Hung Kings Temple From Hanoi by Motorbike: Is It a One-Day Ride and What to Confirm Before Going

Planning a visit to Hung Kings Temple (Đền Hùng) in Phu Tho from Hanoi by motorbike starts with a number the pages do not agree on: 80 km or 90 km each way. Whether that fits into one day is a matter of arithmetic and daylight, not something any page states, so this article gives the distances, shows the sums and lists what to confirm before leaving. The seven pages were read on 26 October 2026. Hours, traffic arrangements and event dates change, so check the current notice or ask the site before setting out.

Distance from Hanoi: 80 km or 90 km

The Viet Tri ward information portal, on a page it shows as updated on 12 June 2017, says the relic is 7 km north of the centre of Viet Tri and 80 km from Hanoi. VnExpress’s travel guide (published 17 April 2024, updated 2 April 2025, crediting the Phu Tho provincial portal and tourism promotion centre) gives the same 7 km but 90 km to Hanoi. Neither page says how the distance is measured or by which road. The gap is 10 km each way, so the worksheet below uses both figures.

Roads the pages name

The Viet Tri page lists three ways from Hanoi: road along National Road 2, the Noi Bai–Lao Cai expressway, or the Hanoi–Lao Cai railway. VnExpress names National Road 2 and the railway and does not mention the expressway. Neither page separates vehicle types, so neither says whether a motorbike can use the expressway. A related page, Hanoi Motorbike Routes in Google Maps: Check Expressways Before Riding, covers checking a route for expressway sections. Closer to the site, the 2026 notice described below names National Road 32C.

A one-day worksheet: round trip and daylight

No page gives riding times or average speeds. The figures below are arithmetic on assumed speeds of 30 and 40 km/h, shown so that you can replace them with your own estimate; they are not forecasts.

The U.S. Naval Observatory’s 2026 table, computed for Hanoi rather than Phu Tho, lists sunrise at 06:10 and sunset at 17:14 on 21 November 2026. That is 11 hours 4 minutes of daylight (17:14 minus 06:10); 21 November is only an example date, and the same table lists other dates. If the whole trip had to fall between sunrise and sunset, taking away the 180 km round trip at an assumed 30 km/h (6 hours) would leave at most 5 hours 4 minutes for the visit, fuel, meals and traffic; at an assumed 40 km/h (4 hours 30 minutes) at most 6 hours 34 minutes would remain.

To find a turn-back time, work backwards from sunset: sunset, minus the one-way ride, minus your own margin. With the 90 km figure at an assumed 40 km/h the one-way ride is 2 hours 15 minutes (90 ÷ 40), so 17:14 minus 2 hours 15 minutes gives 14:59 before any margin; at an assumed 30 km/h the one-way ride is 3 hours and the same sum gives 14:14. For rest stops and a return cutoff, a related page is Fatigue on a Hanoi Motorbike Day Trip: Rest Stops and a Return Cutoff; for riding after dark, see Night Riding in Hanoi: Visibility, Oncoming Dazzle and Roads to Keep for Daylight.

Time on the site: steps and a guide’s estimate

VnExpress puts the relic area at 1,030 ha with four main sights: the National Ancestor Lac Long Quan temple on Sim mountain, the Mother Au Co temple on Van mountain, the Hung Vuong museum and the Hung kings’ temples on Nghia Linh mountain. It reports Le Hai, vice-chair of the Phu Tho tourist guides’ branch association, as saying that visiting the kings’ temples takes only half a session (nửa buổi), a phrase that reads as about half a morning or afternoon. For the climb, the same VnExpress page counts 159 stone steps to the Middle Temple, about 100 more to the Upper Temple and about 600 steps down to the Well Temple. It gives no opening hours.

Festival days: the 1st to the 10th of the third lunar month

VnExpress says the Hung Kings commemoration falls on the 10th day of the third lunar month; in 2025 that was 7 April, with activities starting from 29 March. The Phu Tho police plan reported by Báo Phú Thọ (page dated 20 April 2026) ran from 17 to 26 April 2026, the 1st to the 10th day of the third lunar month, so the 10th day fell on 26 April in 2026. The pages give no 2027 date, and the two years differ, so look up the date for your year.

For 2026, Báo Phú Thọ reports a temporary plan on National Road 32C beside the site: a 30 km/h maximum for all vehicles between km 2+150 and km 2+450, signs reading “a road section with electric vehicles operating”, and the site’s own four-wheeled vehicles carrying passengers to the Lac Long Quan temple along km 2+200 to km 2+400. The Phu Tho provincial police portal (15 April 2026) expected visitor numbers to rise sharply and described diversion plans drawn up by time slot and by road, with vehicles from far provinces guided onto bypass routes, police on duty round the clock on peak days, and traffic police urging people to choose a reasonable time and route. A photo caption in the VnExpress guide says the temple is packed with people at the commemoration. For another heritage site with festival dates to check, see Con Son and Kiep Bac From Hanoi by Motorbike: Heritage Sites, Festival Dates and What to Check.

A night programme expected on 21 and 23 November 2026

VTV reported on 25 October 2026 that the site’s management held a press conference on a stage programme, “Hào khí Lạc Hồng”, expected on the nights of 21 and 23 November 2026 at the site, with an expected running time of 90 minutes. The page describes the programme as a step towards testing a night, on-location performance model, with the two nights a chance to assess how well it can be organised. It gives no start time, ticketing or traffic plan, so a day trip on those dates should check the site’s announcements first.

What to confirm before going

What the pages leave out

• Opening and closing hours and ticket prices: none of the seven pages states them.
• Motorbike parking or charges near the temple; the 2026 notice describes temporary road arrangements only.
• Riding times, average speeds, road surface or fuel stops between Hanoi and Phu Tho.
• Whether a motorbike can use the expressway the Viet Tri page lists.
• Which distance is right: 80 km or 90 km, and by which road.
• The 2027 festival date, and whether the 2026 traffic arrangements repeat.
• Forecast values: the national forecasting centre’s page for Viet Tri was read, but its text carried no values.
• Anything about taking a rental bike on this trip; ask the shop.

Sources checked

• Phu Tho Provincial Police: remote traffic diversion for the 2026 festival
• VnExpress: Hung Temple travel guide
• VTV: Hào khí Lạc Hồng night programme
• Báo Phú Thọ: 2026 temporary plan on National Road 32C
• Viet Tri ward portal: Hung Temple relic page
• U.S. Naval Observatory: Hanoi sun table 2026
• National forecasting centre: Viet Tri weather page

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.