1

In a month you will not see everything.
What are the really definite things you want to see?

2

Hanoi straight to HCMC in a month is a walking pace. While you can't see a country of 90 million people in that time, you can see a healthy chunk of it.

If it were me, It'd go straight east to the coast, see Cat Ba, then head along the coast as far south as Danang , then loop through the Central Highlands, to the Lao border, south through the Mekong to the Gulf, and then back up along the coast as far a Mui Ni and then back to Saigon.

That route would take you through almost all of the country except the north (Sapa and Diem Bien Phu). Save that for next time.

3

As the Top Gear guys did - take the train between Hanoi and Danang/Hue. There is absolutely NOTHING on this leg of the journey so save yourself some time.

Instead of buying a bike just rent one from somewhere established at this kind of thing. They can help you with routes, advice and technical support when you have problems.

4

If he rents the motorbike, how's he gonna return it?

5

I disagree with the comment about nothing to see between Ha Noi and Hue.
Ninh Binh, Tam Coc, Hoa Lu, An Trang, Dong Hoi, the caves around Dong Hoi, the huge temple (biggest in SE Asia?) at Bai Dinh, Ke Bang National park are all worth a visit.

6

First of all thanks for all the comments. What i would like to do is... 2 days in Hanoi, buy a bike, Halong Bay and Cat Ba, back to Hanoi and straight through to Sapa for a couple of days. Then ride to Ninh Binh, west to Ho Chi Minh trail, Vinh, then follow coast to Da Nang. Inland, Kon Tum then to either Qui nhon or Nha Trang. Dalat, back to coast then to HCMC for a couple of days.
Now I dont think this is possible so thought about missing Sapa out. There would be some hardcore long rides but were all enduro riders so arnt to bothered about lengthly rides but i think were asking alot in 28 days.

A few musts are Halong bay and Cat Ba, Vinh, Da Nang, Chu Chi tunnels, DMZ.

Im making my way through the lonely plant guide book ( but theres alot to read ). The last thing I want to do is miss out any wonderful sights or historic places. So if there are any 'cant be missed' places I'd appreciate some pointers so I can look them up.

I would definatly not get on a train as I think it defeats the object of us riding the length of Vietnam

Also, from what iv read I believe we may be in for a lot of rain in October. And that the climate changes alot from North to South. How bad is it?
Thanks in advance, Hesford.

7

It's an entire country. It's got a 4000-year history. You're going to miss a lot. Don't sweat it. Read the guidebook so you don't miss anything nearby.

8

forget the coastal road,
from vinh keep going down as said tru hwy 15 /hcm trail, Ninh Binh, Tam Coc, Hoa Lu, An Trang, phong nga caves, then tru the park sotuh in hcm trail, at A Loui go east to hue... hue damamg hio an then onto the hcm trail again...

when you want to coast it is close by

9

If he rents the motorbike, how's he gonna return it?

Many people ride rentals Hanoi-Saigon or Saigon-Hanoi, it's a standard, well worn route. They don't even need to ship them back usually, just rent it to another traveller going the other way. Plenty of rental places can manage this.

10

check this out
http://www.xedapxuyenviet.com/TrucTracXuyenViet/Truc_Trac_Xuyen_Viet.htm

it is in Vietnamese so you might use google translate
it is about different roads traveled by Bike along Vietnam