SML GARA Off-Road Tours is Vietnam’s first off-road school, based in Hanoi and Northern Vietnam — my aim is to help people discover this beautiful sport and help everyone from a total beginner to an advanced racer improve their riding skills.
Coach Petteri Koskinen: I have been riding motorbikes for 25+ years. I have raced in Vietnam for 8 years , and I have 5 years of coaching experience. I'm a former Vietnam Enduro Champion and a skilled dirtbike mechanic — so you're in good hands on and off the trail.
What sets my Tours apart from other tour companies is that I am a pro level rider and a coach so I can help you improve your skills. I am there to make you the best possible rider, not just to show you the trail. My Lessons and Tours are fully personalized. Whether you're learning to stand on the pegs or hitting technical enduro terrain, I can help you improve your technique.
I also offer Hard Enduro Tours. There are a few important reasons why my Hard Enduro Tours are the best in Vietnam. I am arguably the best hard enduro rider in the country so as far as guiding goes, you're in good hands. Also the bikes I use are set up for this type of riding and equipped with protection to avoid any unnecessary breakdowns during the tour.
What also sets me apart from most other tour companies is that I offer solo tours as well as group tours. I will never put people who don't know each other together in the same group.
Coach Petteri Koskinen brings 25+ years of riding, 8 years of racing in Vietnam, and 5 years of coaching experience. He’s a Vietnam Enduro Champion and a certified dirtbike mechanic — so you're in good hands on and off the trail.
Our training and tours are fully personalized. Whether you're learning to stand on the pegs or hitting technical enduro terrain, we’ve got you covered.
Coach Petteri Koskinen
This is hands down the best Enduro Tour I offer, amazing and varied scenery with trails for everyone from a beginner to a pro. I will select the trails according to your skill level to guarantee the best off-road experience, both challenging and rewarding. After riding you get to experience amazing local food and hospitality. I think this is the best way to experience Vietnam!
Book A Tour
Soc Son is the perfect playground for both beginner and experienced riders. There is a huge amount of trails suitable for all skill levels — my beginner training is designed to help you build confidence and learn step by step. I teach basic skills like balancing, hill climbs and downhills and I often make it more fun with challenges or games along the way. If you want to start offroading, there’s no better place to begin!
Book A Lesson
This is a perfect way for a beginner to improve their skills and confidence. Learn body position, balance, braking, and cornering. For more advanced riders I offer lessons on Endurocross obstacles, wheelies and MX or any other skills you want to improve.
Book A Lesson
Hoa Binh has scenic mountains, peaceful forests, and lakeside views. The trails start only 90min from Hanoi, so if you don't like riding on the road this tour is a great option. Hoa Binh has trails for beginners and pros and I will choose the trails according to your skill level. The best part of this tour is the homestay with beautiful views and even more beautiful food.
Book A Tour
Ride hard, learn new techniques and enjoy the nature in the lush forests and mountains of Soc Son. This area has some of the most challenging hard enduro trails in Vietnam and I have made a lot of these trails so if you're looking for a tailor-made hard enduro experience, this is the spot. There are massive hill climbs, techy stream beds, loose sidehills and big stepups to challenge you. You will stay at a quiet homestay with a forest-view.
Book A Tour
Lang Son is Vietnam’s hard enduro heaven. If I could ride somewhere every day, it would be here. Just 3 hours from Hanoi, Lang Son is remote and raw, I think some of the most beautiful views in Vietnam are from the open hills in this area. This tour adapts to your skill level but shines for experienced riders chasing enormous open hill climbs, technical rock sections, creek beds and fast single track in the pine forest.
Book A Tour
For the Enduro Tours and Lessons I use Yamaha WR155Rs — they are light, agile and durable. It is easy to learn to ride off-road on these bikes. But these bikes are also great for more experienced riders looking to hit the trails while experiencing the Vietnamese countryside. If you have the skills these bikes are incredibly capable. The bikes I use are brand-new or last year's models — way better than your average rental bikes. In my opinion these are the best bikes for an Enduro Tour in Vietnam. These bikes have enough power for anything less than hard enduro trails and the riding feel is the best out of all dual sport bikes available. The WR155R performs better on the types of trails in Vietnam than the larger displacement Honda CRFs.
For the Hard Enduro Tours I use KTM 2-strokes. I have KTM EXC 250 and 300 TPI and carburetor models depending on availability. These bikes are well-maintained and offroad-ready. The bikes are equipped with skidplates, radiator guards, pipe guards, disc guards and hand guards for maximum protection on the rough stuff. These are the best bikes for Vietnam’s toughest terrain. However, if you are a 4-stroke rider through and through you can inquire for availability.
starting from
Per person (1-day tour)
All-inclusive
starting from
Per person (2-hour session)
Includes bike & gear rental
starting from
Per person, per day
Rent a guide (includes a tour guide, bike and gear)
starting from
Per person, per day (2+ people)
All-inclusive
Per person, per day (2+ people)
All-inclusive
Per person, per day
All-inclusive
2-hour Off-Road Lesson:
1-Day Soc Son Tour:
Multi-Day Tours:
Hard Enduro Tours:
There are some possible extra costs. If you damage the bike in a way that is solely your fault you are liable for the damages to the bike. This is rare because the bikes I use have solid protective gear but it does sometimes happen. Most common ways of this happening would be a burned clutch due to rider error or broken handlebars after a crash.
On Solo Enduro Tours the customer pays for the expenses during the trip. This includes accommodation, food and fuel for the customer and the guide. This allows me to choose where we stay and where we eat according to the customer's needs. If you are on a budget or want more comfort I can choose places with that in mind.
Yes, for advance bookings you need to pay a 20% deposit of the full price. The deposit is not refundable due to cost acquired for booking bikes and accommodation.
The deposit can be paid in cash or by bank transfer if you are already in Hanoi or by a payment link if you are outside of Vietnam or prefer paying by card.
Absolutely! My tours are a very good way for a beginner to get introduced to off-road riding, because I will teach you basic skills in your own pace along the way. I tailor every tour to the customer's skill level — including route choice and the riding techniques taught, for fast learners I will introduce more new skills, for the slower learners I will allow sufficient time for practicing before teaching new skills. This way you get the most out of both the coaching and the tour itself. Beginners will have fun, gain confidence, and learn how to control a dirtbike off-road. Hoa Binh Enduro Tour and 1-day Soc Son Lesson are the best tours for a beginner or someone looking to try off-road riding for the first time.
If you are a complete beginner I would recommend booking a 2 hour lesson a day before the tour to get up to speed and learn some basic skills for bike control.
100%. Both the Enduro and Hard Enduro Tours are great fun for an experienced rider. Even the Enduro Tours with Yamaha WR155R have optional trails that are difficult but within the limits of the bike for skilled riders. The best tours for an advanced rider are the Hard Enduro Tours with KTM 2-strokes. Lang Son Hard Enduro Tour and Soc Son Hard Enduro Tour have some of the most difficult trails in Vietnam, with a lot of options for different types of trails and difficulties.
I customize the route and drills based on your riding level. If you've got the skills I will take you to tougher trails, teach you more advanced techniques and let you overcome more challenging terrain.
There are varying levels of trails in the Hard Enduro locations, but basically these are tours for riders who are regularly riding back home. If you don't own a dirtbike or your own riding gear back home or have previous experience of riding a dirtbike these tours are not suitable for you.
The Hard Enduro Tours are mostly aimed for riders or riding groups who regularly ride back home and will come to Vietnam to experience the local terrain and trails.
Yes, I offer both Enduro and Hard Enduro Tours 1 on 1. Enduro Solo Tours are done in rent a guide style. The tour includes the guide, bike and gear rental. The customer pays the other expenses on top of that. That includes accommodation, food and fuel for the customer and guide. Prepare for 1.5M - 2M VND per day for the expenses. I also offer Enduro Solo Tours with an all-inclusive package.
Hard Enduro Solo Tours are all-inclusive.
The riding season is all year. However, it is cooler from October to March if you're not a fan of the hot weather. Riding in the summer is not a problem though. You just need to be more proactive about hydration and taking sufficient amount of breaks. The summer can be rainy but most of the time the rain comes in the form of short and intense showers that cool things off nicely.
What is good about riding in the summer? My absolute favorite part of riding in the countryside of Vietnam is going for a swim to cool off mid-ride in the streams and rivers or after the ride in a swimming pool. April to October is warm and sunny which makes it a great time to enjoy swimming and the spectacular views in the Vietnamese countryside.
The absolute best time to ride in Northern Vietnam in my opinion is October to December because it's both cool and dry. If you want to make sure you get to ride with me in the best season book your tour now! Make a booking
My aim is to have as much off-road riding as possible. Unfortunately it is impossible to completely avoid riding on the road. The amount of road riding depends on the type of tour and the amount of days.
On Enduro Tours the first and the last day have more road riding because we are leaving or coming back to Hanoi. Unfortunately this is unavoidable. The days in between are mostly off-road but there are some connections between the trails that involve road riding. A good way to maximize your time off-road is to add extra days to explore more trails. In each location I have more trails that can be covered in one day so adding extra days allows time to do more trails in one location.
On Hard Enduro Tours road riding is very minimal. We will transport to the riding location by truck. Depending on the trail there will be from a few minutes up to 15 minutes of road to get to the trail in the morning and back at the end of the day. If you absolutely hate the road these are the tours for you.
On 1-day Soc Son Tour there is about 45 minutes of road riding to get to the location in the morning and to get back to Hanoi in the afternoon. Most of this is through the countryside outside Hanoi which is a nice way to experience Vietnam.
The accommodation is in a private single room or a twin room with 2 beds depending on the location and availability. I don't mix groups so if you're sharing a twin room it'll only be with someone you know and have booked a group tour together with.
In most locations we will stay in a homestay or resort type of accommodation. In some locations the best accommodation is in a hotel. Most places we will stay have a swimming pool.
On Enduro Solo Tours I have different options in some locations depending on what kind of budget you're on.
Yes, I offer custom tours across Northern Vietnam. I can combine some of my tours together or create new routes depending on your preference. For example the 10 day Northwest tour combines most of the best trails in the North of Vietnam into one single tour.
Drop me a message here to discuss where you’d like to ride.
I use the Yamaha WR155R for Enduro Tours, because it is a great machine off-road and it's still fairly comfortable on road, basically the best of both worlds. There are bikes that are better off-road but can't really do much road riding, like the KTM 2-strokes. And there are bikes that perform better on road but are much inferior off-road. I firmly believe that the Yamaha WR155R is the best bike for Enduro Tours in Vietnam. They are light, agile and durable. It is easy to learn to ride off-road on these bikes. But these bikes are also great for more experienced riders looking to hit the trails while experiencing the Vietnamese countryside. If you have the skills these bikes are incredibly capable. The bikes I use are brand-new or last year's models — way better than your average rental bikes. In my opinion these are the best bikes for an Enduro Tour in Vietnam. These bikes have enough power for anything less than hard enduro trails and the riding feel is the best out of all dual sport bikes available. The WR155R performs better on the types of trails in Vietnam than the larger displacement Honda CRFs.
I use KTM EXC 250 and 300 for Hard Enduro Tours, because in my opinion they're the best bikes for hard enduro riding. The bikes I use are well-maintained and equipped with protective gear to make sure they can withstand the type of riding they see on the hard trails. The bikes are equipped with skidplates, radiator guards, pipe guards, disc guards and hand guards for maximum protection on the rough stuff.
If you are a 4-stroke rider through and through you can inquire for availability for KTM EXC-F 350.
Check out the Bikes section for full details.
I'm a huge believer in the saying: "wear all your gear all the time". All my tours include the rental of core safety gear: helmet, boots, elbow and knee protection — everything you need to keep yourself safe on the trails.
Note: Riding gloves, pants and jersey are not included for all sizes. I recommend getting your own gloves, pants and jersey for proper sizing.
For both lessons and multi-day tours it's a good idea to bring your own riding gloves and a small backpack to carry your water. I recommend getting a water bladder so that you don't need to stop every time you want to drink. This helps you keep hydrated because you can drink throughout the ride.
For multi-day tours, I recommend packing very light. Only pack a bag that you can carry in your back so that you don't have to strap anything to your bike because it interferes with being able to ride properly. I pack one set on evening clothes and a pair of underwear and riding socks for each riding day. No shoes are required, all hotels and homestays have slippers that you can borrow. For the winter a waterproof jacket and pants are a good idea. Make sure your valuables and electronics are packed in waterproof manner. Usually a ziplock bag will work well.
Riding gloves, pants and jersey are not included for all sizes in the rental gear. I recommend getting your own gloves, pants and jersey before the trip to make sure you have gear that fits you perfectly.
Definitely! Make sure your bike is freshly serviced and in good working order so you can focus on the ride.
If you're looking for a reliable mechanic I also run a dirtbike mechanic shop.
Message me here to schedule a time for service.
