Ask yourself: Are you planning on renting a motorbike or buying one?
If the answer is YES, the next question you should ask yourself is whether you can drive well. You have probably noticed that few rules apply when it comes to traffic in Vietnam.
You should always be extremely reactive and able to anticipate changes, either because of a pothole on the road or a driver suddenly switching lanes without warning.
Accidents are very common. Do not make the mistake of not buying medical insurance.
Rent or Buy? New or Used?
If you are sure that you can drive, then you should decide whether you want to rent or purchase a motorbike/scooter.
Renting a basic motorbike is cheap, less than $60 per month. or daily rent from 5 usd-10 usd / day It will save you a lot of trouble as you won’t need to register your purchase. Of course, you won’t need to make repairs if needed.
Only if you have a resident card, you could choose to buy a motorcycle. Buying a used bike is a lot simpler and save paperwork.
Motorbike Driving Licenses in Vietnam
Regarding the driving licenses and permits in Vietnam, the A1 license allows you to drive a bike up to 175cc.
Foreigners live in Vietnam can have their national driving license translated to Vietnamese and will be granted a Vietnamese license without passing any exam.
If your country’s driving license does not include two-wheelers, then you will be required to pass a very easy test. The cost to obtain the A1 license should not be more than US dollar 50 with an agent.
In case you want to drive a “real” bike, a genuine A2 is required. The downside to this is that it costs over USD 1,000.
A cheaper route to the A2 is to get an invitation from a bike club. Obviously, the authorities want to control the number of people owning a more powerful ride than the police have. Police motorbikes in Vietnam have 400cc engines.
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