Saigon Motorcycle Tours: How a New Market Emerged

SAIGON, VIETNAM – Saigon motorcycle tours were not an established part of the city’s tourism industry when I first considered starting one around 2010. At that time, motorcycle tourism was already well known in Da Lat and Nha Trang, while Saigon had no established Easy Rider scene of its own. The city’s traffic seemed like a major obstacle, and few people expected foreign visitors to choose a motorcycle for exploring one of Vietnam’s busiest cities…

A Warning from an Experienced Tour Guide

Around 2010, I was considering starting motorcycle tours in Saigon. During that time, I spoke with Phuc, a former tour guide who had spent years working in tourism in the city. He had retired from guiding and was running a small hotel.

I asked him what he thought about starting motorcycle tours in Saigon.

His answer was not encouraging.

He believed foreign visitors would be nervous about riding through Saigon because of the heavy traffic. The city was already crowded with motorcycles, cars, buses and pedestrians, and he did not think many tourists would feel comfortable travelling through it on the back of a motorcycle.

He also pointed out another problem. By then, the Easy Riders of Da Lat and Nha Trang were already well known among foreign travellers. They had established reputations and years of experience taking visitors on motorcycle journeys through the countryside and mountains.

In his view, there was little reason to start a similar business in Saigon when the better-known motorcycle-tour scene was already established elsewhere.

I listened to him and decided not to start the business.

At the time, his argument made sense.

Saigon Before the Motorcycle-Tour Boom

Looking back, Saigon’s motorcycle-tour market was still very small.

Before around 2015, there was no established Easy Rider community in Saigon comparable with Da Lat or Nha Trang. There were some companies offering motorcycle tours, but their backgrounds and business models were different.

One company worked with several Easy Riders who came down from Da Lat to cooperate on tours in Saigon and the surrounding area. Another operation used the name “Saigon Easy Rider”, but its tours were mainly around Saigon rather than the longer journeys associated with the traditional Easy Rider model.

These operations showed that there was already some demand, but they did not create a large local Easy Rider scene in the city.

Saigon was still waiting for its own motorcycle-tour model.

A Different Idea Takes Off

A few years later, something unexpected happened.

A group known as XO began taking foreign visitors around Saigon by motorcycle, particularly at night. Instead of trying to compete with the traditional Easy Rider experience, the tours focused on the city itself — its streets, food, nightlife and local atmosphere.

This was a completely different product.

The riders were not taking guests across the Central Highlands for several days. They were using motorcycles to introduce visitors to Saigon after dark, including places and experiences that would be difficult to reach as part of a conventional bus or car tour.

The model became successful and well known among foreign travellers.

That success proved something important: the traffic that had once been considered a major obstacle could actually become part of the attraction.

Saigon did not need empty mountain roads to sell motorcycle tours.

It could sell Saigon.

The Vespa and Scooter Era

After the success of motorcycle night and food tours, more operators entered the market.

Vespa tours became another popular format, while other companies and groups developed their own versions of motorcycle sightseeing and food experiences.

The motorcycles were generally very different from those used by the traditional Easy Riders of Da Lat and Nha Trang. Most Saigon operators used small scooters, automatic motorcycles or Vespa-style bikes rather than larger motorcycles for long-distance touring.

The tours were also shorter.

A typical experience might last several hours rather than several days. The purpose was not necessarily to travel a long distance, but to experience the city from the back of a motorcycle.

This created a new category of tourism.

These riders were not Easy Riders in the traditional sense, and most did not use the Easy Rider name. But they were performing a similar basic function: carrying foreign visitors by motorcycle and showing them places they might not discover on their own.

After COVID

The market expanded further after the COVID-19 pandemic.

As international tourism returned to Vietnam, more motorcycle-tour groups appeared in Saigon. Many focused on scooters, Vespa and food or night experiences rather than long-distance motorcycle touring.

By then, the idea of exploring Saigon by motorcycle had become much more familiar to international visitors.

The city’s traffic was no longer simply a problem to overcome. For many travellers, riding through the traffic became part of the experience.

A motorcycle could move through narrow streets, reach local neighbourhoods and stop easily for food or sightseeing. What had once looked like the biggest weakness of a Saigon motorcycle tour had become one of its selling points.

Today, motorcycle food and night tours have become one of the better-known tourism experiences in Saigon, with several operators competing for the international visitor market.

Not Easy Riders – But Part of the Same Story

It is important not to confuse these businesses with the traditional Easy Riders of Da Lat or Nha Trang.

They developed different products, used different motorcycles and operated in a completely different environment. They generally did not take guests on the long mountain journeys associated with the older Easy Rider model.

But they are still part of the wider history of motorcycle tourism in Vietnam.

The development of Saigon showed that motorcycle tourism did not have to follow the Da Lat model.

Da Lat had its mountain roads.

Nha Trang developed its own long-distance routes.

Saigon found something different: food, nightlife, street life and the energy of a huge Vietnamese city.

And there is an interesting irony in my own story.

Around 2010, I was told that motorcycle tours would probably not work in Saigon because the traffic was too frightening and the established Easy Riders were already elsewhere.

I believed that advice and walked away from the idea.

A few years later, other people proved that the market was there.

They simply found a different way to use the motorcycle.

Nam Ngo
September 2026