A reliable hoi an motorbike hire costs between 120,000 VND and 350,000 VND per day (roughly $5–$14 USD) in 2026, and you’ll need either a Vietnamese-issued licence or an International Driving Permit (IDP) with the 1968 Convention endorsement to ride legally. This guide walks you through every detail foreign visitors and expats actually need — from choosing the right bike and shop, to insurance, fuel, parking, police checkpoints, the best day-trip routes, and what to do if something goes wrong.
Hoi An’s flat terrain, beach-and-rice-paddy scenery, and compact 5-kilometre Old Town make it arguably the most beginner-friendly place to ride a scooter in Vietnam. But the rules around licences tightened sharply after Vietnam adopted the 1968 Vienna Convention in 2025, and uninsured tourist accidents have made headlines in VnExpress and the Vietnam News Agency. So treat this as the practical, no-nonsense briefing your homestay host would give you if they had an hour to spare.
Key Takeaways
- Price range (2026): 120,000–180,000 VND/day for a semi-automatic, 200,000–350,000 VND/day for an automatic scooter, 600,000+ VND/day for a Honda XR150 manual.
- Legal requirement: You need an IDP issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention, or a Vietnamese A1 licence. The older 1949 Geneva IDP is not valid in Vietnam.
- Deposit: Most shops ask for 1,000,000–2,000,000 VND cash or a photocopy of your passport — never hand over the original.
- Helmet & insurance: Helmets are legally mandatory. Confirm third-party liability insurance is included; many cheap rentals carry none.
- Best day trips: Hai Van Pass (loop or one-way), My Son Sanctuary, Tra Que herb village, An Bang and Cua Dai beaches.
- Avoid: Drinking and riding (zero BAC tolerance), riding without a helmet, parking outside the Old Town’s marked zones.
Hoi An Motorbike Hire at a Glance (2026 Pricing Table)
| Bike type | Typical daily rate (VND) | USD equivalent | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-auto (Honda Wave / Yamaha Sirius) 110cc | 120,000–180,000 | $5–$7 | Budget riders, short hops |
| Automatic (Honda Vision / Yamaha Janus) 110cc | 200,000–280,000 | $8–$11 | Beginners, couples, beach runs |
| Premium auto (Honda Air Blade / SH Mode) 125–150cc | 280,000–350,000 | $11–$14 | Comfort, longer day trips |
| Manual adventure (Honda XR150 / CRF150) | 600,000–900,000 | $24–$36 | Hai Van Pass, mountain loops |
| Electric scooter (Yadea / VinFast Klara) | 180,000–250,000 | $7–$10 | Old Town only, eco-conscious riders |
Rates drop 15–25% for 3-day or weekly rentals, and outside high season (Nov–Apr).
Is Hoi An Motorbike Hire Right for You? Honest Pros and Cons
A Hoi An motorbike hire makes sense if you can already ride a 110cc scooter confidently in light traffic. If your only two-wheeled experience is a bicycle in Amsterdam, take a 30-minute lesson first — most shops will run one for around 100,000 VND on a quiet beach road.
Pros
- Freedom to leave the Old Town tourist bubble within 10 minutes.
- Coastal Highway DT603 and the rural routes north of town are genuinely flat, low-traffic, and scenic.
- A bike unlocks Hai Van Pass, My Son, and the Marble Mountains without paying for a tour.
- Cheaper than Grab over 3+ days.
Cons
- Vietnam’s road-traffic fatality rate sits at roughly 18 per 100,000 people according to the World Health Organization Global Status Report on Road Safety, several times higher than most Western countries.
- Travel insurance often voids cover if you ride without a valid licence — and Vietnam’s police now check more aggressively at the An Bang and Cua Dai turn-offs.
- Old Town is largely car-free between 9am–11am and 3pm–9.30pm; you’ll need to park outside the perimeter.
If you’re nervous, consider hiring a private driver for the Hai Van Pass leg and only doing a hoi an motorbike hire for short Old Town–to–beach rides.
Licence, IDP and Insurance: Don’t Skip This Section
Vietnam joined the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic in 2025. Practically, this means:
- An International Driving Permit issued under the 1968 Convention (look for “1968” printed on the booklet) is now recognised as valid.
- The older 1949 Geneva IDP — which is still what Australia, the USA, Japan, and the UK issue by default — is not legally valid in Vietnam. Many Australian and US travellers only realise this at the police station.
- If your IDP doesn’t cover motorcycles, neither will your travel insurance.
- The only fully legal route for most tourists is a temporary Vietnamese A1 licence, which costs about 750,000 VND through Da Nang’s Department of Transport and takes 5–7 working days.
Reputable Hoi An rental shops will photocopy your licence and IDP. If a shop hands you a bike without asking to see either, that’s a red flag — it usually means the bike has no insurance and the shop assumes you’ll pay any bribe yourself.
For a deeper dive into navigating Vietnamese traffic law as a foreigner, see our Vietnam driving licence guide for tourists and our broader Vietnam travel safety tips.
How to Choose a Reputable Hoi An Motorbike Hire Shop
Hoi An has more than 60 rental outfits clustered around Hai Ba Trung, Ba Trieu, and Cua Dai streets. The good ones share five traits:
- Written rental contract in English with bike VIN, fuel level, existing scratches photographed.
- Helmets that actually fit (DOT or ECE 22.05 sticker on the inside).
- Bike under three years old — check the registration card (đăng ký xe).
- Roadside-assistance phone number answered 24/7.
- Optional insurance add-on at 30,000–60,000 VND/day for theft + third-party.
Avoid shops that demand your passport as deposit. Vietnamese law does not require you to surrender your passport, and the British Embassy in Hanoi explicitly warns against it. A copy plus a cash deposit is the standard.
Two well-reviewed local operators with English-speaking staff are Hoi An Bike Rental and Anh Khoa Motorbike. Your homestay can usually arrange free delivery and pickup, which saves a Grab fare.
Best Day Trips for Your Hoi An Motorbike Hire
1. The Coastal Loop (40 km, half day)
Hoi An → An Bang Beach → Cua Dai → back via the rice paddies of Cam Thanh. Almost entirely flat, lightly trafficked, and signposted in English. Stop at a coconut-grove basket-boat outfit (around 150,000 VND/person).
2. Hai Van Pass One-Way to Hue (130 km, full day)
Made famous by Top Gear‘s 2008 Vietnam Special, Hai Van Pass remains the country’s most cinematic stretch of asphalt. Hire an XR150 manual rather than a Vision automatic — the 250-metre elevation gain at the top of the pass strains a 110cc engine carrying two riders and luggage. Shops like Tigit and Style offer one-way rentals where they collect the bike in Hue for a 350,000 VND fee.
3. My Son Sanctuary (50 km round trip)
The UNESCO-listed Cham temples are 40 km southwest of Hoi An. Leave by 7am to beat both the heat and the tour-bus crowds (entry: 150,000 VND). Combine with a stop at Thanh Ha pottery village on the way back.
4. Marble Mountains and Linh Ung Pagoda (35 km round trip)
Heading north up DT607, you’ll reach the Marble Mountains in 35 minutes. From there, the giant Lady Buddha statue on Son Tra Peninsula is another 20 minutes. The peninsula’s loop road is monkey country — slow down and don’t feed them.
If you have an extra week, see our 3-day Hoi An itinerary and the broader things to do in Da Nang and Hoi An hub for a fuller plan.
Hoi An Motorbike Hire Safety: The 8 Rules That Actually Matter
- Wear a real helmet. The 30,000 VND novelty helmets are useless. Spend 250,000 VND on a half-face Royal or LS2 if you’ll ride more than a day.
- Long sleeves and closed shoes. Sandals + shorts = “tourist tattoo” road rash. Locals call it that for a reason.
- No alcohol. Vietnam enforces a 0.0 mg/L BAC for motorbikes since the 2020 amendment to Law 44/2019/QH14. Fines now reach 8,000,000 VND.
- Honk on blind corners. Vietnamese horn etiquette is “I’m here”, not “get out of the way”.
- Watch for sand on coastal corners between An Bang and Cua Dai — it’s the #1 single-vehicle crash cause.
- Avoid riding after dark in the countryside. Unlit cattle, no streetlights, drunk locals.
- Lane discipline is fluid; eye contact is everything. When in doubt, slow down — never speed up to “make a gap”.
- Petrol stations are everywhere (Petrolimex, PVOIL). A full tank costs about 90,000 VND and lasts ~150 km.
For a city-vs-coastal comparison, our guide to riding a motorbike in Ho Chi Minh City covers urban-specific hazards.
Parking, Old Town Rules and the “Walking-Street” Hours
The Hoi An Ancient Town inner zone bans motorbikes during these hours:
- Morning: 9:00 – 11:00
- Afternoon/evening: 15:00 – 21:30 (until 22:00 weekends)
Park at one of the designated lots on Hoang Dieu, Phan Chu Trinh, or behind the Central Market. Expect 5,000–10,000 VND per session. Always take the key and your helmet with you — opportunistic theft of unattended helmets is common.
If you’re staying inside the Old Town, ask your accommodation about overnight courtyard parking before you book. Many Hoi An homestays only have street parking, which insurance often won’t cover.
What If Something Goes Wrong?
- Minor breakdown: Call your shop. Most deliver a replacement within an hour anywhere inside Quang Nam province.
- Accident with injury: Dial 115 for ambulance, 113 for police. Hoi An Hospital (Tran Hung Dao street) handles trauma; Vinmec Da Nang is the nearest international-standard hospital.
- Police stop / traffic fine: Stay polite, ask for a written fine (biên bản), refuse to pay on the spot if you can. Cash “fines” without paperwork are bribes.
- Bike stolen: File a report at the nearest police station within 24 hours — your insurance and the shop will both demand the police report number.
The UK Foreign Office travel advice for Vietnam is updated quarterly and has the current emergency contact details and any country-wide road advisories.
Hoi An Motorbike Hire vs Other Transport: A Quick Cost Comparison
For a 3-day stay covering Old Town, An Bang Beach, My Son, and one Da Nang trip:
- Motorbike hire: ~540,000 VND ($22) + ~250,000 VND fuel
- Grab rides: ~1,400,000 VND ($56)
- Private car with driver: ~3,600,000 VND ($144)
- Bicycle + occasional Grab: ~700,000 VND ($28) but limits range to ~10 km
The savings are real, but only if you ride safely. A single hospital visit voids the maths instantly.
Should You Book Your Hoi An Motorbike Hire in Advance?
In low season (May–September outside major holidays) you can walk into a shop and ride away in 15 minutes. In high season (October–April, especially around Tet and Christmas), the better bikes — Honda Vision, Air Blade, XR150 — get reserved 2–3 days ahead. Booking via your homestay is usually free and gets you the local rate rather than the “tourist menu” rate.
Many Vietnam travellers underestimate how short the Hoi An–Da Nang corridor really is. Our Da Nang to Hoi An transfer guide breaks down the 30-km hop by every mode of transport, including bike.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a licence for Hoi An motorbike hire under 50cc?
Technically yes, for any motorised vehicle on Vietnamese public roads from 2025 onwards — even mopeds and electric scooters above 250W. In practice, police rarely stop riders of true 50cc scooters in Hoi An’s Old Town area, but your travel insurance will still require a valid licence to pay any claim. Don’t gamble it.
How much is a typical Hoi An motorbike hire deposit?
Expect 1,000,000–2,000,000 VND (~$40–$80 USD) in cash, or a photocopy of your passport. Reputable shops never demand the original passport. Always count the cash with the shop owner and get a signed receipt listing the deposit amount before you leave the shop with the bike.
Can I take a Hoi An rental motorbike to Hue or further north?
Yes, with the shop’s written permission. One-way drop-offs to Hue cost 300,000–500,000 VND. Crossing into a new province (e.g., Thua Thien Hue) is fine, but cross-country runs to Hanoi require a long-term rental from a specialist like Tigit Motorbikes, not a local Hoi An shop with a 110cc Wave.
Are electric scooters a good option for Hoi An motorbike hire?
For Old Town and beach commutes under 40 km/day, yes. Yadea and VinFast Klara electric scooters rent for 180,000–250,000 VND/day, are silent, and dodge the new emissions checkpoints. The downside is 60-km range, slow charging (4–6 hours), and weak hill performance on routes like Hai Van Pass.
What happens if I get fined while riding without an IDP?
Fines for riding without a valid licence range from 1,000,000 VND to 4,000,000 VND under Decree 100/2019/ND-CP. The bike can also be impounded for 7 days. If your shop’s insurance is voided by an unlicensed rider, you also become personally liable for any damage.
Is it safe for a beginner to hire a motorbike in Hoi An?
Hoi An is one of Vietnam’s gentler riding environments — flat, slower traffic, and short distances. But “safer than Hanoi” is still genuinely dangerous by Western standards. Beginners should take a 30-minute lesson on a quiet beach road, ride an automatic (not semi-auto), avoid the Da Nang stretch of QL1, and never ride at night for the first few days.
Ready to Plan the Rest of Your Vietnam Trip?
Hoi An is best paired with 2–3 nights in Ho Chi Minh City before or after. Staying in central District 1 puts you within walking distance of Ben Thanh Market, the Notre Dame Cathedral, and dozens of street-food alleys.