Hai Van Pass

One of the "things to do '' in Vietnam is ride a scooter or motorcycle from North to South or North to Central or vice versa. Originally our plan was to do this trip from Ha Noi (North) to Da Nang (Central) when we landed in December 2022. However, once we started doing more research into renting a decent bike for this, then finding out a lot of rental places do not have a second location and you have to ship the bike back by train and the overall cost of this "thing to do '' becomes pricey quickly.

Time was not an issue for us, we had looked at the routes, sights we wanted to stop at and places we wanted to stay at. To rent a motorcycle for 2 weeks to do this was going to be $350 - $400 CAD plus fuel, accomodations, sights, food and shipping the bike back.

When we started looking more into day trips we wanted to do, during our 3 months in Vietnam this winter. We already had Phong Nha National Park on our radar, so we decided on looking for the best route to do this. We could take a night bus or the coastal train or take our scooter that we rent monthly for 1.3 million dongs ($75 CAD/month) that would do the trip just fine

Planning our route Ryan found the Hai Van Pass between Da Nang and Hue would only take a few hours, we could spend the night in Hue and then continue onto Phong Nha National Park the next day. The Hai Van Pass has been featured on TV series like Top Gear and has called this pass "one of the best coast roads in the world."

Photo Credit: V. Gray

The Hai Van Pass is 21 km long between Da Nang and Hue, passing through Phu Loc. At the peak you are 495 metres above sea level, giving a superb view of Da Nang's bay and Lang Co peninsula. Was this ride all it was cracked up to be? Online people raved about it's a 5 star ride, it takes 3 hours and it's a "MUST". Okay, so further research and doing the pass ourselves, the first section up the mountain takes 45 minutes, going down about an hour and a half.

Photo Credit: V. Gray

Are the views absolutely stunning? Yes! Looking out off the mountain over the Sea. Hai Van means "ocean and cloud ''. It's also called Ai Van or "cloud pass". As you make your way up the Annamite Mountain Range, both of these names make sense. Looking out and seeing the sea, Da Nang's bay and the overall coastal line is astonishing. Coming down into Pho Lac seeing the fishing boats and seeing the mountains towers over us, made you feel really small.

Photo Credit: V. Gray

Did this ride go a lot quicker than we thought it would have? 100% ! It went by quick enough that looking back I did not get enough pictures or videos because I kept thinking it was longer and more road to ride. But there wasn't! We should have stopped more, taken a few more pictures and videos.We actually laughed when we reached Hue and said if we had realized how quick of a ride it was we would have just done it as an afternoon trip and made more stops.

Photo Credit: V. Gray

Is this pass for the faint of heart? Not exactly, expect construction with little to no barriers between you and the edge of the cliffs. Prepare yourself lots of other people are riding this pass on a nice day, they are either honking, flying by and passing you, pulling over to take pictures or they are big trucks on route. We saw several fuel trucks, highway tractors with big loads, buses, Jeep tours and people riding their bicycles on the pass.

The corners are a bit wider than the rest of the road but still it does get crowded. On every corner there appears a sign of a car falling off the mountain, to remind people to not take the corners tight and to be careful. Along with signs about falling rocks as well.

There are restaurants and cafes along the way up with different viewpoints, waterfalls and you will also pass an active temple on the side of the road.

Photo Credit: V. Gray

We actually ended up doing the Hai Van Pass twice, once going to Hue in the sunshine and then coming back to Da Nang in the pouring rain. Coming back in the rain was not as dicey as you may think. Yes the roads were wet, we got soaked, it was cold and there are signs to watch for falling rocks which makes the ride interesting in spots but driving through storm clouds was pretty neat.

There are two mountain tunnels to go through, one allows scooters and motorcycles between Phu Loc and Hue. The other tunnel between Phu Loc and Da Nang (which cuts about an hour off of the ride home) does not, you have to take the Hai Van Pass if you are on a motorcycle or scooter.

Photo Credit: V. Gray

Coming back to the question; is the Hai Van Pass really a "must do"? We have mixed feelings, yes and no. Yes, if you have time, want to kill an afternoon and ride a scooter or motorcycle. It is fun and worth the trip. However if you do not ride a motorcycle or scooter and are going to play to be an "ez-rider" (passenger) on a tour just for this pass, no! Take the train. It is beautiful, runs along the coast, through the mountains and villages.

I did include a map of our route below!

Cheers!

Photo Credit: R. Cowie

Our Route

**Please note that all opinions and views expressed in this post are my own, from my own experiences. If you would like to see more pictures follow me on Instagram vikki.gray **