The Prao Loop by Motorbike: Hoi An to the Truong Son Mountains

The Prao Loop runs west from Hoi An into the Truong Son mountains on QL14G, north along the Ho Chi Minh Road through Prao, then back down to the coast on QL14B. Roughly 200 km, rideable in a long day or split over two. This guide covers which direction to ride it, what each leg is actually like, and what you will find in Prao when you get there.

№ 01The loop at a glance — and which way to ride it

The loop is three legs, and they could hardly be more different from one another. That difference is the whole reason to ride it as a loop rather than an out-and-back.

№ 02Leg 1: Hoi An to Prao on QL14G

This is the leg that makes the loop worth doing and the leg most likely to catch you out. Around 125 km from Hoi An, or 95 km if you start in Da Nang.

1. Hoi An to the edge of Da NangRide north as if you were going to the city, then pick up Nguyen Huu Tho and the AH17 heading west. Flat, urban, unremarkable — get it done early and beat the commuter traffic.
2. Tuy Loan and the turn onto QL14GThe city thins into rice fields. This is your last easy chance for petrol, an ATM and a proper coffee. Take all three.
3. The climb to Doc KienThe road narrows and begins to wind. Doc Kien is the pass that lifts you out of the coastal plain — the name comes from Co Tu and refers to a pass reaching up to the sky. From here the temperature drops and the jungle closes in.
4. The middle stretch: concentrateLong sections of QL14G are narrow with a broken surface. Potholes appear on corner exits where you least want them, and loose gravel washes across the road after rain. Ride well within yourself and stay off the centre line.
5. Arrival at PraoThe road drops into a broad valley and meets the Ho Chi Minh Road. Prao is a small district town — a strip of shops, a market, a few guesthouses. You will know you have arrived because the road suddenly gets very good.

№ 03Leg 2: Prao to Thanh My on the Ho Chi Minh Road

Fifty-six kilometres, and the reason riders come back. After the tight, broken tarmac of QL14G, the Ho Chi Minh Road here is wide, beautifully engineered, sweeping through mountains — and almost completely empty.

This is a strategic road built through difficult terrain, which means long constant-radius curves, generous sightlines and a surface far better than the traffic volume justifies. Some sections are concrete slab rather than asphalt, which is fine dry and noticeably slippery wet.

You will pass Co Tu villages, river crossings and a great deal of nothing. Fifty-six kilometres can take an hour or half a day depending on how often you stop, and stopping is the correct answer.

№ 04Leg 3: Thanh My back to Hoi An on QL14B

Roughly 70 km, and the least interesting road of the three — which is exactly what you want at the end of a long day. QL14B is wide, fast and straightforward.

The catch is traffic. This is a working freight corridor: trucks, buses and quarry lorries, often moving quickly and often overtaking. The road is comfortably wide but the vehicle mix demands attention.

• Hold your line and let trucks pass. Do not try to keep pace with them.
• Watch for vehicles pulling out of side roads — quarries and depots line this route.
• Aim to be off QL14B before dusk. Unlit, fast, heavy traffic is a bad combination.
• Dust is real in dry season. A buff or a visor you can actually see through makes a genuine difference.

№ 05One day or two? Both itineraries

Two hundred kilometres of mountain road is a full day, not a leisurely one. Here is how each version actually plays out.

The one-day version

1. 06:30 — Leave Hoi AnEarly is not optional. You want the whole of QL14G in good light and you want to be off QL14B before dark.
2. 08:00 — Fuel and coffee at Tuy LoanFill the tank, get cash, eat something. Last convenient stop before the mountains.
3. 10:30 — PraoRice and noodles at a roadside quán. Stretch. Refuel.
4. 11:30 — Prao to Thanh MyThe good bit. Take two hours over fifty-six kilometres and stop whenever you feel like it.
5. 14:30 — Thanh My onto QL14BLunch here if you skipped Prao, then the run for home.
6. 17:00 — Back in Hoi AnTired, dusty, and unusually pleased with yourself.

The two-day version — better, if you can

Day 1: Leave Hoi An mid-morning, ride QL14G without rushing, stop at the tea hills and a Co Tu village, arrive Prao late afternoon. Sleep in a guesthouse for around 200,000₫. Eat where the locals eat.

Day 2: Out early for the Ho Chi Minh Road with morning mist still in the valleys, take the full stretch to Thanh My slowly, then QL14B home by mid-afternoon.

The second version costs one guesthouse night and turns a hard day into a genuinely good trip. It also means you see Prao at dusk and dawn, which is when a mountain town is worth seeing.

№ 06Or do not loop back at all: carrying on to Hue

Here is the thing most people miss about Prao. It is not a dead end you turn around at — it sits directly on the Ho Chi Minh Road, and that road keeps going north. Turn right instead of left at Prao and roughly 145 kilometres later you are in Hue.

Ridden this way the trip stops being a loop and becomes the mountain route from Hoi An to Hue: about 270 km from Da Nang, one to two days, with Prao as the natural overnight stop. It is the inland alternative to the Hai Van Pass, and it could hardly be more different — no coast, no tour buses, no coaches full of people photographing the same viewpoint.

1. Prao to A Luoi — the good partStill the Ho Chi Minh Road, still wide, still nearly empty. Big mountains, rainforest, river valleys and minority villages. Good paved surface with some concrete slab sections. This is the stretch experienced riders rate above Hai Van, and almost nobody rides it.
2. A Luoi — the natural second nightA highland district town near the Lao border. Basic guesthouses, cool air, and a good place to stop if you left Hoi An late or spent too long taking photographs.
3. A Luoi down to Hue on QL49AThe final descent, over deo Ta Luong and deo A Co. Spectacular — and the one section on this whole route we would tell you to treat with real respect. See the warning below.

№ 07Prao: sleeping, eating, fuel and money

Prao is the administrative centre of Dong Giang district and the only real town on the loop. Set expectations accordingly: this is a working mountain town, not a destination.

• Sleeping. Guesthouses — nhà nghỉ — run around 200,000₫ a room. Basic, clean enough, fan or air-con. Thanh My has similar options if you push on. Accommodation in the district is genuinely limited, so on a public holiday weekend, ask before you commit to arriving late.
• Homestays. A handful of Co Tu community villages run homestays built around traditional houses. These are the more interesting option if you have a day to spare and someone to help you arrange it.
• Eating. Roadside quán serving rice and noodle dishes. Local specialities worth asking for: cơm lam (rice cooked in bamboo), meat grilled in bamboo tubes, bánh cuốt, and ớt A Riêu — a small, fiercely hot local chilli that Dong Giang is genuinely known for.
• Drinking. Rượu tà vạt is the local palm wine. Try it in the evening, at your guesthouse, not at lunch with 100 km still to ride.
• Fuel. Prao has petrol. Fill up here — it is the natural halfway point and the stretch behind you had very little.
• Money. Bring cash from the coast. Card acceptance is close to nonexistent and ATMs are scarce and occasionally empty.

№ 08Detours worth the time

• Dong Giang tea hills (đồi chè Đông Giang) — rolling planted slopes on the Da Nang side of the district. Free, quiet, and one of the better photo stops on the whole loop.
• Bho Hoong village (thôn Bhơ Hôồng) — a Co Tu community village with traditional crafts and a communal gươl house.
• Dhroong village (thôn Đhrôồng) — brocade weaving, and RaMe waterfall nearby.
• Cong Troi Dong Giang — “Heaven’s Gate” — a large developed eco-tourism resort with caves, a cable car and a glass bridge. It is the opposite of the rest of this ride: polished, ticketed and busy.

№ 09Season, weather and landslides

Timing matters more on this loop than on any coastal ride, because the mountains make their own weather and the consequences of getting it wrong are larger.

• March to August is the season. Dry roads, clear valleys, reliable visibility.
• June and July bring the dry westerly wind — locally the gió Lào — and serious heat. Rideable, but start at dawn and carry more water than you think you need.
• September to February is the wet season. This is the one to take seriously: heavy sustained rain, low cloud on the passes, and landslides and rockfall on QL14G, which cuts through steep unstable terrain. Sections can close with little warning.
• Never start this loop with heavy rain already falling. Concrete slab sections turn slick, visibility on the pass drops to metres, and a road blocked at kilometre 80 means riding all the way back the way you came.
• Ask before you go. Local riders and rental shops know current conditions on 14G — we do check, and we will tell you honestly if today is not the day.

№ 10Which bike, and what to bring

You do not need a big adventure bike. You do need a mechanically sound one.

• A 110–125cc automatic scooter is enough for the whole loop, two-up included, provided the tyres and brakes are in good order. Check both before you leave.
• A semi-automatic or manual bike is more comfortable on the long descents — engine braking saves your brakes on the drop off Doc Kien.
• Electric scooters are not suitable. There is no charging infrastructure on this route. Do not attempt it.
• Bring: cash, a full water bottle, a rain poncho, sunscreen, a phone mount and a power bank. Offline maps downloaded before you leave — signal disappears for long stretches.
• Wear real shoes and long sleeves. Mountain sun burns more than coastal sun and gravel does not care that you are on holiday.
• Licence: over 50cc you need your home licence plus a 1968 Vienna Convention IDP. This is also the paperwork your travel insurance will ask about if anything happens 100 km up a mountain road.

№ 11What the loop costs

Add 450,000₫ per person if you stop at Cong Troi Dong Giang. Everything else on this loop — the pass, the valleys, the Ho Chi Minh Road — is free.

More riding from Hoi An: the Da Nang coast run, My Khe Beach, Ba Na Hills and Tra Que Vegetable Village.

Frequently asked questions

Updated August 2026. Distances, prices and road conditions are approximate and recorded at the time of writing. Mountain roads change: surfaces degrade, landslides close sections and guesthouse prices move. Ticket prices for Cong Troi Dong Giang are the published 2026 rates. Always check current conditions on QL14G locally before setting out, and treat this page as planning material rather than a live road report. Ridden it recently and found something different? Message us and we will update it.