En conséquence de quoi il faut avoir sa licence internationale, porter un casque, et ne pas conduire trop vite (30-35 max). Petite précaution très utile : klaonner à l'entrée des virages vu le nomber de motards qui condusient au milieu de la route. Ceci dit, je me balade sans arrêt dans le coin, les routes ne sont pas dangereuses si on conduit DOUCEMENT ; tomber du haut d'une falaise, il faut le faire !
Méfiez-vous de la vie, car les ratés ne vous rateront pas!
C'est un accident de carrefour qui a couté la vie à nos compatriotes, pas de chute du haut d'une falaise.
Ceci dit les routes du Vietnam ne sont pas particulièrement sécuritaires pour des novices et de sérieuses précautions sont à prendre y compris la maitrise totale et avérée des 2 roues.
Trop s'aventurent sur ces routes sans avoir en poche le permis moto ad hoc, l’assistance qui doit y être rattachée et un minimum de pratique.
Trop de loueurs confient leurs engins à ces novices sans ce soucier de leurs aptitudes à la conduite.
Trop banalisent ce risque.
C'est une bonne mesure qui est donc prise aujourd'hui, à condition bien entendu qu'elle soit sérieusement appliquée...
Pour bien aimer un pays il faut le manger, le boire et l’entendre chanter. (Michel Déon)
Bonjour,
Plutôt que d'exiger le permis moto pour les étrangers, le gouvernement devrait plutôt apprendre et imposer aux conducteurs vietnamiens le respect des règles élémentaires de conduite.
Prendre la route au Vietnam s'apparente à jouer à la roulette russe et encore plus avec un deux roues.
Malheureusement, les habitudes sont difficiles à perdre.
Si nous voulons conduire à l'étranger , n'est ce pas à nous de nos adapter à leur façon de conduire ? Surtout nous français qui ne sommes pas des bons modèles pour le respect des bonnes règles de conduite.et de politesse Ce n'est qu'un avis . Du coup au VN je me fais conduire .
Bonne journée
Eric
Je suis totalement d'accord avec vous "à l'étranger nous devons nous adapter aux habitudes locales".
Mais en ce qui concerne la conduite, c'est l'anarchie la plus totale, il n'y a aucune règle. D'ailleurs les chiffres parlent d'eux-mêmes : 1 mort de la circulation toutes les heures, ce ne sont pas tous des touristes, il y a donc bien un problème local.
Présenter un permis de conduire qui a été obtenu en ayant appris le maniement d'un véhicule et le code de la route ne servira pas beaucoup quand un camion en face de vous fait un dépassement dans un virage sans aucune visibilité ou sur l'autoroute franchit une double ligne continue.
Nous aussi avions loué à plusieurs reprises un véhicule avec chauffeur qui était toujours d'une grande prudence mais cela ne nous a pas empêchés d'avoir quelques frayeurs ... et pourtant nous ne sommes pas peureux.
Les morts, ils ont roulé pour la quasi-totalité conduit trop vite ou brûler un feu rouge ou conduit saoûls ou conduit sans casque (trop vite + pas de casque étant la spécialité d'un bande de jeunes de Hanoi généralement tout vêtus de noir, de vrais loubards !). Cela fait 11 ans que je conduis en scooter partout au Vietnam en respectant toutes le srègles et en ne conduisant jamais à plus de 40 sauf sur large route sans trafic, et il ne m'est jamais rien arrivé
Méfiez-vous de la vie, car les ratés ne vous rateront pas!
Tant mieux pour vous s'il ne vous est jamais rien arrivé et je souhaite très sincèrement que çà dure!
Tout les accidentés ou décédés de la route ne sont pas que des inconscients...bien y ont laissé la vie alors qu'ils étaient plus que prudents!
J'en connaissais 2, une jeune mère de famille et un père de 4 enfants...
Les faits sont avérés, la conduite au Vietnam est plus que risquée et surtout en 2 roues!
Pour bien aimer un pays il faut le manger, le boire et l’entendre chanter. (Michel Déon)
Vous m'avez devancée, c'est exactement la réponse que je voulais faire à"Larsay". Son manque de clairvoyance en ce qui concerne la circulation au Vietnam est soit dû à sa présence dans ce pays depuis un certain nombre d'années soit à une DMLA.
Bonne journée.
C'est bien joli de prôner tout ces tours en moto, s'il est vrai que c'est ludique il n'en demeure pas moins que çà reste hyper dangereux et nier ou minimiser les risques fait se poser bien des questions...😕
Alors, DMLA , je ne sais pas, mais inconscience certainement!
Sans parler des vietnamiens confrontés au quotidien à ces risques, les touristes qui pratiquent la moto sont souvent jeunes, souvent sans expérience et quand un drame arrive...il est trop tard pour se poser des questions.
C'est avant qu'il faut agir et informer!
A rajouter aux facteurs aggravants cités par Jacques (alcool, vitesse, non respect des règles de base, etc) le manque d’entretien des engins ou leur mauvaise utilisation...
Quand aux casques fournis au Vietnam, vu leur facture je me demande ce qu'il peuvent bien protéger...
Bonne journée
Pour bien aimer un pays il faut le manger, le boire et l’entendre chanter. (Michel Déon)
Désolé, je ne parle le français qu'avec des mots clairs, donc je ne sais ce que veux dire DMLA
Moi non plus 😉
Pour revenir au sujet;
on a les mêmes problèmes en Thaïlande qui, je le rappelle a l'immense très triste privilège d’être le pays où l'on meurt le plus sur la route
et je suppose aussi au Cambodge et en Birmanie .
moins au Laos car les conducteurs dans ce pays roulent tranquillos ;
et certainement moins aussi en Malaisie car c'est un pays moderne avec des Lois et des flics pour les faire appliquer.
A part ça, je roule environ 20.000 km/an à bicyclette en Thaïlande , et ce depuis bientôt 15 ans que j'y habite à temps plein .
Et jusqu'a present tout baigne parce que je sais me faire respecter même si je sais aussi que je ne suis pas grand chose à côté d'un 55 tonnes, le tonnage maxi autorisé en Thaïlande pour les 7 essieux .( porteur 4 essieux et remorque 3 essieux )
J'ai connu le Vietnam à une époque où le casque était une denrée disons exotique ,
la plus grosse Honda était la Dream de 100 cc et en posséder une montrait la classe dans laquelle on était !🙂
mais il n'y avait quasi aucune circulation sur les routes , y compris la Mandarine, à part des Poids Lourds en dix roues et quelques rares autocars de ligne .
Il n'y avait aucune autoroute à l’époque et l' aéroport de Saïgon n'avait pas l'airco .
Dans les villes, par contre c’était déjà la forêt de vélos et deux roues à moteur;
je me rappelle Saïgon il y a 20/25 ans, dans les rues du centre ville à deux voies , la plupart à sens unique ( heureusement ), la voie de gauche était occupée par les rares autos et les bus et camions et celle de droite par les deux roues mélangés .
A te voir dans les chemins environnants à bicyclette, ça me fait penser à notre ami Franklenfant 🙂
« Tout le monde s'interroge sur comment laisser une meilleure planète à nos enfants, mais on devrait plutôt penser à laisser de meilleurs enfants pour notre planète. » Clint Eastwood
Hello everyone.
I'm looking for campsites around BOLZANO (South Tyrol) for early September.
I'll be on my motorcycle with a small tent.
I've noticed that some campsites have exorbitant prices.
If you've traveled through the Dolomites by motorcycle or otherwise and camped there, I'd love any tips on places and prices where I can stay for one night or several.
Thanks to all of you, and happy travels.
I’m starting to think about a trip that’s really close to my heart: Algeria by motorcycle, specifically the southern part of the country. It’d be for January 2025, and I’ve got two main questions:
Is it possible for an individual on a motorcycle to travel freely, outside of any organized tour, or does the regulation require some kind of supervision in the Algerian Sahara region?
Is the Hoggar massif accessible by road or by (rideable) tracks?
Beyond the official recommendations, I’m really looking for your firsthand experiences.
Thanks so much for your answers, and sorry if my questions are a bit newbie!
I just realized I’ve been registered on VoyageForum since... March 28, 2012 😊. Yet, I’ve barely participated until now.
August 1, 2026, will mark a somewhat special milestone: 5 years on the road.
We left Switzerland on August 1, 2021 with a simple idea: let chance decide our direction. We placed a bottle of wine on a world map, spun it... and it chose our first destination.
A year later, when we arrived in Morocco, we faced a new choice: continue toward Africa or head to Asia. This time, a tarot card game made the decision. Since then, we’ve tried to keep this journey as open to the unexpected as possible.
Today, that adds up to about 120,000 km, 46 countries, and over 1,800 days on the road—mostly by motorcycle, but also by sailboat, train, bus, hitchhiking, or on foot when adventure calls.
Our guiding thread isn’t just the motorcycle, but service exchanges. Instead of simply passing through countries, we try to stop regularly to lend a hand to the people we meet. So far, that’s about 600 days of volunteering.
Over the years, we’ve:
renovated a house in Croatia
made earth bricks in the Moroccan desert
helped sail a boat through the Greek islands
looked after houses, dogs, horses, a camel... and lots of other animals
worked at a street art festival in Morocco
created videos for local associations and projects
worked the grape harvest on the Tibetan plateau
been accredited as "media" for the World Nomad Games in Central Asia
Some of the moments that have stuck with us the most include six months in China, a night spent on the Great Wall, the Pamir Highway, the Silk Road, three months in Taiwan, and the incredible encounters in the mountains of Central Asia.
We travel on Falkor, our lucky dragon—a 2014 BMW F800GS that’s been with us since the start and is starting to have some great stories of its own.
While we share our adventure on Instagram, Polarsteps, and YouTube, that’s not why we’re here. The forum’s rules about promotion are clear, and I totally get them. If I’m finally taking the time to write, it’s mostly because after five years on the road, I thought our experience might be useful to other travelers.
Happy to chat about:
preparing for a long motorcycle trip
visas and borders
the Silk Road and Central Asia
riding in China (with or without a motorcycle)
volunteering and service exchanges while traveling
gear, daily life on the road... or just the unexpected moments that make long-term travel so special
Looking forward to swapping stories and hearing about your adventures too! 😊 Greetings from Thailand, and happy to chat! ✌️
Hi there! My daughter and I are heading to Malta and I’d love to rent a scooter. Does anyone know any good places to rent from and what the budget would be for a week?
Hello, I’m retired and planning a roughly 3-week motorcycle trip (1200gs). The dates aren’t set in stone yet, and everything’s open to discussion—I’m pretty flexible with the planning.
I’d like to ride from Mahajanga to Morondava, sticking as close to the coast as possible—using roads and tracks—in September 2026. If you’ve got any suggestions, let me know! 😉
hi
planning to ride through Rajasthan on a motorcycle in January 2027 and I’d love to hear about the road conditions.
I’ll be riding with a buddy on a Royal Enfield that I’ll rent in Delhi.
Thanks for your tips!
hi there
I’d like to ride the RN 12 by motorcycle in September.
I’d love to know the main challenges—I ride a 300cc and do enduro in France.
Thanks for your tips!
I’m planning a motorcycle road trip to Armenia and Georgia in September 2026 or May 2027. I’m looking for one or more riders (male or female) who’d like to explore these countries with me.
Along the way, we’ll visit Cappadocia, the capitals Yerevan, Tbilisi, Sofia, Skopje, and other cities—we can finalize the route and roadbook later.
This trip requires experience with long motorcycle journeys, as we’ll cover around 7,000 km over 5 or 6 weeks (or more, depending on sightseeing and time spent).
I don’t expect dozens of applicants, since motorcycle riders are few and far between on this forum, but I’m putting this out there anyway.
Hi, I’d like to take a 15-day "break" to get away from the surrounding hustle and bustle.
Why not explore the Peloponnese!
I’m not particularly drawn to museums, ruins, or monuments.
I want to experience local life—small villages, seaside spots, beaches, and the interior if the landscapes are extraordinary.
Ideally, coming from Athens, I’d take a bus or train to get as close as possible to a starting point, then rent a scooter (125cc) to explore by taking secondary roads or even coastal paths. I’d stay in 2-3 places for a few days each to discover their surroundings.
Do a loop.
What do you think would be the ideal itinerary?
From Athens, the best option would be to take either a flight or a bus to Kalamata. Rent a scooter and head either west or east. Is there a tertiary road (very lightly trafficked) or a path where I can ride slowly, take it easy, and enjoy the scenery without being bothered by traffic? I’d like to go all the way to Monemvasia, still hugging the coast. I need to find a way to avoid returning to Kalamata to drop off the scooter and catch a flight—maybe a small town where the train stops so I can head back to Athens.
Thanks in advance for your tips.
I want to rent an off-road style motorcycle to get around the coast during my trip to Ecuador. I’m only finding options in Quito. Do you have any suggestions for me?
Hi there,
I’m planning a sidecar trip to South America for 4 or 5 months at the end of this year.
I’m looking for info on shipping my vehicle by sea—possibly to Uruguay or another destination, as I haven’t finalized anything yet.
How do you get visas for the countries I’ll be crossing: Uruguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, and Chile? Are they e-Visas, obtained at the border, or through embassies?
Where can I get vehicle insurance?
Lastly, if any bikers want to join us (my partner and me), we’re open to that possibility too.
Patrick
I’ve got 15 days off in June and I’m pretty undecided about where to go for a motorcycle road trip. Two strong desires are pulling me in different directions: Corsica or Norway.
Corsica has been a dream of mine for a long time: legendary roads, stunning landscapes, a unique vibe, and the perfect mix of sea and mountains. At the same time, I’m wondering if 2 weeks might be *too much* for Corsica—risking feeling like I’ve seen it all too quickly, especially on a bike.
Since I also have an extra week free in May, I could use that specifically for Corsica. Maybe splitting it into two trips would make more sense? If so, which routes or regions would be the most interesting to plan for a 7-day trip?
On the other hand, Norway is *super* appealing. The landscapes look incredible, totally different from anything I’ve experienced, and it’d be a real “wow” trip. I know 15 days is still short for such a vast country. Getting all the way to the North Cape seems pretty much impossible in that time, but I’m curious about what realistic routes could be planned.
So I’m wondering:
Is it better to save Norway for next year, take 3 weeks off, and do it *properly*?
Or are 15 days enough for a first amazing taste of the country?
I’d love to hear about your experiences—whether it’s Corsica (ideal duration, routes) or Norway (what’s realistic in 2 weeks on a bike).
Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
Hello,
I'm thinking of buying a used small motorcycle to travel around the country for a month and a half.
I've done this in other countries without putting the registration in my name—is that possible in Guinea given the apparently frequent checks, or do I have to go through the paperwork?
Thanks.
Hello,
My dream is to ride Route 66 by motorcycle. I have a disability—while I’m not in a wheelchair, my walking mobility is reduced.
The ideal scenario would be to have a motorcycle driver and ride as their passenger on an organized trip.
Are there any guides or services like this offered by travel agencies?
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Hello,
I’ve got a plan with a friend to go on a motorcycle road trip in 2028 or 2029, starting in Santiago de Chile and ending in Ushuaia, for about a month.
Has anyone done a trip like this before, and what’s the best time of year?
I’ve heard there can be quite a bit of wind depending on the season.
Thanks for any tips!
Cheers,
PA
I'm seriously considering heading to Nepal to do some nice motorcycle loops... my goal is also to do the Kailash Yatra round trip from Kathmandu, in a small group with a guide, in May '26... but here's the thing—I'm solo! So if you're up for sharing a similar adventure, hit me up... Cheers, Frankoys
It's all in the title: I'm heading to Krabi soon and want to rent a scooter for a few weeks, but after reading comments about all kinds of scams, I'm reaching out to ask where and how (read: *the right way*) to rent one.
Thanks for your tips and advice.
Hello everyone! Like every year, a winter migration is on the horizon (revised plan): this time, it’ll be Dakar, or even Abidjan, via Morocco, Mauritania, and Senegal.
Looking for an experienced motorcyclist or pillion rider—small build preferred—on a GSA 1250 with a comfy seat and luggage setup, available from early November to late December 2025. I’d like to plan the trip together (important to me) to make sure we’re on the same wavelength.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Didier
Looking for travel companions to ride from France to Senegal by motorcycle.
I’m Paul, 37, and I’ve already done a bit of riding in Morocco.
For now, I’m solo, riding a 1998 SUZUKI DR 650 with some basic gear to keep things smooth. I’ll have a tent so we can do a few nights under the stars.
We’ll need to coordinate departure dates—"ideally in November."
I’m currently checking out routes to take. Any tips would be welcome! :)
I’m heading to Vietnam and Laos with a buddy next week for a month.
We’re thinking of renting motorbikes, especially to do the Ha Giang Loop. We don’t have an international license, just our Belgian one. Is that enough? If not, is it risky?
In November, we’re planning to do the Ha Giang loop and the RC4 by motorbike without a guide. 😎
We’re looking for a decent place to stay/rent in Ha Giang.
If anyone has any info, we’d be really interested.
Hello! We’re planning a motorcycle trip that will include a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau in June 2026.
We’re unsure (still debating) whether we should stay at a hotel on-site and get to the memorial with an Uber (leaving our bikes at the hotel) and book a guided tour, or base ourselves in Kraków and take a tour that includes transport.
One thing’s for sure—we’d prefer a guide in French since we don’t speak English 😅.
Could you share your experiences or advice?
I understand we need to book online rather than on-site.
Thanks in advance for your replies!
Hello,
Next October we’re planning to ride the Ruta de la Plata by motorcycle—a historic Spanish route that runs from Gijón to Seville, also known as the N630.
Has anyone here already ridden it?
Unfortunately, I’m worried that parts of the N630 may have disappeared or merged with the A66 motorway, forcing us to ride long stretches of highway, which we’d rather avoid.
Thanks in advance for any tips or details about this route!
Hi there!
I’m currently planning a 9-day route starting from Marrakech with my husband. We land on the morning of June 13th—so soon! 😊
And we’re flying back to France on June 21st at 9 PM!
We’ve rented two Royal Enfield 450s.
This is our first motorcycle trip in Morocco. I got my license two years ago with the dream of taking this kind of trip, and here we are! ✌️😍
In France, we usually ride between 300 to 400 km per day on roadsters. We’re not used to off-road tracks, so we’re looking for easy ones 😅—especially for me 😅.
For Morocco, I’ve planned stages of 200 to 300 km per day.
Here’s the idea:
Day 1 (departure at noon): Marrakech - Tizi n Test - Tafingoult (165 km - 4h15)
Day 2: Tafingoult - Amzarkou - Telouet (200 km - 4h34)
Day 3: Telouet - Ait Benhaddou - Ouarzazate - Boumalne (200 km - 3h30) (+ Vallée des Roses maybe)
Day 4: Boumalne - Dades Gorges - Agoudal - Todra Gorges - Tinghir - Goulmima (291 km - 6h)
Day 5: Goulmima - Midelt - Cirque Jaffar - Agoudim (280 km - 4h45)
Day 6: Agoudim - Imilchil - Aghbala - El Ksiba (280 km - 4h45)
Day 7: El Ksiba - La Cathédrale - Zaouiat Ahansal (212 km - 4h20)
Day 8: Ahansal - Ouzoud Waterfalls via R 302 (188 km - 4h22)
Day 9: Ouzoud - Marrakech (160 km - 2h43)
End of the trip 😮.
What do you think?
We haven’t booked any hotels—is that a problem? We were thinking of deciding day by day based on our progress.
Can we take our helmets with us in the cabin, or should we pack them in the checked luggage surrounded by clothes to avoid damage?
