Ha Giang Loop Easy Rider Tour (4 Days): Real Costs & Route
Last updated: November 11, 2026. Trip taken in November 2024. Tour price is from that trip; the comparison prices are as listed on Klook in February 2026.
This post contains an affiliate link to Klook. If you book through it, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Our own trip was booked directly with a local guide and was not sponsored.
I did the Ha Giang Loop over four days and three nights in November 2024 with a Vietnamese local guide. My wife Hạ is Dao Tiền, one of Vietnam's ethnic minority groups, and her family lives in Tuyen Quang, so we started the trip from there. Below is the route we took, what we ate, exactly what we paid, and the bits that didn't go to plan.
Ha Giang Loop at a glance
| Length | 4 days, 3 nights on the loop (we arrived in Ha Giang city the night before) |
| Route | Ha Giang, Quan Ba, Dong Van, Meo Vac, Du Gia, back to Ha Giang |
| How we rode | Private tour, two motorbikes: Hạ rode Easy Rider style behind our local guide, and I rode behind Hạ's nephew on a bike we rented |
| How we booked | Directly with a local guide, no agency, through an introduction from a friend of my wife |
| What we paid | 15.5 million VND for 3 people, about 5.17 million VND (about US$203) each, November 2024 |
| Season | November, after the rice harvest. The terraces were bare, but the mountains didn't care. |
| Best for | People who want scenery and a slow pace, with one rest day in the middle |
| Skip it if | You only have two days, or you'd rather not spend whole days on the back of a motorbike |
Jump to: Getting there · How to ride · Day-by-day route · Cost · What I'd change · Where to go next · FAQ
How to get from Hanoi to Ha Giang
There are three easy ways up from Hanoi: a bus from Noi Bai Airport, a bus from My Dinh bus terminal, or a package through a hotel or agency in the Old Quarter. Half the agencies in Hanoi seem to sell Ha Giang trips now, so you won't struggle to find one.
- From Hanoi city: about 6 hours to Ha Giang city.
- From Noi Bai Airport: about 5 hours.
- Check the pickup point. Some buses collect you at the airport bus stop. Others take you to an office near the Noi Bai intersection. It depends on the company, so ask before you book.
We came up from Tuyen Quang instead, rolled into Ha Giang city at 10 p.m., slept, and started the loop the next morning.
Three ways to do the loop
- Rent a motorbike and ride yourself. The most freedom, but it's curve after mountain curve, and rain, fog or darkness can turn a nice road into a tense one fast. You need a valid license for the bike and an international driving permit.
- Easy Rider. A guide drives, you sit behind. You get to look at the mountains instead of the road, and it's the realistic choice if your license situation is shaky.
- Booked tour, group or private. Many include lodging, meals and entrance fees. Go private if you want to bend the schedule.
Check insurance before you go. If you hire a freelance guide, an accident may not be covered by your travel insurance. Ask your insurer about motorbike rides first.
How we booked, and how you can book
In Vietnam, many local trips are booked through Facebook. Individual guides advertise there, and customers message them directly. Most of these guides work for themselves, not for a registered tour company. That's how we did it: a friend of my wife put us in touch with a local guide, and we sorted out the route and price by message.
It worked because we had a Vietnamese speaker (my wife) and someone who could vouch for the guide. Most foreign travelers won't have either, and there are trade-offs.
- What you may gain: a flexible route and schedule, and a price that can be lower than an agency package. Our own price turned out to be in the same range as packaged listings (see the cost section), so don't count on big savings.
- What you may lose: no travel insurance comes with this kind of booking, there may be no written contract or refund policy, and if something goes wrong you deal with one person.
Option 1: book a packaged Easy Rider tour. Klook, local agencies in Hanoi and Ha Giang, and hostels all sell Easy Rider packages. You get a company to contact and a booking record. Ask your insurer before you pay whether a motorbike accident claim would be accepted.
Option 2: contact a local guide directly, as we did. Find guides on Facebook and use a translation app or an AI tool to message them in Vietnamese. Ask about the route, what's included, the total price, how you pay, and how many riders each guide takes. Read reviews. And again: insurance generally isn't part of the deal this way.
Our 4-day, 3-night route
Day 0: Arrive in Ha Giang city (night)
We got in at 10 p.m., found our bed, and that was the day.
Day 1: Ha Giang, Quan Ba, Tham Ma Slope, Dong Van
We filmed this whole day, lunch and the hospital reunion included. Watch it on our YouTube channel (in Korean, with English subtitles).
Ha Giang 0 km marker
Everyone starts here, and everyone takes the same photo at the stone marker. So did we.
Duck noodles
Bún Vịt Làng, Vĩnh Tươi is a well-known duck noodle shop in Ha Giang. If you're on your own bike and can stop when you like, stop here.
Lunch: lẩu at a friend's restaurant
Our tour included all meals, and lunch was meant to be at the usual set restaurant on the way to Dong Van. Then one of Hạ's high school friends from Tuyen Quang saw her Facebook post. He lives about 10 km from that restaurant, where he and his wife run two places of their own, and he told us we had to stop by. So we did. (It's reservation-only, so I'm leaving the name out.)
Lẩu is Vietnam's hotpot: a pot of broth bubbles on a gas burner in the middle of the table, and everyone cooks raw meat, fish and greens in it, then eats them with noodles and dipping sauce. Vietnamese people love it. Ours had beef, a salmon-type fish raised in Sa Pa (cá hồi), and a very big chicken from the family's own flock.
He has three kids; the youngest, a daughter, was just four months old. Ha Giang isn't far from Tuyen Quang, but we were still surprised how many people from Hạ's hometown have ended up living there.
Tip: if meals are included in your tour, a swap like this can work if you agree it with your guide in advance. Ours was fine with it. Don't assume every operator will be.
Quan Ba viewpoint
This is where you see the "twin mountains", two rounded peaks sitting side by side.
Tham Ma Slope
People call it one of the best roads in Ha Giang. We had a coffee at the top and just watched the switchbacks below.
Hmong King's House
An odd, interesting mix of Hmong and outside building styles. Worth the stop if you care about the history of the plateau.
Dinner in Dong Van: black-bone chicken hotpot
One of Ha Giang's signature dishes. Locals add buckwheat noodles to the broth, so the flower you've been seeing on every hillside ends up in your bowl. Exactly what you want on a cold mountain night.
Dong Van Old Town (Phố cổ Đồng Văn)
After dinner we walked around the old quarter. Dong Van grew up as a trading town in a valley surrounded by limestone peaks, and the old part is small: about 40 two-story houses, many more than a century old, with thick earthen walls, wooden shutters and yin-yang tiled roofs, built in a mix of Hmong, Tày and Chinese styles. At its center is a stone market hall, rebuilt in stone after the old bamboo market burned in 1923.
At night red lanterns go on along the houses and the square, and little cafés open inside the old buildings. If you can, be here on a Sunday: the Dong Van market draws Hmong, Tày and other communities from the surrounding villages.
A reunion at Dong Van hospital
This was the part of the trip I didn't plan. After dinner we walked to Dong Van's general hospital, where one of Hạ's close high school friends works as a nurse. Her husband, a senior from the same school, is a doctor there. Hạ and her friend hadn't seen each other in almost twenty years. They hugged and cried the moment they saw each other.
Then we went back to her place nearby. We'd already eaten, so it was pomelo instead of a second dinner, and two hours of talk about home, school, life now and who's doing what. That night got its own post: two old friends in one day.
Day 2: Dong Van, Lung Cu, Lo Lo village, Ma Pi Leng, Nho Que River, Meo Vac
Breakfast: banh cuon
Dong Van is small, and so is the breakfast menu.
Old Town Coffee, Dong Van
A café inside a traditional house. Think of a hanok café back home in Korea. The coffee was cheap and our "quick stop" turned into an hour.
Buckwheat flower fields
On the road to Lung Cu we pulled over at a hillside covered in buckwheat flowers. Buckwheat (tam giác mạch in Vietnamese) is the signature flower of the Dong Van Karst Plateau. The blooms start out white around late September, turn pink through October and November, and deepen to red by the end of December. We were there in mid-November, and the slopes were pale pink.
For the Hmong and other groups up here, buckwheat is food first and photo backdrop second. The seeds are ground into flour for bánh tam giác mạch, a steamed buckwheat cake, and the grain also goes into porridge, noodles and corn wine. Ha Giang holds a Buckwheat Flower Festival every year in October or November, with ethnic minority performances and buckwheat food stalls.
Tip: these are working fields. Stay on the paths and leave the flowers alone.
Lung Cu flag tower
Vietnam's northernmost point. Go for the view from the top, looking down over the border villages.
Lo Lo Chai village (Lô Lô Chải)
From Lung Cu we went down to Lo Lo Chai, the village at the foot of the flag tower hill. Most of the village's 100-plus households are Lo Lo, one of Vietnam's smallest ethnic groups, along with some Hmong families. The village is known for its rammed-earth houses with yin-yang tiled roofs and stacked-stone fences, some of them more than a century old.
You can stay the night here. Many of the old earthen houses have been turned into homestays run by local families, and in 2025 UN Tourism named Lo Lo Chai one of the world's Best Tourism Villages. We only passed through, and it was the quietest place on the whole route. This is the one place I wish we'd slept. If you're still planning, it's an easy overnight between Dong Van and Lung Cu, and you can walk up to the flag tower early the next morning.
Ma Pi Leng Pass
If there's one stretch that makes the whole loop worth it, it's this one. The Nho Que River sits far below in a green canyon, and the road clings to the cliff above it.
Nho Que River boat
Roadworks made the way down to the jetty rough going when we were there. The boat ride made up for it.
Meo Vac: a night in Pavi Hmong Village
In Meo Vac we stayed at Meo Vac Clay House, inside Pavi Hmong Village. Pavi is a newly built tourist complex in a Hmong village, part visitor center, part guesthouse, with cafés and photo spots. Plenty of loop tours seem to end their day here.
Dinner: Vietnamese grilled meat
Vietnamese barbecue that night: pork belly and other cuts grilled at the table, wrapped in herbs, dunked in sauce. After a long day on the bike, highly recommended.
Day 3: Meo Vac, M-shaped road, terraces, Du Gia
M-shaped road viewpoint
Stand here for a minute and you'll understand why people call Ha Giang the Alps of Vietnam.
Rice terraces
We came after the harvest, so the fields were bare. The shapes were still beautiful. But I want to come back when they're gold.
Du Gia village
There isn't much to see in Du Gia, and that's the point. We stayed at Tom's Du Gia Homestay, and after two long days it felt like a day off.
Du Gia waterfall
Calling it a waterfall is generous. It's more of a stream with a pool. A few European travelers swam anyway, in November. I watched.
Day 4: Du Gia back to Ha Giang city
We wrapped up around 1 p.m. to catch a bus to Tuyen Quang; most tours run until about 6 p.m. on the last day. On the way back we stopped on a road lined with yellow flowers, then at a forest viewpoint. Our guide said the forest is a protected zone where clearing is restricted, which is why those slopes are still so green. One last Ha Giang lunch, and we were on the bus.
Ha Giang's people, and a Tày guide who spoke my mother-in-law's language
Vietnam officially recognizes 54 ethnic groups. The Kinh majority make up about 86% of the population, and roughly half of the country's ethnic minority people live in the northern midlands and mountains. In the old Ha Giang province, the largest groups were the Hmong (about 34%), the Tày (about 23%) and the Dao (about 15%). Since July 2025, Ha Giang has been part of a merged Tuyen Quang province, though travelers still call the route the Ha Giang Loop.
For us, those numbers have faces. Hạ's father is Dao and her mother is Tày, so she grew up speaking both languages as well as Vietnamese. Our guide turned out to be Tày. We mostly spoke Vietnamese, but Hạ could switch to Tày with him, and she caught about 60% of what he said. Many words were the same; the tones were not. "Pi noong oi!" (roughly "Hey, friend!") ends on a falling tone in Tuyen Quang, while in Ha Giang the "oi" goes up. In Hmong villages, though, she couldn't follow a thing. Hmong is a separate language from both Dao and Tày.
A common assumption that isn't true: not every ethnic minority person lives high in the mountains or wears traditional clothes every day. Hạ's whole family is ethnic minority, and apart from Hmong communities up in the highlands, she rarely sees people in ethnic dress except at weddings, festivals and other special occasions. At our own wedding, relatives came in both Dao and Tày dress. I wrote more about our family, their languages and what people actually wear in this post.
What it cost (November 2024)
We booked directly with a local guide, introduced by a friend of my wife, with no agency in between. There were three of us for four days and three nights.
| Item | Amount (VND) |
|---|---|
| Base tour price, per person | 5,500,000 |
| Base tour price, 3 people | 16,500,000 |
| Discount (2 people sharing a bike, 500,000 each) | -1,000,000 |
| Total paid | 15,500,000 |
Included: lodging, transport, three meals a day, and most entrance fees. Not included: fuel for one motorbike, snacks and personal spending.
At the exchange rate in mid-November 2024 (about 25,400 VND per US dollar), 15.5 million VND was roughly US$610 for the three of us, or about US$203 each. The base price of 5.5 million VND per person was about US$217. Exchange rates move, so convert at today's rate if you're planning now.
For comparison: Klook prices, February 2026 (per person)
| Tour | Price (US$) |
|---|---|
| 4D3N Easy Rider from Hanoi, private room option | about 242 (258 before discount) |
| 4D3N Hidden Trail Easy Rider | about 190 |
| 3-day small group from Hanoi, with guide | about 201 |
| 5D4N Heritage Easy Rider | about 240 |
| Small-group motorbike tour | about 328 |
| Ha Giang + Cao Bang multi-day small group | about 330 |
| Vintage jeep, 4D3N | about 407 |
Prefer to book a package? You can compare current Ha Giang Loop Easy Rider tours, with prices and reviews, on Klook here.
Our direct price, about US$203 per person, sits in the same range as the packaged Easy Rider listings above (about US$190 to US$242). The listings differ in room type, Hanoi pickup and group size, so this is not a like-for-like comparison. Prices change, so check the live listing.
What changes the price
- Whether Hanoi pickup is included.
- Whether an Easy Rider is included, or you drive yourself.
- Room type: dorm, shared or private.
- Group or private. Fewer people usually means a higher price per person.
What I'd change
- Go at harvest time. The empty terraces in November were my main disappointment.
- Stay a night in Lo Lo village. The quietest place on the route, and we just drove through.
- Leave more room in the schedule. Construction, fog and delays are common. Our last day ended early only because of our bus.
- Don't expect a big waterfall at Du Gia. It's a nice little gorge. That's all.
- Bring a jacket. Days and nights feel like different seasons up there, and the wind on a motorbike makes it colder.
- Take the curves slowly. It's a mountain road, not a racetrack.
Where to go after Ha Giang
Times and prices are from booking platforms when I checked, so double-check before you buy.
| Destination | Typical time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hanoi (Old Quarter) | 6 to 7 hours | Day and night sleeper buses; an airport route also exists |
| Sa Pa | 6 to 7 hours | Many direct buses, day and night |
| Ninh Binh | overnight | Direct sleeper leaves at night and arrives at dawn; about 235,000 to 435,000 VND depending on the bus |
| Cao Bang | varies | A popular next stop toward Ban Gioc Waterfall |
| Ha Long Bay | 8 to 11 hours | Direct buses exist |
| Cat Ba | overnight | Often sold as bus plus ferry; ask whether the route goes through Hanoi |
FAQ
How many days do you need for the Ha Giang Loop?
Tours run from one night and two days up to three nights and four days. I thought the four-day, three-night version balanced scenery and rest best.
Is the Ha Giang Loop safe?
It's a mountain road full of curves, and rain or fog can change it quickly. Ride slowly, wear a jacket, and check that your insurance covers motorbike travel.
Can I ride myself?
Only if you hold a valid motorcycle license that covers the bike you rent, plus an international driving permit. Several local operators say the permit should be the 1968 Vienna Convention version and that a car-only license is not enough. Police checkpoints along the loop are common, and renting a bike does not mean you are legal to ride it. For the record, I didn't ride myself this trip.
Do I need a permit to enter the border areas?
We did not arrange a permit on this trip, and the question never came up in November 2024. Don't take that as a guarantee. Foreign travelers are generally required to carry a border-area permit for the districts near the Chinese border, which include Quan Ba, Yen Minh, Dong Van and Meo Vac. Tour companies usually arrange it. Operators report a fee of around 200,000 to 260,000 VND (about US$10), and say checks became stricter from mid-2026. The sources I found are mostly tour operators and hostels, and I could not confirm an official notice, so ask your operator or the immigration office in Ha Giang city before you go.
What did the loop cost?
We paid 15.5 million VND for three people for four days and three nights in November 2024, with lodging, transport, three meals a day and most entrance fees included.
Béo here, the bald guy behind the camera. 👋 If you scrolled all the way down here, congrats, you've officially done a second Ha Giang Loop.
ReplyDeleteThe photos that didn't make it into this post (and, let's be honest, far too many hotpot shots) live on our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/offbeat.traveler.seoul/
Come say hi. We don't bite, unless it's lẩu. 🍲