The Hai Van Pass on a scooter: Hoi An to Hue

When my days of solo travelling in Hoi An were coming to an end, I still had one awesome thing to do: road-tripping the Hai Van Pass! this ended up being one of the coolest adventures when I was backpacking in Vietnam.

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This stretch of route in the middle of Vietnam got its celebrity status when Top Gear named it one of the best coast roads in the world and it’s now one of those top bucket list items in all adventurer’s things to do in Vietnam!

What is the Hai Van Pass?

The Hai Van Pass is a really scenic stretch of the National Route 1 in Vietnam in between Hoi An and Hue. It’s only about 21 Km long and it’s one of the must things to do in Vietnam when you’re travelling in South East Asia.

Hai Van translates as “ocean cloud” due to the mist that rises from the sea. You can see this perfectly when you’re doing the Hai Van Pass on a scooter as you can see on many of the images I added to this article.

How to do the Hai Van Pass

The Hai Van Pass can be done in either direction, either from Hue or Hoi An (or Da Nang).

There are three possible options to complete the route: by train, by hiring someone to take you on a car or motorbike (aka Easyrider) or renting a motorbike and drop it off at the destination city. You can do it individually or join a group.

By train you get some really cool views right next to the sea, however, you’ll have to do the route only between Hue and Da Nang as there’s no train station in Hoi An.

I got a couple of friends taking the train and they had good feedback about the 2 hour journey.

The Easyrider option is always good for those that are not confident with riding a motorbike in Vietnam, which is a fair thing as people can drive like crazy in this country and I met several travellers that suffered really nasty accidents.

Remember, you may ride a motorbike wherever your home is (I refer mainly to Europe and North America) but to ride in Vietnam is a different story.

You can check my post about travel insurance where I mention I couple of things to be aware of on this subject.

In my case, I chose to rent a motorbike. There are plenty of places in Hoi An to rent motorbikes and the prices, and most importantly, the quality! varies vastly.

Things to look for when renting a motorbike to do the Hai Van Pass

Whenever you approach a rental place, ask to give a try to the bike, test the brakes, check for any strange sounds and have a look at the tyres, if there’s no thread left on them is better to go somewhere else.

Once you’re happy with all this, you can negotiate the price.

I got an automatic scooter for 250k VND for the day (about US $11) which I found near the Hoa Binh Hostel, where I spent a night after coming back from camping in Cham Island.

The rental guys also transferred my rucksack to the drop off point in Hue at no extra charge, this is a huge plus as that way you can ride a lot more comfortable or alternatively bring a friend with you.

Is it safe to do the Hai Van Pass alone?

In short: yes! but anytime you rent a scooter in Asia you must be really careful. Do not expect other road users to follow the rules that you may have in your country so always be extra alert.

If you have a scooter accident in Vietnam, even if it was not your fault, it will ALWAYS be your fault if the other vehicle was driven by a local person and it can get very tricky, so it’s important to be cautious, specially if you’re not used to ride motorbikes back home.

Finally, always wear a helmet and make sure that you have an International Driving Permit, which you can normally get easily and cheaply in your country of origin. The police in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, etc do not care about your home country license and they will fine you if you don’t have an international driving permit.

Hai Van Pass: The Trip

The route is about 120 Km, and the Hai Van Pass itself is only around 21 Km. Still, you can count on spending a few hours on and off the bike as there are plenty of viewpoints and spots to take pics.

The motorbike rental places will usually hand a map showing the route and its highlights.

There are a couple of places such as the Marble Mountain or the Elephant Spring where you can deviate a bit for more sightseeing, I didn’t have time to stop by these places as I started my day by doing My Son Sanctuary tour, which is located 40 Km west of Hoi An.

Calculate at least 4-5 hours to complete the Hoi An-Hue trip as you will stop many times to take photos.

It’s a very easy route to follow but check maps.me every now and then as when you’re in the city of Da Nang you will have to take a left turn towards Da Nang Bay. This bay is a good area to top up the petrol in the scooter.

Once you leave Da Nang, you will start climbing through stunning scenery.

It’s a twisty road so make sure to stay well on the right hand side of the road as you can have trucks and buses overtaking on the opposite direction without caring too much who or what comes ahead.

There’s plenty of room almost everywhere as well for ad-hoc stops to take photos and enjoy the views, I stopped so many times!

Even that on the day was cloudy and at the very top of the mountain (THE Hai Van Pass itself) you couldn’t see more than a few meters ahead due to heavy fog/clouds it was absolutely brilliant!

When you finally go down at the other side of the mountain the road will be pretty much a straight line to Hue where you will be welcomed by the Perfume River and the Citadel.

The Hai Vann Pass is an awesome way to move between two of Vietnam’s most famous cities. With incredible views and extra excitement of a motorbike adventure instead of the usual bus/train transfer.

Other ways to do the Hai Van Pass

If you’re not fully confident riding a motorbike yourself to do the Hai Van Pass on a scooter, don’t worry! our Vietnamese friends have made sure to develop quite a few options, you can do the Hai Van Pass as an Easyrider which means you go as a passenger while a local guide takes you on the route and making stops. You can also join a Hai Van Pass car transfer which also offers the option to make stops in all the scenic viewpoints along the route.

Is it worth riding the Hai Van Pass?

I definitely think so! I’d have to travel the world a lot more to decide if it’s the most scenic road in the world but I’m not one that needs to rank beautiful places. Riding the Hai Van Pass is a really fun adventure to have when you travel in Vietnam and as I consider Hoi An a must place to visit in Vietnam then this is your perfect way to add an adventure to your Vietnam itinerary.

Have you got any questions about the Hai Van Pass or my days travelling in Hoi An and Hue? feel free to drop a line! 🙂

Check out the rest of my posts about my time backpacking in Vietnam for more ideas on your next adventure!

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