TRAVEL DOCUMENTS ON A VIETNAM MOTORBIKE TOUR

Vietnam is still a developing country and most tourists are required to obtain a visa. As a result, there are many travel documents you need on a motorbike tour in Vietnam. Below are a few documents that Vietnam Motorbike Rental recommends to check before you commence your ride of a lifetime.

Passport

Please bring your original copy. You need this to register with the local police of your overnight stays on the trip or buy permit(s) you need when you enter the border or restricted areas. Make sure that you have at least 6 months of validity. In any case, copies are not accepted. This is one of the most important travel documents you need on the road.

Vietnam Visa

Most countries, except South-East Asia, Russia, Japan, and Scandinavia, etc. Please check if you need a visa for Vietnam. We are able to assist with a visa on arrival. This is one of the most important travel documents you need on the road, together with your passport. In case you need a visa on arrival, we can help by following this link.

Driving License

First, none of the foreign licenses is valid in Vietnam, including your country license. There are conflicting reports about this but the reality is unfortunately not good news.

The good news is IDP (international driving permit) is now valid in Vietnam from August 1st, 2016 with the 46/2016/ND-CP decree. You can purchase an insurance policy easily when you have an IDP. Please also bring your home country driving license with motorbike endorsement.

For more details about the Vietnamese motorbike driving license please log in here.

Credit or Debit Cards

There are ATMs in many towns on the road that you could withdraw VND cash. Many hotels accept credit cards, the best cards are Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.

Vietnam SIM Card

Mobile SIM cards are cheap in Vietnam. If you have an unlocked smartphone you can buy a SIM for around 3$US and have 6-7$US credit. You can call local for about 30 minutes or around 500Mb 3G data. Get one and call us if you have problems with your rental bike(s) or just get some direction etc.

Personal Travel Insurance

Purchasing a policy that covers while riding in Vietnam for motorbike accidents is advisable. Luckily, some companies sell you a policy with just your country motorbike driving license like CHI, World Nomads, Allianz, etc. This is one of the most important travel documents about your safety on a Vietnam motorbike tour. For more details, please follow this link.

Security Deposit Documents

When you hire our bike(s), we will also need a security deposit from you. This is the rule to make sure you pay for the damage and return the rental bike(s).

You need a passport to check in or out of hotels on the road. In addition, it is government property. Therefore, we don’t keep a passport in any case.

If you have an international driving permit (IDP) then you also need to bring your home country driving license to present. In this case, you can leave your ID card or some money as the security deposit.

In case you have no IDP then you can give us your home country driving license or identity card or some cash.

Motorbike Rental Contract

This is important if you need to show the police or authorities in case they want to check if you ride legal bikes. We will give you one copy to bring on your ride.

Travel Maps

It’s always best to plan things ahead and buy a good paper map. When in Hanoi, you could buy a roadbook for around 15$US. We do sell a simple map that shows you the road to get out of Hanoi and places of interest in Northern Vietnam.

Vietnamese Phrase Book

Buy one to communicate with people on the road. Hotel staffs speak English but most local people you meet on the way, restaurant waiters, bike mechanics do not speak much English. Typically, when negotiating things local people may talk in USD while you talk in VND and this leads to a big confusion.

Motorbike User’s Manual or Troubleshooters

This is really important and we do provide a basic troubleshoot for you when you pick up the rental bike(s).

Just contact us if you have more questions on travel documents. We will get back to you with whatever update we know.

Vietnam Motorbike Hanoi Rental - Travel Documents. Vietnam Motorbike Rental advices on travel documents for your Vietnam motorbike tours

Other Essential Things

Safety riding gear 
Motorbike lesson
Driving license
Insurance
Things to bring
Mechanic basics
Terminology

To top of page Vietnam Motorbike Hanoi Rental - Travel Documents