LOOP OF NORTHERN VIETNAM MOTORBIKE TOUR TO SAPA, HA GIANG – 12 DAYS

Itinerary:

* Loop of Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour to Sapa – Ha Giang : BRIEF ITINERARY:

Day 1: Hanoi Motorcycle Tours to Mai Chau (Hoa Binh)

Day 2: Mai Chau Offroad Motorcycle Tours to Phu Yen (Son La)

Day 3: Phu Yen Offroad Motorcycle Tours to Son La City

Day 4: Son La offroad Motorcycle Tour to Mu Cang Chai (Yen Bai)

Day 5: Mu Cang Chai Offroad Motorcycle Tours to Sapa (Lao Cai)

Day 6: Relaxing day in Sapa

Day 7: Sapa Motorcycle Tours to Bac Ha (Lao Cai)

Day 8: Bac Ha Motorcycle Tours to Ha Giang City

Day 9: Ha Giang Motorcycle Tours to Dong Van (Ha Giang)

Day 10: Dong Van Motorcycle Tours to Bao Lac (Cao Bang)

Day 11: Bao Lac Motorcycle Tours to Ba Be National Park (Bac Kan)

Day 12: Ba Be Motorcycle Tours to Hanoi

Day 1: Loop of Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour to Sapa – Ha Giang: Hanoi Motorcycle Tours to Mai Chau (Hoa Binh)

Day 2: Loop of Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour to Sapa – Ha Giang: Mai Chau Offroad Motorcycle Tours to Phu Yen (Son La)

The ride today will begin from 8 to 8:30 o’clock, before leaving, we can have a little walk around to enjoy the peaceful vibe of the village, breath some fresh air on the beautiful rice fields near our homestay. After saying goodbye to the homestay hosts, we hop on the bikes to continue our adventure, in the morning we will explore some ethnic villages on the forgotten Old Road No6. This road used to be the most important main road of the North West Vietnam, now it lies silently along mountains and some small farms of local people, you will see almost no truck or car here, just a remarkable silent vibe and peaceful sceneries of nature. This route ends when we hit National road 43 in Moc Chau district, where we stop for lunch. Moc Chau boasts a pioneering dairy industry that started in the late 1970s with Australian (and, later, UN) assistance, we can see several milk cow farms on the way.

After lunch in Moc Chau, we keep riding 40 kilometers more to Van Yen ferry terminal where we cross the epic Da river, from here we will have a beautiful ride along Da river heading to Phu Yen. We stay in a hotel for this night.

Summary:
Distance: 170 km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

Day 3: Loop of Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour to Sapa – Ha Giang:  Phu Yen Offroad Motorcycle Tours to Son La City

Continuing our motorbike tour on the almost empty Road 37 we enter mountains heavily populated with Black Thai people, who work on large terraced rice fields. The winding road passes through many Thai villages and fields and provides a great opportunity to watch country life passing by. We continue through rolling hills before rising up to the sugar cane growing areas on the cooler Son La plateau.

Late lunch in Son La City, the capital of Son La Province, before we visit The Old French Prison & Museum. It was once the site of a French penal colony where anticolonial revolutionaries were incarcerated. It was destroyed by the infamous “off-loading” of unused ammunition by US warplanes that were returning to their bases after bombing raids, but it has been partially restored. Rebuilt turrets and watch towers stand guard over the remains of cells, inner walls and a famous lone surviving peach tree. The tree, which blooms with traditional “Tet flowers”, was planted in the compound by To Hieu, a former inmate from the 1940s. To Hieu has subsequently been immortalised. with various landmarks now named after him.

Overnight in Son La City.

Summary:

Distance: 160 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Day 4: Loop of Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour to Sapa – Ha Giang: Son La offroad Motorcycle Tour to Mu Cang Chai (Yen Bai)

Heading out northeast from Son La, the road crosses a series of mountain passes and areas of busy Black Thai activity. Children walk to school, kids tend buffaloes, women plant rice seedlings and men pull the buffalo. Follow road 106 we ride to It Ong town via Muong Bu, Ta Bu… at It Ong we can stop for a picture at Son La hydropower plant, one the the biggest hydropower plants in Vietnam. From here we head to Mu Cang Chai on a nice country road via beautiful villages of Nam Pam, Ngoc Chien…

Mu Cang Chai is home to some of Asia’s most magnificent cultivated topography. Rice terraces coil in ribbons around the hills to spectacular effect, luring photographers, hikers, and avid motorbikers. Mu Cang Chai is not only beautiful because of majestic nature but also the the very unique features of local life here. This place is mainly populated by the Black Hmong, a subgroup of one of Vietnam’s largest ethnicities. Pretty Hmong villages are dotted around the district. Each one offers a glimpse into a rich culture Highland living in Mu Cang Chai is simple and peaceful, making people remember forever. Those are honest, honest, hard working people with the desire to be warm; innocent babies with clear smile and eyes.

Overnight in Mu Cang Chai

Summary:
Distance: 180 km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

Day 5: Loop of Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour to Sapa – Ha Giang: Mu Cang Chai Offroad Motorcycle Tours to Sapa (Lao Cai)

Our adventure continues at 9 o’clock after breakfast, we have a morning warm-up by rolling on some backroads nearby and then get some real challenges with beautiful dirt tracks through mountains and H’mong local villages. We will have chance to see how local ethnic people live and work under very harsh conditions of terrain and climate.

After a lunch break in Than Uyen, on a road full of tea farms and rice fields we head to Sapa via the epic O Quy Ho pass. O Quy Ho Pass is one of the most impressive and challenging mountain passes in the northern region of Vietnam. It is approximately 10 kilometers away from the town of Sapa and 60 kilometers away from the city of Lai Chau.

O Quy Ho Pass winds through Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range. Running alongside National Road 4D, the pass stretches for nearly 50 kilometers, with the peak of the pass marking the boundary between the two provinces of Lao Cai and Lai Chau. And when you feel the air getting cooler, see the mist coming from the mountain ranges, that’s when we arrive in Sapa, where we spend the night.

Located at the altitude of 1600 meters above sea level, Sapa is famous for its cool weather, breathtaking scenery and culture diversity with 6 different tribes of people living together. This is also a big town comparing to other destinations on the tour so you can spend your time here for casual entertainment activities like bars, pubs… We stay in a hotel for this night.

Summary:
Distance: 140 km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

Day 6: Loop of Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour to Sapa – Ha Giang: Relaxing day in Sapa

There are lots of interesting things to see in the lovely town of Sapa and it’ll be great to spend another day here. you can spend the morning for a fancy cable car trip to the peak of Fansipan mountain – a.k.a “the rooftop of Indochina”, this would be an incredible experience on a nice bight day. In the afternoon, you can come to take a look at the “Love waterfall” through a short walk of 2 kilometers, or else take a short ride out of town center down to the villages of Lao Chai, Ta Van, pay a visit to a local brocade workshop and learn how people make the remarkable hemp products here.
Note: Dinner is not included today since there are many choices for suppers in Sapa, you can take a walk around and find a best restaurant for yourself, Asian or Western style.

Summary:
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Accommodation: Hotel

Day 7: Loop of Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour to Sapa – Ha Giang: Sapa Motorcycle Tours to Bac Ha (Lao Cai)

We have two options for the distance today, a short ride of 100 kilometers and a longer one of 180 kilometers.

With the first option, you have more time to relax in Sapa or do a cable car trip to Fansipan mountain-the highest mountain of Indochina. Depart at 10 or 11 o’clock down from Sapa to Lao Cai City, we will stop at an interesting checkpoint near Vietnamese – Chinese border where you can see China right beyond a river and enjoy a nice coffee, it’s 30 kilometers from Sapa. From here. We head to Road 70 before turn to Bac Ha on Road 153.

The second option offers you a different route with longer distance. From Sapa we follow Road 43d through Lao Cai city to Muong Khuong province, where we can see rice fields surrounded by majestic limestone mountains. From Muong Khuong we roll on the winding road 153 through small villages and plum farms to Bac Ha.

Challenging offroad and dirt tracks are available for both two options

Long touted as the weekend alternative to Sapa, this small highland town doesn’t have the same dramatic location of its more illustrious neighbour, but it is calmer when Saturday comes. Comparing to Sapa, tourism is still in its infancy here and during the week the town has a deserted feel. Bac Ha is a good base to explore the surrounding highlands. Around 900m above sea level, it is noticeably warmer than Sapa.

Overnight in hotel.

Summary:
Distance: 100-170 km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

Day 8: Loop of Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour to Sapa – Ha Giang: Bac Ha Motorcycle Tours to Ha Giang City

After breakfast, we take a motor ride on the track to Xin Man and Hoang Su Phi on many small backroads with scenic mountain views. Xin Man is right on the border between Vietnam and China. It is, as of this writing, well hidden and completely surrounded by wild mountains and forests. There are a bunch good photo spots on the way from Bac Ha to Xin Man, we will stop for good view down to valleys and rice terraces. Lunch will be served in Hoang Su Phi, this place is among the most untouched area of Ha Giang Province of Vietnam and was separated from the mainstream society until very recently. From Hoang Su Phi we take a winding backroad and immese ourselves in the pristine beauty of the wild mountains and the authentic culture of the local ethnic groups which include: the Nung, the Flower H’mong, the Tay and the Ha Nhi People…After lunch, we join the main road heading up to Ha Giang City,

Summary:
Distance:  200 km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

Day 9: Loop of Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour to Sapa – Ha Giang: Ha Giang Motorcycle Tours to Dong Van (Ha Giang)

After a nice breakfast at 8 o’clock, we get on our iron horses again at about 9 o’clock, the ride today could be both relaxing and challenging since we can enjoy breathtaking landscapes literally on every kilometer of the road. It’s difficult to describe the epic beauty of Ha Giang, it just overwhelms us!

In the morning we can do some ofroad tracks that lead us to beautiful rice terraces and forests. Along the tracks lie some small remote villages and local schools where we have chances stop to meet local people and lovely kids, we can also do some small charity in these places to share the hardship with them, sharing is caring!

In the afternoon, we head to Tham Ma pass, a legendary pass in local H’mong culture of Ha Giang province, the view from the top of this pass is just spectacular!

The next interesting place to see today is the H’mong King’s Palace (or Vuong Family Palace) located 14 kilometers before Dong Van. In 19th century, a H’mong  family was considered the royal family of H’mong territory in Ha Giang – the Vuong family. Their residence was built in the scenic valley of Sa Phin with a mixed architecture influenced by H’mong, French and Chinese architecture. The whole palace was built out of wood and rock by the best builders and craftsmen, it costed a huge fortune at the time. Vuong family palace is a masterpiece of man work in the valley of heavenly beauty of Ha Giang, built in 1914, the palace survived 2 major wars: the Indochina war and the Vietnam war. As such, Vuong Palace is also treated as a symbol of the past glory of H’mong people.

This is a remote area and we can meet the hard-working local people here. It is inspiring to see how they survive as they manage live in the rocks.When we reach Dong Van Town we will have some extra time to wonder the ancient streets lined with H’mong homes of clay bricks and tiles roofs built centuries ago.

Note: Dong Van, where we spend the night today is the most touristy town on this tour so you can spend a little time to find some bustling corners for entertainment if you want to.

Summary:
Distance: 140 km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

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Day 10: Loop of Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour to Sapa – Ha Giang: Dong Van Motorcycle Tours to Bao Lac (Cao Bang)

Dong Van motorbike tour to Bao Lac

We begin riding at 9 o’clock today, head to Lung Cu flag pole, a prominent landmark located in Lung Cu Commune of Dong Van. The flag tower was built to mark Vietnam’s sovereignty and border protection efforts in the northernmost region. Due to its elevated position, the flag tower offers a panoramic view of the surrounding landscapes, including both Vietnam and China. We take a few steps to the top of the pole to enjoy a stunning view and take some good pictures. For it’s a short ride today and the sceneries on the route is extremely gorgeous so we have more chances to stop to relax and feast our eyes with stunning landscapes.

From the Flag pole we head back to Dong Van town, ride on a backroad where we can see China land over a majestic cliff then head to Ma Pi Leng pass – the highlight of the day. Ma Pi Leng pass is a breathtaking mountain pass located between Dong Van and Meo Vac Renowned for its awe-inspiring beauty, the pass cuts through the majestic limestone peaks of Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark, a UNESCO-recognized site. We stop for a nice coffee at the middle of the pass to immerse ourselves in stunning landscapes of Ma Pi Leng and experience its unique geological features.

We stop for lunch in Meo Vac town, from here we take a challenging hidden track where we have an eye-opening experience which is crossing the vibrant Nho Que river on a bamboo raft.

We overnight in Bao Lac, a peaceful town of Cao Bang province.

Distance: 100 kilometers

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Day 11: Loop of Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour to Sapa – Ha Giang: Bao Lac Motorcycle Tours to Ba Be National Park (Bac Kan)

Our journey starts at about 9 o’clock today after breakfast, from Bao Lac we can take a beautiful backroad through the bamboo forests of Lung Pan village, or challenge ourselves with some dirt trails nearby. After lunch we head straight to Ba Be lake to do a boat trip in the lake while enjoying nice, cold beers.

Ba Be National Park is an abundant bioreserve area containing the world’s only fresh-water karst lake and several rare species of fauna and flora. The biodiverse 10,048ha park – home to 1,268 species of flora and fauna, a series of caves and a gigantic fresh water lake – was established in 1992 by the Vietnamese Government to preserve forest ecosystems in the northeast. Ba Be is home to over 3,000 people from the ethnic minorities of Tay, Nung, Dao and Mong, who live in 13 villages within the park. The Tay people have inhabited Ba Be area for centuries and make up 58 per cent of the population within the park’s boundaries.

Motorcycle into Pac Ngoi village, which is located inside Ba Be National Park. Our home-stay in Tay’s family is right by the side of Ba Be lake with wonderful and peaceful view.

Summary:

Distance: 140 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Home-stay

Day 12: Loop of Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour to Sapa – Ha Giang: Ba Be Motorcycle Tours to Hanoi

Easy motor ride in the morning, passing peaceful villages and rice fields before reaching very busy road in the afternoon. Traffic is getting worst and worst on Road 3, the way back to Hanoi, so we should be back before rush hour. Finish our trip around 4 pm

Summary:

Distance: 230 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

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