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Ha Giang
For a true adventure of a lifetime with some of the most rewarding views I highly recommend going to Ha Giang and doing the motorbike loop over 3 or more days. While there are tours in this region that will take you from village to village by bus the best way to experience the Ha Giang loop is by renting a motorbike and doing the trek that way. Ha Giang is full of winding roads through lush green mountains lined with rice terraces and minority villages that retain a unique and isolated way of life. If you don't feel confident to drive a motorbike the best alternative would be Sapa. It offers spectacular views in a more condensed area. Ha Giang is far more spread out and is best enjoyed biking from village to village over the span of a few days. Here is my guide to visiting Ha Giang in North Vietnam.
Ha Giang itself is a province and town in Northern Vietnam about 6 hours North of Hanoi. It's one of the most scenic places in Vietnam (and probably the planet). The popular way to travel here as mentioned is to rent a motorbike and do the Ha Giang Loop over the course of 3 or 4 days. When I did the loop I did it over 3 days and spent 2 nights in the villages of Du Gia and Dong Van. In order to complete the loop in this time expect to drive 6 or even more hours per day. The second day however from Du Gia to Dong Van was a bit shorter at about 4 hours. This is seriously one of the most stunning places I've ever seen and offers an experience like no other. It's become very popular with adventurous tourists who aren't afraid to ride a motorbike in Vietnam and the expats in the country as well as locals.
In order to get to Ha Giang you'll have to get to Hanoi first. As there is no airport in this area you must take a bus from Hanoi. If you stay in the old quarter there are dozens of tour companies selling bus tickets. Buses range from small minibuses, limosine style minibuses to larger sleeping buses. There's also the more expensive option to hire a taxi or private car. I find in Hanoi sometimes it's a good idea to shop around or barder to get the best price as prices aren't often explicit unless you buy directly from the bus company. Buses often take about 6-7 hours to arrive at Ha Giang and will drop you off right outside QT Hostel/ Motorbike rental which is an important starting point for this journey.
In the previous section I mentioned the buses will drop you off outside QT hostel/ motorbike rental. As you could guess this is where you should rent your motorbike. They have different bikes ranging from 150 cc scooters for about 30 usd/ day to heartier dirtbikes that go for over 50 usd/ day. One cool feature of QT hostel is that if you arrive from a night bus at 5 am they will let you sleep a few hours free of charge if you make it clear that you will rent a motorbike from them for the journey. This is a nice perk and allows you to arrive from a night bus, rest a few hours then quickly get set up to begin the journey. I'd almost say it's obligatory to begin here though I reckon there are other options for hostels and motorbike rentals in the town.
Driving in Vietnam is by no means safe and one thing I recommend is to purchase the extra insurance from QT. If you happen to crash or damage the bike the insurance will cover it. They will also come to pick you up free of charge if you get into a situation where you can't continue on the loop. Unfortunately, the accident rate is relatively high due to winding roads and foreigners not understanding Vietnamese traffic tendencies. You can also rent equipment like knee pads, elbow pads etc to be extra safe. It's always a good idea to top your gas off in every possible place as gas stations can be scarce throughout the loop. For scooter rentals, I recommend beginners get a 150 cc scooter as they are easier for winding roads on turns and are semi-automatic so you don't have to worry about learning to use a clutch if you're new to driving a motorbike. For more experienced riders, using a dirtbike is certainly the superior option as they can effortly cruise through the terrain. They are however harder to manuever as they are bigger and require knowledge of how to drive a manual motorbike.
There are different possible routes and lengths of time you can travel through Ha Giang. Many people choose for 2 nights and 3 days and will go through the three towns of Du Gia, Dong Van, and Yen Minh. I went from Ha Giang Town to Du Gia, Du Gia to Dong Van, then from Dong Van through Yen Minh back to Ha Giang Town on day 3. The direction you travel really depends where you want to spend the first night.
Day 1: Ha Giang - Du Gia
On day 1 I recommend driving from Ha Giang Town to Du Gia. Du Gia is the most remote and small of the three villages/ towns I listed. It's very bare but offers a truly adventurous experience. The accomodation here wasn't as nice as in the other places but is a very unique town and is worth spending a night in. The stretch of road between Ha Giang Town and Du Gia was the worst part of the trek as lots of it was dirt and rocks. For this reason the dirtbikes do come in handy if you can ride them confidently. As long as you are careful however the 150 cc will make it here fine. Along this stretch of the journey you should stop at the Heaven's Gate cafe. It's a perfect place to take in the initial views of Ha Giang while having a delicious Vietnamese coffee.
Day 2: Du Gia - Dong Van
This is probably the most beautiful and also shortest leg of the journey which makes for an extremely enjoyable experience. The scenery between these two places is otherwordly. Pictured below you can see the tall mountains with windy roads overlooking river valleys and rice terraces. There are minority villages throughout this area where you can see cultures only unique to this region. Dong Van also was my favourite town throughout the journey. There were very nice facilities such as hotels and restaurants. At night time at the main town bar/ restaurant you can find other fellow travellers and locals singing karaoke and talking about their adventures.
Day 3: Dong Van - Yen Minh - Ha Giang Town
We opted to go all the way back to Ha Giang from Dong Van while passing through Yen Minh town but many people do choose to spend a night in Yen Minh to further break up the trip and take more time to enjoy the scenery. Either option is fine, all dependant on how much time you have. Of course you can also go to Yen Minh directly from Ha Giang Town and do the loop the opposite way that I did. Yen Minh seemed more similar to Dong Van than Du Gia and had slightly more development. There were restaurants, hotels and other important facilities like gas stations. If you opt to go from Dong Van to Ha Giang Town this will likely be the longest drive which lasted about 6-7 hours if I recall.
