Northern Vietnam Altitude Challenge: Hanoi to Sapa

In bicycle racing, KOM/QOM stands for “King/Queen of the Mountain,” a designation awarded the best fastest climber on an event or a stage. With such craving for climbs in mind, we have designed this trip to average 1472 m of climbing per day, with a total distance of 587 km over 6 cycling days. On Day 1, we meet in Hanoi for a welcome dinner. On Day 2, we transfer for 1h45m to get beyond the Hanoi city limits to Luong Suon and do our first ride, 94 km with 1200 metres of elevation gain to Mai Chau. From here on, all our rides are point to point, with transfers only if riders choose to skip part of the day’s route. Day 3 is a ride of 72 km with a climb of 1368 m, from Mai Chau to Moc Chau. Day 4 offers a respite, with a 94 km ride that climbs 631 m and includes a great descent from Moc Chau. On Day 5, we ride 84 km with 1155 m of elevation gain through more remote territory to Phu Yen. The final two days of riding are formidable challenges: we ride 137 km with 2298 m of elevation to Than Uyen on Day 6, then Day 7 covers 106 km and 2177 m of climbing to bring us to Sa Pa, our destination. We spend the morning of Day 8 exploring Sapa on foot, then drive 5h back to Hanoi, with final night dinner in the city. Day 9 is departure day, when you may transfer to the airport or other destinations.

Your guide’s expert knowledge of the area and terrain ensures you always know what is coming up in terms of distance and difficulty. This makes a tremendous difference, as does the constant supply of water and refreshments along the way.

Suitability: Almost all cycling days include over 1,000 meters of elevation gain, with two days of well over 2,000 meters of elevation gain. Climbs range from short and steep to long and gradual. Though a support vehicle with water, refreshments and empty seats is always nearby, strong cycling fitness and solid climbing experience is recommended for full enjoyment of this trip.

Biking conditions: Our route takes us on scenic mountain roads on tarmac in primarily good condition, though there will be a few rough sections. Some ascents and descents will be steep, requiring good handling skills. Good awareness of the road is especially important in Vietnam. Motorbikes, trucks, pedestrians and animals will share the road and come across our path. We should always be on the lookout for potholes, patches of gravel, or other possible obstructions.

Bikes

Because some people can't imagine going on a trip without their own beloved bicycle, we do not provide them as part of this tour.

However, you can hire bikes locally for the price listed in the tour pricing section.

If you bring your own bike, please make sure it is a road bike in good mechanical order.

Bike Repairs

Basic spares and tools are carried by the guide and on the support vehicle, though we cannot guarantee having spares for every conceivable problem. Carrying a basic tool kit, a spare tube and a pump while riding is recommended.

Safety

Wearing a helmet is required on all our biking adventures and is non negotiable. If you do not wear a helmet you will not be allowed to cycle. Your tour leader is trained in first aid and emergency rescue, but to a large degree you must be responsible for your own safety while riding. It is therefore compulsory that you take out travel insurance that will cover you for a mountain biking tour.

Guides

You will be led by a local English-speaking guide and if the group is 9 people or more we will add another guide to the tour. All our guides are well informed in the history, culture and religions of the area where you are biking and are skilled at passing that knowledge on to you. Your guide is also medically trained and an experienced cyclist, able to handle most minor repairs en route.

If this is the tour for you here's what you need to do to confirm your place:

FLEXIBLE BOOKING CONDITIONS

CONFIRMING YOUR BOOKING

Just complete our online booking form or send your booking details offline (email or post), and we will confirm your participation. No deposit is needed to confirm your place on a SpiceRoads tour.

You are advised to read our Booking Conditions in full before you make your payment and should you require further clarifications of any of the conditions below, please email us or call our office.

TRIP STATUS

There is a minimum number of participants (usually 2) required to enable the trip to go ahead. Once the minimum number is reached, the trip status will change from 'Available' to 'Guaranteed to Depart'. Once a trip is guaranteed to depart you are free to book your flights and make other travel arrangements. If the trip status is ‘Limited’ will mean we have only a small number of spaces available for booking. If you are unsure about the trip status, please email us or call our office.

BOOKING ONLINE

From the tour page, click the 'Book Now' link. All departures for this tour will appear, just select the date you'd like to travel. For the next steps, you'll need to know the names of the people travelling. If you wish you can also provide extra details such as passport numbers, height (for bike hire), or you can add that later by logging into Manage My Trip (we'll set up an account for you automatically if you don't already have one). Our system will contact you from time to time to fill in the missing information, as it will be required before departure. However, if the trip that you are booking offers a child discount, you will have to fill out the date of birth of each rider (so we can calculate the appropriate discount).

If you are having any problems please send us an email, or give us a call (+66 026 3295) and one of our travel specialists will assist you with your booking.

BOOKING OFFLINE

Just call us or send an email indicating which trip you want to join and we will happily send you a list of questions and process your booking for you.

DEPOSITS AND PAYMENTS

We do not require a deposit or full payment to book a place for you on a tour.

The balance of the tour’s cost (final invoice) will need to be paid 60 days before the departure date with fees for any bicycle rental(s), single supplement(s) and extra hotel nights.

In the case where a booking is made when there are less than 60 days until the tour departure date, the tour’s cost should be paid in full within 72 hours of receiving an invoice from SpiceRoads. Payment can be made by credit card using our online payment gateway or by bank transfer. When making payment online you will need to confirm that you have read these booking conditions during the "checkout" process, which equates to agreeing to the terms of services and stipulations as indicated in this document.

In all cases, tour fees need to be paid “in full” before participation in a tour. No person(s) will be allowed to join a tour without fully settling their invoice and receiving a confirmation number from SpiceRoads.

The exception can be made for last-minute miscellaneous fees that can be paid locally (visas, additional local hotel bookings, etc.) can be settled on the day of arrival.

FULL FLEXIBILITY FOR TOUR CANCELATIONS

If the tour is cancelled or postponed by SpiceRoads because we didn't make the trip numbers and the tour can’t run, we will make a full cash refund (by bank transfer or on your credit card).

If the tour is cancelled for any other reason, including due to Covid related travel restrictions, we will give you a full credit (with no deductions for admin or any other small-print item) to use on any SpiceRoads tour with no time limit. (Exceptions being flights, special permits and other non-refundable items and these will be advised when booking the trip).

Before paying for your tour, you can cancel your booking with no charge and up until 40 days before departure, you can change your booking to another travel date or move your booking onto another SpiceRoads tour with no charges.

If you need to cancel after you have made full payment, please see our cancellation policy.

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The information in this document is given in good faith, and covers the average range of conditions likely to be found on this trip. Please note that the itinerary is subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances, however, we will always do our best to adhere to this original itinerary