10-Day Northern Vietnam Mountain Tour: Sapa, Ha Giang, 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 mountain tour crosses the whole far north in one private trip, from the peaks of Sapa through the karst plateau of Ha Giang to the waterfall and caves of Cao Bang and the still water of Ba Be Lake. Everything between your arrival and departure in Hanoi is arranged for you, so each day is spent on the road and at the sights rather than on planning.
What makes this package worth it
- Sapa without the rush. Two nights let you ride the Muong Hoa Mountain Train and cable car up Fansipan, walk down into Cat Cat Village and stop at Moana Sapa before leaving.
- A one-way route across the north. From Sapa the road runs east through Bac Ha, Xin Man and Hoang Su Phi to Ha Giang, and from Ha Giang on to Cao Bang, so you do not double back to Hanoi.
- Three nights in Ha Giang. Quan Ba Heaven Gate, the Fairy Mountains, a boat through the Tu San canyon, Ma Pi Leng Pass, the H’Mong King’s Palace and the bends of Tham Ma Pass.
- History in Cao Bang. At Pac Bo you stand in the cave where Ho Chi Minh lived and worked in 1941 and walk along Lenin Stream at the foot of Karl Marx Mountain.
- Ban Gioc and Ba Be in two days. A bamboo raft takes you close to Ban Gioc Waterfall, Nguom Ngao Cave is a short drive away, and a morning boat on Ba Be Lake stops at An Ma Temple.
- Guided where it matters. Your English-speaking guide accompanies you on sightseeing days, with private transport – car and driver, or motorbike with an easy rider or jeep on the Ha Giang Loop.
Included in the package
- Airport pick-up in Hanoi and private transfer to Noi Bai International Airport for your departure, with your guide
- 9 nights’ accommodation – Silk Path Grand Resort & Spa Sapa or similar (2 nights), local homestays in Ha Giang (3 nights), a stilt-house homestay in Bao Lac, Saigon Ban Gioc Resort or similar in Cao Bang, a local homestay at Ba Be Lake and Tirant Hotel or similar in Hanoi
- 9 breakfasts and 8 lunches, as listed day by day
- Private transport throughout: car and driver, or motorbike with an easy rider or jeep on the Ha Giang Loop
- Entrance fees and the activities in the itinerary, including the Fansipan mountain train and cable car, Cat Cat Village, the H’Mong King’s Palace, the Nho Que River boat, Pac Bo, the bamboo raft at Ban Gioc Waterfall, Nguom Ngao Cave and the boat 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 & TRANSFER TO SAPA
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Overnight: Silk Path Grand Resort & Spa Sapa, Sapa | 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 you set off straight for Sapa. The drive of about five and a half to six hours follows the expressway north-west past rice fields, mountain passes and small villages, as the land climbs towards the Hoang Lien Son range.
Evening
Settle into your hotel, then explore Sapa town at your own pace: stroll to the old Stone Church, browse the local market or simply breathe in the cool mountain air.
DAY 2: SAPA: FANSIPAN PEAK & CAT CAT VILLAGE
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Overnight: Silk Path Grand Resort & Spa Sapa, Sapa | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch · Dinner on your own | Guide: Full day guide
Morning
After breakfast, your guide meets you around 8:00 AM and walks with you to Sun Plaza station in the town centre.
The Muong Hoa Mountain Train carries you over the valley, then the cable car lifts you towards Fansipan, the “Roof of Indochina” at 3,143 metres. From the top station, climb the stone steps past the Great Buddha statue and mountain pagodas to the summit, where on a clear day the ridges of the Hoang Lien Son range roll away in every direction, and on other days the clouds sweep past close enough to touch.
Midday
A buffet lunch around 11:30 AM at the Fansipan restaurant warms you up before the ride back down to Sapa.
Afternoon
In the afternoon, walk down into Cat Cat, a Black H’Mong village at the foot of Fansipan. The path winds past wooden houses, terraced rice fields and handicraft workshops where indigo-dyed cloth hangs in deep blue folds, down to the rushing Cat Cat waterfall. Along the way, you learn how the community lives and works in these mountains. You are back at your hotel by about 4:30 PM.
DAY 3: MOANA SAPA & THE MOUNTAIN ROAD TO HA GIANG
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Overnight: Local homestay, Ha Giang | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch · Dinner on your own | Guide: Full day guide
Morning
Check out after breakfast and meet your guide and driver around 7:30 AM. Your first stop is Moana Sapa, one of the town’s most photographed spots, with its Bali-style gate, a giant hand sculpture and an infinity lake that seems to pour straight into the Hoang Lien Son mountains, quiet at this early hour. Then begin the long drive east to Ha Giang, about eight hours with stops.
Midday
Lunch around 12:30 PM is at a local restaurant in Bac Ha.
Afternoon
The afternoon road runs through Xin Man and Hoang Su Phi, one of the most remote corners of the north, where rice terraces are carved into the hillsides like giant staircases and villages appear only now and then between the folds of the mountains.
Overnight
You arrive in Ha Giang and check in at your local homestay around 6:00 PM.
DAY 4: HA GIANG: QUAN BA HEAVEN GATE & FAIRY MOUNTAINS
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Overnight: Local homestay, Ha Giang | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch · Dinner on your own | Guide: Full day guide
Morning
After breakfast, your guide and driver meet you around 8:00 AM and head north on the Ha Giang Loop road.
It climbs the Bac Sum Pass to Quan Ba Heaven Gate, the traditional gateway to the Dong Van Karst Plateau, where the whole valley suddenly opens below you.
From the viewpoint, look down on the twin Fairy Mountains, two perfectly rounded hills rising from the rice fields of Quan Ba, while your guide tells the local legend behind them.
Midday
Lunch around midday is at a local restaurant in Quan Ba.
Afternoon
In the afternoon, the road continues through the pine forests of Yen Minh, where the air smells of resin, and past H’Mong and Dao villages clinging to the hillsides.
Overnight
You check in at your local homestay in Yen Minh by about 4:00 PM, with time to watch evening fall over the hills.
DAY 5: NHO QUE RIVER & MA PI LENG PASS
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Overnight: Local homestay, Ha Giang | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch · Dinner on your own | Guide: Full day guide
Morning
After breakfast, your guide and driver meet you around 8:00 AM and drive through Mau Due to Meo Vac, deep in the Dong Van Karst Plateau. The road winds past maize terraces and stone-walled H’Mong houses, and the mountains grow sharper and barer as you go.
Midday
Lunch around midday is at a local restaurant in Meo Vac.
Afternoon
In the early afternoon, head down to the Nho Que River and board a boat through the Tu San canyon, where the emerald water glides between sheer limestone cliffs and the sky shrinks to a narrow strip above.
Then climb up to the famous Ma Pi Leng Pass, a road cut into the cliffside high above the very canyon you have just sailed, and stop at the viewpoints to take it in: the river is now a thin green ribbon far below. The road runs on to Dong Van, a small town of old stone and tiled houses at the foot of the mountains.
Overnight
You check in at your local homestay in Dong Van by about 5:00 PM.
DAY 6: H'MONG KING'S PALACE & THAM MA PASS 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, your guide and driver meet you around 7:30 AM. In the quiet Sa Phin valley, visit the H’Mong King’s Palace, the stone and wood mansion of the Vuong family, built in the early 20th century with courtyards that blend Chinese and French influences.
Then stop for photos at the famous hairpin bends of Tham Ma Pass, the road coiling down the mountain below you, before turning back east through Dong Van to Meo Vac.
Midday
Lunch around 12:30 PM is at a local restaurant in Meo Vac.
Afternoon
The afternoon road follows the Nho Que River down towards the Gam River and into Cao Bang province, a drive of about three hours. Watch the landscape change from bare grey rock to greener valleys and Tay villages as you go.
Overnight
You reach Bao Lac by about 4:30 PM and settle into a Tay stilt-house homestay by the river.
DAY 7: PAC BO CAVE, LENIN STREAM & KARL MARX MOUNTAIN
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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 mountain drive of about three hours east through Bao Lac and the valleys of Ha Quang to Pac Bo, close to the Chinese border. Here, in a small cave in a remote valley, Ho Chi Minh lived and worked in 1941 after thirty years abroad. Standing inside, you learn how the Viet Minh movement began in this quiet place, far from any city.
Midday
Lunch around midday is at a local restaurant near Pac Bo.
Afternoon
After lunch, walk along Lenin Stream, its water so clear and green that you can see every stone on the bed, flowing at the foot of Karl Marx Mountain; Ho Chi Minh gave both their names during his stay. Around 1:30 PM the road takes you through Tra Linh and Trung Khanh towards Ban Gioc, about three hours past rice valleys and limestone peaks.
Overnight
You check in at your resort near Ban Gioc Waterfall by about 4:30 PM.
DAY 8: BAN GIOC WATERFALL, NGUOM NGAO CAVE & 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
Your guide and driver meet you at your resort around 7:30 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 takes you close enough to feel the spray.
A short drive away, walk through the lit chambers of Nguom Ngao Cave, filled with stalactites and rock formations.
Midday
Lunch around midday is at a local restaurant in Cao Bang city.
Afternoon
In the afternoon, the road crosses forested passes to Ba Be National Park, home to the largest natural freshwater lake in Vietnam, its still water framed by limestone mountains.
Overnight
You check in at your local homestay by Ba Be Lake around 5:00 PM.
DAY 9: BA BE LAKE: AN MA TEMPLE, WIDOW ISLAND & RETURN TO HANOI
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Overnight: Tirant Hotel, Hanoi | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch · Dinner on your own | Guide: Full day guide
Morning
After breakfast, walk down to the pier around 7:30 AM and board a local boat. In the soft morning light, forested limestone mountains are mirrored in the water. Glide past Widow Island, a tiny islet tied to the legend of how the lake was born, and stop at An Ma Temple on its small island in the middle of the lake. Back on shore, your guide and driver take you south towards Hanoi, about five to six hours through the hills of Bac Kan and the tea country of Thai Nguyen.
Midday
Lunch around midday is at a local restaurant on the way.
Afternoon
You check in at your hotel in Hanoi around 5:00 PM. The evening is free to enjoy the lights, food and bustle of the Old Quarter, a lively change after the stillness of the mountains.
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 mountains, rivers and villages 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: 9 breakfasts · 8 lunches
Transport: Private transport: car and driver, or motorbike with easy rider or jeep on the Ha Giang Loop; mountain train, cable car, 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. What services are included in the tour?
The tour includes all expenses for entrance fees, meals, accommodations (hotel or homestay depending on your preference), transportation between destinations, and a tour guide. Specific details are included in the itinerary we have sent.
2. Does the tour price include airfare?
The current tour price does not include airfare. However, we can assist you in booking flights at a discounted rate. You can also choose a package that includes airfare if needed.
3. Is vegetarian meal support available?
Yes, we offer vegetarian meal options. Please inform us in advance so we can arrange a menu that suits your needs.
4. Can I modify the tour itinerary?
You can adjust certain parts of the itinerary based on your preferences, but this depends on the flexibility of each destination. We will assist you with the arrangements if possible.
What is the cancellation and refund policy?
Our cancellation policy depends on the notice period. If canceled before X days, you will receive a full refund. From Y to Z days, a partial refund will be provided, and no refunds are available after Z days. We will send detailed terms via email.
6. What is the weather like at the destination?
The weather at the destination is generally stable during your travel period. However, we recommend checking the weather forecast closer to your departure date for accuracy. Additionally, we will send suggestions on what to pack based on current weather conditions.
7. Does the tour include travel insurance?
You can adjust certain parts of the itinerary based on your preferences, but this depends on the flexibility of each destination. We will assist you with the arrangements if possible.
8. What payment methods are available for the tour?
We accept payments via credit card, bank transfer, or in-person payment at our office. If you have special requirements for payment methods, please let us know, and we will assist you.
9. Is airport pickup service available?
Yes, we offer an airport pickup service. Simply provide your flight information, and our team will be waiting for you at the airport with a name sign.
10. Are there any special documents I need to prepare?
You will need to bring your passport, visa (if required), and other personal documents. We will send you specific instructions via email before your departure to help you prepare.
