We’re putting the final touches to next years Vietnam Unicycle Tour. It should be one of the most exciting Unitours ever! Starting in the old communist capital of Hanoi in North, we will be riding along the coast to finish in Ho Chi Minh City in the South.
Registrations open on 1 July, and will be open to the first 24 riders. If you are interested in coming along please let me know.
Itinerary
Day 1 | Hanoi
The tour starts in the capital Hanoi. Arrive early if you want to explore the city or take a trip out to Halong Bay.
Day 2 | Hue
After a morning flight we arrive in the former capital. In the afternoon we’ll take a warm up ride in the city and surrounding area visit the ancient palace and the tomb of an emporer.
Days 3-5 | Riding to Hoi An
Heading out of Hue we ride along the coast overnighting at a beach resort before riding 11km uphill to the top of Hai Van Pass. In beautiful Hoi An enjoy a rest day to explore the historic town.
Days 6-8 | Riding to Quy Nhon
Taking backraods we ride more of the beautiful Vietnamese coastline. In Quy Nhon we will stay at the exclusive Life Resort and enjoy a rest day in luxury.
Days 9-10| Riding to Nha Trang
The final two days riding take us to the beachside town of Nha Trang - a great fun place to celebrate the end of the ride.
Days 11-12| Saigon
We travel by train to bustling Saigon and the end of a unique journey through Vietnam.
What: Fully supported Unitour, accomodation, most meals, tour guides and support crew, support vehicle provided.
Total Distance: 491km
Days Cycling: 7
Dates: Mon 10 Mar (Day1) to Fri 21 Mar (Day 12)
Costs: US$1300
Accomodation: We have 2 nights in a 5 star resort, and lot’s of hotels we are staying in are at least 3-4 star
Riding Conditions: We ride on a well made main highway and back highways with little traffic. There are a couple of big hills to ride up (and down) but it is mostly a generally flat tour.
Wow that sounds like fun! But it seems like a pretty short ride that only averages about 43 miles per day. Is that right? 305 miles total over 7 days? I might want to go, are there any riding requirements that we all need to know?
I just told my vietnamese girlfriend about the tour and she FRANTICALLY emailed me back saying “DON’T GO”! She said it very dangerous there and that the vietnamese people don’t like Americans, or caucasions in general! Hmmm, I wonder why? Vietman war maybe?
Does she mean Vietnam in general, or specifically where the tour is going? I know MANY Americans who have visited Vietnam in the last 5 years and had just the opposite experience. Full diplomatic relations were re-established 12 years ago and tourism is (as far as I know) in full swing there.
There are many current travel warnings for US Citizens listed here: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html but nothing about Vietnam. There are some vague warnings about the Central Highlands on the CIS http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1060.html but it sounds like the info is old (2004) although the CIS itself is dated May 11, 2007. There were similar (or worse and more recent) vague warnings about Laos when we went last year, but we certainly never had any problems with anyone there - just the opposite really.
Since I am planning to go on this tour, I’d be very interested in more details.
Yeah, that’s what I thought when Nathan T emailed me…it was like…you’re not riding Ride the Lobster??? Might get confusing on tour though.
As far as American tourists go…last time I was there it seemed like they were more interested in selling you stuff than being threatening/unfriendly to American tourists. Also, I was told that for majority of Vietnamese, the war happened before they were born.
Of the Unitours I’ve done, my Vietnam to Cambodia trip still rates as the most fun. We had kids chasing us half way across the country yelling all the way On one of my rides, I had about a dozen motorcyclists escorting me for about 5km into a town, and then they made me do a lap around the town before giving a Coker demo in front of 100 people.
Thanks for your interest regarding Uninam. We have over 20 riders very keen on this event already; and it’s looking like quite an international tour. There are only 24 places, so if you’re interested please get in touch with me ASAP.
I have just emailed out the registration forms to everyone on the Uninam mailing list. If you are thinking of coming, or even if you’re not but you’d like to keep up to date with Uninam, then shoot me an email: ken.looi at gmail dot com.
We now have 20 riders registered or in the process of registering for Uninam. That means only 4 places are left. We’re still on track to have everyone registered by October.
Have a look at the riders page to see the rider profiles for some of the registered riders. You can also to follow their personal training blogs/photos as they start building up to Uninam.
Let me know ASAP if you are interested in coming on the tour.
She doesn’t want you do discover that she’s not really Vietnamese.
My g/f has many connections in Vietnam (even caucasian friends) and they all love the place and the people. We’ve never heard of such hostilities.
My employer is gathering a “threat assessment” of Vietnam (through some three-letter-gov’t-agency) in light of my attendance of the tour. It’s SOP for all US gov’t contractors whose employees travel abroad.
As soon as I can get the report I’ll share what I can with everyone on the tour; it’ll be done in Oct. or Nov. They’ve refused to do it any earlier as they want “recent” data in their report.
Right on Maestro…glad to hear you’re going. I’m really looking forward to meeting folks I’ve swapped threads (and arguments) with on the forums.
I also read through the country profiles my company maintains and some stuff I found via the State Department, and didn’t find anything alarming. Most of the cautionary info was similar to what is included for almost any country one would travel to. Given the regional experience of Grasshopper and some of the tour participants, I feel things will be just fine, and I’m looking forward to adding this to my life list of Peak Experiences.
Due to popular demand, we have extended the tour to 30 riders, and the closing date to October 31st. There are still 6 places left so let me know if you are interested. It will probably be very a long time before the next Unitour of Vietnam.
There’s still time to get onboard although we will probably have close off registrations in January. I’ve managed to get our tour operator to extend the number of riders to 35…let’s see if we can make this the biggest, most interesting Unitour ever.
If you’re a Uninam rider…I’m just putting the finishing touches to another update. You should have booked your tickets by now, and started to get some early training in.
On one of my rides, I had about a dozen motorcyclists escorting me for about 5km into a town, and then they made me do a lap around the town before giving a Coker demo in front of 100 people.
August update: