Night Bus to Ha Giang and Begin Your Adventure

You’ll be picked up from your accommodation in Hanoi (or a bus station or airport if you have just arrived) in the evening, and transferred to My Dinh bus station for the night bus to Ha Giang.

Arrive in Ha Giang for around 4:00 am and head straight for your hotel for a few more hours sleep and freshen up before you begin your journey.

At around 8:00 am, you will meet your guide and your trained drivers and guides who will be driving you for the next few days of your adventure.

The bikes are new Honda Winner X or Yamaha Exciters. Both are 150 CC. Your luggage will be stowed on the side and rear of the motorbike. Any excess luggage too big for transport can be stored in Ha Giang city and collected upon return.

Then, the journey begins in earnest. Drive for 58km on your first day, sweeping along mountain roads that sweep like calligraphy brush strokes over the rippling mountains, drinking in the otherworldly views along the way.

Pass through isolated mountain villages, local farms and past ancient monuments, until you arrive at the village of Quan Ba.

Nestled in a vivid green valley of rice fields, dramatic, jungle-covered mountains rise elegantly either side of the village, and it’s here that you’ll make your base for the first night.

Meet your local host family, and spend the evening eating delicious home-cooked food, learning about their ways of life and the daily routines of the locals, and relaxing with a cold beer as the sun sets, lighting the sky up in a hazy yellow glow behind the now silhouetted mountains.

Accommodation

Local homestay in Quan Ba

Please note that this is a tour for travellers who like to get off the beaten track and experience authentic communities like a local. For this reason, the accommodation is in homestays which, whilst clean, comfortable and incredibly friendly, aren’t your typical ‘four-star’ experience.

We find the human connections our guests make with their hosts create the memories that last longest, and if you want to experience a bit of real Northern Vietnam, then this is the tour, and the accommodation, for you.

Quan Ba to Dong Van

On your second day, you’ll be continuing your adventure through the stunning province of Ha Giang. Experience the twisting hairpins snaking up dramatic, lush green valley sides on the Mã Pí Lèng Pass, arguably more spectacular than the famed Hải Vân Pass.

On your journey you’ll encounter a number of minority ethnicities who make their homes here in the mountains. Your guide, a Ha Giang local, will help you interact with them and share the lifestyles of these diverse tribes.

Once you arrive in the village of Dong Van, just when you thought you wouldn’t be surprised or overwhelmed by any more natural beauty, you’ll have your breath well and truly taken away.

Mountains that seem to loom over twisting ribbons of distant roads, rice terraces cutting steps to the green mountaintops draped with fine veils of mist, massive limestone cliffs that erupt from the dense foliage, all this surrounds the picturesque village of Dong Van.

Spend your evening wandering the beautiful Old Quarter of the village, where old terracotta-coloured houses dating back to the French colonial period still stand. Then, enjoy another spectacular home-cooked dinner with your host family for the evening.

Accommodation

Local homestay in Dong Van

Dong Van to Du Gia

It might be hard to believe at this point, but this is probably your most spectacular day of riding. More incredible valleys, more heart-stopping mountains passes and more far-flung outposts are the order of the day as you stop for many photo opportunities and try some great local dishes on the route.

A sleepy, rural collection of farms and small houses, Du Gia is a place where time slows almost to the point of standing still. The only sound for miles around is the rattling of cartwheels, the chirping of insects and the gentle rushing of streams somewhere amongst the green rice fields.

Enjoy a final evening of delicious local Vietnamese food, and the company of another warm, hospitable host family, as you reflect on what you have experienced and just how far off the beaten track you have come.

Accommodation

Local homestay in Du Gia

Return to Ha Giang

The final day of your incredible adventure. After breakfast, make your way back to Ha Giang, still following incredible mountain roads and taking in beautiful scenery.

Once we arrive back in Ha Giang, your guide will help you organise the next part of your journey, whether that’s onward travel to another part of Vietnam, further accommodation in Ha Giang, or a coach back to Hanoi.