ha giang loop tour – Our Two Step Start

The Ha Giang Loop for us was a hidden wonder! A place we wasn’t aware of and didn’t plan to visit at all once we headed to Vietnam. Vietnam has so much to offer we didn’t come across it when researching – we only learnt about it when meeting fellow travellers who have experienced the loop. We then added it to our itinerary and didn’t regret it one bit! So we wanted to share it with you so you don’t miss out on it as well! Here is our 2 day itinerary for visiting the Ha Giang Loop!

Top tours to do in Hanoi | Ha Giang Loop Tour | by Ourtwostepstart

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The Ha Giang Loop

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Transport to Ha Giang

Ha Giang is a town hidden in the north of Vietnam which requires a 12 hour sleeper bus/coach to get there. Crazy we know!! This is usually from the capital Hanoi and can be very daunting for new travellers as it’s such a long time travelling. However, it’s not so bad.

We got a small minivan up to Ha Giang which was quite a difficult ride. The chair was almost a grandad’s armchair, which was cosy and soft. A perfect seat to melt into and enjoy the next 12 hours in. Sleeping was a tough task but with the seat reclining, you had some sense of a bed but it was still difficult to sleep. If you plan to budget and get the minibus we would recommend to go in the day. If we went overnight, we think the experience would be much worse and probably similar to a flight where you just can’t sleep well.

Our recommendation would be to load up on food at the local shop or 7Eleven beforehand to give yourself snacks and meals as you more towards Ha Giang. This bus will include locals making the trip north so be mindful of noise as many of these people will be looking to relax on this journey! If you want help with buses during your southeast Asia travels, look at booking with these!

Hostel stay

We stayed at the Garden Villa Homestay in Ha Giang which is a premium Hostel located in the centre of Ha Giang. The Hostel was unique in it’s reception being full outside in a courtyard type area with the rooms located all around. We opted for a private room as we planned to start the loop in the morning and wanted a good night’s rest (highly recommended!).

The room was simple with a large double bed, a sizeable en-suite. The walls were wooden which was unique but offered a great nights sleep ready for the start of our Ha Giang Loop journey.

In the courtyard they had a rather beautiful seating area which looked over a local lake into the mountains. If we stayed longer we definitely would of enjoyed this with dinner or as a place to enjoy when waking up in the morning. Do be aware, near any fresh water usually brings mosquitos, so to be safe and itch free, use bug spray while staying here!

However, the price of £13 for a deluxe room which is often discounted to £10 is pretty reasonable. If you are sharing this with a friend or partner, that’s only £6.50 each for a night stay with an en-suite! Cannot complain!! Find it here.

Ha Giang Loop Experience – Day 1

For the Loop, we decided to book with Jasmine Hostel as we were recommended these by a few friends to go through. In the morning of our Ha Giang Loop start (9am roughly), we headed to the hostel where we met decided on whether to have an easy rider or not. An easyrider is a local who gets paid to ride you through the Ha Giang Loop as appose to riding yourself. This is perfect if you aren’t comfortable riding a bike or don’t have any experience in riding in the mountains. We opted for an easy rider for these reasons alone.

Having an easyrider allowed for more benefits including able to soak up the views when riding. If you were riding, you couldn’t take any time to look away from the road to enjoy the scenery.

Make sure to pack a small bag for the Loop as there really is limited space on the bike for a large bag. The rider places both yours and their bag between his legs and straps it to the bike so it has to be small enough. Also, make sure to bring Vietnamese Dong with you! If you want to grab some food or drinks out, there will be no card machines as you are in the middle of nowhere so don’t make that mistake.

Before riding off, we decided to rent out knee and elbow pads for the ride. These may look a little silly but these will for sure save you if the worst was to happen. As the saying goes.. it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

So now we have met our easyrider and have 5 or so minutes to get used to being on a motorbike. After this, we all as a group head up to the petrol station and fill up before heading off into the mountains!

The first ride took roughly 2 hours until we found our first stop. This first stop is at a mountains edge where a family lives and has a shop of local snacks and drinks to eat and hydrate before heading off. There’s enough time to have a toilet break, grab snacks and admire the view!

After this break you are back on the move to head towards the spot you will enjoy for lunch! You will spend the next few hours weaving through the hills and enjoying the beautiful scenery before you come across a local town which comprises of 1 main road with a few side streets. Here, you will be stopping off where a buffet style lunch will be prepared. This lunch is included in the price of the payment to Jasmine Hostel but do be aware they charge you for drinks. The food here is local and is super tasty. You will order food bits and sit at the table and share between a small group of 4-6. This is a great way to meet your fellow riders and make friends. After all, the Ha Giang Loop is a multiday activity.

Once again you head back onto the bike and head back into the mountains for more luscious views. You just can’t get enough of them!

You will make several stops on the way to your hostel stay including a place where locals will be playing pool and also a viewpoint on top of a tower! All these stops are a great place to soak up the local way of life and experience deep in the mountains!

You are likely to arrive at you place of stay around 5-6 dependant on weather etc where you are likely tired from all the riding throughout the day. You are given an hour or so to freshen up and find your hostel room before heading down for drinks and dinner. We met some friends and ended up playing cards for a good 30 minutes before dinner which was a great ice breaker when meeting people.

As we all started to gather round for dinner, the light from the sun fell and the food was brought out one by one. A feast for all of us to share. The food was all locally made and produced by ohh my it was some of the best food we have ever had. The spring rolls are still to this the day the best food ever! The spread included such variety from meats to noodles and rice and sides including these flavourful spring rolls.

After the food was finished and everyone’s belly was full, there were shots passed around for all the enjoy and cheers to the amazing experience in which we embarked on. From here, the music will be played and the drinks will flow. This is the perfect time to get to know your fellow riders and sing, dance and drink the night away. Karaoke is offered and this entertainment usually lasts until roughly midnight.

Be mindful that you will be back on the bikes for roughly 9 am so don’t drink too much!

Ha Giang Loop Experience – Day 2

In the morning you will be provided breakfast which is rather hearty ready for your long day ahead of riding. As it’s the 2-day itinerary, we were heading back so split off from the rest of the group. Our riders took us back a different way to Ha Giang. This way allowed us to see the different views of the mountains that were just as beautiful. It was only a 3/5 hours back to Jasmine Hostel but included some stops to stretch our legs and even to see some local natural waterfalls.

At the waterfall, we stopped off and even went for a swim in the waters below! The riders got involved and joined us swimming and invited us to cliff jump from the top. This is a remote waterfall but there’s not many opportunities in life where this is possible so why not! We spend 10-20 minutes cliff jumping and wild swimming before trying to dry off and getting back onto the bike.

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We then carried on back to Jasmine Hostel where we arrived just in time for a late lunch.

How to Book

Book the Ha Giang Loop Tour

Our whole experience was amazing with scenic views, friendly people, and amazing activities! There was no fault of the experience and think it is budget friendly only being £215 with 3 days/2 nights which is inclusive of the following: All meals, all overnight stays, free stay at Jasmin Hostel the night before, Bike hire, fuel, transportation from locations across north Thailand. All you are expected to pay for is your drinks, insurance and any tip for a rider if you want. Check this out here.

Overview

This experience was the best we had during out time in South East Asia and something we aim to do again. We would totally recommend this to anyone and it’s truly a once in a lifetime experience!

If you have experienced the Ha Giang Loop, do let us know what your experience was like! We hope this has inspired you to take this trip and travel the world. If you did enjoyed this blog, check out our recently uploaded Hanoi best trips to do here and like this blog, it really does help!

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The Ha Giang Loop- Visiting Vietnam’s Hidden Gem – Full Itinerary