Slow enough to be a guest, not a tourist on a clock. Here's exactly how the four days unfold: the passes, the distances, and where you sleep each night.
Home › Ha Giang Loop 4 Days / 3 Nights
A three-day loop can be ridden. It just turns the road into a deadline.
Four days is the difference between watching Ha Giang through a visor and sitting down inside it. The extra day buys slow mornings, an unhurried hour at Ma Pi Leng, and the time to accept a cup of tea you weren't expecting, without ever riding in the dark to make up ground. It's why we keep every trip fully private: the pace is set by your group, not by a convoy.
Each day runs roughly 60 to 100 km, gentle by loop standards, with the long climbs broken up by stops you'd want to make anyway. Coming up from the capital first? Here's how to reach the loop from Hanoi, and when to come for the clearest passes.
We leave Ha Giang City around nine and start climbing almost at once. The first pause is Quan Ba Heaven's Gate, where the valley opens and the two near-perfect hills the Hmong call Nui Doi, the Twin Mountains, sit in the rice below. Late morning we walk into Lung Khuy cave, and if the sun is out we add Khau Lan waterfall before lunch in Quan Ba town. The day ends early, on purpose: a private room in a Dao family's homestay at Nam Dam by half past two, with the afternoon free in the village and dinner cooked in the kitchen you're sitting in.
We start at eight with Lung Tam, a hemp-weaving village where the looms still run by hand. Then the morning belongs to Tham Ma pass and the switchbacks above it: Chin Khoanh, the Nine Bends, stacked one over the next. After lunch we stop at the Vuong family mansion at Sa Phin, the old Hmong King's palace, then ride the last stretch to Lung Cu Flag Tower, the northern tip of Vietnam, with China laid out beyond the railing. We reach Dong Van old town in the late afternoon and sleep there, or at Lo Lo Chai under the flag tower, depending on the season.
The day everyone remembers, and the longest. We leave Dong Van at half past eight for Ma Pi Leng, a kilometre of road cut into a cliff, taken slowly, then walk out onto the skywalk bolted to the rock with the Nho Que a thread of jade a long way down. By ten we are on the river itself, an hour by boat through Tu San Canyon with the limestone walls closing overhead. (The boat is the one optional extra, about $6, and worth it.) Lunch in Meo Vac, a photo stop on the M pass, a break at the Lung Ho viewpoint, and into Du Gia by half past five.
No rush on the last morning. We walk down to Du Gia waterfall around half past nine and you can swim if you want to — most people do. From there we take the Duong Thuong road south, a green back-road the tour buses never find, stop for lunch at Thai An, and pull over at the Cat Ly viewpoint mid-afternoon for a coffee and the last long view. Back in Ha Giang City around half past four.
Every night in a private room, every meal on the road, and every fee along the way (parks, viewpoints, the border permit and the Ma Pi Leng skywalk) is already in the price. Your guide is born here and rides these passes most weeks. The only things left to your own pocket are the Nho Que boat (about $6), drinks and tips. No surprises at the homestay door.
Two ways to ride the same four days: pillion behind your own Easy Rider at $315 per person, or a private 7-seat car at $720 for up to six. Same route, same local care. Pick the one that suits your group.
The fourth day is the one I'd fight for. By then we weren't sightseeing, we were just there: breakfast with the family, no rush, the long way home.Marta L., Germany · Easy Rider
We almost booked the three-day. So glad we didn't. The slow hour at Ma Pi Leng and the boat through the canyon made the whole trip.James T., Australia · Private car
A three-day loop can be ridden, but it turns the road into a deadline. The fourth day buys slow mornings, an unhurried hour at Ma Pi Leng and time to be a guest in a village rather than a tourist on a clock, without ever riding in the dark to make up ground.
About 60 to 100 km a day, roughly 350 km in total over four mountain passes: KM 0 to 60 on day one, 60 to 160 on day two, 160 to 260 on day three and 260 to 350 on the way home. The distances are gentle by loop standards, with the long climbs broken up by stops you'd want to make anyway.
Three nights, all in private rooms: night one in a Dao family homestay at Nam Dam, night two in Dong Van old town or the village of Lo Lo Chai below Lung Cu Flag Tower depending on the season, and night three in the quiet valley of Du Gia.
Spread over four days it's comfortable for most people. On the Easy Rider you ride pillion behind a local rider, so you never drive. Your hands are free for the camera. Prefer no bike at all? The same four days work just as well from a private car.
A born-here local guide, the bike or private car, three nights in private rooms, every meal on the road, and all park, viewpoint and permit fees including the border permit and the Ma Pi Leng skywalk. The only optional extras are the Nho Que boat (about $6), drinks and tips. Prices are in USD with no hidden fees.
A real person reads every message, usually within 15 minutes. Tell us when you're coming and how you'd like to ride.