The cycling tour from Saigon (HCM) and the Mekong Delta to Hué and (with the AC sleeper train) to Hà Nội was an outstanding experience. It was a real surprise and went far beyond my experienced expectations. The seamless interaction between guide and driver were an astounding feat of logistics that no traveller could hope to achieve or plan. Having such reliable, punctual and knowledgeable guide eliminates burdens. From the traveller who now does not have to look for roads, signs and directions and -instead- can entirely immerse in the experience that Vietnam is: cycling in the mellow heat along orchards where all the fruits and spices of the world grow, rambutans, ridiculously large jackfruit, exotic durians, and fresh pepper and be absorbed in the Intricate networks of small paths between rice paddies as far as the eye goes, cross by ferry majestic rivers that ridicule our European “large rivers”, tiny, tidy hamlets where fresh sugar cane juice materialises right there and then when the craving comes, road-side lunch parlours that serve fresh local foods. very comfortable hotels to spend the night, and the discovery of many things that the traveller would not so easily visit or identify, such as Caudai temples, local markets, harvest folklores, flower greenhouses, huge coffee and mulberry plantations, cricket farms (the proteins of the future) and weasel (aka crap) coffee. Each day brought its particular vistas and interesting itineraries, inviting me to take over a thousand pictures to be able to linger a bit longer in the delights that this tour procured. 14 - 27 April 2019

This was the first time undersigned enrolled into a guided tour. The experience was very positive.
A - The days are well structured and start and end at impactful and meaningful times.
B - A dedicated guide overcomesall cultural and language obstancles any that travellers encounter
C - The all -inclusive farmula removes any burden on planning and orentation allowing thus the client to submerge him- & herself in the experence and culture
D - The flexible nature of the travel plan makes the experience very customised and exepceptionally personalised

+ This trip because of its physical nature (cycling + physical experience & activity) is not a sightseeing experience but a cultural awakoning very differenet from any ordinary from of tourism (classical tourism). It is living the natural region of culture

+ As the guide took well care of comfortable and stress free.

+ The back roads experience is a privileges experience and without guide culturally essential layer of the Vietnamese society.

Met my expectations very well. A great guide - Loc Ly and good quality bikes. He knew what we could do and took us on very interesting tracks and showed us charming villages. We were looked after very well on the whole trip. We loved this and pleased with Vietnam Backroads. We would definitely recommend this company to our friends. 21 - 22 - 23 April 2019

We loved our trip. The tour ended up being just my husband and me with a guide - Viet- and driver. The riding was scenic and included lots of short ferry trips. Overall the riding was very enjoyable. There were a few places where the pathway was too narrow for us to ride comfortably, and Viet was good about rerouting where necessary to make the ride as pleasant as possible. Our first night at Ut Trinh homestay was wonderful--great food, and our private bathroom was outdoors, which we loved. Also we got to help cook, which was really fun. On the road, children often ran alongside us shouting hello, which we also loved. I highly recommend this trip. 24 - 25 - 26 Jan 2019

Bicycles were in excellent condition compared with other tour companies. Phuc Le was an excellent guide. 01 - 02 - 03 April 2019

Excellent tour with very good guide Phuc. The pace and distance were flexible and he was very attentive to our needs. We were able to stop and take pictures and meet local people including a wedding party. All of the food was excellent, and the Rustic Mekong Home-stay was the best accommodations! So charming! The van and driver was good, safe nice. We wish the seat on the bicycles were more comfortable and better shock absorber for bumps. But we loved the tour and the experience of seeing the Mekong Delta close up. Thank you. 20 - 21 - 22 January 2019

Michelle Blanch and Paul Sagent,

We loved our 4 day - 3 night Mekong cycle tour. Cong was great. His English is good. He was informative and was always on hand to translate for us- He modified our cycling for us so it was comfortable. The back roads are great. No hills. The first night accommodation was ok however we understand it was the best in a small town- We loved the Votoria hotel. What a suprise!

Our driver Loc was a very good driver. He negatives the traffic well. He was always available to pick us up!

We loved all the food. Local, tasty amaging Vietnamese.

We would highly reccommend this tour to our friends and colleagues. We work in the travel industry as Air Zero crew for Quantas, so we will spread the word Vietnam Backroads for the experience. 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 Mar 2019

The bike tour was very enjoyable. Will highly recommend to others. Mr. Cong was an excellent guide. He made the tour extra special. The driver was very good and helpful. One thing that could have been better was the positioning of handle bars. They were swiping too low. Needed to be adjusted up and back toward rider.
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Wonderful experience! Our guide was very good and stopped to show us interesting things along the route. We loved meeting the local villagers. The bike tour was very enjoyable. Will highly recommend to others. Amazing time! 06 - 09 Nov 2018

We had an absolutely fantastic cycling experience with Vietnam Backroads. Our guides, Dat and Happy were superb. The trip ran without a hitch and we were really looked after, brilliant cycling tailored to our needs. Highly recommend. 4 happy UK. 14 - 25 October 2018

Tha and Mr Phuong were very friendly, helpful, patient and alternative. Bike were axcellent especially basket would be even better with a bell.
The bike ride/paths were fantastic for a future ride we would be interesting in options for smaller, family- accommodation including in villages ( rather highhotels)
It would be great to see your company making efforts to reduce single-use plastic, big water tank/ bottles on bus and provide re-fillable bottles or encourage BYO bottle.
It was great that Tha was fexible in break.meals options when we shoews interest in small local options.
Completed by Sarah, Libby & Jane. 15 - 16 - 17 Mar 2019

Enjoyed Viet answering our questions. He was very informative + friendly – a good guide!
Viet took us on a variety of experience – some were not usual tourist places- like the coconut factory. The routes were very varied on many surfaces lots of villages- Viet made sure we were following him. Lots of varied experience ferry crossings, local food places, etc…
Loc was very safe driver and friendly too. We liked the high quality mtb 27.5 bikes, the Rock Shox really made a difference! 19 - 20 - 21 January 2019

This was a great trip. We had a private booking for us - Mum and Dad and our kids 20yr and 16 yrs. We cycled 3 days. Day 1 was a slow start due a mix up with hotel pick up (my fault) so we did about 30 easy km. We drove out of HCM for about 2 hours before beginning. The cycling was mostly on concrete paths beside rivers and canals with small houses backing onto it. Although outside the main city it did not feel rural as we were beside houses the whole way - but it was interesting.Lots of stops on day 1 for drinks, to sample fruits and sugar cane drinks etc. We were delivered to a better than anticipated 5 star hotel on day 1. Our guide not only cycled with us but also collected us for dinner. We were keen to eat local so he sourced the restaurants and order for us - which really added to the experience.
Day 2: it became clear that Cong our guide would really taylor the mix of cycling - sight seeing- pace to whatever we wanted. On day 2 we decided to cycle 50km in the morning and finish up by lunch as the forecast was for a hot afternoon. We started the morning with sightseeing at the floating markets - really good and a visit to local textile weavers. Cycled through lots of countryside and beautiful surprises like arriving at a school just on pick up time to watch the throng of motorbike pick ups for the school children and a hundred "hellos" form the kids who rarely have westerners in that area. A really special treat was a watermelon stop at Cong's grandparents home for a break. Day 3 my daughter was sick and again the flexibility of our guide was great. He re- arranged the day to have us taken to the Crane wetlands while the boys cycled there to meet us. We still enjoyed the boat ride through the wetlands and then opted for the van transfer to the final hotel.

Similar to the review below there were many outstanding factors
- great organisation and communication pre trip
- flexible schedule and pace and length of cycling to suit.
- nice bikes
- good support vehicles.
- good or very decent hotels
- local food with a local guide to order and help us enjoy it.
- great arrangements for sightseeing -our boats were aways waiting for us, everything was paid for and great commentary as we went.

What could be better
The daily plan was sometimes a little hard to elicit from Cong. This might be a language barrier. It would have been good to have a rough idea like "we are starting here, taking a break here, stopping to see this and then aiming for lunch at 1pm....." Even when we asked information was a little vague - but perhaps that's because things are flexible.

The cycling was good. It was just right for us and I would label this as a sight seeing experience on bikes - not hard core cycling. But that was just what we wanted. It provided a unique way to get a glimpse beyond the standard tourist areas and we liked that. However it was not very rural. I had thought it would be more out in the countryside - but really we were mostly on canal paths with rural housing beside us and orcahrds fields behind the houses. That was OK 0 but different to what I had expected. However the attractions to sightsee were more that I expected - so I guess that balances. Sight seeing included the floating markets, textile weavers, fish farms, temples, rice factory, coconut candy, Crane wetlands and Memorials.

There was more time in the Van than we expected as each day we drove out of the city to start and into the city to finish.

The price. Similar to the comment below - it was a little pricey for Vietnam - but in the end I have to say I was happy to pay the price as it was a very good tour in a country where a lot of tourism is still emerging. So in this aspect it was very high level of service which is not easy to get outside resorts etc in Vietnam.

I would definitely recommend the tour if you are looking for something like this. I also note that Vietnam Backroads also have some great full-on cycle tours if that is what you are after too. This one worked for us. We finished the tour and took a ferry to Phu Quoc for more of a resort break to finish off our holiday. A great mix. 02 - 03 - 04 - 05 Mar 2019

Hope this helps.

George - All very well done. Dat was great. Although the English of the questionare could be improved. We will repeatedly late and still eotred for and not met at all with a negative attitude.
Thoroughly enjoyable.

Finnian - Our Tour guide Mr Dat was a fantastic guide, who know his English, history and knowledge every well. Very nice man and he was and very generous and hospitable. Love Vietnam and cycling is the best way to see it. 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 Feb 2019

Karen - Very interesting. A good mix of biking and visiting interesting places. Cong was evry flexible when my daughter got sick and changed our plans. Love trying new food, fruits, and the tours like floating market + stork pall. I would be good to know the day plan a bit more. like how for to ride, what will lunch be, how long in the bus. But everything else eas wonderful.

Grant Dempsey - Great way to see feel and taste rural Vietnam. Having a guide to explain various points of interest, communicate with locals and another food make the trip enjoyable and stress free. The various stop at tourist attracations are a great value and very informative. 02 - 03 - 04 - 05 Mar 2019

The guide and driver were excellent and very service minded. They were very good to be flexible. The hotels and food were not that impressive. It would have been nice with a map. 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 Feb 2019

We rearlly enjoyed the trip and felt we saw the real Vietnam. The cycling was vaned and we were abale to experience rich culture.

Mr Cong had excellent knowlege of the local surroundings and gave us just thye right amount of information. We felt the trip was very expensive as it cost us as much for these 4 days as for the rest of our 5 day trip to Vietnam. 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 Feb 2019

We arrived back home yesterday after a fantastic trip to Vietnam. We enjoyed our whole experience immensely especially the cycle tour through the Mekong Delta. It was very professionally organised and Cong was a good guide.

The only negative criticisms we would have are:
1. The tour should not be described as 5 days. It was clearly only 4 days with a ferry ticket for the 5th day to Phu Quoc
2. We would question the value for money. At $775 per head, those 4 days cost nearly as much as the rest of our trip to Vietnam and Cambodia! The food and hotels on the tour were nothing special and probably didn’t amount to more than $75 per head. Maybe if we had more people on the tour at a cheaper price we would have felt better about the cost.

On the whole though it was an amazing experience and your help with our organisation was also fantastic. 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 jan 2019

We loved our cycling tour with Dat! Traveling through the small village on charming roads with a kind, knowledgeable guide was a dream. Dat pointed out and kinds of local foods. He was very open and willing to answer all our questions. The ride distance each day was defect, made even better by the fruits / rest stops. Our only suggestion would be to make dinner at the hotels optional. Often those meals were stuffy and not delicious. We really love eating fantastic Vietnamese food with Dat. At night, it would be fun to try to find other small restaurant in the city on our own instead of in a tourist spot. 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 December 2018

I think riding a bike is the best way to see a country that you never been to before. Tha’s knowledge of the area and terrain was excellent. Tha found the night balance before sightseeing and also ensuring that we felt physically challenged. Also very professional, ensuring he was at the pickup points on time. Phuong was a good driver and was also very hands on in ensuring bikes/ luggage on the van correctly. We really enjoyed time trip. It was much better than we had accepted! Everything was inbreeding by well-planned and organized. I never felt stress or worry, and could relax knowing that everything was in control. Tha was a fantastic guide and has nearly made our holiday. He was incredibly made considerate. Tha knowledge of the area and terrain was excellent. Tha found the right balance between sightseeing and felt excellent. I loved the tour and would definitely recommend it to anyone and everyone! 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 December 2018

What a fantastic day! Our guide was amazing experience not only was his knowledgeable + experience with the area by his sense at humor kept us laughing all day. The bikes were a great as we have dance a few cycles around Vietnam.
We all felt very safe on our bikes. It far accepted our expectation. It was fun, interesting, and informative. The countryside was beautiful + insight into local life a treat away far tourist hubs. This was definitely the off the beaten track tour we were rocking. What a fantastic day to spend our last day in Vietnam. Would highly recommend this tour above all other cycles we have done here. 7 July 2018