Adventurous Self-drive Northern Vietnam 4×4 Tour from Hanoi to Halong Bay – 12 Days

After breakfast, you move to our garage, where you will take the car and start your first day driving to Mai Chau – a small town nestled in a lush valley and surrounded by stunning rice terraced fields. Escape the city center and head out of the Da River delta plains, you will be admired the picturesque views of majestic natural sceneries, dotted with ancient temples and peaceful rural villages of local people. Today, we mainly drive on small village roads along rivers and lakes. On the way, if we have enough time, we will spend some time visiting the village of Muong ethnic minority and making a stop at Thung Khe pass to enjoy the spectacular view of Mai Chau valley from above. We arrive in Mai Chau town late in the afternoon. Dinner and overnight at a stilt house of Thai people here.

It is a short drive to Phu Yen, which offers a lot of stops for pictures of stunning mountain views. First, we will follow the quiet mountain path called Hua Tat. Hua Tat was built by the French during the war, and today, it seems to have been forgotten, but that makes our trip a lot more interesting.

After enjoying lunch, continue driving on the spectacular 43 Road, which leads us to an area inhabited by both Kinh and Thai ethnic minorities. Cross the water reservoir of Da river at Van Yen ferry, and then, we embark on a beautiful winding road to Phu Yen – a small town of Son La province nestled in the middle of a large valley of rice fields. Dinner with local specialties and overnight at a hotel here.

Start earlier today since it is a long trip to Mu Cang Chai with a lot of beautiful natural scenery to admire. Leaving the town, we cross Lung Lo Pass before hitting the quiet road to Tu Le, a small town where we will stop for lunch. After lunch, keep driving through the many trails with picturesque views of the rustic villages of the Hmong and Thai people. Famous for the most beautiful terraced rice fields in Northern Vietnam, once you come to Mu Cang Chai, do not forget to pick up the camera and take nice photos of nature scenes to keep track of your memories. Dinner in town and enjoy a good night’s sleep at a local hotel.

Today’s ride is truly fascinating as we head straight towards the main Mount Fansipan range. You will surely be surprised by the majestic natural scenery of this area with the green mountains running along the road from Than Uyen to Tram Ton – the highest mountain pass road in Vietnam.

Drive through administrative lands of Lao Cai at an altitude of over 2,000 meters before reaching the Sapa valley around lunchtime. Check-in the room and have lunch at the hotel. Then, we will spend the entire afternoon today exploring this beautiful town. With its naturally gifted beauty and rich culture, Sapa has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in northern Vietnam. Whether you are looking for a place to relax after long days at work or to satisfy your passion for adventure, Sapa can meet all your needs. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in this town.

Today we have another enjoyable drive from Sapa back to Lao Cai city. Along the way, we will spend some time visiting the Chinese border. Lao Cai international border gate is considered as one of the largest international border gates in Vietnam. Coming here, you will be immersed in the atmosphere of the bustling border city with a lot of tourists every day back and forth.

Follow a small road along the Chinese border, and we will reach the town of Viet Quang, where lunch is served. During your drive, you will have the chance to admire the beautiful scenery of the lush mountain ranges as well as visit many villages and markets of ethnic minorities. We come to Ha Giang in the late afternoon, then have dinner and stay overnight at a local homestay.

Today’s trip is undoubtedly the highlight of this 12-day tour as we will visit Dong Van – one of the most remote areas in Vietnam, which is famous for its breathtaking natural scenery and unique culture of ethnic minorities. Drive on a winding road until you reach Vuong Palace, about 14 km before Dong Van. Considered the King of H’mong people in Dong Van, the residence of Vuong Family was built in the stunning Sa Phin valley with typical Chinese architecture. The entire house is built of wood and rock, of which rocks were completely imported from China.

Coming to Dong Van town, we will have some time to explore ancient streets lined with old houses of clay and bricks built centuries ago. Then, keep driving to Meo Vac, home to various ethnic minorities like Dzao, Tay, H’mong, etc. Despite modern life out there, they still maintain their inherent simplicity and peace. Enjoy dinner and spend a night at a hotel here.

After breakfast, we hit the road to Ba Be Lake. Stretching over many mountains, this is one of the most beautiful routes on our journey, where we can admire the incredible beauty of the Nho Que River from a distance.

Have lunch at a local restaurant in Bao Lac town before conquering 30 km of paved road and a small trail going through the forest to reach Ba Be. There are so many poetic streams and rivers along the way that make today’s drive so much more enjoyable. We arrive at Pac Ngoi – a small village of the Tay people located inside Ba Be National Park in the late afternoon. Our team will enjoy dinner and overnight at a homestay of locals.

We will spend the morning of this 8th day exploring Ba Be Lake and Ba Be National Park. The best way to discover the beauty of Ba Be Lake is to take a boat trip. You can relax on the boat, admire the beautiful scenery, learn about wildlife, or even jump into cool water to swim if you want. The boat will take you to Puong cave, where you can see stalactites of various shapes and thousands of bats. Continue down the Nang River to see Dau Dang Waterfall before having lunch at a restaurant near the river. Then, turn back to the homestay, pack up your backpack, and start a 3-hour drive to Cao Bang town where we have a good night’s sleep at the hotel.

Continue our trip from Cao Bang to Lang Son on the famous Colonial Road No.4. We will pass through Dong Khe and That Khe villages that are well-known for countless bloody fights between Viet Minh and French Force in the 1950s.

Keep driving to the beautiful Quang Hoa village, which is the home to Nung An people. Have lunch and take a short rest in this village before heading to Lang Son. Currently, Lang Son is considered the largest trading hub between Vietnam and China, where you can find countless Chinese appliances and electronics like toys, phone chargers, and more. Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant and then return the hotel to rest after a long day of driving.

After breakfast, we will pay a visit to Tam Thanh cave before returning to the hotel to check out and depart for Halong Bay. Tam Thanh is the largest cave of Lang Son, only 2 km from the city center. The cave is 400 meters long and has two openings; one is the home of a Buddhist temple – Tam Thanh Pagoda and the other offer a fantastic panoramic view of a beautiful valley. It takes about 2-3 hours to discover Tam Thanh cave and To Thi mountain.

Then, we head back Colonial Road No.4 once again and drive along the coast until you come to Halong city. Arrive Halong in the late afternoon, check-in hotel, enjoy dinner and spend a night here.

It is a relaxing day because we will not have long drives today. In the morning, you are free to explore Halong city with the market and the beach. At noon, we jump into a cruise tour to explore Halong Bay. Recognized as one of the world’s new seven wonders of nature by UNESCO, Halong offers an extremely spectacular landscape of more than 3,000 surrounding islands and cliffs. Seafood lunch is served in the dining room while the cruise is moving deeper into the bay for a more beautiful view of thousands of limestone islets such as Fighting Cocks, Stone Dogs, Duck, Finger, and more. You will also take a visit to Thien Cung Cave, which will surely overwhelm travelers by the magical formation of thousand-year-old stalactites and stalagmites. Overnight on the cruise.

Start your day with a peaceful morning surrounded by the beautiful view of crystal clear water, beautiful islets, and calming sunrise. After enjoying breakfast, the cruise will take a short tour around the bay before heading back to the pier.

Continue to carry out the last route of the make the final journey of the 12-day Northern Vietnam 4WD Adventure Tour by following the main road through the Red River Delta to return to Hanoi. Once again, we are immersed in the peaceful scenery of rice fields and rustic rural villages. Arrive in Hanoi before 5 pm to avoid traffic jams. Tour ends.