8 Day The Best Adventure Guided Motorbike Tour in Vietnam: Ha Giang Loop

Accommodation

You will stay at different accommodations during this motorcycle tour.

Day 1: Overnight in homestay in Vu Linh Village

Featuring free Wi-Fi, a restaurant and a sun terrace, Vu Linh Farmstay offers accommodations in a small Dzao village in Vu Linh, Yên Bình. Guests can enjoy the on-site bar. Free private parking is available on site. Sleeping mats and mosquito nets are provided. The sleeping hall opens up to views of the garden and surrounding mountains, rice field, and lake.

The area is popular for hiking. Guests can take scenic walks and hikes through the river valleys. Guided walking and motorbike tours to local ethnic villages and scenic areas in Yen Bai Province with an English and French speaking host are offered.

Guests can enjoy Vietnamese cuisine prepared by the family at the homestay. Lunch and dinner are available at a low cost.

Vu Linh Farmstay is accessible by local bus from Ha Giang City, Sapa, and Hanoi.

Day 2: Overnight in your hotel in Ha Giang

Located in Ha Giang, an 11-minute walk from Làng Lap, Ha Giang Hostel provides accommodations with a restaurant, free private parking, a bar, and a shared lounge. Featuring room service, this property also provides guests with a terrace. The property has a 24-hour front desk, a shared kitchen, and currency exchange for guests.

At the hotel, all rooms are equipped with a closet. Rooms come complete with a private bathroom equipped with a bidet and slippers, while some units at Ha Giang Hostel also provide guests with a seating area. All guest rooms at the accommodation feature air conditioning and a desk. Ha Giang Hostel offers a full English / Irish or American breakfast.

Day 3: Overnight in your hotel in Dong Van

Ma Le Homestay provides accommodations, a restaurant, a bar, a shared lounge, and a garden. Free WiFi is provided. Some units include a balcony and/or a terrace with garden or mountain views. The family stay offers a buffet or Asian breakfast. A car rental service is available at Ma Le Homestay.

Day 4: Overnight in your hotel in Meo Vac

Car owners are provided with a parking lot. Here you can easily order transfer at an additional cost. There are rooms for non-smokers at the hotel. The garden beautifies the territory. There is a bar by the hotel with a broad assortment of beverages. Guests are supplied with access to the internet. The bicycle rental service is available to every guest. The front desk works round the clock. Travellers can pay using these types of payment cards: Visa, MasterCard, JCB, Discover. Staff is fluent in Chinese, Vietnamese, French, Spanish, English.

For tourists, accommodation are offered 4 rooms in the guest house. You can easily choose from different types of rooms: triple, double, or bed in dormitory. For guests are provided facilities such as flat-screen tv, electric kettle.

Day 5: Overnight in your hotel in Cao Bang

Featuring a terrace, Max Boutique Hotel is located in Cao Bằng in the Cao Bang region, a 17-minute walk from Hoàng Ngà and 1.3 km from Cao Bằng. Among the facilities of this property are a restaurant, a 24-hour front desk and room service, along with free Wi-Fi throughout the property. The hotel features family rooms.

The hotel will provide guests with air-conditioned rooms with a desk, an electric tea pot, a fridge, a minibar, a safety deposit box, a flat-screen TV, and a private bathroom with a bidet. Guest rooms in Max Boutique Hotel are equipped with bathrobes and an iPod docking station. A continental breakfast is available daily at the accommodation.

Day 6: Overnight in your home stay in Quang Uyen

Located in Ha Giang, within one kilometer of Ha Giang and 4.2 km of Làng Lap, Hong Hao Hostel and Motorbikes provides accommodations with a shared lounge as well as free private parking for guests who drive. The property has a 24-hour front desk, a tour desk, and luggage storage for guests. Guests at the hostel can enjoy a buffet breakfast.

Day 7: Overnight in your hotel in Lang Son

Muong Thanh offers modern air-conditioned rooms in central Lang Son City. A 10-minute drive from the night market, guests can laze by the hotel's outdoor swimming pool or enjoy a relaxing massage. Free Wi-Fi is available. Bright with either carpeted or wooden flooring, rooms come with a flat-screen TV with cable channels, a mini-bar, and a private bathroom with bathtub.

Muong Thanh Luxury Lang Son Hotel offers a gym and tennis court. A spa pool, sauna, and steam room are also available. Guest services include tour desk, bicycle rental, and room service. The hotel restaurant serves a varied menu of local and international dishes for all meals.

Program

Itinerary

Day 1: Hanoi - Vu Linh village (Thac Ba lake, Yen Bai)

Start your 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, where it is populated by the Dzao ethnic minority by the side of Thac Ba lake. They're very friendly people and the welcome is exceptional.

Distance: 180 km / 112 miles
Meals: Lunch, dinner

Day 2: Thac Ba - Ha Giang city

Having breakfast at your homestay, you ride along the Thac Ba lake on a small road lined by palm trees and scenic mountain views to join the Main Road 2, heading up to Ha Giang where you stop for the night and apply for a permit.

Distance: 180 km / 112 miles
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 3: Ha Giang - Dong Van (Ha Giang)

After getting the permit to ride in border areas at Ha Giang’s Immigration Police, you motorbike 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 km 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 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 tile roofs built centuries ago.

Distance: 160 km / 99 miles
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 4: Dong Van - Bao Lac (Cao Bang) via Meo Vac

The road is still under construction and makes the ride relatively long in spite of being just a few kilometers. The landscape is among the most beautiful of Vietnam, and the slow tempo is only more appreciable.

You ride 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 m 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, Dzao, etc. Most ethnic groups have maintained their culture untouched from 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.

Distance: 80 km / 50 miles
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 5: Bao Lac - Cao Bang city

Today is a beautiful motorcycle ride down to Cao Bang province. There are a few passes from where you can dominate the area. The road is easy but there are many blind curves. You can stop very often for photos in Nguyen Binh and Tinh Tuc. There's a good hotel in Cao Bang town, where you can relax to be ready for the next imagined day.

Distance: 130 km / 81 miles
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 6: Cao Bang - Ban Gioc Waterfall - Quang Uyen

Get out of town and ride up to Ma Phuc Pass of Cao Bang province. It is on the way between Cao Bang town and the Ban Gioc Waterfall. The pass is not famous with its elevation and not as dangerous like some others in Vietnam, but comes with the natural beauty that one could capture from the top of the pass.

Keep riding to Ban Gioc Waterfall, one of Vietnam’s best-known waterfalls. It’s a very scenic spot, marking the border with China, but sees very few visitors. The name Ban Gioc is derived from the Montagnard languages spoken in the area, and is sometimes spelt Ban Doc.

The waterfall is the largest, although not the highest, in the country. The vertical drop is 53 m, but it has an impressive 300 m span; one end of the falls is in China, the other is in Vietnam. The falls have three levels, creating a sort of giant staircase, and there’s enough water any time, most years, to make the trip worthwhile.

Lunch will be in a local restaurant before you make your way back to Quang Uyen. This is the territory of Nung An people. The homestay is with a host family and the hostess is a great cook. This could be the best ride ever.

Distance: 140 km / 87 miles
Meals: Breakfast, lunch

Day 7: Quang Uyen - Lang Son city

In the morning, ride from Quang Uyen to Lang Son on the famous historical Highway 4. Passing Dong Khe town, The Battle of Route Coloniale 4. The Battle of Dong Khe was a major battle of the First Indochina War. The fight began on 15 September 1950 and ended on 18 September with a French defeat. It took place in Dong Khe, in the Province of Tonkin, Vietnam, from September 15 to September 18, 1950, ending with a Viet Minh victory.

Arrive in Lang Son at noon. You have a late lunch before taking time to discover this city which has become a big trading post between China and Vietnam. You can shop for cheap Chinese products at the nearby Dong Kinh market.

Distance: 140 km / 87 miles
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 8: Lang Son - Hanoi

Easy day back to Hanoi on the new Highway 1B. You can wake up late or do some more shopping in Dong Kinh market in the morning as you can be tired after long riding days.

Arrival in Hanoi before rush hour, at around 3 p.m. The trip will end in Hanoi.

Distance: 160 km / 99 miles
Meals: Breakfast, lunch

Skill levels required for this tour:

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

Location

Tour route

Hanoi - Thac Ba - Ha Giang - Dong Van - Meo Vac - Bao Lac - Cao Bang - Ban Gioc Waterfall - Quang Uyen - Lang Son - Hanoi

Brief itinerary

Day 1: Hanoi motorcycle tour to Vu Linh village (Thac Ba lake, Yen Bai)
Day 2: Thac Ba motorcycle tour to Ha Giang City
Day 3: Ha Giang motorcycle tour to Dong Van (Ha Giang)
Day 4: Dong Van motorcycle tour to Bao Lac (Cao Bang) via Meo Vac
Day 5: Bao Lac motorcycle tour to Cao Bang City
Day 6: Cao Bang motorcycle tour to Ban Gioc Waterfall and homestay in Quang Uyen
Day 7: Quang Uyen motorcycle tour to Lang Son City
Day 8: Lang Son motorcycle tour back Hanoi

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Food

The foods are offered in the local restaurants on the trip, with Vietnamese food and vegetable dishes daily.

The following meals are included:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Drinks

The following drinks are included:

Water
Tea

The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:

Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
Other dietary requirements on request

If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation

What's included

Experienced tour guide on motorbike (dirt bike)
Dirt bike rental with mandatory insurance
Gasoline and spare parts
7 nights accommodation (sleeping bags, mosquito nets, sheets, pillows, etc. are provided)
Breakfasts, lunches, and dinners with non-alcoholic beverages (Vietnamese food - Western food costs extra)
All entrance fees, permits, tickets, boat trips, ferries, bamboo rafts, etc.
Vietnamese tea and drinking water

What's not included

Support vehicle for luggage transport, back up bike, and service
Personal expenses
Personal medical insurance
Drinks other than tea and local rice wine
Single room supplement if you request a single room
Motorbike protection pants, jacket, gloves, helmet, rain gear, and other safety equipment at favorable rental rate
Train or flight tickets before and after your tour
Breakfast on the departure day and dinner on the return day
Accommodation and food in Hanoi
Tips

How to get there

Recommended Airports

HAN

Noi Bai International Airport

20 km

Transfer available for additional US$ 10 per person

Airport: Noi Bai International Airport Airport transfer available: Noi Bai International Airport (US$ 10 per person) Additional charges may apply. You can request this in the next step.

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 10 days before arrival.