your dirt bike skills, especially on rough, broken surfaces that lead to the cloud-hugging ridgelines. Reaching Ta Xua Peak (2,600m), you will be rewarded with open views across the mountains, often above a sea of clouds if the weather is right.
After a long day of off-road riding and mountain exploration, we check into a local guesthouse in Ta Xua, where you can relax, check your bike, and prepare for the next day’s dirt adventures.

Summary:
Accommodation: Ecolode
Distance: 140km
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

If you’re up early, you may catch the sea of clouds rolling over Ta Xua’s ridges, a fitting send-off before another full day of dirtbike adventure. After breakfast, we gear up and head straight to the “dinosaur’s backbone,” a narrow ridgeline track with steep drop-offs that tests balance and throttle control.
Leaving the backbone, we continue along rugged mountain paths that trace the end of the Hoang Lien Son range. Expect a mix of rocky single tracks, loose gravel, and mud sections cutting through untouched rainforest, providing technical challenges that require steady focus and off-road skill.
We stop for a well-earned lunch in Ba Khe, a small mountain town, before continuing along sealed backroads that wind through plantation hills. Whenever possible, we take detours onto dirt paths or old trails to keep the ride engaging as we descend toward Thac Ba Lake.
Arriving at Vu Linh, on the shores of Thac Ba Lake, you’ll find a peaceful landscape dotted with limestone islands, often compared to an inland Halong Bay. For those who wish, we can take a 1.5-hour local boat ride to explore the hidden corners of the lake, with the option to swim or jump from the ship for a refreshing break after a long day on the bike.
We end the day at a traditional Dzao family homestay, where a hearty dinner and local rice wine (“happy water”) await to celebrate your successful dirt ride across northern Vietnam.

Summary:
Accommodation: Best Homestay in Are
Distance: 190km
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

We start the morning with a home-cooked breakfast prepared by our Dzao hosts, featuring local pancakes, fresh bananas, and honey collected from the nearby hills. After packing up, we gear up for the final day of your dirtbike adventure.
Before leaving Vu Linh, we explore small dirt trails weaving through the quiet Dzao villages, riding alongside Thac Ba Lake’s edge, and into the green tea hills. These off-road sections offer a relaxed yet engaging ride, featuring river crossings and loose gravel tracks that allow you to enjoy the bike without intense technical demands.
Once we finish the morning session, we ride toward Viet Tri for a well-deserved lunch at a local spot. In the afternoon, we follow the Red River Dyke roads and smaller countryside lanes to avoid traffic while making steady progress back toward Hanoi.
We plan to arrive in Hanoi before the evening rush hour, around 4:30 pm, marking the end of your short yet intense dirt bike journey across northern Vietnam.

Summary:
Distance: 180km
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch.