Day 1: From Hanoi to Thac Ba Lake - Vu Linh, 180 kilometers / 112 miles
You will start the motorbike tour to Ha Giang, North Vietnam at 08:00 from the northeast side of Hanoi by taking a small winding road along the Red River. You can enjoy a great view of river and rice paddies as you ride through the country and extensive farming lands comprising a sea of paddy fields split by tree-lined roads. You will meet the daily life in the wild environment.
Lunch will be at a local restaurant in Doan Hung Town. You will arrive in Vu Linh, a nice village of the Dzao people that located nearby the Thac Ba Lake, the largest man-made lake with more than 3,000 islands. If time permits, you will have a boat trip around the Thac Ba Lake.
Day 2: From Thac Ba Lake to Ha Giang, 180 kilometers / 112 miles
After breakfast, you will ride along the Thac Ba Lake on a small road lined with palm trees and scenic mountain views to join the National Road number 2 heading up to Ha Giang where you stop for the night. Before getting to the Tay Village where you do home stay, you should stop at Ha Giang City to ask permit for the motorbike tour to the Dong Van Rock Plateau and the frontier area in following days.
Day 3: From Ha Giang to the Dong Van Rock Plateau, 150 kilometers / 93 miles
Today, you will have one of the best Vietnam motorbike tours. The ride today is mostly on small challenging mountain roads (but incredibly beautiful) on the land of colorful hill tribes. You will be on some of most beautiful passes in Vietnam such as the Ma Pi Leng, ‘Heaven Gate’ pass.
Here is also a good chance to learn and experience the colorful culture of local tribes. It is inspiring to see how they survive as they manage to live in the rocks. When you reach the town, you will have some extra time to wander the ancient streets lined with H’mong homes of clay bricks and tiles roofs built centuries ago.
Day 4: From Dong Van to Bao Lac via Meo Vac, 110 kilometers / 68 miles
The motorbike ride in the morning is still winding along the Rock Plateau. After breakfast, you will enjoy slowly Vietnam motorbike tour on some beautiful mountain passes until Meo Vac where you stop for lunch. In the afternoon, you will motorcycle down the hill along the river and see the different mountain view (less rocky and more green). You will arrive in Bao Lac Town at 17:00.
Day 5: Off-road to Ba Be Lake, 150 kilometers / 93 miles
To save time for the boat trip in Ba Be Lake, you should start the day earlier so after breakfast, you start riding at around 08:00. Today is exactly the best off-road Vietnam motorbike tour. Just after 20 kilometers from Bao Lac, you turn to narrow and bumpy road with the breathtaking view of terraced rice paddies.
Especially, you have to cross a few rivers instead of riding on some bamboo bridges. You will be finishing the memorable riding day with lunch in a peaceful village of the Tay people nearby Ba Be Lake. It’s time for relaxing on one of the most beautiful and biggest natural lake in Vietnam in the afternoon.
Day 6: Ba Be Lake back to Hanoi, 240 kilometers / 149 miles
Staying off the main road for as long as possible, you head back towards the Red River Delta, passing through areas inhabited by Hmong, Dao, Tay, and Nung minority peoples. You can enjoy a mixture of both challenging track and glorious sealed road all the way back to Hanoi. The great Vietnam motorbike tour to Ha Giang will end safely in Hanoi before rush hours.
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
