“Bike and explore the exceptional nature!”
9 Day Guided North Vietnam Motorcycle Tour to Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Yen Bai
Vu Linh, Vu Linh Commune, Yen Binh District, Yen Bai Province, Northeast Vietnam, VIetnam
Adventurous Vietnam Motorbike Tour
In this motorbike tour, you will not only travel to the impressive destinations in Ha Giang Province but also explore the amazing natural beauties in mountainous northern Vietnam with a ride from Hanoi to Vu Linh Village in Yen Bai to glance at the beauty of Thac Ba Lake then Luc Yen, and Lao Cai. From here, you'll keep on the motorbike tour rolling to Bac Ha Market, then Ha Giang with Dong Van, Meo Vac, Bao Lac, and Ba Be Lake in Cao Bang before riding back to Hanoi. You will have a great time!
Highlights
- Starts and ends in Hanoi
- Ride from Luc Yen to Na Khan
- Boat ride on two different lovely lakes
- Explore Dau Dang Waterfall on Nang River
- Swim and discover the area of Thac Ba Lake
- Honda or Yamaha motorbike rentals
- English or French speaking guide
- 8 nights accommodation
Skill level
- Intermediate
- Advanced
9 days with instruction in English
The organizer also speaks: French
Accommodation
During this tour, you will be accommodated in homestays and hotels.
Program
Overview
- Bike: rental
- Terrain: mix of tarmac, gravels, curves, steep passes, muddy, rocky, and off-road
- Mileage: 1220 kilometers / 759 miles
- Daily rides: 80 - 200 kilometers / 50 - 125 miles
- Meals: 8 breakfasts, 9 lunches, 8 dinners
Day 1: From Hanoi to Vu Linh Village (Thac Ba Lake, Yen Bai), 180 kilometers / 112 miles
You start the motorbike tour by riding on to dyke roads following Red River to Thac Ba Lake. See beautiful countryside, rice, and green tea fields. Then, you turn to the little road to Vu Linh Village populated by Dzao ethnic minority by the side of Thac Ba Lake with very friendly people and the welcome is exceptional.
Day 2: From Thac Ba to Luc Yen (Yen Bai), 80 kilometers / 50 miles
After breakfast, you take the boat ride on Thac Ba Lake, the biggest man-made lake in Vietnam. Stop by an island for swimming and discover the particularities of this area: the way villagers paddle their boats, the exotic and odd animals living around, the quiet and peaceful beauty of this huge lake, and the lifestyle of the Dao among the thousands of islets.
Back to the homestay for lunch. Get on the road, take a half-day ride through palm forest all the way to Luc Yen, and stay in a family in the Tay territory. It's a great homestay and the hosts are very welcoming.
Day 3: From Luc Yen to Bac Ha (Lao Cai), 140 kilometers / 87 miles
Get out to the Road 70 up north to Khanh Hoa T-junction, turn to Road 153 to Bac Ha. This small highland town fills up to a choking point on Sunday morning when visitors flood in to meet the Flower H'mong at the 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'll find this particular moonshine. There's an entire area devoted to it at the Sunday market.
Day 4: From Bac Ha to Ha Giang City, 200 kilometers / 125 miles
After breakfast, take a beautiful 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's 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.
Day 5: From Ha Giang to Dong Van, 160 kilometers / 100 miles
After getting the permit for motorbike 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. Head 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. Their 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 Residence is a masterpiece of man work in the valley of the heavenly beauty of Sa Phin.
This is a remote area and you can meet the hardworking 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 wonder the ancient streets lined with H'mong homes of clay bricks and tiles roofs built centuries ago.
Day 6: From Dong Van passing Meo Vac to Bao Lac (Cao Bang), 80 kilometers / 50 miles
The road is still under construction and the tracks are what make the ride relatively long in spite of few kilometers. The landscape is among the most beautiful of Vietnam and the slow tempo is only more appreciable.
You motorcycle across 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. The most ethnic groups have maintained their culture untouched by the outside world.
In the afternoon, you stop for the night at Bao Lac, the ethnic crossroad of Northeast Vietnam. Many other ethnic groups on the two sides of the border meet at the market every Sunday.
Day 7: From Bao Lac to Ba Be National Park (Bac Kan), 140 kilometers / 87 miles
Beautiful motor ride down to Bac Kan Province, few passes from where you can dominate the area. The road is easy but there are many blind curves before you turn to Ba Be Lake inside Ba Be National Park. 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 is a biodiverse 10,048-hectare park, home to 1,268 species of flora and fauna, a series of caves and a gigantic fresh water lake, which 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. Then, you motorcycle into Bac Ngoi Village which is located inside Ba Be National Park. The homestay in Tay's family is right by the side of Ba Be Lake with a wonderful and peaceful view.
Day 8: From Ba Be to Na Khan (Bac Kan), 80 kilometers / 50 miles
Half-day boat ride on the lake to the other side, where you can explore Dau Dang Waterfall on Nang River. As one of the 27 ASEAN heritage gardens, Ba Be has the potential to attract nature lovers with its 450-hectare natural fresh water lake and 553 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. According to a survey from the Viet Nam Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources, over 11,000 years ago, an earthquake caused a collapse of the subterranean Nang River, creating a natural dam which led to the formation of Ba Be Lake. Lunch in a village near by Dau Dang Waterfall before back to the homestay.
Day 9: From Na Khan to Hanoi, 160 kilometers / 100 miles
Easy motor ride in the morning, passing peaceful villages and rice fields before reaching very busy road in the afternoon. Traffic is getting worst and worst on Road 3, the way back to Hanoi, so you should be back before the rush hour. Finish the trip around 16:00.
Skill level
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 experience a boat ride on Thac Ba Lake and a half-day boat ride on the Ba Be Lake to finally explore Dau Dang Waterfall on Nang River.
Location
This tour will take you from Hanoi to Na Khan. Along the way, you will visit Thac Ba, Luc Yen, Bac Ha, Ha Giang, Dong Van, Meo Vac, Bao Lac, and Ba Be National Park.
Food
You will have 8 breakfasts, 9 lunches, and 8 dinners. Coffee and fruits are also provided while on tour.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Snacks
- Drinks
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation
What's included
- 8 breakfasts
- 8 dinners
- 8 nights accommodation
- 9 lunches
- Boat ride
- Driving gears
- English or French speaking guide
- Entrance and sightseeing fees
- Fruits and coffee on the road
- Gasoline on tour
- Helmets
- Homestay permission
- Honda or Yamaha motorbike rental
- Mechanic (only for groups of 6 passengers)
What's not included
- Airfare
- Personal expenses
- Tips
- Travel insurance
- Visa
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.
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