The Loop:
The Ha Giang Loop is a 350km trek that travels along Northern Vietnam starting in Ha Giang City. You can explore this loop by motorbike for an adventurous ride with the best views. The ride takes you through high mountains, rice fields, and small authentic villages. In these villages you come face to face with the local population, and you immediately feel very welcome here.
The ride can be done in 2 days, but if you want to take in all the highlights well, we would opt for the 4 days and 3 nights ride. We have therefore chosen this ourselves. Most people opt for 3 days and 2 nights, but then you will miss some of the routes highlights.
If you have always dreamed of a motorcycle ride through Vietnam, this is definitely Vietnam's most beautiful route. We even dare to say that this is one of South East Asia, if not the world's most beautiful routes. In short, the ultimate travel adventure. Along the way you will pass some great places, below are some of our favorite stops:
Sa Li Pass:
You only get to see this pass if you drive the 4 day tour, or you have the option to drive here with your own transport. For us one of the most beautiful views. Ha Giang has fewer rice fields than other areas due to the many mountains, but this is the best place to enjoy a view over the rice fields.
Happiness Road:
This road is also known as Vietnam's most dangerous road. But the views are well worth it. Before departure you are told that the road is only 40cm wide, luckily it is a good 1.5 meters. So doable, but be careful!
Ma Pi Leng Skywalk:
At the end of happiness road you can enter the skywalk on foot. A nice stepping stone to the best photo opportunity of hapiness road. Finally, you can take a cool photo on a protruding rock. It seems more dangerous than it is, but be careful here too. Last year a Vietnamese fell down, luckily he can retell it.
Tham Ma Pass:
A very nice winding road up the mountain, often hidden in a beautiful curtain of fog. Be sure to stop at the viewpoint, if only to visit the ethnic people who sell their stuff here.
Bac Sum Pass:
One of the first mountains during the route with a beautiful winding road up the mountain. Enjoy the beautiful view at the top, the great thing is that it only gets more beautiful.
Ma Pi Leng Canyon:
The deepest canyon in Vietnam. From the top of the mountain, the size of this canyon is really good to observe. Many mudslides due to the heavy rainfall have colored the water brown today.
Boot tour in Nho Que river:
In the Ma Pi Leng Canyon you can take a boat trip through one of Asia's largest canyons, very impressive. Especially given the history of the river, during the war considerable battles were fought here.
Heaven Gate:
The views do not stop during this route, here again a beautiful view through mountains and villages. You can watch it for hours.
Tam Son Town:
One of the first villages in the route, and a great opportunity for lunch.
Always nice to observe local life on the spot.
Lung Ho viewpoint:
The roads are a good challenge to get the most out of yourself and your bike. But after every challenge, an amazing view awaits you as a reward.
Vuong's Royal Palace:
This Palace is located inside a valley of Sa Phin. This Palace is from the wealthiest and most powerfull family of Dong Van in the early 20th century.
Chinese border:
Since a large part of the route is located against the Chinese border, it is a nice opportunity to visit the border with a large fence as a dividing line.
Du Gia Waterfall:
A great opportunity to end the route on the last day with a refreshing dip in this waterfall. The temperature is cool, but oh so refreshing. Also a great opportunity for a cliff jump, please note: jump at your own risk.
Planning:
It is a challenging ride, which is why good planning is very important.
Self riding of Easyrider:
The first important question to ask yourself is whether you are experienced enough to drive yourself?
The roads are challenging, and the many steep slopes make fully automatic scooters unusable. This means that when you drive yourself you are dependent on a semi-automatic motorbike. It is not difficult, but without any driving experience it is wiser to go for the easyrider option.
The easyrider option means that you have your own experienced driver with a motorcycle at your disposal, you sit on the back yourself. The advantage is that it is many times safer if the driving experience is lacking. In addition, it even ensures that you can enjoy the environment much more, and there is also more time left for making beautiful films during the ride.
Organized tour, or on your own:
Most people opt for an organized tour. The big advantages are that you go on an adventure with a friendly group of travelers. This makes it a party every night in the Guesthouse. The entire tour is also arranged down to the last detail. You have a good guide, motorbike and fuel are included. The overnight stays in the Guesthouses and the food during the trip are also arranged.
But if you want more freedom and even more adventure, you can also take the route on your own. This requires more organization and planning, but also creates a lot of freedom. The big advantage is that you can stop wherever you want at any time. There are plenty of guesthouses, so you can easily arrange this yourself during the ride.
Homestays:
The route quickly becomes more famous because it is the ultimate travel adventure. Fortunately, this means that there are many Guesthouses available. And the quality is very good everywhere. From basic to luxurious, but usually with good hygiene. You can easily book online, or you can arrange a place to sleep on the spot. Main choice is dorm or private room, but that choice is available everywhere. Oh and don't forget to try a glass of Happy Water, a strong locally brewed drink (with a lot of alcohol!), often made from Sweetcorn.
Prices:
Prices will of course vary depending on the choice you make. We have booked an organized trip ourselves, so we will mention some prices as an indication (2022).
Organised tour 3 day, 2 nights self riding: 136USD
Organised tour 3days, 2 nights Easyrider: 195USD
Organised tour 4days, 3nights self riding: 169USD
Organised tour 4days, 3nights Easyrider: 252USD
Finally, we would like to mention that it is really wise to choose the Easyrider option when in doubt about your driving skills. It is a very challenging route, and unfortunately we saw some people sliding due to lack of driving skills. As said, safety first!
In short, if you are looking for the ultimate travel Adventure, then this is the adventure you are looking for. We have already made many trips, but this is without a doubt one of our Travel highlights :)