Ha Giang To Ninh Binh – An Ideal Off-road Route For Wanderlust Souls

Once you come to this land, one of the most must-visit impressive routes for your motorbike trip is Ha Giang to Ninh Binh. Why is this road highly appreciated? Read more to get the full detailed information above.

Why must backpackers experience the Ha Giang – Ninh Binh route at least once in their life?

Everything happens for a reason, and so does this route! For me, Ha Giang to Ninh Binh has always been a beautiful dream, a faraway place that I used to dream of coming there, watching, and feeling the full flavor of the mountains and scenery. Also, there are more for you to look for in these two areas. Let’s find out what they are, adventure-lovers!

A long list of attractions

Anyone who loves to explore nature also finds it hard to resist the natural beauty of Ninh Binh and Ha Giang province – the heavenly landscapes. Ninh Binh has long been famous for Trang An vestige area, Mua cave, Tam Coc – Bich Dong, Van Long lagoon, Cuc Phuong national park, and many others.  Meanwhile, the romantic land, Ha Giang, makes visitors flutter every time they come to the  Nho Que river, Ma Pi Leng Pass, Bac Son Valley, Dong Van Rock Plateau, and so on.

More ways for discovery 

Discovery in a brand new way, everybody! Now, you get more ways to explore the route at ease. Currently, there is a bus from Ninh Binh to Ha Giang, which takes about 8 hours. That creates a new chance and takes cheaper costs for those who want to satisfy their wanderlust to remote areas in Vietnam.

However, 8 hours on the bus sightseeing nature outside through the window may be  boring and will certainly not leave many beautiful memories along the way to exploring the Vietnam motorbike route from Ha Giang to Ninh Binh – two of the best destinations in the North. And for Ha Giang’s amazing tours, there will be no better vehicle than a motorbike when traveling through this pathway.

Motorbiking allows you a lot of benefits compared to other kinds of transportation. You can stop anywhere on the road to admire nature or take beautiful pictures. Especially for enthusiastic riders, it is great to challenge their skills and experiences or seek thrills,… You can find nowhere the unique experiences that only motorbike riders can feel through the journey through the challenging detours, and curves. Don’t forget to stop several times to enjoy typical indigenous cultures and little-known local dishes. You may be surprised!

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Itinerary for a perfect trip from Ha Giang to Ninh Binh

This will absolutely be your best motorbike tour ever in  Northern Loop  Vietnam. You will move mostly constantly, visit many attractive tourist destinations, and experience extremely interesting things. Actually, you will have fun and comfort too!

Day 1: Ha Giang – Dong Van

The road from Ha Giang to Dong Van will leave you with incredible moments. Follow the instructions of the tour guide, and you will start exploring the Ha Giang loop, the original land of superlative tea hill, honey wine, and “thang co” (A traditional dish of the Hmong people), the paradise of peach blossoms, pear flowers, and bustling atmosphere of the markets.

Be careful while riding through winding roads and steep slopes since the journey will be long and tough. Northeast Vietnam  is extremely majestic and pristine, so you can freely standstill from the high peak, relax a little bit, refill your stomach, and take some nice photos. Passing the Bac Sum slope and riding to the Heaven gate, visitors will have the opportunity to sightsee the Co Tien Twin Mountain, an “artwork” of nature bestowed on this land. Ask for the story about the legend of this fascinating and interesting mountainous region.

After that, you will go through Sung La valley to the most beautiful pine forests in Vietnam, stretching on high slopes to reach Yen Minh town. Have a look at Lung Cu flagpole  too, since that place is one of the best photography locations here. After dinner, feel free to visit Dong Van old quarter – the old peaceful town bearing the architectural imprint of the Chinese people with two-story houses decorated with significant yin and yang tile roofs and tall red lanterns… On the way, you may not stop thinking about visiting the Hmong King’s palace with many unique architectures and unique stories. Yeah, that’s awesome!

Day 2: Dong Van – Meo Vac – Bao Lac

This is the unique road through the highly-favored attractions of Dong Van – Ma Pi Leng – Nho Que River – Meo Vac – Khau Vai love market. Each activity and location on this tour’s day will leave a strong impression on anyone who has ever come there. Most of the activities that happen are all worth mentioning, but the best one is the boat or kayaking competition in Tu San alley on the Nho Que river.

This is a challenging and adventurous route, especially for those who love to explore the majestic nature of the global geological park. However, this route is not for new enduro players.

Experiencing crafting through the  Nho Que river, an exciting challenge awaits! Bamboo rafts are attached to a very simple steel wire pulley system, and rafting is welcomed until about 5 pm. It will be a challenging journey to conquer the Nho Que River for adventurous people. This way, you will greatly shorten the time to reach Meo Vac.

If you have ever stood on Ma Pi Leng’s pass and watched the Nho Que river from above, you definitely want to touch the turquoise river once. So, don’t fret. Join a rafting trip not to waste any precious moments. Traveling around the Nho Que river on a solid bamboo raft, you will have a completely different experience from watching the stunning water from above. Relaxing, watching the cliffs standing up to the sky, feeling the cool atmosphere and the change of the natural scenery. All of the joyful memories will definitely be saved in your heart forever.

Continue the journey with the route from Ha Giang to Cao Bang.  You head to Bao Lac – the central town of the most remote district in Cao Bang province. This is home  to  a lot of ethnic minorities live, especially the Lo Lo people. Bao Lac is famous for the affection of the Bao Lac fair market as a miniature image of the community life of ethnic minorities here. Bao Lac Love Market is such a love rendezvous between highland.

Day 3: Bao Lac – Cao Bang City

Make a move from Bao Lac, passing through Me Pia pass to Cao Bang city with us. You will never feel disappointed.

This is the most beautiful route in the Northeast, which is as highly appreciated as the route of Dong Van to Meo Vac. As the legendary dream road of the adventurers, this road provides us with a special experience of crossing the 15-story mountain pass and once again, the chance to admire the beauty of Vietnam’s second-largest global geological park, Non Nuoc Cao Bang.

Before 2015, it took at least two and a half days to conquer this road. And actually, only professional enduro drivers can do it. But, today, you don’t need to be a real enduro rider to discover this road in just 1 day.

From Bao Lac town, tourists will pass through 4 different valleys and 4 passes along the Chinese border to reach Cao Bang City.

Day 4: Cao Bang City – Quang Uyen 

Cao Bang is a great location that is favored by nature with breathtakingly majestic scenery, and one of them is the Ban Gioc Waterfall and Nguom Ngao Cave. Cao Bang in each season has a unique beauty. If you’ve never been there, no matter which season you travel to Cao Bang, it will bring you new and extremely special feelings.

Ban Gioc Waterfall is a famous place in Cao Bang, which is not only known for historical sites such as Pac Po cave or Lenin stream but also attracts tourists with majestic mountain scenery, palaces, charming roads, and landscapes. An ideal time to visit Ban Gioc waterfall is September – October. To get to the Ban Gioc waterfall, we have to go through Tra Linh, which is famous for Thung mountain (the best place in the north for camping).

Departing from Cao Bang city, you will move forward to the poetic and majestic Ma Phuc pass, which is the most beautiful pass with a length of 3.5km from Phu Lo to the Ta Nung gate and about 620m high above sea level. The pass has 7 swirls with unpredictable curves. Riders will find it easy to move here though they will have to go over four slopes of the southern part of the pass and two slopes and a bend at the top of the Northern Pass peak.

Up to the top of the pass, the scenery makes us feel like we are traveling in Halong or Ninh Binh. It is also in the core area of the global geological park, Non Nuoc Cao Bang.

The road from Cao Bang city to Quang Uyen through Trung Khanh to Ban Gioc – Nguom Ngao and then back to Quang Uyen is like a water-drop-shaped road.  Therefore, you will easily discover all the beauties of Non Nuoc Cao Bang, and also enjoy many enduro experiences that can be found nowhere in this world. We swear!

Day 5: Quang Uyen – Bac Son valley

Welcome a new happy day with a specific route from Quang Uyen to Dong Khe and That Khe, and end up your day in Bac Son. Your 5th day will continue with majestic limestone mountains and lush green ancient forests and knowledge related to the glorious history of the Dong Khe monuments cluster. That will be the best mixture of tourism, customs, and knowledge.

And, the best thing to retract insight is a picturesque Bac Son Valley which is  like  a valuable ink painting upside down. Bac Son flower valley is located in Lan Khoang hamlet, Tran Yen commune, Bac Son district. Coming here, you will have the opportunity to see the beautiful colorful flowers.

Day 6: Bac Son – Halong City

Following the legendary 179 road, which connects the Northwest to Northeast Vietnam, with thousands of hazardous bends, and thousands of different large and small passes, you and your fellow drivers will steer through all the primeval forests and national parks in North Vietnam.

Especially, on this road, we will have a picnic lunch at Dong Cao, the most well-known place for camping in northern Vietnam, a high mountainous landscape stretching over a wide area. Running your motorbike on Dong Cao makes tourists feel like they are walking on the vast steppe of Mongolia.

Day 7: Check-in HALONG CRUISE 

Here, allow yourself to relax during the long journey with the best promotion packages provided. Make sure to have thoroughly researched to get the best prices and executive deals. If you are not sure about that, book one of our motorbike  tours from Ha Giang to Ninh Binh, which is carefully designed for your comfort and convenience. Trust us!

Day 8: Halong – Ninh Binh

It will take you about 5 hours to drive from Halong city to Ninh Binh. You should drive slowly and carefully to enjoy landscapes, experience smooth roads, and don’t hesitate to stop for photos shooting on the way. However, anything may happen without any notification. Your journey may become very dangerous with traffic jams. So, pay attention to obstacles on the route.

Your efforts will be well paid with the visit to endless famous Ninh Binh attractions such as Tam Coc Bich Dong, Trang An vestige area, and Bai Dinh Pagoda. You can also buy bus tickets to take you directly to those famous destinations if there are any problems with your vehicle. It takes only 20 to 30 minutes to reach well-known locations in Ninh Binh since all the locations are not too far from the city center. And, the good news for you is, the entrance tickets are also unchanged.

Day 9: Explore Ninh Binh

Do you wonder what the top things to do in Ninh Binh are? First of all, it is highly recommended to come to Tam Coc Bich Dong, a well-known destination that travelers cannot miss once they’ve come to Ninh Binh. Sitting on a local wooden boat, cruising down the romantic Ngo Dong River, feel free to watch the identical mountains and iridescent golden rice fields. The poetic scenery here will certainly captivate any visitor.

Next, you will need to pass through Trang An to admire the winding river flowing through the limestone mountains, creating countless natural mysterious and magical caves. Moving 15 km from the center of Ninh Binh city, you and your fellow drivers will visit the biggest pagoda in Vietnam, constructed with the heaviest and tallest bronze Buddha statue, the largest well, and unique stone statues in the country. The fairy-tale scene of Bai Dinh Pagoda will make visitors feel the tranquility and peace of the quiet space once they’ve come here.

Along the way, stop at Mua Cave which is located at the foot of Mua Mountain, is a tourist destination belonging to the tourist complex of Khe Dau Ha village, Ninh Xuan commune. From the foot of the mountain, tourists can clearly see the stairs extending to the top of the mountain like the mini Great Wall of China. Up to the top of Mua Mountain, you will witness the breathtaking views of golden ripe rice fields zoomed in to the sight, the boats fluttering in the water. So romantic!

Move to Van Long Lagoon – where the iconic movie Kong – Skull Island is stirring the market. This lagoon is super magnificent, and especially if you go there early in the morning. You will feel the mist on the lake through the lush reeds and rocky mountains in the distance. If you are lucky to visit the lagoon on a sunny day, a clear lake full of dog tail algae will appear beautifully.

Day 10: Ninh Binh – Hanoi

It’s time to say goodbye to the romantic city, Ninh Binh and come back to Hanoi. Now, spend about 2 hours through the CT01 road. The journey seems to be quite long and we are sure that you did enjoy it a lot.

In conclusion,

If you are an adventurer who is interested in conquering the winding roads of towering mountains calm and poetic rivers of the Northern Mountains of Vietnam, you should not miss the trip from Ha Giang to Ninh Binh. Hopefully, with all the tourism experience from Ha Giang- Ninh Binh route that we have shared above, you will prepare a very interesting and memorable trip.

Following this one, you will get a chance to visit a lot of destinations in North Vietnam. Our tour has  not included Ninh Binh, but if you want to cover it, we will make some changes to meet your demand. Accordingly, After finishing the Halong Bay cruise, we will take a motorbike tour to Ninh Binh before coming back to Hanoi.