Mai Chau 3 days electric mountain bike trails

Fabulous 5-day cycling tour through amazing landscapes and farming villages from Hoa Binh to Tam Coc. Joe and Anne provided full support along the way - it was great to have someone to ride with to provide directions and advice. This was especially so because we took a lot of back roads and small paths through beautiful forests and quiet villages where the roads were a bit of a maze. Both speak very good English and it was really interesting to hear all about aspects of Vietnam in response to my many questions. The e-bike was perfect for the ride - solidly built with tyres that could handle rough road edges and the occasional foray off sealed roads or concrete paths. Going over the 1000m Thung Khe pass to Mai Chau, I was really glad of the help from the battery! On a bike you travel through the landscape - not past it. You get to hear and smell and feel the countryside - not just see it through a window. On a bike you can stop anytime for a closer look at something, and to take photos. And all along the way people were excited to see us: with children calling out "Hello! Hello!" and laughing when I waved back to them. Joe and Anne knew the best places to stop for food too, and were able to show off some delicious local dishes. I was a bit worried about traffic - but most of our riding was on quieter roads. Necessary to be very careful going through towns though - as sometimes people would step or ride out in front of you without looking. The hardest part was the hard parts :) - the places we stayed had very hard mattresses, which took some getting used to. A softer seat on the bike might have been nice too. This was a trip through the real Vietnam countryside - not just the tourist bits. Those were nice too, but many of the highlights were the places few tourists would see. The ride from Mai Chau to Pu Luong was my personal favourite part - though forests, over a high pass and down through amazing rural villages on a secret back road with a beautiful - and unusual - waterfall to see at the end of the ride. (I enjoyed the cold beer too!) Special thanks to Anne and Joe for their great organisation, conversation, knowledge and friendly attidude. A highly-recommended trip and the best part of my three weeks in Vietnam.

Thank you Joe for being accommodating and flexible on this amazing trip! We had a great time exploring the lesser touristy areas of North Vietnam with amazing scenic trails & epic the 10km single-track with around 1000m of descent!! Would love to come back and nail the single-track again!

We had an excellent 4-day, 3-night biking trip with Joe Nguyen and crew! We cycled small country roads, village paths, through farming areas and rice paddies, as well as forests and jungles, past small hamlets and villages.... Just a great combination of scenery, local culture, and some cycling exertion. They tailored the trip to our interests and energy level. We stayed one night in a national park guest house and 2 in home stays. The food and lodging overall were great- more rustic than posh, which we liked. We saw almost no other tourists day to day, except at the home stay lodging areas. We really enjoyed the trip overall and would highly recommend Marco Polo and Joe!