North Vietnam Motorcycle Trip Mountain Peoples & Halong Bay

Depending on the airline, you will arrive at Hanoi Airport in the morning or afternoon. It is then another half hour drive to the hotel in the center of the old town.

We continue north. The landscape here is very beautiful. On both sides of the road, you can find green rice terraces built against the mountain walls. We are traveling into a higher mountain range and crossing a few high passes. You will meet more people from the (white) Dao tribe. We stop for lunch in Than Uyen. Afterwards, it is another 60 kilometers to Sa Pa. This route features the highest pass of this journey. The views on the way to the famous Sa Pa are fantastic, provided the weather conditions are favorable for us. Sa Pa is the most touristy place we visit on this trip. However, since we are not here on the weekend, the number of tourists is manageable. Sa Pa is situated at an altitude of 1500 meters and has developed into a refuge during the time of French colonization to escape the oppression in the lower parts of the country.

In the morning, we walk through Bac Ha. Here we visit some H'mong villages. Alternatively, we can also explore the villages by motorcycle. Around noon, we drive to Xin Man and turn right onto a dirt road just north of Bac Ha. On this route, we don't encounter any tourists. The highlands between the two places create a very special landscape. Passing by rugged rock formations, we drive through villages whose inhabitants are surprised to see us. After a beautiful descent, we reach Xin Man. Here we stop for lunch. Shortly after Xin Man, we cross the bridge and turn right to follow the river to the village of Huang Su Phi. On the way, we pass through many Nung villages and admire the most beautiful rice terraces in Vietnam, which offer a different view at every bend. We have to cover the last part of the route on the main road to reach the provincial capital Ha Giang. We spend the night in a resort by the river, a little outside the center.

We get up early because today an adventurous day awaits us. In the morning we drive from Meo Vac to Bao Lac on a beautiful, quiet route through a hilly landscape with many rice terraces. After lunch, we continue on narrow country roads to the lakes of Ba Be in the eponymous national park. The lakes are surrounded by unique, pointed limestone cliffs. We spend the night in a small village in a very simple accommodation where everyone finds space on the floor in one large room.

Today you will be taken early in the morning to Hanoi Airport for your return flight. If you have booked the extension to Halong Bay, tomorrow you will continue to exactly that.

In the morning we return to land and get back into the minibus. Between the coast and the capital Hanoi, it is very busy. And the closer you get to Hanoi, the worse it gets. You can use the afternoon to explore the Old Town of Hanoi. You can ride a motorcycle through the city or explore the old center on foot. Depending on the flight, you will go to the airport today or tomorrow morning.