Adventure on the Ha Giang Loop

The three-day scooter tour on the Ha Giang Loop is definitely one of the highlights of my trip through Vietnam. On the bus from Hanoi to Ha Giang, a small town in the north of the country, I met Gabriella from Switzerland and after a few minutes it was clear that we wanted to do the Loop together. After arriving at the hostel, everything was prepared for the trip: renting scooters, a driving lesson with a semi-automatic scooter, packing, pre-booking accommodations, briefing on the route.

You can complete the Loop in 2-infinite number of days, we had planned 3 days for the total distance of nearly 300 km. The first two days we drove slowly, the traffic around us was really crazy, and stopped for countless photo stops. The route led through many winding mountain passes with a breathtakingly beautiful scenery. The photos only partially capture this. On the second day we got caught in a heavy rain shower and found a dry shelter on the roadside. However, we had not considered that all the water would transform the ground into a big muddy mess within a very short time. After the rain finally subsided, we had to retrieve our scooters from the mud, which was quite a workout and a mess 🙈. We then continued to the viewpoint on the Chinese border somewhere in the middle of nowhere. A bit of barbed wire, a sign, and two police officers who made sure that no one crossed the border illegally. In the end, we managed to set foot on Chinese soil for about a minute to take a photo before the police officer got nervous and ordered us back. In pouring rain, we still had to ride for an hour to reach our accommodation in Dong Van. We were completely soaked and frozen and just grateful for a warm shower and a delicious dinner with homemade liquor. On the last day, we had to continue riding in our wet clothes. We took it easy for the first few kilometers on the incredibly beautiful Mai Pi Leng Pass, but then had to speed up in order to be back in Ha Giang on time.

A truly exciting, fun, and wonderful trip to the north of Vietnam!