10-Day Northern Vietnam Adventure Tour: Ha Giang Loop, Cao Bang & Ba Be Lake
Overview
Destination: North Vietnam
Duration: 7 - 10 days
Travel Style: Adventure & Nature
Theme: Friend
Tour Highlights
Value of the package
This 10-day northern Vietnam adventure tour takes you to the far north-east of the country in one private trip: the mountain passes of the Ha Giang Loop, the valleys and waterfall of Cao Bang and the forested shores of Ba Be Lake. Everything between your arrival and departure in Hanoi is arranged for you, from the overnight bus north to the boat days on the rivers and lakes.
- An overnight bus saves a day. The sleeper bus leaves Hanoi around 9:00 PM and reaches Ha Giang in the early morning, so the loop starts on day two.
- Three days on the Ha Giang Loop. Ride pillion behind an experienced easy rider, or go by jeep or car, over Quan Ba Heaven Gate, Tham Ma Pass and Ma Pi Leng Pass, with a boat trip through the Tu San canyon on the Nho Que River.
- A different road into Cao Bang. Instead of returning to Hanoi, you drive east along the Gam River to Bao Lac, then ride Ma Phuc Pass by motorbike and visit the craft villages of Phia Thap and Phuc Sen.
- Two nights near Ban Gioc Waterfall. Your resort is a few minutes from the falls, where a bamboo raft takes you close to the spray, and Nguom Ngao Cave is a short drive away.
- A full boat day on Ba Be Lake. The boat passes Widow Island and An Ma Temple, follows the Nang River through Puong Cave and reaches the Dau Dang rapids.
- Guided where it matters. Your English-speaking guide accompanies you on sightseeing days, with a private car and driver for the transfers.
Included in the package
- Airport pick-up in Hanoi and private transfer to Noi Bai International Airport for your departure, with your guide
- 8 nights’ accommodation – local homestays in Ha Giang (2 nights), a stilt-house homestay in Bao Lac, Saigon Ban Gioc Resort or similar in Cao Bang (2 nights), a local homestay at Ba Be Lake (2 nights) and Tirant Hotel or similar in Hanoi – plus 1 night on the overnight sleeper bus
- 8 breakfasts and 7 lunches, as listed day by day
- Private car and driver, sleeper bus ticket to Ha Giang, and motorbike with easy rider or jeep on the Ha Giang Loop and in Cao Bang
- Entrance fees and the activities in the itinerary, including the Nho Que River boat, the bamboo raft at Ban Gioc Waterfall, Nguom Ngao Cave and the boat day on Ba Be Lake
- Drinking water on tour days, travel insurance, VAT and service charges
Not included: international flights, Vietnam visa fee, meals not listed, personal expenses, and tips for your guide and driver.
Download the detailed day-by-day itinerary (PDF) and ask us for a price using the box on this page, on WhatsApp +84 345 827 501 or at booking@hynatravel.com. Your price depends on your travel dates, group size and hotel choice.
Itinerary
DAY 1: HANOI ARRIVAL & OVERNIGHT SLEEPER BUS TO HA GIANG
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Overnight: Overnight sleeper bus | Meals: Lunch and dinner on your own | Guide: Guide pickup
On arrival
Welcome to Vietnam. Your HYNA guide and driver wait in the arrival hall at Noi Bai International Airport with a name sign and drive you into Hanoi. The rest of the day is free: circle Hoan Kiem Lake beneath its old trees, or try your first street food on a low stool in the Old Quarter.
Overnight
In the evening, your guide sees you off on the overnight sleeper bus to Ha Giang, the gateway to Vietnam’s far north, which departs around 9:00 PM. The road winds north for about six to seven hours while you sleep.
DAY 2: HA GIANG LOOP DAY 1: QUAN BA HEAVEN GATE TO DONG VAN
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Overnight: Local homestay, Ha Giang | Meals: Lunch · Breakfast and dinner on your own | Guide: Full day guide
Early morning
The bus rolls into Ha Giang in the early morning, with the mountains already close around the town. Take time to freshen up and have breakfast before meeting your team.
Morning
Your guide and your experienced easy rider meet you around 8:30 AM. Today you ride as a passenger on the back of a motorbike, wind in your face, or travel by jeep or car if you prefer. The road climbs the Bac Sum Pass to Quan Ba Heaven Gate, where the valley drops away beneath you and the twin Fairy Mountains rise from the rice fields, two perfectly rounded hills with a local legend of their own.
Midday
Lunch around 12:30 PM is at a local restaurant in Yen Minh.
Afternoon
In the afternoon, ride through the pine forests of Yen Minh, then up the tight hairpin bends of Tham Ma Pass onto the Dong Van Karst Plateau, a UNESCO Global Geopark of grey stone. H’Mong villages cling to the slopes here, and maize grows in terraced pockets of soil between the rocks, a sign of how hard-won every harvest is.
Overnight
You reach your local homestay near Dong Van by about 5:30 PM, as the air turns cool and the plateau goes quiet.
DAY 3: HA GIANG LOOP DAY 2: MA PI LENG PASS & NHO QUE RIVER
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Overnight: Local homestay, Ha Giang | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch · Dinner on your own | Guide: Full day guide
Morning
After breakfast at the homestay, you set off with your easy rider around 8:00 AM onto Ma Pi Leng Pass, a road cut into the cliffside high above the Nho Que canyon. Stop as often as you like for photos; far below, the river shows as a thin emerald ribbon.
Then head down to the water and board a boat through the Tu San canyon, where the green river slides between sheer limestone walls that rise straight up on either side.
Midday
Lunch around 12:30 PM is at a local restaurant in Meo Vac.
Afternoon
The afternoon road winds through Mau Due, then drops gently into the green valley of Du Gia. After the bare rock of the plateau, this quiet Tay village surrounded by rice fields feels soft and lush, and the pace of life slows right down.
Overnight
You check in at your local homestay in Du Gia by about 5:00 PM.
DAY 4: HA GIANG LOOP DAY 3 & THE MOUNTAIN ROAD TO BAO LAC
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Overnight: Local stilt-house homestay, Bao Lac | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch · Dinner on your own | Guide: Full day guide
Morning
After breakfast at the homestay, you set off around 8:00 AM with a short walk to Du Gia Waterfall, where a morning swim in the cool water wakes you up if the weather allows. Then ride the last stretch of the loop through Lung Ho and Duong Thuong, a road of rice terraces stepping down the hills, small villages and wide mountain views.
Midday
You roll back into Ha Giang town around midday, have lunch at a local restaurant and say goodbye to your easy rider after three days on the road together.
Afternoon
Around 1:30 PM your guide and driver set off east by car along the Gam River, through Bac Me and Bao Lam, a quiet road of about four hours where the valleys widen and stilt houses stand at the edge of the rice fields. This road carries you out of Ha Giang and into Cao Bang province.
Overnight
You reach Bao Lac by about 5:30 PM and settle into a Tay stilt-house homestay, with dinner at your own choice and the sound of the river below.
DAY 5: CAO BANG BY MOTORBIKE: MA PHUC PASS & CRAFT VILLAGES
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Overnight: Saigon Ban Gioc Resort, Cao Bang | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch · Dinner on your own | Guide: Full day guide
Morning
After breakfast, your guide and driver meet you around 7:30 AM for the drive of about three and a half hours east across the mountains to Cao Bang city, the road dropping from high passes into wide green valleys.
Midday
Lunch around 11:30 AM is at a local restaurant in Cao Bang city, where your easy rider joins you.
Afternoon
Around 12:30 PM you climb on the back of the motorbike and ride east over the Ma Phuc Pass, where limestone peaks stand like a row of green teeth and Tay and Nung villages dot the valleys below.
At Phia Thap, the sweet scent of incense hangs over the village, where Nung families still make it by hand and bundles dry in the sun; try rolling a stick yourself.
Nearby Phuc Sen rings with the sound of hammers on hot metal, a blacksmith village known for its hand-forged knives. Then ride on towards the Chinese border.
Overnight
You check in at your resort near Ban Gioc Waterfall by about 5:30 PM.
DAY 6: BAN GIOC WATERFALL & NGUOM NGAO CAVE
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Overnight: Saigon Ban Gioc Resort, Cao Bang | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch · Dinner on your own | Guide: Full day guide
Morning
Your guide and driver meet you at your resort around 8:00 AM, only a few minutes from the falls. You hear Ban Gioc before you see it: one of the largest waterfalls in Southeast Asia, where the Quay Son River tumbles over wide limestone terraces on the border with China. A bamboo raft carries you close enough to feel the spray on your face, and the riverside paths open up new angles on the falls.
A short drive away, walk through the lit chambers of Nguom Ngao Cave, where stalactites and rock formations have taken shape over millions of years.
Midday
Lunch around midday is at a local restaurant near the waterfall, and you are back at your resort by about 2:00 PM.
Afternoon
The afternoon is free. Relax at the resort, or wander out into the rice fields around the falls, where the only sounds are the water and the wind.
DAY 7: CAO BANG TO BA BE LAKE
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Overnight: Local homestay, Ba Be Lake | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch · Dinner on your own | Guide: Full day guide
Morning
After breakfast, your guide and driver meet you around 8:00 AM for the long, scenic drive west through Cao Bang province towards Ba Be National Park, about six hours with stops.
Midday
Lunch around midday is at a local restaurant in Cao Bang city.
Afternoon
In the afternoon, the road climbs over forested passes and past Tay villages before dropping down to Ba Be, the largest natural freshwater lake in Vietnam. You arrive around 4:30 PM, in time for a stroll through Pac Ngoi, a Tay village of wooden stilt houses on the lakeshore, as the evening light settles on the water.
Overnight
Overnight at a local homestay by Ba Be Lake, where the evening belongs to the stillness of the water.
DAY 8: BA BE LAKE & NATIONAL PARK EXPLORATION
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Overnight: Local homestay, Ba Be Lake | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch · Dinner on your own | Guide: Full day guide
Morning
After breakfast, walk down to the pier around 8:00 AM and board a local boat for a day on the water. The boat cruises the three connected lakes of Ba Be, ringed by forested limestone mountains that mirror themselves in the still surface. Pass Widow Island and stop at An Ma Temple, then follow the Nang River to Puong Cave, a vast tunnel the river has carved right through the mountain.
Midday
Lunch around midday is at a local restaurant in the national park.
Afternoon
In the afternoon, the boat takes you to Dau Dang, a series of rapids where the Nang River rushes white over the rocks, before you head back across the lake. You are back at your homestay by about 4:00 PM, with the rest of the day to enjoy the calm of the lakeside village.
DAY 9: RETURN TO HANOI – FREE & EASY
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Overnight: Tirant Hotel, Hanoi | Meals: Breakfast · Lunch and dinner on your own | Guide: Half day guide
Morning
After breakfast at the homestay, your guide and driver meet you around 8:00 AM for the drive back to Hanoi, about five to six hours with a rest stop. The mountains of Bac Kan slowly give way to the tea hills and rice plains of the midlands.
Afternoon
You check in at your hotel in Hanoi around 2:00 PM; lunch is at your own choice on arrival. The afternoon and evening are free for a walk around Hoan Kiem Lake, a browse through the Old Quarter or one last Hanoi dinner.
DAY 10: HANOI DEPARTURE
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Overnight: — | Meals: Breakfast · Lunch and dinner on your own | Guide: Guide dropoff
Morning
Enjoy a last breakfast at your hotel in Hanoi and a final coffee as the city wakes up.
Departure
Depending on your flight time, your guide accompanies you on the private transfer to Noi Bai International Airport for your flight home. Thank you for travelling with HYNA. We hope the mountain roads of the far north stay with you long after you leave.
Children Policy
Children under 5 years old Children from 5 to 9 years old Children 10 years old and above Charged at 100% of adult tour price Note: Children’s age is calculated based on the start date of the tour, not the booking date.
PRICE ON REQUEST
Your price depends on your travel dates, group size and hotel choice. Tell us your plans and we will send you a quote.
Meals: 8 breakfasts · 7 lunches
Transport: Private car, overnight sleeper bus, motorbike with easy rider or jeep, boat, bamboo raft
Or email us at booking@hynatravel.com
All Reviews
Why HYNA's Travel?
Local Expert Team
A Vietnam-based team that plans every route on the ground and knows each region first-hand.
Honest & Transparent
Clear itineraries, clear inclusions and no hidden surprises, from your first message to your last day.
24/7 support
24/7 support throughout your journey.
Customized Itineraries
Every itinerary can be tailored to your travel dates, pace and interests.
Price and policy
Flexible cancellation policy.
FAQ
1. Does the tour price include airfare?
No. International and domestic flights are not included in our tour prices. Where a route uses a domestic flight, the itinerary shows it so you can plan your bookings.
2. Can you arrange vegetarian or other special meals?
Yes. Tell us about your dietary needs when you send your enquiry and we will arrange the included meals accordingly.
3. Can I change the itinerary?
Yes. Every itinerary can be tailored to your travel dates, pace and interests. Tell us what you would like to add, remove or swap when you ask for a price.
4. What is your cancellation policy?
Our cancellation policy is flexible, and the terms depend on your travel dates and the services booked. Ask us for the full terms before you book.
5. When is the best time to take this tour?
The weather in Vietnam differs a lot between the north, the centre and the south. The best months for this route are shown under "Best time to go" in the Trip facts on this page. Tell us your travel dates and we can suggest the best way to plan the route for that season.
6. Is travel insurance included?
Travel insurance during the tour is included, as listed under "Included in the package". We also recommend your own international travel insurance that covers medical care and flight changes.
7. Is airport pick-up included?
Yes. Your guide and driver meet you at the airport on the first day and take you to the airport for your departure on the last day, as shown in the itinerary.
8. What documents do I need to travel to Vietnam?
You need a passport valid for at least six months from your arrival date and a Vietnam visa or visa exemption, depending on your nationality. The Vietnam visa fee is not included in the tour price.
