Vietnam – The Ha Giang Loop

As part of my Vietnam travels, I decided to do the Ha Giang Loop, a famous motorbike journey in the northern part of the country. I was nervous since I had never been on a bike before, but it turned out to be an incredible adventure!

Day 0 – Arrival

After lots of research, I booked a 4-day, 3-night tour with Road Kings, a newer company with lots of great reviews. I didn’t want to join the huge party groups, and Road Kings has maximum group sizes of 6 which sounded perfect. I also picked the “easy rider” option which meant that I would have my own driver.

Road Kings took care of all the logistics to get to Ha Giang, so I just had to make my way to the bus company’s headquarters in Hanoi. I had chosen the VIP sleeper bus option, and indeed it was quite luxurious for a bus! There was lots of room on the “bed,” and each person had their own privacy curtains as well. The bus drivers make you put your shoes in a plastic bag before boarding; thankfully I had read that online the day before and wasn’t caught off guard. I met a couple who would be joining the same tour as me, and I was relieved I wouldn’t be the only one in the group. We arrived in Ha Giang in the late evening and made our way to Road Kings Hostel, where we had dinner and then got some rest before our first day.

Day 1 – Getting Used to the Bike

We woke up early to have breakfast at the hostel and to meet the other group members who had arrived on the 3 AM bus. The owners also gave us a briefing about the next few days; there would be two groups of 6, each following the same itinerary at slightly different times so that we wouldn’t run into each other too much. I met my driver Thuyen and we were quickly off!

I was terrified for the first hour or so, especially since I was second in line. After driving for a bit, we stopped at a viewpoint for coffee. I was fifth in line when we left, which allowed me to see that some of my group members weren’t even holding on! This helped me realize that I could relax a bit. Before long we stopped at another viewpoint as well as a couple of waterfalls. I also got my first taste of strong Vietnamese tea.

Getting the hang of the motorbike

We had another stop and then headed to lunch, which was a mix of shared plates of beef, chicken, rice, fries, veggies, and other various sides. After awhile we were off again, and the views were stunning! I also became brave enough to start taking photos and videos from the bike. We made another coffee stop where I had my first silver coffee (coffee & condensed milk) which was amazing. Eventually we arrived at our first homestay; most tour groups put you in shared dorms, but with Road Kings we had our own rooms. This was a relief as I was tired and sore from all the driving.

Beautiful Ha Giang scenery

Silver coffee

We dropped off our bags and went to a nearby waterfall which was pretty but crowded with all the other tour groups. After enjoying the cold water for awhile, we got cleaned up for dinner where we had more shared plates and our first taste of the notorious happy water (Vietnamese rice wine). There was of course karaoke, and we had fun getting to know each other as well as people in other groups. It was a successful first day on the Loop!

Day 2 – Bamboo Boats & Beautiful Scenery

We had breakfast at our homestay and then wandered around the local markets for a bit. They were selling chickens, dogs, cows, and pigs as well as clothes and other goods. Soon we set off for another long driving day; the ride was really scenic and beautiful. In the late morning, we stopped by a village and took a bamboo boat to a cave we could swim in. I almost couldn’t make my way through since the current was so strong; I slowly swam from rock to rock until I made it inside. The cave was huge and it was super dark, but it was a cool experience.

A bamboo boat ride

Swimming in a giant cave

We drove to another spot for lunch and then started the really rough drive that the owners had warned us about during the briefing. There were rocks and construction everywhere, and almost all of us were holding on. I was thankful I didn’t have to worry about the driving! We stopped at a “moon valley” for coffee, then had another rough drive until we got to the most gorgeous part of the trip. We were overlooking a valley with a beautiful river and mountains surrounding us; I wanted to cry because it was so beautiful.

Some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen

One of many scenic viewpoints on Day 2

After spending some time admiring the area, we had one last drive before we got to our hotel in Dong Van. Dinner was a short bike ride into town, where we had more shared plates and happy water. We all headed to the town square afterwards and watched the locals dancing in a circle and having fun. It was a good night, but we were all so tired from the long day’s drive that we didn’t stay out too late.

Day 3 – The Chinese Border & A Fun Final Night

We started the day with more scenic views and then headed to the Vietnam/China border. I was quite sore from the last two days, but thankfully some painkillers helped (I highly recommend bringing some with you!). As we approached the border, I noticed that China has an electric fence surrounding their border, despite it being on a huge cliff. I also started getting Chinese cell signal which was interesting. Next, we stopped at a village for coffee and then had our last lunch together as a group; one of the members was only doing the 3-day tour and would be heading back to Ha Giang early.

Overlooking the Vietnam/China border

We were then a group of 11 which made each rest stop take a lot longer. I was glad I wasn’t traveling with one of the large groups where this was the norm for the whole tour. I was a bit annoyed when we stopped at a place with children trying to braid flowers in your hair for money; some of the group enjoyed it though. At least the views were beautiful! Before long we arrived at our next homestay, where we each had our own mud hut. We then had dinner together along with too much happy water. After dinner we played hacky sack with our drivers and then switched to karaoke. Despite them speaking minimal English, we all had a great time together. It was a perfect last night of the trip!

Hairpin turns on the Ha Giang Loop

My cute little mud hut

Day 4 – A Hidden Waterfall & Back to Ha Giang

Today was the first time that we had rain, and we spent so long putting on the provided protective rain gear that it stopped by the time we were ready to leave. It was at least fun looking like Teletubbies. We drove to a cave that was a 400-step hike to the top. The cave was large and had a lot of interesting rock formations.

Our hilarious rain gear

We then had our last shared lunch together and made our way to a hidden waterfall. The hike was steep and muddy, and a few people even slipped despite holding onto the ropes. I was thankful my driver had given me plastic shoe covers to keep my shoes somewhat clean! When we finally made it to the waterfall it was absolutely beautiful, and we were the only ones there. I hadn’t planned to swim, but the water was so inviting that I ended up jumping in with my leggings. Thankfully the wind dried my pants soon after we left.

Thanks Thuyen for the shoe covers!

A hidden waterfall

Finally we made it back to Road Kings hostel, where we had delicious tacos at the owner’s restaurant next door. Our group wrote a message on the wall, memorializing our journey together. Before long it was time to repack and say my goodbyes to my new friends, as I would be taking the night bus back to Hanoi. I had originally been apprehensive about the Ha Giang Loop, but I’m so glad I decided to book the tour! It became one of my favorite travel memories that I’ve had so far, and I would recommend it to anyone wanting some adventure on their travels.

Group 1!