Easy Rider Tours in Vietnam: What They Are and Why They Work

The local driver on the back of a motorbike

Easy Riders are motorcycle guides — local Vietnamese men (and occasionally women) who take you on their motorbike, riding pillion, through the Vietnamese countryside. They know the roads, know the food stops, and provide company and context that turns transport into an experience. It’s a Vietnam institution that’s been running since the 1990s.

The typical Easy Rider experience

You hire a driver for a day or multiple days on a negotiated rate — typically $30–60/day. They arrive at your accommodation on their motorbike, you climb on the back, and they take you through whatever route you’ve discussed. You stop wherever looks interesting, eat at local places they recommend, and arrive at your destination with a cumulative series of roadside conversations and unexpected stops that a bus couldn’t replicate.

The Dalat to Hoi An route over multiple days is the classic Easy Rider journey — mountain passes, coffee plantations, silk worm farms, minority villages, eventually arriving at the coast. It’s genuinely one of the great overland experiences in Southeast Asia.

Where they’re most active

Hoi An has the most organized Easy Rider community — there’s an association and you can find vetted drivers through your guesthouse. Da Lat and the central highlands are also traditional Easy Rider territory. Hanoi has them but the mountain scenery north of Hanoi on your own bike is better value if you can ride.

Finding a good driver

Ask your guesthouse for a recommendation rather than accepting offers from drivers who approach you on the street. A good Easy Rider has been doing this for years, speaks decent English, knows the roads thoroughly, and has a maintained bike. The long-established Hoi An Easy Rider Club (identifiable by their green jackets) has a good reputation. Negotiate rate and exact route before committing.