Spectacular Northern Vietnam Off-road Motorbike Tour to Ta Xua, Ha Giang, and Cao Bang

Itinerary:

Northern Vietnam Off-road Motorbike Tour to Ta Xua, Ha Giang, and Cao Bang – Brief itinerary:

Day 1: Hanoi motorbike tour to Ta Xua

Day 2: Ta Xua motorbike tour to Mu Cang Chai

Day 3: Mu Cang Chai motorbike tour to Sapa

Day 4: Sapa motorbike tour to Bac Ha

Day 5: Bac Ha motorbike tour to Ha giang

Day 6: Ha Giang motorbike tour to Dong Van

Day 7: Dong Van motorbike tour to Cao Bang

Day 8: Cao Bang Loop motorbike tour to Ban Gioc Waterfall

Day 9: Cao Bang motorbike tour to Lang Son

Day 10: Lang Son motorbike tour to Hanoi

Day 1: Hanoi Motorcycle Tours to Ta Xua (Son La)

Start our motorbike tour by leaving Hanoi on a weaving dyke-road running along the Red river to Trung Ha Bridge. To avoid the heavy traffic on the main roads, then we’ll follow the National Highway 32 passing extensive farming lands. Comprising a sea of paddy fields split by tree-lined roads punctuated by limestone karst scenery. You will admire

After lunch at a local restaurant, we’ll head to Phu Yen town via nice dirt tracks through spectacular tea hills.

When we get to Phu Yen, the true challenge begins. We’ll embark on a vertical mountain trek with our bikes, a tough feat even on dry and sunny days. The track can be from 8 to 18 kilometers long (depending on your demand) with chilling and breathtaking scenery pushing us forwards all the way. We’ll get to our destination at a clearing right beside the “dinosaur backbone”.

Ta Xua is a mountain range in the Bac Yen district in Son La province. At the highest point of 2865 meters, the Ta Xua peak is the tenth highest peak in Vietnam. The three most important peaks form a line that looks like the backbone of a dinosaur. It is a real off the beaten track destination for adventure travelers.

If time permits, we also try some dirt-track experiences to get deeper into remote villages around. To see how the locals live & work otherwise it’s our time for beer, and relaxation amid this remote and pristine nature’s playground amid the clouds.

We overnight in a house-on-stilts.(homestay in the village)

Summary:

Distance: 210 km

Meals: Lunch, dinner

Accommodation: Homestay

Day 2: Northern Vietnam Off-road Motorbike Tour to Ta Xua, Ha Giang, and Cao Bang: Ta Xua Motorbike tour to Mu Cang Chai (Yen Bai)

We begin riding today at 8 o’clock, first we take a ride back to Bac Yen town. From Bac Yen we follow National Road 37 along the mighty Da river via Muong Chum to It Ong. From here we roll on Road 109 to Mu Cang Chai, our destination today. The bike will take us through vibrant rice fields and lovely small villages of local Thai people.

There will be opportunities to stop and capture photographs of the breathtaking landscapes, traditional villages, and the local way of life. There are plenty of challenging offroads today, we can do some in the morning or afternoon or both depending on the real circumstances.

Mu Cang Chai is home to some of Asia’s most magnificent cultivated topography. Rice terraces coil in ribbons around the hills to spectacular effect, luring photographers, hikers, and avid motorbikers. Mu Cang Chai is not only beautiful because of majestic nature but also the the very unique features of local life here. This place is mainly populated by the Black Hmong, a subgroup of one of Vietnam’s largest ethnicities. Pretty Hmong villages are dotted around the district. Each one offers a glimpse into a rich culture Highland living in Mu Cang Chai is simple and peaceful, making people remember forever. Those are honest, honest, hardworking people with the desire to be warm; innocent babies with clear smile and eyes.

Summary:

Distance: 190 km

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Day 3: Mu Cang Chai motorbike tour to Sapa (Lao Cai)

Our adventure continues at 9 o’clock after breakfast, we have a morning warm-up by rolling on some backroads nearby. And then get some real challenges with beautiful dirt tracks through mountains and H’mong local villages. We will have chance to see how local ethnic people live and work under very harsh conditions of terrain and climate.

After a lunch break in Than Uyen, on a road full of tea farms and rice fields we head to Sapa via the epic O Quy Ho pass. O Quy Ho Pass is one of the most impressive and challenging mountain passes in the northern region of Vietnam. It is approximately 10 kilometers away from the town of Sapa and 60 kilometers away from the city of Lai Chau.

O Quy Ho Pass winds through Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range. Running alongside National Road 4D, the pass stretches for nearly 50 kilometers, with the peak of the pass marking the boundary between the two provinces of Lao Cai and Lai Chau. And when you feel the air getting cooler, see the mist coming from the mountain ranges, that’s when we arrive in Sapa, where we spend the night.

Located at the altitude of 1600 meters above sea level. Sapa is famous for its cool weather, breathtaking scenery and culture diversity with 6 different tribes of people living together. This is also a big town comparing to other destinations on the tour so you can spend your time here for casual entertainment activities like bars, pubs… We stay in a hotel for this night.

Summary:

Distance: 140 km

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

DAY 4: Northern Vietnam Off-road Motorbike Tour to Ta Xua, Ha Giang, and Cao Bang: SAPA MOTORCYCLE TOUR TO BAC HA (LAO CAI)

Motorcycle down from Sapa to Lao Cai City and then have a coffee-stop on the bank of Nam Thi river, which is Vietnam – China border. Enjoy your coffee while taking the view to China.

Head to Road 70 before turn to Bac Ha on Road 153.

Long touted as the weekend alternative to Sapa, this small highland town doesn’t have the same dramatic location of its more il-lustrious neighbour, but it is calmer when Saturday comes. It fills up to choking point on Sunday morning, when visitors flood in to meet the Flower H’mong at the morning market. Compared with Sapa, tourism is still in its infancy here and during the week the town has a deserted feel. Bac Ha is a good base to explore the surrounding highlands. Around 900m above sea level, it is noticeably warmer than Sapa.

One of Bac Ha’s main industries is the manufacture of alcoholic home brews (rice wine, cassava wine and corn liquor). The corn hooch produced by the Flower H’mong is so potent it can ignite! Bac Ha is the only place in Vietnam where you’ll find this particular moonshine; there’s an entire area devoted to it at the Sunday market.

Overnight in Bac Ha.

Summary:

Distance: 120 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Home-stay

DAY 5: BAC HA MOTORCYCLE TOURS TO HA GIANG CITY VIA HOANG SU PHI

After breakfast, we take a motor ride on the track to Xin Man and Hoang Su Phi on many small; back roads with scenic mountain views. Xin Man is right on the border between Vietnam and China. It is, as of this writing, well hidden and completely surrounded by wild mountains and forests.

There’s a single road from Xin Man to Hoang Su Phi. Hoang Su Phi is among the most untouched area of Ha Giang Province of Vietnam. The area was separated from the mainstream society until very recently. Passing Hoang Su Phi, we will be charmed by the pristine beauty of the wild mountains and the authentic culture of the local ethnic groups which include: the Nung, the Flower H’mong, the Tay and the Ha Nhi People…After lunch, join the main road heading up to Ha Giang City, where we stop for the night and apply for a permit.

Summary:

Distance: 200 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

DAY 6: Northern Vietnam Off-road Motorbike Tour to Ta Xua, Ha Giang, and Cao Bang: HA GIANG MOTORCYCLE TOURS TO DONG VAN (HA GIANG)

After getting the permit for motorbike tour in border areas at Ha Giang’s Immigration Police, we ride on small challenging mountain roads (but incredibly beautiful) on the land of colorful mountain hill-tribes.

Ride on a zig-zag track passing Bac Sum, Quan Ba iconic Tham Ma Pass until reaching Vuong Family’s Residence, 14 kms before Dong Van. Vuong Family was considered the King of the Hmong People in Dong Van, Ha Giang. Their residence was built in the scenic valley of Sa Phin with Chinese architecture. The whole house was built out of wood and rock only. The rocks for the buildings were imported from China. Vuong Family Residence is a masterpiece of man work in the valley of heavenly beauty of Sa Phin.

This is a remote area and we can meet the hard-working local people here. It is inspiring to see how they survive as they manage live in the rocks.When we reach Dong Van Town we will have some extra time to wonder the ancient streets lined with H’mong homes of clay bricks and tiles roofs built centuries ago.

Summary:

Distance: 160 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

DAY 7:  DONG VAN MOTORCYCLE TOURS TO CAO BANG (210 KM)

Motorcycle up the Ma Pi Leng Pass. Here is yet another amazing place, with cloudy mountain ranges and the poetic Nho Que river winding off in the distance. You might join a boat ride along the Nho Que River

It is really difficult to find the exact words to describe Ma Pi Leng Pass, located between Dong Van and Meo Vac, near the northernmost tip of Vietnam, as a painting of astonishing beauty and magnificence that captures the eyes of all viewers and nature lovers.

The motorbike ride in the morning is still winding along the Rock Plateau, after breakfast, enjoy slowly Vietnam motorbike tour on some beautiful mountain passes until Meo Vac where we stop for lunch. In the afternoon, we will motorcycle down hill along the river and see the different mountain view( less rocky and more green).

You will take the chance to cross the river with a bamboo raft.

 Arrive in Bao Lac town at 5 PM.

Hotel stay in Cao Bang.

Summary:

Distance: 210 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

DAY 8: Northern Vietnam Off-road Motorbike Tour to Ta Xua, Ha Giang, and Cao Bang: CAO BANG OFF-ROAD MOTORBIKE  LOOP TOUR TO BAN GIOC WATERFALL

Beautiful motor ride down to Cao Bang province. Few passes from where you can dominate the area. The road is easy but there are many blind curves. We can stop very often for photos in Nguyen Binh and Tinh Tuc.

Get out of town, we ride up to Ma Phuc Pass of Cao Bang Province. It is on the way between Cao Bang Town and the Ban Gioc Waterfall. The pass is not famous with the elevation or the danger like some others in Vietnam, but with the natural beauty that one could capture from the top of the pass.

Keep riding to Ban Gioc waterfall, one of Vietnam’s best-known waterfalls. It’s a very scenic spot, marking the border with China, but sees very few visitors. The name Ban Gioc is derived from the Montagnard languages spoken in the area, and is sometimes spelt Ban Gioc.

The waterfall is the largest, although not the highest, in the country. The vertical drop is 53m, but it has an impressive 300m span; one end of the falls is in China, the other is in Vietnam. The falls have three levels, creating a sort of giant staircase, and there’s enough water any time, most years, to make the trip worthwhile.

Overnight in Cao Bang

Summary:

Distance:  200 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Home-stay

DAY 9: CAO BANG MOTORCYCLE TOUR TO LANG SON CITY

Ride from Ban Gioc to Lang Son on the famous historical Highway 4. Passing Dong Khe town, Battle of Route Coloniale 4.

The Battle of Dong Khe was a major battle of the First Indochina War. The fight began on 15 September 1950 and ended on 18 September with a French defeat. It took place in Dong Khe, in the Province of Tonkin, Vietnam, from September 15 to September 18, 1950, ending with a Viet Minh victory.

Arriving Lang Son at noon. We have a late lunch before time to discover this city which has become a big trading post between China and Vietnam. You can shop for cheap Chinese products at the nearby Dong Kinh market.

You will ride to the top of Mau Son Peak, admiring the beautiful border landscape if time permits

Overnight in a hotel.

Summary:

Distance:  120 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

DAY 10: Northern Vietnam Off-road Motorbike Tour to Ta Xua, Ha Giang, and Cao Bang: LANG SON MOTORCYCLE TOUR BACK HANOI

Easy day back to Hanoi on the new Highway 1B. You can wake up late or do some more shopping in Dong Kinh market in the morning as we guess you can be tired after long riding days.

Arrival at Hanoi before rush hour, around 3pm

Summary:

Distance:  180 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

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