Ha Giang Loop - Everything You Need to Know
Quick Summary
Ha Giang is a city in the North of Vietnam, about 7 hours north of Hanoi. The loop is a popular trekk that starts and ends in Ha Giang, while there are a few different routes you can take, we did the one that takes you through Đồng Văn (close to the Chinese border). The tour we did was 3 full days and 2 nights, but there are quite a few options if that doesn't fit your itinerary. We opted for the motorbike, which is the most popular choice, but a car tour is also an option.
There are endless tour groups to choose from, and I didn't hear negative things about any of the companies. We booked through OPI Adventures, and our group started and ended at Lucky Hostel in Ha Giang. A lot of people book through their hostels either in Hanoi or Ha Giang, but we heard that those groups are generally larger (20-50 people). Our group was only 6 people, and only 8-10 max are allowed. We're in our thirties and enjoyed the smaller group, but if you're looking to meet a ton of people and have a larger group to interact with, I'd suggest booking through a hostel.
If you need tips about Hanoi, check out this guide!
And if you want a 2 week itinerary in Vietnam, check out this guide:
Cost
We paid about $190 per person, plus tip. This included transportation from Hanoi to Ha Giang, and from Ha Giang to Ninh Binh - both on pretty nice sleeper buses. The cost also included all meals for three days, two nights of lodging (more details below), all motorbike expenses, and water. Most people tipped between 5-10% of the tour cost.
Accommodations
Our accommodations for both nights were comfortable. The first night was in Đồng Văn, and we stayed at a hotel in town, within walking distance to the restaurants and bars we went to. Each group that booked together got their own room - for instance, there were three of us girls traveling together, and we got one room with four beds. There was a couple that got their own room, and a single guy that got his own room. The guides stayed elsewhere in the hotel.
The second night was at a homestay in Du Già village. This town is also home to a beautiful waterfall and swimming hole that most of the tours stop at - it was great for meeting other travelers. The homestay was more rugged, but a great experience since you're staying with a Vietnamese family who opens their home for travelers. Ours felt like a mix of a hostel and a homestay - there were private rooms, though the walls and floors were only planks of wood - no insulation or sound barrier. There was no air conditioning, only a fan - and we had bug screens over the beds. Overall it was comfortable, but not luxurious.
Easy Rider vs. Driving Yourself
There are a few options for the motorbike - you can choose to be an "easy rider", which is what we did, you can drive yourself within a tour group, or you can drive yourself without a tour group. I can only speak to being an easy rider, which I would highly recommend. I've crashed a motorbike before (that's a story for another time), so I knew I'd rather ride on the back. We also saw tourists that had chosen to drive themselves that had clearly crashed and had bandages on their arms and legs.
Another thing to note if you drive yourself - you may need an international driver's license. We saw a few tourists driving themselves that were pulled over by the police, and we had heard that they intentionally look for tourists driving to catch them.
Useful Tips
-The roads can be rough. There was a lot of construction, narrow passages, rocky parts, large trucks coming the other way, slow large trucks you have to pass, etc. There aren't a ton of guard rails, and there's an inherent danger to the whole tour. That being said, it's still absolutely worth it, it's just not for the faint of heart!
-Our bodies hurt almost immediately. The whole time you're on the bike (~6-8 hours a day, about 100km-150km a day) your knees are bent, your arms are holding the back of the bike, your butt is on a relatively hard surface, and you're trying not to slide into your driver. Bring advil! One of the girls in our groups had an extra cushion on her bike and she said her back side didn't hurt at all, so request that if you can!
-Some tour groups provided shin guards and arm guards, but ours did not. The only people we saw that had crashed were tourists driving themselves, so if you go that route, I'd definitely recommend renting the shin and arm guards. We felt very safe as easy riders, but extra protection is never a bad idea. We wore pants every day just as an extra precaution.
-The weather changed often and quickly. Come prepared for anything.
-You leave your main bags at the hotel/hostel where you begin, so pack a smaller bag to take with you on the tour - this gets connected to the back of your bike via bungee cords.
-Our guides bikes brown down every day - there was always something, so there's more down time then you think there will be. Just use this time to relax, grab a beer, meet new people, and enjoy the views!
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