Some memorable 3 weeks in Vietnam in July 2023. I delayed the start a little, had to “finish” a few todo list items. But in the morning of July 8th I hit the road, and ended the day 520 km later in Nha Trang.
01 Nha Trang - 520.4km
I arrived in Nha Trang at sunset about ca. 6:00 PM. By 7:00 I had found a nice restaurant for Luc Lac, then a place to stay with booking.com. I did not know about the nhà nghỉ options all around the country. It’s a start.
02 Danang - 524.8km
It was already dark when I approached, and it had started raining. Since I had no intention to stay longer on the way up I stayed a little outside near the highway. A good nap, ready for the next day.
03 Vinh - 498.1km
For the first time the cloud pass Danang-Hue with a motorbike. Best - it was my own bike, and the sun was shining! A good start.
04 Viet Tri - 360.5km
I passed Hanoi on the east, since my goal was to go to the far north and be early at the hotel to join the Sunday meeting via zoom. After the meeting I walked through the rain to the city center for dinner and a movie about the impact of AI: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. And this first stretch covered a large distance in a short period of time: 1903 km in 4 days for 476 km/day. I will slow down for the rest, 4057 kilometer in 18 days is 225 km/day.
Day 5, July 12th, Monday to Lao Cai - 267.3km
Two years in the future I would travel the same distance also in 5 days, but with one day break in Hanoi on the fourth day. [[One week in Hanoi and Sapa 2025#10-28-trip-to-lào-cai-china-and-sapa-3699-km|10-28 Trip to Lào Cai, China and Sapa 369.9 km]]. Not staying in Hanoi saved me 100 kilometer on the way north.
| Than Uyen |
|---|
| Ha Giang |
| Phường Nhi |
| Cao Bang |
| Tien Hung |
| Haiphong |
| Cat Ba |
| Hanoi |
| Hanoi |
| Thành Hoa |
| Huong Khe |
| Hue |
| Da Nang |
| Da Nang |
| Phu Phong |
| Nha Trang |
| Ho Chi Minh |
| total distance |
Overview
Here is a table of the steps and cities I stayed at night.
| day | Distance | City for the night | July |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 520.4 | Nha Trang | 8 |
| 2 | 524.8 | Da Nang | 9 |
| 3 | 498.1 | Vinh | 10 |
| 4 | 360.5 | Viet Tri | 11 |
| 5 | 267.3 | Lao Cai | 12 |
| 6 | 137.8 | Than Uyen | 13 |
| 7 | 231.5 | Ha Giang | 14 |
| 8 | 263.7 | Phường Nhi | 15 |
| 9 | 187.1 | Cao Bang | 16 |
| 10 | 233.8 | Tien Hung | 17 |
| 11 | 131.6 | Haiphong | 18 |
| 12 | 92.3 | Cat Ba | 19 |
| 13 | 219.7 | Hanoi | 20 |
| 14 | 78.0 | Hanoi | 21 |
| 15 | 234.3 | Thành Hoa | 22 |
| 16 | 223.9 | Huong Khe | 23 |
| 17 | 373.1 | Hue | 24 |
| 18 | 206.8 | Da Nang | 25 |
| 19 | 40.0 | Da Nang | 26 |
| 20 | 378.9 | Phu Phong | 27 |
| 21 | 289.7 | Nha Trang | 28 |
| 22 | 466.7 | Ho Chi Minh | 29 |
| 5960.0 | total distance | 30 | |
| Average distance on this trip: 5960/22 = 271 km per day. That’s a rather larger number. |