Travelling Vietnam without an IDP

Hi all,

We’re wanting to travel through northern Vietnam without needing to rely on bus/train routes. We‘re currently in Hanoi and want to head towards Sapa, and would love to be able to just stop at places along the way that we like the look of. The problem is neither of us have an IDP and seems like its not possible without being in our home countries.

So far we’ve considered renting 50cc bikes, but have fears they won’t be able to manage the long distance and/or the hills closer to Sapa, and they also seem hard to come by rental wise. Some people here have said we could just consider renting a bike over 50cc if not going to Ha Giang, but we’re pretty budget limited and are reluctant to risk the fines…

Does anyone have any suggestions for a budget-friendly way to get around, where we can still have some freedom to get off the beaten track?