Off-road Sapa Motorbike Tour from Hanoi to Ba Be – 7 Days

To begin our 7-day off-road Sapa motorbike tour, we meet at BM Travel Adventure’s office for an instructional speech by our director and guide instructor. Our guide will also help you get acquainted with your vehicle as well. This is also the chance for you to make friends with fellow travelers. We then depart and drive northwest of Hanoi to get to Thac Ba Lake in Yen Bai province. An artificial lake created by the construction of the Thac Ba hydroelectric plant in the 1960s, Thac Ba Lake has a total area of 234km2as well as 1,300 islands and islets with various caves and caverns. Apart from its idyllic beauty, the lake bears historical and cultural significance and has been recognized as a national heritage site since 1996. Here, you can choose to go on boat rides across the lakes or visit Thuy Tien Cave, Xuan Long Cave, and Cao Bien Mountain.

After that, we drive to a remote village inhabited by Yao people in Vu Linh commune nearby. We can have a relaxing short walk, take some pictures, and spend the night here enjoying special local dishes and unique rhythms of music.

Summary:

Distance: 180 km

Meals: Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Homestay

We hope you’ve slept well since the stretch for day two is quite long, at 210 kilometers. We start the day slow and relaxing by driving along Thac Ba Lake and enjoying the clear atmosphere; then, we turn to the northwest towards Lao Cai province. At Sapa, there are various spots of interest you can visit. Near the Hoang Lien Son range is Sapa Heaven’s Gate, eight kilometers north of the town center. Once you’ve reached the Gate at 2,000 meters above sea level, everything seems limitless – from the spacious valley dotted with terraced fields to the Hoang Lien Son range to the majestic Fansipan Peak.

You can also visit Ham Rong Peak and conquer its impressive height of 1,800 meters while resting at the numerous flower gardens along the way. At Ham Rong’s foot is the old Stone Church built in 1895, one of Sapa’s only remaining French structures. After a long day of exploring, we will stop at a homestay in Sapa to feel the pleasant weather of Sapa.

Summary:

Distance: 210 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

After breakfast, we depart from Sapa. This quiet morning of day three is reserved for driving to the northernmost province of Ha Giang. On the way there, we will drive by a series of Passes in Xin Man and Hoang Su Phi districts. The Pass in Xin Man is called Gio Pass (Windy Pass), and atop it is one of the rare salmon farms in Vietnam. Another attraction at Gio Pass is the Fairy Falls, smack-dab in the middle of the Gio Pass primary forest. Stumbling upon the Falls is akin to finding paradise with its out-of-this-world appearance and gentleness, unlike other waterfalls.

Hoang Su Phi district, however, has a series of locations called Heaven’s Gate, including two passes and a mountain. They all have one thing in common, though: the spectacular views of the gentle curves of terraced rice fields from atop. After passing the two districts, we will arrive in Ha Giang city and spend the night there.

Summary:

Distance: 220 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

We finish breakfast in Ha Giang city and depart towards Dong Van district. Our destination for day 4 of our tour is the Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark. Taking up an area of 2,356 km2 over four districts, Meo Vac, Dong Van, Yen Minh, and Quan Ba, Dong Van Geopark has been the only UNESCO-certified International Geopark in Vietnam since 2010. With about 80% covered in limestone, the park also has many huge mountains, the highest being Mount Mieu Vac at 1,971 meters high, and various deep canyons, with the deepest Tu San at 800 meters.

The Geopark also houses 250,000 people from 17 ethnic minorities such as the Hmong, Yao, Yi, Tay, and Nung. Its biodiversity is also rich, with various flora and fauna species inhabiting, along with the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey, a species believed to have been extinct until its rediscovery.

Summary:

Distance: 150 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

We can spend the morning of day five relaxing around Dong Van Plateau. If we are lucky for today to fall on a Sunday, we can also enjoy the unique experience of shopping at Dong Van Fair. Being the largest trading market on Dong Van-Meo Vac Plateau, the Fair has many goods, ranging from decorated hemp cloths to ready-made full garments, from fresh produce and live animals to exquisite cuisine. Apart from being a trading hub, Dong Van Fair has cultural significance in its fusion of various ethnic cultures and serves as a weekly festival that attracts youngsters and young couples.

After a morning at Dong Vam Fair, we say goodbye and continue on our way. After crossing into Meo Vac district, we take provincial road 217 and drive to Bao Lac district in Cao Bang province. We sleep over at a guest house in Bao Lac town.

Summary:

Distance: 100 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

After departing from Bao Lac town, we will take off-road tracks towards Ba Be National Park in Bac Kan province. Ba Be National Park is an expanse of over 100km2 established in 1992 to protect Ba Be Lake and its surrounding evergreen forest. The park has a rich biodiversity, housing over 400 species and 354 species of butterflies. Surrounded by limestone cliffs and home to 106 fish species, Ba Be Lake holds the title of Vietnam’s largest freshwater lake. Having formed approximately 200 million years ago, the lake has a surface area of up to 6.5km2 and 8 kilometers in length. It comprises three zones called Pe Lam, Pe Lu, and Pe Leng; and carries water from 3 rivers Nang, Ta Han, and Nam Cuong. On the lake’s bank, we stay overnight at the homestays in Pac Ngoi village.

In the morning, we can continue our exploration of Ba Be Lake and the National Park. In the Nang River to the north is Dau Dang Waterfall, nearly a kilometer of rapids that feeds water into Ba Be Lake. There are also various islands you can take boat rides to on the lake, the most famous of them is Po Gia Mai (Widow’s Island). Boat rides can also take you to the caves around Ba Be Lake, namely Puong Cave, where you can observe thousands of bats hanging upside down from the ceiling. An Ma Shrine, Fairy Pond, and Hua Ma Cave are also hotspots you should visit at least once.

After a thorough adventure of Ba Be, we say goodbye to Bac Kan province and embark on our journey back to Hanoi through Highway 2B. Traffic on our ride home is not dense, so you can freely enjoy the picturesque landscape of the countryside. We arrive early at Hanoi before rush hour and officially wrap up our 7-day off-road Sapa motorbike tour from Hanoi to Ba Be.

Summary:

Distance: 170km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel

END OF TOUR