Introduction

Far North Vietnam Frontier Cycling Adventures by Vietnam Backroads. The colorful hill tribes of far northern Vietnam are now iconic and have been featured photographically in so many instances that you may feel already familiar with them. However, the truth is that those tribes, still living in their traditional ways, exist only in the most remote areas of South East Asia. Ha Giang Province is among the most inspirational destinations for those who love exploring the rich tribal culture, ventures, and natural beauty. This unspoiled, sparsely populated region is home to a staggering variety of hill tribes, many of whom don’t even communicate in the national language and live by their traditional, subsistence farming ways.

Destination
Duration
Tour code
VCT: HAN - 9D - HANOI
Travel style
Tour meets
Tour ends
Accommodation
2 - 3 - 4 star hotels
Single supplement
395.00$
Number Of cycling days
8 days
Ages to ride
18 years old
Average distance per day
48km
MTB Bike hire
$104
Total cycling distance
545km
E-Bike hire
$240.00
Small group
02
Large Group
14
Price in US$
USD $2050.00 2050.00
Price in VND
What's included
Private A/C vehicle takes up all cyclists, luggage
Truck to carry all bikes, spare bikes
Helmets
All entrance fees, ferry tickets, and boat rides
B= 8 Breakfasts, L= 9 Lunches, D= 8 Dinners
7 nights, double room/ twin room
1 night train Hanoi to Lao Cai
Daily snack, cold water, soft drinks, facial tissues
Pick up & drop off at hotels
English speaking guide throughout the tour
What's not included
Personal travel insurance
Other personal expenses
Drinks are not included with any meal
Day
1
Ha Noi City Tour- Night train to Lao Cai

The group will meet in Ha Noi and be transferred to the bike store to have bikes checked, gear installed, and a trip briefing before lunch in town. Following lunch, enjoy a guided walking tour, explore the Old Quarter of Ha Noi, and experience the hustle and bustle of the 36 ancient commercial streets named after products. After dinner, your bike guide will accompany the group, board a night train to Lao Cai.
 

Lunch/ Dinner
Chapa Express
Support vehicls
Day
2
Lao Cai - Coc Ly - Bac Ha

Arrive Lao Cai train station early this morning. The team will load your luggage on support vehicles and take you to a local restaurant for breakfast. Be ready for the ride after a short transfer to the rural district of Lao Cai. Then gear up and start rolling hills, undulate on gentle hills through farmlands on the sealed road DT154, passing tiny tribal villages, and speed up some little passes, view breathtaking scenery on the way to the Coc Ly. Then we resume riding on small roads, climb up some small hills, and enjoy the stunning views of mountains and valleys covered in clouds, where are countless photo opportunities, before riding to Bao Nhai Bridge and turning off to Bac Ha town. Upon arriving at the hotel, check-in and explore the city independently for the rest of the day.

Sao Mai Bac Ha hotel
Breakfast/ Lunch/ Dinner
30 - 65km
Hilly, moderate/ hard
Support vehicles
Cold water, snacks, fruits
Day
3
Bac Ha - Lung Phin - Xin Man – Thong Nguyen, Hoang Su Phi

Today, we start with a short transfer out of Bac Ha town, commence the day on the road DT153 to Lung Phin, cycling along hillsides, pass tribal villages, and view the incredibly picturesque landscapes between Ha Giang and Lao Cai provinces. From Lung Phin, ride off-road in the mountain on a wide track to peak passes and sometimes long asphalt downhill to Xin Man. Experience the local life in remote parts- a homeland of local ethnic groups; Nung, the Flower Hmong, the Tay, and the Ha Nhi tribes. Enjoy every minute on today' ride; breathtaking view of the Hoang Su Phi terraced fields, a national heritage, and one of the most beautiful landscapes in Vietnam. Stay a night in Thong Nguyen, Hoang Su Phi

Pan Hou Ecolodge Resort
Breakfast/ Lunch/ Dinner
30 - 75km
Hilly, moderate/hard
Support vehicles
Cold water, snacks, fruits
Day
4
Thong Nguyen, Hoang Su Phi - Ha Giang

Today is another great ride as an adventurous journey. From PanHou Village, follow the small gentle back roads along the winding river, mountain-covered jungles. There is plenty of time to meet locals walking along the way, see tribes look after their buffaloes on lush farmlands, and see locals working on narrow shaped-rice fields along the sleepy rivers. The routes are fascinating, with some challenging passes and incredible mountainous scenery. Resume cycling until the paths join the road-sealed DT177, and prepare to gear up for the heaven gate pass; as speeding up to the top, we’ll feel we are on top of the world. Hoang Su Phi is one of the areas of outstanding natural beauty and unspoiled traditional life. It is also the removed East-West region of Vietnam. Most of the ethnic groups are still using traditional ways of cultivating rice plants. Afterward, continue riding rolling hills and cycle on winding roads through tiny villages, more down than up until the road joins Highway 2/QL2.  Turn left, and keep biking forward to Ha Giang. Have a transfer to Ha Giang town in the late afternoon.

Phoenix Ha Giang
Breakfast/ Lunch/ Dinner
30 - 75km
Hilly, moderate/ hard
Support vehicles
Cold water, snacks, fruits
Day
5
Ha Giang – Quan Ba - Yen Minh

After a leisurely breakfast, the day's ride will start from the hotel—the first 25km riding on a relatively flat road through the landscape of terraced rice paddy fields. Resume cycling the next 25km up winding roads into the vast limestone mountain range with its perpendicular rock walls, climbing 800m towards the "Quan Ba Heaven Gate "mountain pass. The town is famous for its vertical twin mountains. As we pass through mountain villages, sometimes covered by clouds, we will receive a friendly greeting from the local communities. This is a great opportunity to view the valley town from the peak, the stunning scenery of the small village amongst rice-terraced and conical mountains and hills. Then, enjoy a downhill ride to the town break for lunch. The afternoon ride will lead you undulating the hillsides and stopping to admire the buckwheat fields and peaceful valleys before the slope descends relatively flat for the next 10 kilometers. The rest of the day is to speed up the Can Ty Pass, pedal alongside the mountainous road, and enjoy views of the river's other side before going to Yen Minh Town.

Kien Thao Hotel
Breakfast/ Lunch/Dinner
30 - 83km
Hilly, moderate/ hard
Support vehicles
Cold water, snacks, fruits
Day
6
Yen Minh - Dong Van - Meo Vac

After a leisurely breakfast, we start early today for the most incredible natural beauties of Ha Giang as the trip's highlights. In the morning, ride rolling hills and admire the stunning scenery of the Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark. It is a mysterious landscape along the Chinese border- a natural combination of conical limestone peaks and deep, beautiful valleys. Has been registered UNESCO Global Geopark, with 80 percent of the terrain covered in rocks, and is thought to contain fossils dating back 400-600 million years. Visit the House of Vuong Chi Sinh- the King of the H'mong people, where his family lives. Continue undulating the mountainous road, pass tribal villages where their tiny wooden houses along the roadside. Break for lunch in Dong Van. Then ride rolling hills, view the stunning valleys, and the highly breathtaking Ma Pi Leng Pass to Meo Vac mountain cliffs in the late afternoon.

Meo Vac Clay House
Breakfast/ Lunch/Dinner
30 - 69km
Hilly, moderate/ hard
Support vehicles
Cold water, snacks, fruits
Day
7
Meo Vac – Lung Ho - Bac Me

A daily market in the town center of Meo Vac is used mainly by the White Hmong, Tay, and Lo Lo hill tribes. Tribal women, well-dressed in their traditional customs, walk and carry bamboo woven baskets filled with corn and vegetables into the town for sale. It's a chance for us to experience before today's ride. Leaving Meo Vac town, cycle country back roads DT134, the quiet small road through numerous tribal villages and little local markets. Join the road DT176, and resume biking through the rustic mountainous countryside; rice terraced fields, lush farmlands along hillsides, and tiny thatch house- villages and break in the town of Ma Due, and prepare for the snaky road to the peak of Lung Ho, where spectacular mountain scenery, deep valleys, fruit orchards hillsides. Lung Ho owns fantastic natural landscapes that will slow the bike ride. Visit the ruined French Military post before a short ride to Lung Ho market for lunch. In the afternoon, continue the day to challenge some small hills and cycle along lush valleys, sometimes along rivers, passing fruit plantations and rice fields. Stopping at small villages, learn more about the tribe's culture. Hop on the support vehicles transfer to Ba Me township in the late afternoon.

Bac Me Hotel
Breakfast/ Lunch/Dinner
30 - 85km
Hilly, moderate/ hard
Support vehicles
Cold water, snacks, fruits
Day
8
Bac Me - Ba Be Lake

After we check out, we take a short drive by vehicle to Cang Bac Me and visit to learn more about the history of the old French Army Base and its prison before the day ride to Ba Be Lake starts from here. In the morning, we'll explore the fantastic mountain countryside, jungle forests, and remote villages and enjoy the region's incredible breathtaking scenery on speeding-up winding mountain roads. After lunch in the remote township of Yen Hoa, Na Hang, we continue rolling onto lush valleys, undulate along small rivers and sometimes backwater areas, pass stilt-houses villages and little markets, and the incredible mountain scenery the remote villages offer. The last section is to follow dirt roads to Da Vi villages, where we take 1. hour to rest on vehicles, and transfer to Ba Be Lake.

Local Homestay
Breakfast/ Lunch/Dinner
25 - 67km
Hilly, moderate/ hard
Support vehicles
Cold water, snacks, fruits
Day
9
Boat trip to Explore Ba Be lake - Bike ride to Hanoi

Ba Be - Na Hang Natural Heritage Area, with majestic mountains, numerous caves, waterfalls, and landscapes, is converged by Gam River, Nang River, also famous for Ba Be Lake on Karst mountain. It becomes a land of inspiration associated with the myths of humanity, where various ethnic communities live together in harmony with wild nature. After breakfast at the homestay,  take a private boat ride to discover the natural beauty of Ba Be Lake, and learn about flora, fauna, and wildlife. Board a wooden boat and cruise on the lake. Enjoy peaceful landscapes while the boat moves forward to Puong Cave, a massive 30 meters high. The cave is impressive; if you are lucky, you can see some of the bats. Then, our enjoyable boat trip will continue to Cam Ha village, where the home of the Tay people. The cruise continues upstream of the Nang River. The boat trip ends at the gate, where we pick up the bike and cycle through the National Park. Lunch en route, and your guide will figure out to end up the ride for a transfer back to Ha Noi in the late afternoon. Tour Ends!

Your own arranged
Breakfast/ Lunch
25 - 45km
Hilly, moderate
Support vehicles
Cold water, snacks, fruits
Duration
-
Note
Closed
This is no review, let first review.
Upload requirements

Far North Frontier Cycling Adventure 9D/8N