Easy Rider or self-drive: the decision before you book

What an Easy Rider does – and does not

The rider is a local who rides the route regularly, knows the bike and makes the riding decisions: speed, overtaking, breaks, detours. You sit behind, hold the grab handle or the rider, and have both hands free for camera and rain jacket. ZGO describes a “certificated driver”, QT and Hong Hao a “local easy rider” or “tour guide” – whether the rider is also the English-speaking guide or a guide accompanies the convoy is not clear from the data. Ask if explanations along the way matter to you.

What the rider does not replace: your own travel insurance with cover for motorbike travel as a passenger. Many standard policies exclude motorbike accidents or tie them to engine size and licence. Read the conditions before booking; we cannot check them for you.

Self-drive: licences and the law

Only ZGO offers self-driving. The option description requires a “driving license for motorbike & international driving permit 1968 category A”. That matches the UK Foreign Office advice: to drive a car or motorbike in Vietnam you must carry both your national licence and the 1968-convention international driving permit; driving without third-party insurance is illegal.

In practice for US and UK travellers: a car licence is not enough for a bike over 50 cc – the loop bikes are usually 110 to 150 cc, which needs a motorcycle endorsement or category A/A1. The international driving permit is issued at home (AAA in the US, the Post Office in the UK) and is only valid together with the national licence; the US issues IDPs under the 1949 convention, which Vietnam does not recognise – check the current position before relying on it. Whether the combination is accepted at a checkpoint is decided by the police on the spot; the legal position changes, and we give no guarantee.

Without a valid licence you not only ride illegally – an insurer will usually not pay after an accident, and neither will the rental company's cover. That is why this site treats Easy Rider as the default and self-driving as the exception for travellers who have the paperwork.

Protective gear and bike: what the four products provide

• ZGO: “motorbike rental & fuel & helmet and protections” – helmet and protectors listed, without saying which.
• QT: “full or half-helmet, protective knee and elbow gear, basic rain clothes”, plus bungee cords and a plastic cover for luggage and “quality genuine Japanese motorcycles”. The most specific list of the four.
• Hong Hao: “protection” and “rain coat” – brief, but listed.
• Vision: no statement on helmet or protective gear. Ask.

What you bring yourself: sturdy shoes over the ankle, long trousers, gloves, sunglasses. No product lists motorcycle gloves or an armoured jacket. More on the packing list.

Who pays for a fall or damage

QT is the only one of the four products that states damage cover for the bike (“full cover bike damage insurance”). That covers the vehicle, not an accident or medical policy for you. ZGO, Hong Hao and Vision say nothing about damage – neither that you are liable nor that you are not. For self-driving (ZGO) liability for the rental bike is the obvious question before booking; for Easy Rider it only arises if you are injured.

The safety topic in search engines – accidents, deaths – we do not treat here as a news page. What remains factual: it is motorcycling on public mountain roads with truck traffic, rain and fog; Easy Rider lowers the riding risk to that of an experienced rider, not to zero; helmet, protective gear, sober riders and an insurance policy that covers motorbike travel are the four things you can influence.

Questions about the tour type

Sources and check status