7 Day Northern Vietnam Guided Off-Road Motorbike Tour to Sapa, Ha Giang, and Ba Be Lake
Thrilling Motorcycle Tour in Vietnam
This six-day motorbike tour is set to thrill riders discovering the most stunning parts of Northern Vietnam including Sapa, Bac Ha, Dong Van, and Ba Be Lake. Sapa is famous both for the fine, rugged scenery, and for the rich cultural diversity. French used to consider Sapa as the summer capital of Northern Vietnam in the early decades of the 20th century.
Key information
- Bike: rental (scooter, Honda, Yamaha)
- Terrain: mix of tarmac, gravels, curves, steep passes, muddy, rocky, and off-road
- Mileage: 970 kilometers / 604 miles
- Daily rides: 100 - 230 kilometers / 63 - 143 miles
- Meals: 6 breakfasts, 6 lunches, and 5 dinners
Highlights
- Starts and ends in Hanoi
- A panoramic ride to Meo Vac
- Explore the surroundings of Bac Ha
- Boat-ride to a village near Dau Dang Waterfall
- English speaking tour guide
- 6 nights accommodation
Skill level
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Accommodation
During this tour, you will be accommodated in homestays and hotels.
Program
Day 1: Hanoi to Lao Cai City
You take a very short motorbike ride to Hanoi Train Station, put your motorbikes, and jump on the night train up to Lao Cai.
Day 2 : Lao Cai to Sapa, 100 kilometers / 63 miles
The train will get to Lao Cai Station at around 05:30 and upon getting to the station, your guide will take you to a local restaurant for a breakfast. You ride a motorcycle straight toward Sa Pa town. Sa Pa is located in Lao Cai Province, Northwest Vietnam, and 350 kilometers north-west of Hanoi, close to the border with China.
Sapa is famous both for the fine, rugged scenery and for the rich cultural diversity. French used to consider Sapa as the summer capital of Northern Vietnam in the early decades of the 20th century. The naturally gifted beauty keeps attracting more and more people to spend their vacation there since then. Particularly, the place is the foremost choice for honeymoon couples. Stay overnight in a hotel.
Day 3: Sapa to Bac Ha, 120 kilometers / 75 miles
Ride motorcycle down from Sapa to Lao Cai City and then have a coffee stop on the bank of Nam Thi River, which is Vietnam - China border. Enjoy your coffee while taking the view to China.
Head to Road 70 before turning to Bac Ha on Road 153. Long touted as the weekend alternative to Sapa, this small highland town does not have the same dramatic location of its more illustrious neighbour, but it is calmer when Saturday comes. It fills up to choking point on Sunday morning, when visitors flood in to meet the Flower H’mong on the Sapa motorbike tour to Bac Ha Market, a morning market.
Compared with Sapa, tourism is still in its infancy here and during the week, the town has a deserted feel. Bac Ha is a good base to explore the surrounding highlands. Around 900 meters above sea level, it is noticeably warmer than Sapa.
One of Bac Ha’s main industries is the manufacture of alcoholic home brews (rice wine, cassava wine, and corn liquor). The corn hooch produced by the Flower H’mong is so potent it can ignite. Bac Ha is the only place in Vietnam where you will find this particular moonshine. There is an entire area devoted to it at the Sunday market. Stay overnight at a homestay accommodation in Bac Ha.
Day 4: Bac Ha to Ha Giang City, 200 kilometers / 125 miles
After breakfast, you take a motor ride on the track to Xin Man and Hoang Su Phi on many small, back roads with scenic mountain views. Xin Man is right on the border between Vietnam and China. It is, as of this writing, well hidden and completely surrounded by wild mountains and forests.
There is a single road from Xin Man to Hoang Su Phi. Hoang Su Phi is among the most untouched area of Ha Giang Province of Vietnam. The area was separated from the mainstream society until very recently. Passing Hoang Su Phi, you will be charmed by the pristine beauty of the wild mountains and the authentic culture of the local ethnic groups which include the Nung, the Flower H’mong, the Tay, and the Ha Nhi people.
After lunch, join the main road heading up to Ha Giang City, where you stop for the night and apply for a permit. You will stay overnight in a hotel.
Day 5: Ha Giang to Dong Van, 160 kilometers / 100 miles
After getting the permit for a motorcycle tour in border areas at Ha Giang’s Immigration Police, you ride on small challenging mountain roads (but incredibly beautiful) on the land of colorful mountain hill-tribes.
Ride motorcycle up the Ma Pi Leng Pass. Here is yet another amazing place, with cloudy mountain ranges and the poetic Nho Que River winding off in the distance.
It is really difficult to find the exact words to describe Ma Pi Leng Pass, located between Dong Van and Meo Vac, near the northernmost tip of Vietnam, as a painting of astonishing beauty and magnificence that captures the eyes of all viewers and nature lovers.
Ride on a zig-zag track until reaching Vuong Family’s residence, 14 kilometers before Dong Van. Vuong Family was considered the King of the Hmong People in Dong Van, Ha Giang.
Vuong Family's residence was built in the scenic valley of Sa Phin with Chinese architecture. The whole house was built out of wood and rock only. The rocks for the buildings were imported from China. Vuong Family's residence is a masterpiece of man's work in the valley of heavenly beauty of Sa Phin.
This is a remote area and you can meet the hard-working local people here. It is inspiring to see how they survive as they manage to live in the rocks. When you reach Dong Van Town, you will have some extra time to wander the ancient streets lined with H’mong homes of clay bricks and tiles roofs built centuries ago. You will stay overnight in a hotel.
Day 6: Dong Van via Meo Vac to Ba Be National Park, 160 kilometers / 100 miles
The road is still under construction and the tracks are what make the ride relatively long in spite of being a few kilometers in length. The landscape is among the most beautiful of Vietnam, and the slow tempo is only more appreciable.
You cross the wild regions of the mythical province of Ha Giang, Meo Vac is included. It shares the border with Dong Van District of Ha Giang Province and Bao Lam District of Cao Bang Province.
Meo Vac has most of the terrain in the Rock Plateau of Dong Van and above 1000 meters above sea level. Meo Vac has a harsh climate in the winter, which is from November to April with dry and freezing cold weather. It is inhabited by different ethnic minorities, including the H’mong, the King, Tay, and Dzao. Most ethnic groups have maintained their culture untouched from the outside world.
Take a beautiful motorcycle ride down to Bac Kan Province in the afternoon. Take a local boat-ride on the reservoir of Na Hang Hydro Power Factory to a village near Dau Dang Waterfall in Ba Be National Park for your homestay.
Day 7: Ba Be to Hanoi, 230 kilometers / 143 miles
This is a very big day. You should start early and ride back carefully on Road 3. After breakfast, take another boat-ride on Ba Be lake to the other side before jumping on your motorbikes to Cho Ra. Head up to main Road 3.
Ba Be National Park is an abundant bio-reserve area containing the world’s only fresh-water karst lake and several rare species of fauna and flora. Ba Be Lake in Vietnam, the biodiverse 10,048-hectare park, is home to 1,268 species of flora and fauna, a series of caves, and a gigantic fresh water lake. The park was established in 1992 by the Vietnamese government to preserve forest ecosystems in the northeast.
Ba Be is home to over 3,000 people from the ethnic minorities of Tay, Nung, Dao, and Mong, who live in 13 villages within the park. The Tay people have inhabited Ba Be area for centuries and make up 58 percent of the population within the park’s boundaries.
On Road 3, the way back to Hanoi, traffic is getting worse and worse, so you should be back before the rush hour.
Skill level(s) required for this tour: Intermediate, advanced
Intermediate
- can ride for 3 - 4 hours
- average riding experience
- little assistance required
- comfortable with extreme curves and leans
- average experience with unsurfaced roads
- steep ascents and descents
Advanced
- can ride for 5 - 6 hours
- extensive riding experience
- assistance on demand (if required)
- experienced with riding a variety of motorcycles
- comfortable with any terrain and weather conditions
Included excursions
You will visit Vuong Family Residence during this journey.
Location
This motorcycle tour will take place in Vietnam. The journey will take you from Hanoi to Ba Be Lake. Along the way, you will visit placed like Lao Cai, Sapa, Bac Ha, Ha Giang, Meo Vac, and Dong Van.
Food
You will have 6 breakfasts, 6 lunches, and 5 dinners. Coffee and fruits are also provided while on tour.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Snacks
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Coffee
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
What's included
- Motorbike(s) (Honda XR 125cc or Kawasaki 150cc)
- Helmet(s)
- Driving gear
- Gasoline on tour
- English speaking guide
- Mechanic (only for group from 6 passengers)
- 6 nights accommodation as indicated in the itinerary (based on twin or/and triple shared)
- Homestay permission
- Meals as indicated in the itinerary
- Entrance fees & Sightseeing fees
- Night train from Hanoi to Lao Cai (for you and your guide)
- Train carriage for bike from Hanoi to Lao Cai
- Fruits and coffee on tour
What's not included
- Air-ticket
- Personal expenses
- Tips
- Travel insurance
- Visa
How to get there
Recommended Airports
Noi Bai International Airport
237 km
Transfer not provided
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 30% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through Tripaneer.com. All major credit cards supported.