The Ha Giang Loop, Vietnam

the planning and execution

The Ha Giang Loop is anything but a divisive topic when it comes to traveling Vietnam. Literally every single person you talk to will say it’s the best travel experience they’ve ever had. A lot of people cry after it’s over.

And I get it now.

The Ha Giang Loop is unlike any other experience I’ve ever done. Not only is it some of the most beautiful scenery in the world (towering limestone karsts, terraced rice fields, winding mountain roads that seem to go on forever) but you’re also sitting on the back of a motorbike speeding down the side of a cliff. The adrenaline plus the insane beauty around you does something to your brain.

The scenery speaks for itself. The group of travelers you’re with becomes family by the end. The homestays are simple but clean, and the karaoke at night (if your group is drunk enough) is a highlight. It’s everything everyone says it is.

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Planning: Choosing the Right Tour Company

Everyone says the most important part of planning the Ha Giang Loop is picking the right tour company. You want to find one that’s known for driving safely, caters to your demographic, has group sizes you’re comfortable with, and find out whether or not they’re a party group.

So I spent a long time reading reviews, looking at group sizes and company ethos, scouring the depths of Reddit to find a company I was happy with. We ended up going with Ha Giang Safari House, and overall, I’m incredibly happy with our experience on the loop itself.

We had closer to 15 people traveling with us instead of the promised maximum of 10, but everyone was around our age (mid-20s), plus Jordan’s parents. And the vibes of all of the people were really good.

Our drivers were safe and very kind. There were a couple of times when I thought we were going pretty fast, but then out of nowhere a group of motorbikes would just zoom past us like we were standing still, which made me feel very glad that I chose our tour company.

The most nerve-wracking part about planning the loop is that almost everything is arranged over WhatsApp. Regardless of what company you go with, it’s all planned via WhatsApp, and I paid my deposit through PayPal. So technically, the whole thing could have fallen through as we sat waiting for the bus to pick us up from Hanoi.

But I trusted the process, and I’m very glad I did, because the loop itself turned out to be an incredible experience for everyone, despite some major hitches with transportation.

I booked for five people total: me, Jordan, Emery on the backs of motorbikes, and Jordan’s parents in a jeep. The company confirmed it would all work out, even though the jeep would go a bit slower, but we would see them at all of the stops. Because I booked for so many people, they actually gave us two free private rooms at each of the homestays, which was a really sweet touch.

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The Execution: The Loop Itself Was Perfect

The loop itself? Amazing. Flawless, even.

The drivers were professional and safe. The homestays were clean and welcoming. The scenery was literally jaw-dropping. There were moments where I had to remind myself to close my mouth because I’d been staring slack-jawed at the mountains.

We did the three-day, two-night option, which meant we did the first half of the loop over two days, then on our last day we split off from the main group and hightailed it back to Ha Giang to complete the second half. It was a lot of riding in one day, but worth it.

The homestays had karaoke, though our group wasn’t nearly drunk enough to participate as much as the other groups we could hear echoing through the town. But that was fine, we still managed to have a good time by just chatting and playing card games.

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The Execution: The Transportation

Here’s where things went awry. And I haven’t really heard much discourse online about this, so it could have just been a totally unique experience crafted especially for me and my group. Lucky us.

The Bus to Ha Giang:

We were scheduled on an 8pm bus from Hanoi to Ha Giang. I was told (via WhatsApp) to meet at a specific pickup point 30 minutes before departure. My group is Type A, and we had nothing better to do, so we arrived an hour early at 7pm.

I hesitate to call it a bus station, it was more of a curb… there was a guy with a list of travelers, putting people on different buses. I gave him my name and group size and surprise! We weren’t on the list.

He reassured me we’d get on a bus. Then he proceeded to put everyone else on buses, but not us. After a while of waiting alone, “bus station” employees actively avoiding us, I went up to talk to them, and they said our bus was coming.

Eventually, a small non-sleeper bus showed up. The driver was on the phone with Ha Giang Safari House and told us to get on. I texted the company, confused because I’d booked a sleeper bus. They said this bus was taking us to the bus station where we’d board a sleeper bus.

Fine. Whatever. At that point, I just wanted to get on a bus.

But we didn’t leave that little curb, we waited for another 15-20 minutes for another group to get to the bus. I ended up chatting with this group, who revealed to me that they were told they were being picked up at 9:30, not 8pm as we had been told. Our bus drivers told our hostel that our bus had been delayed to pick us up due to a crash. In reality, they’d never planned to pick us up at 8pm, they were always planning to pick us up at 9:30pm.

Frustrating, to say the least.

But eventually, at 11pm, three hours later, we made it onto our sleeper bus heading to Ha Giang. And from there, the loop itself went off without a hitch.

The Bus Back to Hanoi:

On the last day of the loop, I messaged Ha Giang Safari House to ask if there were any earlier buses back to Hanoi from the 8pm departure that I had scheduled previously, and they said, “We don’t have a bus reservation for you.”

This was frustrating to hear after the debacle on the way to Ha Giang, but, she managed to find us five spots on a 5:30pm bus back to Hanoi. Me, Jordan, and Emery on motorbikes were scheduled to make it back in time. But Jordan’s parents in the jeep were quite a ways behind us, and it didn’t seem like they’d make it.

When we arrived back at Safari House, we said a sad goodbye to our drivers and went to reception. The receptionist was very helpful and apologetic. She said, “Don’t worry about your parents. I have a taxi arranged to pick them up in 15 minutes and take them to meet your bus.”

Great. Problem solved.

Except it wasn’t.

Emery and I got on the bus. Jordan stayed behind to wait with his parents. I called Jordan about 20 minutes later to let him know that there were no beds left on the bus, so there was no way he and his parents were getting on.

The receptionist called our bus driver, who confirmed there was space and they could still come. So they came.

For five hours, Jordan, his parents, and the taxi driver chased our bus. At one point, we stopped for dinner and the taxi passed us. The taxi waited on the side of the road for the bus to stop to do the exchange and the bus drove straight past them. The taxi driver and the receptionist were constantly calling the bus driver, trying to arrange a meeting point. The bus just kept going.

Eventually, about two hours outside of Hanoi, the taxi had to stop to refill the tires and recharge (it was electric). The taxi driver told another driver at the refill station that he couldn’t take his passengers the rest of the way. Luckily, that driver just happened to be going to Hanoi.

So Jordan and his parents basically hitchhiked back to Hanoi with a random taxi driver.

Meanwhile, the receptionist at Safari House had started a war with the bus company. She told us they wouldn’t be using their services anymore because they felt deceived. And then she said Safari House would cover the entire cost of the taxi to Hanoi, about 2.8 million dong (roughly $120 USD). So I can give nothing but praise to the Ha Giang Safari House.

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My Recommendations

Despite the transportation nightmare, I still highly recommend doing the Ha Giang Loop. It’s worth it. Just go in prepared, knowing that something like this could happen.

1. The Free Bus Is Convenient, But Comes With Risk

You can take the free bus that most companies offer from Hanoi to Ha Giang. Just be prepared for it to be a pain in the ass. Clearly it’s not every company that this is difficult with, I mean, plenty of people were just getting picked up off the curb and shipped straight to Ha Giang. And even though that wasn’t the case for us, it’s not the hostel’s fault. Apparently a few of the other people in our group also had a bit of a struggle with the buses getting to Ha Giang.

2. Consider Paying for a Private Van

If you have older people traveling with you (no offense to Jordan’s parents), or if you just want less stress, pay for a private van. Yes, it’s more expensive. But as Jordan’s parents discovered, they were actually relieved they didn’t have to get on the bus back because the rocking and shaking while laying down made them feel quite sick. Plus if I was going with a large group again through Vietnam, it would give me piece of mind to know, for a fact, that every single person had a place on the bus.

3. Keep Flexible Plans in Hanoi

Don’t book anything immediately after the loop that you can’t miss. Buses get delayed. Things go wrong. Build in buffer time. I didn’t even consider that something could go wrong, and we almost didn’t make it back to Hanoi and onto our tour the following day. Plus after a day of being on the back of a motorcycle and then an evening of being on a bus, maybe a chill day in Hanoi is what you need.

4. Pack Lightly

I heard someone on TikTok say you need to pack light on the loop, and to remember that anything that you bring will have to share the already small motorbike seat with you and your driver. I brought my small backpack that with a few changes of clothes, face wash (necessary after sitting on a bike all day), face lotion, my bar shampoo and conditioner, earbuds, a deck of cards and nothing else really.

5. Tip your guide

To be honest, there’s not really to much information that I could find about this online when researching, which is a shame. I never know how much to tip people. Everyone just says “tip how much the service meant to you,” but I’m telling you I need a ballpark. I will give you a ballpark. I think 150k-300k per day you do the loop is extremely reasonable. After all, this person is away from their families for multiple days at a time using their motorbike to drive you around. Your life is literally in their hands. They make you feel safe and get you around the loop in one piece. And they don’t get paid the entire cost of what you paid the tour operator. Some people tip a lot more than this ballpark, and I will say, I was on the higher end of the ballpark, but this tip seems like a reasonable ballpark for me.

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The Ha Giang Loop is one of the most beautiful, exhilarating, unforgettable experiences you can have in Vietnam. The scenery is breathtaking. The adrenaline is real. The people you meet become friends.

And every part of anything that “went wrong” was totally worth it for the experience I gained in the end.

I will join the masses of people who rave incessantly about the Ha Giang Loop. It really is that good.

Me and my driver, Hai

xx abby

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