I decided to rent a scooter in Vietnam while I was in Chiang Mai. For the ‘Travel with kids’ section of Asian Itinerary, I had planned a trip of a whole month to Vietnam with my 5 years old boy Leonardo, and as I had a few commitments in Chiang Mai, I had booked a direct flight Chiang Mai–Danang and decided to start our adventure in this sea-town in central Vietnam.
Leonardo happy with his yellow mock Vespa
We had a rented car in Chiang Mai, and Leonardo was always complaining about getting on and off the car, putting on and taking off the seatbelt, and other minor complains related to car window opening, too cold air con, too hot air coming from outside: I was tired. I had planned to rent a car in Danang too, as we were going to spend 10 days there and with all the attractions we planned to visit, I had thought a car would be the best choice to move around freely.
But Leonardo thought otherwise, and one day he simply said: “Daddy, in Vietnam I don’t want you to get a car, please. I want a motorbike”. Well, I thought, why not. It wasn’t such a bad idea. Sure, getting him to wear a helmet was going to be a nuisance, perhaps bigger than the seatbelt, but what the heck. This Vietnam trip was for him, and if he wanted a bike, a bike I would get.
I have to tell you: I love Vespa. And I do not only love the old version of this Italian icon, I also like the new most recent version. The last time I had rented one was in Penang, in Malaysia, a few years back; I had explored the whole island with it, and I simply loved it. So I set myself on the Mac to find a bike rental shop that had a Vespa available. After all, Vietnam is the place in Asia where they build them.
Well, you will be surprised: I found none. And let me tell you that in Danang, every corner has a bike rental shop: there must be hundreds of them. I was nearly giving up hope when Mr Lee from The Motorbike Station replied to my email: he did not have Vespa, but he had just purchased a similar version by a Vietnamese producer, Vinfast, and not only did it looked like Vespa: it was electric! And it was… yellow! That was it, I had to have it, and so I booked it.
Once in Danang, we punched the main office location on Maps, we got a Grab and headed to their workshop. Lee was on a bike field trip, the core sector of their business, but his helpful staff A-Dong was there and knew about my booking. And the pseudo-Vespa was just amazing. I loved it at first sight. A-Dong explained how to operate it, how to charge it either at our hotel during the night, or at restaurants or coffee shops during our errands in this costal town and beyond, and he handed me the keys and a bike with a battery 100% charged. The adventure was on!
In the following 9 days, we took the bike everywhere: Lady Buddha, Son Tra Peninsula, Danang town, Hoi An, Marble Mountains, and to several of the surrounding beaches. The scooter became an inseparable companion of our amazing holiday in Danang (WATCH THE GALLERY ABOVE)! And at a price that will not dent your wallet!
The Motorbike Station
The Motorbike Station is an ideal place for a motorbike rental in Danang, and it is probably one of the most famous motorbike rental shops in town. The Motorbike Station is highly appreciated by tourists on Tripadvisor for its great service and amazing vehicles. The quality of motorcycles, helmets and customer service is well-rated as they always make customers satisfied.
The owner of The Motorbike Station Mr Lee is very enthusiastic and friendly, always ready to help customers by giving useful advice on famous places to visit in Danang or Hoi An, and to have the best tips for tourists.
He is also a travel-holic with lots of traveling experience in Vietnam, and he is often on bike trips around the country with happy customers. I found the services and advice from his staff A-Dong extremely friendly and helpful. He went the extra mile to please us.
Asian Itinerary highly recommends The Motorbike Station for your bike rental needs in Danang.
WWW: http://themotorbikestation.com
ADDRESS: 25/18 Ngũ Hành Sơn street, Danang
TEL: (+84) 979 944 057
Whataspp/Zalo/Wechat/Twitter/Viber/Kakaotalk: (+84) 922 771 171
EMAIL: themotorbikestation@gmail.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100052469127178&ref=embed_page
