Ha Giang Motorbike Loop
Our FAVORITE experience in Southeast Asia so far! We heard about this experience through friends and fellow travelers, and it absolutely lived up to the hype and even exceeded our expectations. We definitely recommend this to anyone that likes riding a motorbike, and outdoor adventure that’s a bit off the beaten path. Even if you can’t drive a motorbike, there’s no excuses because you can even hire an “Easy Rider”, where you basically sit on the back and get driven around. This is the perfect opportunity to see “the real Vietnam”.
How to get there?
We took an overnight bus from Sa Pa to Ha Giang town. It was about US$10/each, and took 10 hours (we were told it would be 7), with no rest stops in between – ladies, pack toilet paper because you will appreciate it squatting on the side of the road.
Where to stay in Ha Giang?
There are a bunch of homestays and hostels all in Ha Giang town, and then along the loop as well. A homestay gives you a more local feel, and you know your money is going directly to the lovely families that run them, which is a nice feeling. In Ha Giang, we recommend Ha Giang Moments, it’s a new homestay (October 2019) with a massive swimming pool, and extremely friendly staff.
We rented bikes from Mocmay Homestay in town, because they had the best prices and the guy was really friendly. Although we had a semi-automatic during our bike loop in Laos , we chose an automatic for the Ha Giang Loop so we wouldn’t be worried about switching gears every other minute.
Normally, the place where you rent the bike from will give you a map and go over the route with you. Depending on how many days you want to do, determines how many stops and where you will stay for the night.
We chose to do the 4 day loop, but made our own route along the way. Most places encourage you to stay the night in either Quan Ba or Yen Minh, but we weren’t ready to be finished driving after a few hours. We also chose to stay in Pho Bang after meeting some other travelers who were headed that way. It was a tiny mountain town a bit further along the loop, very close to the China/Vietnam border, which wasn’t catered to tourists at all. We recommend staying here if you’re okay with being away from first-world luxuries for the night. Our second night we stayed in Dong Van, and the last night we stayed in Meo Vac.
Travelers Tips:
Take out money at an ATM in Ha Giang town before you start your journey, in case you’re headed to rural areas.
Always wear a helmet, we didn’t use the knee pads but if you’re not too experienced on a bike its probably a good idea.
Download offline maps on GoogleMaps or Map.me, because there are some areas where its difficult to get signal.
It gets extremely COLD on the bike, especially at night time, so make sure you either wear layers or bring a jacket/sweatshirt.
Buy some snacks or sweets to give to the local children that you meet along the way. Many of them are poor and have nothing, and they are all super friendly and really appreciate anything you give them.
Our favorite stops along the way:
Coffee at Heaven’s Gate: We stopped at a coffee shop (Quan Ba Heaven Gate on GoogleMaps, you can’t miss it) the views are breathtaking and it’s a cool place to stop for coffee or a drink.
Nui Doi: “Fairy’s Breasts” these two small hills are famous along the Ha Giang Loop and make for a cool photo.
Yen Minh: We stopped here for a late lunch to break up some of our trip. There’s a few restaurants and cafes in the town that are nice.
Don Cao: This is an old fortress at the top of the mountain in Dong Van that has epic views, especially for sunset. We watched the sunset and had the whole place to ourselves for two hours.
Ma Pi Leng Skywalk: A hike with some of the most incredible views from the loop! It takes about 45 minutes, and there’s a rock mountain you can climb at the end of the path.
