Motorbiking from Nha Trang to Quy Nhon

While I was motorbiking across Vietnam, I tried to make it a habit to write down experiences from each drive. Driving solo made it hard to take photos and videos of the drives, so writing it down allows me to relive the experience and memories. Motorbiking from Nha Trang to Quy Nhon was one of my favourite drives along my Vietnam motorbike trip. While the beautiful scenery definitely played a part, it was the special interactions I had along the way that aided in this leg of the journey being so memorable.

Going into the drive from Nha Trang to Quy Nhon I was in a bit of a weird headspace. I’d decided to go back to riding solo after travelling for 3 weeks with a group of guys I met in Vung Tau. We’d travelled up through the central highlands, via Bao Loc and Dalat, and onto Nha Trang. As fun as it was having friends to share everything with, it was time to take some space for myself. I was nervous to be solo again but excited to hit the open road and finally visit Quy Nhon, a town I’d heard great things about.

Motorbiking from Nha Trang to Quy Nhon

The views between Nha Trang and Tuy Hoa were so beautiful that, despite the drive being less than 150km, it took me the whole day to arrive in Quy Nhon. Heading north from Nha Trang, it wasn’t long before I was racing alongside endless rice fields, their lush green contrasting with the clear blue skies. Further north the road meets the ocean, winding between the mountains and turquoise bays. I paused to take in the view a lot on this segment, soaking up the peace and calm of the ocean.

I stopped for some lunch at a random street stall, in a random town. Despite being in the middle of nowhere, the food was some of the best I found on the road. The sweet interaction with the owner is what makes this food stop such a warm memory for me. I was her only customer at the time and she was clearly excited to practice her little knowledge of English. Through her broken English and my broken Vietnamese, we managed to share our names and ages. She was in her 40s. She was trying to ask if I was alone, pointing to her hands asking if I had a boyfriend. I laughed and told her no, asking in return if she was married. I remember her raising her ringless fingers as to say “me neither”. We shared a laugh and smile about being the same and parted ways. Thinking back, it’s quite unusual in Vietnam to find a single lady in her 40s, especially in rural Vietnam.

When I returned to Saigon I took my motorbike for a service at the Honda Cub Exchange and got chatting to the owner, Ngan, who comes from a town near Tuy Hoa. We talked about how beautiful her hometown is, sharing photos of the views. I shared my encounter with the sweet street food lady and, to my surprise, Ngan announced that she actually knows this very lady. In fact, she is one of Ngan’s mechanics’ aunts! Vietnam might be home to 93 million, but it sure does feel small sometimes.

The Route

As with many of the roads in Vietnam, you will have to leave the city before you get onto nice country roads. It didn’t take long on the way out of Nha Trang to sink into beautiful scenes and the stretch up to Tuy Hoa is stunning. The majority of the road north of Tuy Hoa was regular highway with lots of trucks and pollution and fewer pretty views. The approach into Quy Nhon sees the return of coastal views and lighter traffic on the road.

The most beautiful part of this ride is between Nha Trang and Tuy Hoa and even if you can’t do the whole ride I recommend escaping Nha Trang for the day to explore the rice fields and beaches to the north of the city.