Hoi An to Deo Le by Motorbike (2026): The Pass Named After Your Tongue

DAY RIDES FROM HOI AN · QUE SON · UPDATED AUGUST 2026

The name tells you what you are in for. Deo Le comes from leo lè lưỡi — “climb until your tongue hangs out” — and locals have a rhyme about it: “Chưa đi chưa biết đèo Le / Đi rồi mới biết đạp lè lưỡi luôn.” It was coined by people pedalling bicycles over the pass, and it stuck. On a modern scooter the climb is easy; what you get for the effort is 7 kilometres of switchbacks over the shoulder of Hon Tau mountain, a cold stream at the summit, and the best free-range chicken in Quang Nam. This guide covers the Hoi An to Deo Le ride: the two routes, what to eat, when not to go, and why almost no foreign visitor has heard of it.

Why ride to Deo Le at all

Be honest about what this is. Deo Le is not a famous viewpoint and there is no monument at the top. It is a working mountain road that locals drive to eat lunch and sit in a cold stream. That is precisely the appeal.

Where Deo Le is — and the 2025 address change

Deo Le crosses the shoulder of Hon Tau mountain on provincial road DT611, in what was Que Son district, on the boundary of Son Vien and Que Loc communes. It sits roughly 42 km west of Hoi An, about 70 km south-west of Da Nang, and around 60 km north-west of Tam Ky.

The route from Hoi An, turn by turn

There are two sensible ways to link Hoi An to Deo Le. Both are flat until the pass itself.

1. The direct route — via Vinh Dien and Highway 1 (about 42 km). Leave Hoi An west on the Vinh Dien road, join QL1 southbound, and continue to the Huong An junction. Turn west there onto DT611 and follow it around 30 km to the foot of the pass. Fastest, but you spend 20 km on Highway 1 with trucks.
2. The quiet route — through the villages (about 55 km). Head south-west from Hoi An on the smaller roads through Duy Xuyen, past the turning to My Son, then cut west to join DT611 nearer the pass. Adds half an hour, avoids most of QL1, and takes you through rice fields and brick-kiln villages. This is the ride worth doing.

Fuel: fill up in Hoi An or at Huong An. Stations thin out badly once you are on DT611, and there is nothing on the pass itself.

Riding the pass itself

The climb is about 7 kilometres over the shoulder of Hon Tau, topping out near 500 metres. On a 110cc scooter with one rider it is comfortable; two adults will feel it on the steeper hairpins.

• The corners are tight and blind. This is a local road — trucks carrying timber and construction sand use it, and they cut the corners. Stay right, especially on left-handers.
• Coming down matters more than going up. Scooters have almost no engine braking. Use both brakes in short firm applications rather than dragging the rear the whole way, and stop once to let them cool.
• Watch for gravel and sand washed onto the road surface at corner exits, especially after rain. This is the single most common way people fall here.
• There are pull-offs on the way up with views back over the valley. No formal viewpoint, no railing, no coffee shop — just wide spots on the verge.
• Do not ride it after dark. No lighting, no barriers on some drops, and the corners are unforgiving. Be off the pass by late afternoon.

Suối Nước Mát at the summit

The reason Vietnamese families make the drive: near the top of the pass, Suối Nước Mát — literally “cool water stream” — runs down over boulders, and people simply get in.

Gà tre Đèo Le: what to order

This is not a side note. For a lot of Vietnamese visitors the chicken is the trip, and the restaurants clustered at the top of the pass exist because of it.

Beyond the pass: hot springs and Nong Son

Most people turn around at the top. If you have the day, the far side is quieter still.

• Tay Vien hot spring — continue west down the far side of the pass and you reach the mineral hot spring at Tay Vien. Hot water after a cold stream, in the same afternoon, which is a strange and good combination.
• Nong Son and the Thu Bon river — the road carries on into the upper Thu Bon valley, the same river that flows past Hoi An. Green, empty, and almost never ridden by visitors.
• Hon Kem Da Dung — further upriver, a gorge where the Thu Bon cuts between cliffs with Cham inscriptions carved into the rock. A serious extra hour each way, and only worth it if you are already committed to a long day.
• Turning it into a loop — experienced riders link Deo Le with My Son on the way back, making a full-day circuit of roughly 130 km. Do this only if you are comfortable riding for six hours.

If you would rather not ride the pass yourself — no licence, no 1968-convention IDP, or simply not confident on switchbacks — guided day trips into the Quang Nam countryside from Hoi An are listed here: day tours from Hoi An. Few sell Deo Le by name, but several cover My Son and the river valleys on the same side of the province.

When to go, and when not to

• Leave early. On the road by 07:30 puts you at the top before the lunch rush and gets you home well before dark.
• Do not ride the pass during or right after heavy rain. This is a forested mountain road in a province that gets serious storms from September to December — landslides and washed-out gravel are real, not theoretical.
• Check the forecast for Que Son, not Hoi An. The coast can be dry while the hills are in cloud.

Practical notes for riders

• Bike choice. A 110–125cc automatic is fine solo. Two-up, take a manual — you can hold a lower gear on the climb and get engine braking on the way down. Electric scooters do not have the range for a 95 km round trip with a mountain in it.
• Licence. Anything over 50cc legally needs a licence plus a 1968-convention IDP; 1949 Geneva permits are not valid in Vietnam. See our IDP guide. Riding unlicensed usually voids travel insurance — which matters more on a mountain road than in town.
• Check brakes before you leave Hoi An. Ask the rental shop specifically. Brakes that are fine around town are not automatically fine on a 7 km descent.
• Carry cash in small notes. No card machines anywhere on this route, and changing a 500,000₫ note at a hillside chicken restaurant is a struggle.
• Bring water, a towel and swim clothes. The stream is the payoff; arriving without a towel is the classic mistake.
• Phone signal is patchy on the pass. Download the offline map before you go.
• Tell someone your plan if riding alone. Traffic is light enough that a breakdown can mean a long wait.
• Sun protection. Most of the 40 km approach is unshaded open country.

Khách Tây ít ai biết đèo Le. Đó là lý do nên đi — cả con đèo có khi chỉ mình bạn, xuống suối ngồi rồi ăn con gà tre, chiều về vẫn kịp.