Grand loop of adventure, Saigon – Dalat – Nha Trang 8 days
Home » tour » Grand loop of adventure, Saigon – Dalat – Nha Trang 8 days
Please note that this tour is designed as a self drive tour where you will be guided by one of our knowledgeable team. It is the responsibility of the client to ensure that they are compliant with local motorbike license regulations. We can discuss this with you at the time of booking. If you would like to do the tour as a pillion rider, please contact us for more details,
Driving along Tri An lake and through the natural reserve
Duong Minh Chau tunnels
Getting out of busy Saigon, we take the off roads to Nam Cat Tien National Park, around 150 kilometers away. A ferry brings us to the other side of Dong Nai River for our drive on to and around Tri An lake, the second largest in Vietnam and built for producing hydro power. We continue our drive by smaller roads through the fertile natural reserve before getting on another ferry taking us to the headquarters of Nam Cat Tien National Park. We’ll also stop by the Duong Minh Chau tunnels, a refuge for high ranking officers during the war. This section may prove to be the toughest of the trip. No worries about photo stops and lunch, we know that you are on vacation, we offer a very relaxed trip with many photo opportunities, and lunch is served whenever you need to eat!
Day 2: Nam Cat Tien National Park – Quang Khe, 130 km
Highlights of the day:
Driving though the many tea & coffee plantations
Many stops on the way to take in the picturesque scenery of the highlands
A welcome surprise greets the new day with many birds of different colors perched in the trees and wandering in grassy scrub on islets in the lake in search of food. In the early morning and at sunset, these birds sing in chorus and help visitors forget about their busy life at home. After breakfast, we trek back to the main path to be picked up and taken out of the park for the road ahead. Another exciting day with dust on your face, wind in your hair, camera at hand and poised for the next shot.
We drive to Da Teh, an isolated town surrounded by tea and coffee plantations, and continue over mountains passes. Let yourself get swallowed up in the picturesque scenic highland, a sea of green color everywhere you look to the endless horizon. As usual, we stop anywhere and you can shoot at will.
In the late afternoon, we check in at the guesthouse in the area near by Ta Dung Lake, before a discovery trip to the lake in the next morning. Dinner with barbecued fish from the lake or buffalo or free range chicken and local rice wine will make the night last longer. After that we can call it a day!
Day 3: Quang Khe – Dalat, around 170km
Highlights of the day:
Ta Dung Lake
Elephant Water fall
We start the day by riding to other side of Ta Dung Lake. The jade colored lake consists of many islets and is framed by bamboos, thick jungle. We also ride across hills passing through some ethnic minority villages to Lam Ha then on to Elephant Waterfall. After the waterfall, we continue through the center of the flower farms area, mainly roses, hydrangeas and straw flowers… before checking into our hotel in Da Lat.
What could be better than a walk to a barbecued restaurant in the cool temperature of a town located 1500m above the sea level and enjoying a jar of warm rice wine or a glass of vin Da Lat (dinner of this night is not included but our guide would recommend you a good local restaurant)..
Day 4: Down hill to Nha Trang, around 140km
Highlight of the day:
Mountain passes with beautiful scene on the way
Weasel coffee stop (optional)
After breakfast, we take a stunning 140km winding drive down to the coast to the oceanfront town of Nha Trang. During the trip can stop at vegetable and flower farms, hill tribe villages, and coffee plantations. Besides winding by forested mountains for much of the way, the road hits 1500 metres as we traverse the pass and take in some spectacular views down to the coast (dinner is not included).
Day 5: Relax in Nha Trang
To take some steam out of all the riding we’ve done, we prefer an easy day with open options for you. You can decide your own relaxing time here and the costs for your activities are not included for this day. We can certainly help with pointing out the key things of interest or help you to book a boat tour to some islands for swimming, snorkelling. In the late afternoon, we can drive to a newly constructed mud-bathing center with good facilities, to set your mind free!
Seafood dinner in local restaurant is a must.
Day 6: Nha Trang – Phan Rang Thap Cham, 130km
Highlights of the day:
Riding along coastal passes, you’ll see a very different landscape to the highlands
Passing by many fishing villages, explore local’s daily activities
Photo stops at many bays full of brightly painted wooden fishing boats
Driving around Cam Ranh Bay is probably something common for travellers to Nha Trang but instead we’ll be driving around Nui Chua national park, a unique dry-ecosystem, along the coastal road. It is absolutely beyond what you can imagine and elements making your bike ride today so special include rocky mountain, wild beach, narrow bays full of local fishing boats, and locals farming crops like purple onion. In the late afternoon we’ll arrive at Phan Rang-Thap Cham, seat of Cham culture.
Day 7: Phan Rang – Thap Cham – Ke Ga 180km
After breakfast, visit the Po Klong Garai, a Cham temple tower located in the medieval Cham principality of Panduranga. It was built in honor of the legendary king Po Klaung Garai by the historic King Jaya Simhavarman III, who ruled Champa in the central part of Vietnam from 1285 to 1307.
Then we hit the road again. Lunch will be served in a local restaurant in Ca Na beach. The terrain of the coastline here is flat and sometimes the beach is just 20m from the road. We will also stop at the top attraction of Mui Ne, the White Sand Dunes. Often compared to those of the Sahara, these are massive and range in tone from gold to pure white. The lakes surrounding the dunes are thick with lotus blooms and provide a perfect place for a stroll.
In the afternoon, we arrive for check in our hotel in Ke Ga. We will be near a quiet fishing village and a grand lighthouse built in 1897, the oldest in Vietnam. Ke Ga has splendid beaches, but unlike nearby Mui Ne or Phan Thiet, Ke Ga is not too famous to have some quiet moments and contact with locals.
Day 8: Ke Ga – Vung Tau – Saigon 120km
Highlight of the day:
Watching locals fishing in the morning in the beach
Driving through many dragon fruit plantations
Waking up in the early morning, you have chance to explore simple life of locals with their fishing net, small wooden boats and the one-man traditional fishing vessel, the coracle. After leaving Ke Ga we drive along some salt farms, many dragon fruit plantations before getting closer to the sea in Ho Tram and Vung Tau. The journey concludes after we travel back to Saigon by Hoa Mai or Toan Thang “limousine” mini van.
This tour requires an adventurous spirit and a strong backside. Sturdy outdoor clothing and footwear is recommended.
For lunch, other food choices are also catered, including vegetarian.
