Cycling Across Vietnam: From Móng Cái to Mũi Cà Mau – A Journey Across an Entire Country

In 2015, AnyTrails founder Minh Ha fulfilled a lifelong dream by cycling the entire length of Vietnam—from the northern border city of Móng Cái to the southern tip at Mũi Cà Mau. This is the story of that unforgettable journey, and the lessons learned along the way

Table of Contents:

• A Dream 20 Years in the Making
• Planning the Journey
• The Red River Delta
• Through Central Vietnam
• The Mekong Delta
• Reaching Mũi Cà Mau
• Lessons from the Road
• Planning Your Own Ride
• Frequently Asked Questions

A Dream 20 Years in the Making

Every great journey begins long before the first pedal stroke.

Mine began in a classroom.

As a child growing up in northern Vietnam, I was taught about the beauty of my country through history lessons, geography books, and poems. One verse stayed with me long after I had forgotten many others:

"Quê hương ta một dải, từ mũi Cà Mau đến địa đầu Móng Cái

Quê hương ta đồng rộng phì nhiêu, đủ bốn mùa hoa trái."

Roughly translated, it means:

"Our homeland stretches as one, from Cape Cà Mau to the northern frontier of Móng Cái.

A land of fertile plains, blessed with the fruits and flowers of all four seasons."

As a child, I imagined that long ribbon of land stretching from one end of Vietnam to the other. I promised myself that one day I would see it with my own eyes.

Years later, while cycling to work one ordinary morning, those familiar words suddenly came back to me.

"Quê hương ta một dải, từ mũi Cà Mau đến địa đầu Móng Cái..."

A simple thought appeared in my mind.

What if I cycled the entire length of Vietnam?

Not by bus.

Not by train.

Not by motorbike.

But on a bicycle.

Cycling would allow me to experience every kilometer of my country—to climb every mountain pass, ride every coastal road, cross every river, and meet the people who make Vietnam such an extraordinary place.

Although the poem describes Vietnam from Cà Mau to Móng Cái, I decided to ride in the opposite direction. As someone born in northern Vietnam, beginning in Móng Cái felt like starting from home and gradually discovering my country all the way to its southernmost tip at Mũi Cà Mau.

The journey would also give me something even more personal.

My relatives are scattered across Vietnam. Some I knew well. Others I had never met. Instead of simply passing through the country, I wanted to reconnect with my own family along the way.

Life, however, has a way of postponing dreams.

I became a tour guide, sharing Vietnam with travelers from around the world. I got married. My daughter was born. Years passed quickly, and like many dreams, this one was quietly pushed into the future.

Every now and then I would tell my wife about cycling across Vietnam.

She usually just smiled in silence.

To most people, riding alone for thousands of kilometers across the country sounded a little crazy. Perhaps she thought so too.

But the dream never disappeared.

By 2015, I realized something important.

If I didn't do it now, I might never do it at all.

August was the quiet season for my work as a tour guide, so despite knowing it was one of the hottest and wettest months of the year, I chose 2 August 2015 as my departure date.

Friends knew about my plan, and I hoped some might join me for parts of the ride.

Then, just one week before departure, northern Vietnam was hit by days of relentless rain. Floods covered roads across the region.

Everyone gave me the same advice.

"Wait until the weather improves."

My family.

My friends.

Everyone.

But I had already made my decision.

I wanted to prove something—not only to myself, but one day to my daughter.

A meaningful goal should not be abandoned because of a little rain.

Plans will always meet obstacles. If you truly believe in them, you keep moving forward.

So the departure date stayed exactly the same.

Then something happened that I never expected.

Two days before we left, my wife told me that she and our daughter wanted to ride with me on the first day.

I could hardly believe it.

My wife didn't enjoy cycling. In fact, she rarely rode more than a kilometer. Yet now she wanted to begin this incredible journey beside me.

It wasn't about the distance.

It was her way of saying,

"I believe in your dream."

The night before departure, the three of us boarded an overnight bus from Hanoi to Móng Cái with three bicycles packed underneath.

None of us slept much.

Ahead of us lay an adventure that would change the way I saw my country forever.