One-Day Motorbike Itineraries
Perfume Pagoda From Hanoi by Motorbike: Boat Leg, Festival Dates and Dated Prices
About 7 minutes to read
The Perfume Pagoda (Huong Pagoda, or Chua Huong) is a Buddhist pilgrimage complex that the national tourism authority places about 70 km from Hanoi. A motorbike trip there involves a change of transport in the middle: the ride ends at a car park or wharf (the sources do not say which one a motorbike uses), and the approach to the main shrines runs along Yen Stream by boat, then on foot or by cable car. This guide sets out what official and press sources say about that day, with dates on time-sensitive figures.
Most figures below come from the 2025 and 2026 festival seasons. The 2026 season was scheduled to run to 11 May 2026 and no 2027 dates are announced in the sources reviewed, so confirm prices, boat arrangements and parking rules with the site operator or the local tourism office before setting out.
Distance and the shape of the day
The Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) travel portal describes the complex as about 70 km from Hanoi and calls it the country’s most revered Buddhist pilgrimage site. That page carries an event date of 26 February 2021 and no publication date. No source reviewed gives a riding time, road conditions or traffic levels, so none are stated here.
One road is named: an official briefing reported on 3 February 2025 mentions flower beds and ornamental plants along Provincial Road 419, from Van Tin towards Huong Son, for that year’s festival. It points to an approach road but does not set out a route from Hanoi, so a current map remains the way to plan the ride.
As VNAT describes it, the pilgrimage includes a walk up stone steps to Thien Tru Pagoda, and the prayer said in the ancient sacred cave of Huong Tich is central to the festival. The site can be visited at any time of year.
Why the last leg is a boat
The traditional visitor route passes through Yen Stream, Trinh Temple, Thien Tru Pagoda and Huong Tich Cave. VNAT’s report of 24 February 2026, republished from The Hanoi Times, says most visitors follow it. The stream section is covered by boat, which is why the ride from Hanoi is only the first part of the day.
In the 2026 season the boats changed character. Motorboats on Yen Stream were limited to emergency use, and the same VNAT report says hand-rowed boats dominate the route. Lao Dong newspaper, on 22 February 2026, reports a strict ban on motorised boats on the stream.
Boat hours were last given in the 2025 press conference reported on 3 February 2025, which described boat services running daily from 04:30 to 20:00. A 2026 timetable and any off-season hours are not in the sources reviewed.
Festival season: dates and crowds
The festival follows the lunar calendar, so the Gregorian dates move each year. The two most recent seasons in the sources look like this.
| Season | Dates | How the source dates it |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 February to 1 May 2025 | About three months, from the sixth day of the first lunar month to the fourth day of the fourth lunar month (government e-newspaper, 3 February 2025) |
| 2026 | 18 February to 11 May 2026 | Opening ceremony on 22 February 2026, the sixth day of the first lunar month (VNAT, 24 February 2026; Lao Dong, 22 February 2026) |
Crowds are heavy around the opening. VNAT’s report quotes the director of the Huong Son Scenic Area Management Board saying that nearly 136,000 visitors came between 17 and 21 February 2026, up 138% on the previous year. A photo caption notes that many visitors had been at Yen Stream since 3 AM. In a VOV2 interview of 12 February 2026, a commune official said that at times visitor numbers have reached 40,000 to 50,000, and that technology had been identified as the key answer to staff shortages.
Tickets and add-ons: dated figures
Prices below come from the 2025 price list. The government e-newspaper reported it on 3 February 2025, and Lao Dong repeated the main figures on 22 February 2026. They may have changed since, and they should not be read as current off-season prices.
| Item | Figure reported | Date and source |
|---|---|---|
| Integrated sightseeing and boat ticket, Huong Tich route | 230,000 VND adult; 65,000 VND child | In force from 1 January 2025; repeated 22 February 2026 |
| Boat ticket alone, while the sightseeing fee was waived | 110,000 VND per person | 20 to 22 February 2026, while the sightseeing fee was waived (Lao Dong) |
| Cable car, Thien Tru Pagoda to Huong Tich Cave | 260,000 VND adult return; 180,000 VND adult one way | 2025 price list |
| Electric car, car park to boat wharf | 20,000 VND per person per trip | 2025 price list |
VNAT’s report of 24 February 2026 confirms that free entrance tickets applied through 22 February. The sources do not give cable-car opening hours.
Parking and arriving early
Lao Dong’s text (22 February 2026) says the organisers waived parking fees for cars and motorbikes at the wharves they manage, but its photo caption limits free car parking to service cars and vehicles of 10 or more seats, and VOV2 (12 February 2026) describes the same limit without mentioning motorbikes. The caption adds that motorbike visitors may pay nothing or pay what they see fit. VNAT also lists free car parking among that year’s changes. Treat motorbike parking as something to confirm on arrival, not a promise. The sources do not describe individual wharf car parks, their hours or rules for particular vehicle types.
One photo caption shows visitors at Yen Stream from 3 AM on a busy 2026 day, and boats were reported to start at 04:30 in 2025, so at busy times plan for an early start. With about 70 km each way plus a day of walking and boat travel, Fatigue on a Hanoi Motorbike Day Trip: Rest Stops and a Return Cutoff covers rest stops and a return cutoff for day trips of this kind.
A visitor hotline, 19001207, was to be kept running throughout the 2026 festival to receive and handle visitor reports, according to VOV2 on 12 February 2026. The sources do not say whether it operates outside the festival.
A quieter option: the Tuyet Son route
Local authorities have been developing alternative routes to ease congestion, and VNAT highlights the Tuyet Son route as lesser known and more secluded. It begins in Phu Yen village along the Tuyet Son Stream, where a 1.5-kilometre boat ride winds past limestone peaks and rice fields to Bao Dai Pagoda at the foot of the mountain. Commune officials said Tuyet Son will get infrastructure upgrades and improved services, with no detail on timing.
The sources count routes differently: VNAT (24 February 2026) speaks of four main routes and about 20 temples, pagodas and caves; Lao Dong (22 February 2026) lists three visiting routes with 20 sites at the festival but also mentions four routes in the monument complex. Neither count is treated as exact here.
Other temple outings from Hanoi
For other temple outings from Hanoi, Thay Pagoda from Hanoi by Motorbike: Arrival, Parking and Temple Etiquette and Tay Phuong Pagoda from Hanoi by Motorbike: Steps, Parking and Return Timing cover those two sites, and Motorbike Rental Hanoi: Best Day Trips Around the City covers further day trips around the city.
Sources checked
- Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism, vietnam.travel (no publication date; event date 26 February 2021): distance from Hanoi, the pilgrimage and year-round visits. Perfume Pagoda festival page
- Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism, republishing The Hanoi Times (24 February 2026): 2026 festival, crowds, boats and routes. VNAT festival report
- VOV2, Voice of Vietnam radio (12 February 2026): commune officials on peak crowds and the hotline. VOV2 interview
- Government e-newspaper, chinhphu.vn (3 February 2025): 2025 festival dates, prices, boat hours and Provincial Road 419. Press conference report
- Lao Dong newspaper (22 February 2026): 2026 dates, price list, fee-free window, boat ban and parking policy. Lao Dong festival report
Thuê xe máy Nguyễn Hà is open 09:00–21:00 daily at Ngõ 5 Nguyễn Văn Cừ, Bồ Đề, Long Biên, Hà Nội (near Gia Lâm bus station). Phone: 0334 699 969.