Is the Hai Van Pass the Best Drive in Vietnam?
Made even more famous by the well known Top Gear episode, Jeremy Clarkson described the Hai Van Pass as a "deserted ribbon of perfection". This mountain passage is not only famous amongst backpackers in South East Asia but globally from adventure dreamers to car fanatics. You know that feeling of driving with no worries? Take that and add in endless ocean views and satisfyingly sweeping corners. But, is the Hai Van Pass worthy of the title 'Best Drive in Vietnam'?
Sure enough you are guaranteed stunning green flourished cliff sides that strike a beautiful contrast to the sea of blue stretching uninterrupted all the way to the horizon. If you've been to Vietnam or done you research, you will know that the roads most travelled are littered with thousands of bikes day and night, so much so, its almost a tourist attraction in itself but the Hai Van Pass is one of the wondrous exceptions. A drive out into the highlands will gift you will empty roads to bask in but the Hai Van Pass offers vehicular seduction seldom found of other drives anywhere in the world.
Since the introduction of the Hai Van Tunnel in 2005 the old mountain route is less frequented by locals and so provides cruising peace: though a 'deserted' ribbon is not the most accurate description. At every viewpoint you will find yourself in the company of many other tourists all on the same journey as you which can potentially taint the feeling of freedom and discovery that the Hai Van Pass once sold. Think back to that feeling of driving with no worries and add in how you feel when you stumble across a landscape so magnificent you feel like you've discovered it yourself: its special and yours. You won't find that here. About halfway along you will find a stopping place with places to grab food and drink which is also home to one of the most popular photo-ops. If you want that all alone photo with the winding roads, sweeping cliffs, empty coast-line and skies all behind you then you will be waiting a while as the area is swarming with everyone else wanting to capture their Hai Van moment.
Driving the pass itself only takes a few hours to complete but if you're doing the full drive from one city to the next it is an extremely long day on your bum. Several times we had to pull into a side road to just get up and move as it could reach a point of unbearable pain. This sounds dramatic but once you leave the pass and get on the road to Hue it is one very straight and seemingly endless drive with little to no places to stop for refreshments. Your lower back and bum cheeks will not thank you. If you do chose to do the pass with a tour company they will likely have other places to stop and show you but when you're at the helm, unless you're crazy into your research, then pull back the throttle, get your hand on the horn and use your tenacity as fuel to reach your destination.
Now there is another road that definitely deserves a seat at the table as contender for the 'Best Drive in Vietnam'. You can find it meandering through the jungles of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. This is a seriously impressive drive but is easily overlooked due to all the other activities in the area. Don't expect endless oceans to gaze upon and there are no designated viewpoints where you can take in your surroundings with a handful of others.
What you will find is a sweeping landscape of green untouched bliss, the occasional house and a true tarmac ribbon meandering deeper into it all. Limestone mountains blanketed in jungle tower all around: the driving equivalent of Ha Long Bay. There is one main road which loops around the park which is just a snippet of the Ho Chi Minh Highway. Most tourists stay in the small town area or close to the caves or other outdoor activities and there are a few locals going about their day to day lives. You'll mostly be exploring alone or swerving around cattle...!
The beauty of the highway is that it ribbons past local homes, rice fields and then up into the mountains where you become fully immersed in nature with scaling jungle stretching up to the clouds and the most peculiar animal sounds. Every turn changes the landscape and reveals something you didn't see before. The whole area is always growing and ever-changing. During our time in Phong Nha we spent most our time under grey skies but it gave the whole area a moody landscape that added another dimension to the landscape.There was a beautiful cloudy mist that wrapped around the mountain tops that made you feel like you were right below the clouds. Just don't stop off and disembark for an off road exploration as its not allowed. If you're tempted by a jungle trek you can arrange a guided tour or go it alone in set areas. You can read about our jungle trek, that went slightly off-track and a little wrong, in the Botanical Gardens in my Phong Nha post.
Hai Van Pass How To:
What is it?
Approximately a 21 kilometre mountain pass on the National Route 1A in Vietnam, the Hai Van Pass will take you up to an altitude of 496 metres and through multiple seasons. You can embark on this journey from North to South, or like we did, from South to North. Starting in Hoi An, or Da Nang, and finshing in Huế.
Where to rent a bike?
Renting a bike for the day is super easy and affordable. We used Motorvina who have offices in Hoi An, Da Nang and Huế. The full day rental only cost around $60 for one bike and they will transport your bags to their office in your destination city for no extra charge. You need a quality bike to last the whole journey and get you through the steeper incline and declines of the mountain so make sure you rent your bike from somewhere reliable and not just the cheapest option available.
If you don't drive?
If you can't drive a bike or don't feel confident enough then you don't have to miss out on this incredible experience. The Easy Riders offer day trips or you can include it as part of one of their longer excursions so you can truly sit back and really soak up every view.
Little tips:
Driving Phong Nha-Ke Bang How To:
What is it?
The Ho Chi Minh Highway stretches over 2000 kilometres from Saigon in the South to Hanoi in the North. With the introduction of Highway 1, the Ho Chi Minh Road remains a lot quieter but is well maintained and offers spectacular landscapes. You can drive the entire length over a few weeks or as a slightly easier option you can hop on and use it as a vessel to explore smaller areas of Vietnam. Where it snakes through the limestone mountains and blooming jungles of Phong Nha Ke-Bang National Park is a pretty perfect place to start.
Phong Nha is a lot more well known for the wonders that exist below the roads, below the mountains and below the jungle. Home to beautiful caves, including Son Doong the largest cave in the world, its easy to overlook the humble drive but you would be so wrong to. This drive gives you deep feelings of freedom, appreciation, and awe for merely stumbling across it. Unless you're an avid driver or traveller, unlike the Hai Van Pass, you probably haven't heard of the Ho Chi Minh Road, let alone planned on driving it. So stumbling across it is what happens. If you're going to explore part of it there's no start or no end, its just where you want to go, what you want to see and how long you can sit on a bike for! See the map below to see how the road loops through the park. The purple pin is right next to the main town area of the region.
Where to rent a bike?
You will easily be able to rent bikes from your hostel or home-stay or somewhere on the main strip. Phong Nha town area is pretty small so you find pretty much everything you need on the one main road (this area is marked by the Backpacker Hostel pin). The drive goes from well maintained flats to bumpy rural back roads and right into the mountains so make sure you've got a good bike and helmet. You need some power behind you for the big inclines and test your brakes out well (you can read about what to do when your brakes don't work in the upcoming Phong Nha blog)!
Where to fill up with petrol?
Once you're driving around the park and through the jungle there aren't many spots to fill up. See the map screen shot below and the two pins mark the petrol stations we found.
What to take?
It goes without saying but take plenty of water and make sure your phones are all charged up. There is honestly nothing around you for a while once you get deep into the park. Prepare for all weather as well with waterproofs, sun glasses, sun-cream and because of the dense surrounding jungle take lots of bite repellent spray. You want strong stuff with at least 50-70% deet. Its not a one way kind of adventure like the Hai Van Pass and you make your own rules so if you need to turn off and head back then there's nothing stopping you so you don't need to worry too much.
Driving through Vietnam is such an experience, whether you're on one of the most famous roads in the world, swerving through Saigon or kicking back in the rural highlands. One thing is for sure, if you take a trip to Vietnam make sure you have a front row seat as sometimes the journey can be just as good, or better, than your actual destination. Cheap bus journey's keep you out the rain but all you'll see is your phone screen. Cheesy I know, but just look at them views! Which drive tempts your inner adventurer the most? Let me know down below!
See some cruising videos, extra pictures and other bits all on my Instagram @glamourandgluttony.
Love, Rachael x
Sure enough you are guaranteed stunning green flourished cliff sides that strike a beautiful contrast to the sea of blue stretching uninterrupted all the way to the horizon. If you've been to Vietnam or done you research, you will know that the roads most travelled are littered with thousands of bikes day and night, so much so, its almost a tourist attraction in itself but the Hai Van Pass is one of the wondrous exceptions. A drive out into the highlands will gift you will empty roads to bask in but the Hai Van Pass offers vehicular seduction seldom found of other drives anywhere in the world.
Since the introduction of the Hai Van Tunnel in 2005 the old mountain route is less frequented by locals and so provides cruising peace: though a 'deserted' ribbon is not the most accurate description. At every viewpoint you will find yourself in the company of many other tourists all on the same journey as you which can potentially taint the feeling of freedom and discovery that the Hai Van Pass once sold. Think back to that feeling of driving with no worries and add in how you feel when you stumble across a landscape so magnificent you feel like you've discovered it yourself: its special and yours. You won't find that here. About halfway along you will find a stopping place with places to grab food and drink which is also home to one of the most popular photo-ops. If you want that all alone photo with the winding roads, sweeping cliffs, empty coast-line and skies all behind you then you will be waiting a while as the area is swarming with everyone else wanting to capture their Hai Van moment.
Driving the pass itself only takes a few hours to complete but if you're doing the full drive from one city to the next it is an extremely long day on your bum. Several times we had to pull into a side road to just get up and move as it could reach a point of unbearable pain. This sounds dramatic but once you leave the pass and get on the road to Hue it is one very straight and seemingly endless drive with little to no places to stop for refreshments. Your lower back and bum cheeks will not thank you. If you do chose to do the pass with a tour company they will likely have other places to stop and show you but when you're at the helm, unless you're crazy into your research, then pull back the throttle, get your hand on the horn and use your tenacity as fuel to reach your destination.
Now there is another road that definitely deserves a seat at the table as contender for the 'Best Drive in Vietnam'. You can find it meandering through the jungles of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. This is a seriously impressive drive but is easily overlooked due to all the other activities in the area. Don't expect endless oceans to gaze upon and there are no designated viewpoints where you can take in your surroundings with a handful of others.
What you will find is a sweeping landscape of green untouched bliss, the occasional house and a true tarmac ribbon meandering deeper into it all. Limestone mountains blanketed in jungle tower all around: the driving equivalent of Ha Long Bay. There is one main road which loops around the park which is just a snippet of the Ho Chi Minh Highway. Most tourists stay in the small town area or close to the caves or other outdoor activities and there are a few locals going about their day to day lives. You'll mostly be exploring alone or swerving around cattle...!
The beauty of the highway is that it ribbons past local homes, rice fields and then up into the mountains where you become fully immersed in nature with scaling jungle stretching up to the clouds and the most peculiar animal sounds. Every turn changes the landscape and reveals something you didn't see before. The whole area is always growing and ever-changing. During our time in Phong Nha we spent most our time under grey skies but it gave the whole area a moody landscape that added another dimension to the landscape.There was a beautiful cloudy mist that wrapped around the mountain tops that made you feel like you were right below the clouds. Just don't stop off and disembark for an off road exploration as its not allowed. If you're tempted by a jungle trek you can arrange a guided tour or go it alone in set areas. You can read about our jungle trek, that went slightly off-track and a little wrong, in the Botanical Gardens in my Phong Nha post.
Hai Van Pass How To:
What is it?
Approximately a 21 kilometre mountain pass on the National Route 1A in Vietnam, the Hai Van Pass will take you up to an altitude of 496 metres and through multiple seasons. You can embark on this journey from North to South, or like we did, from South to North. Starting in Hoi An, or Da Nang, and finshing in Huế.
Where to rent a bike?
Renting a bike for the day is super easy and affordable. We used Motorvina who have offices in Hoi An, Da Nang and Huế. The full day rental only cost around $60 for one bike and they will transport your bags to their office in your destination city for no extra charge. You need a quality bike to last the whole journey and get you through the steeper incline and declines of the mountain so make sure you rent your bike from somewhere reliable and not just the cheapest option available.
If you don't drive?
If you can't drive a bike or don't feel confident enough then you don't have to miss out on this incredible experience. The Easy Riders offer day trips or you can include it as part of one of their longer excursions so you can truly sit back and really soak up every view.
Little tips:
- There is one last petrol station before you start to climb the mountain (if you're going from South to North). Use this opportunity to fill your tank up as there is nothing on the pass itself other than a few locals selling bottled gasoline.
- Take cash with you as if you need anything you're unlikely to find contact-less.
- Prepare for all weather. The Hai Van Pass famously experiences multiple seasons in the space of one day, especially if you're visiting during the monsoon season. The Pass is usually graced with sunshine in the South and monsoon downpours in the North. Pack your sun-cream, sunglasses and waterproofs. I advise you purchase one of the cheap colourful ponchos available from most little that many of the locals wear. Drive the Hai Van Pass but make it fashion.
- Eat a big breakfast, take snacks and plenty of water.
- Make sure all phones and cameras are fully charged and take a battery pack as you'll need access to a map but you'll also be snapping away all day.
- Download the maps.me App which is fantastic for all travels and not just driving. When you have internet you can download whichever country you're in and then you can use it without any internet. It can find where you are and give you directions. Honestly this app was a lifesaver.
Driving Phong Nha-Ke Bang How To:
What is it?
The Ho Chi Minh Highway stretches over 2000 kilometres from Saigon in the South to Hanoi in the North. With the introduction of Highway 1, the Ho Chi Minh Road remains a lot quieter but is well maintained and offers spectacular landscapes. You can drive the entire length over a few weeks or as a slightly easier option you can hop on and use it as a vessel to explore smaller areas of Vietnam. Where it snakes through the limestone mountains and blooming jungles of Phong Nha Ke-Bang National Park is a pretty perfect place to start.
Phong Nha is a lot more well known for the wonders that exist below the roads, below the mountains and below the jungle. Home to beautiful caves, including Son Doong the largest cave in the world, its easy to overlook the humble drive but you would be so wrong to. This drive gives you deep feelings of freedom, appreciation, and awe for merely stumbling across it. Unless you're an avid driver or traveller, unlike the Hai Van Pass, you probably haven't heard of the Ho Chi Minh Road, let alone planned on driving it. So stumbling across it is what happens. If you're going to explore part of it there's no start or no end, its just where you want to go, what you want to see and how long you can sit on a bike for! See the map below to see how the road loops through the park. The purple pin is right next to the main town area of the region.
Where to rent a bike?
You will easily be able to rent bikes from your hostel or home-stay or somewhere on the main strip. Phong Nha town area is pretty small so you find pretty much everything you need on the one main road (this area is marked by the Backpacker Hostel pin). The drive goes from well maintained flats to bumpy rural back roads and right into the mountains so make sure you've got a good bike and helmet. You need some power behind you for the big inclines and test your brakes out well (you can read about what to do when your brakes don't work in the upcoming Phong Nha blog)!
Where to fill up with petrol?
Once you're driving around the park and through the jungle there aren't many spots to fill up. See the map screen shot below and the two pins mark the petrol stations we found.
 |
| Map screen shot taken from Google Maps |
What to take?
It goes without saying but take plenty of water and make sure your phones are all charged up. There is honestly nothing around you for a while once you get deep into the park. Prepare for all weather as well with waterproofs, sun glasses, sun-cream and because of the dense surrounding jungle take lots of bite repellent spray. You want strong stuff with at least 50-70% deet. Its not a one way kind of adventure like the Hai Van Pass and you make your own rules so if you need to turn off and head back then there's nothing stopping you so you don't need to worry too much.
Driving through Vietnam is such an experience, whether you're on one of the most famous roads in the world, swerving through Saigon or kicking back in the rural highlands. One thing is for sure, if you take a trip to Vietnam make sure you have a front row seat as sometimes the journey can be just as good, or better, than your actual destination. Cheap bus journey's keep you out the rain but all you'll see is your phone screen. Cheesy I know, but just look at them views! Which drive tempts your inner adventurer the most? Let me know down below!
See some cruising videos, extra pictures and other bits all on my Instagram @glamourandgluttony.
Love, Rachael x
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