What the Ha Giang Loop Actually Costs

“How much does the Ha Giang Loop actually cost?” is a question we are asked more than any other, and most answers you will find online are somebody’s holiday budget from two years ago. So here is ours, in numbers, plain english and truthfully with what is in the price and what is not.

One thing worth saying before the figures: a cheap quote and a cheap trip are not the same thing. Plenty of operators advertise a low headline price and then add fuel, entrance tickets and meals once you are out on the road, where you have no choice but to pay. Our prices are all-inclusive. What you see is what the loop costs you.

The short answer

Prices below are per person in US dollars, and they are what we charge at the time of writing. The tours page is always current if you are reading this later.

Tour	3 days	4 days
True North, our mixed group tour	from US$167	from US$202
Private tour by motorbike	from US$259	from US$339
4x4 tour, group or private	from US$375	from US$459

Children aged 5 to 12 ride the True North tour from US$151 for three days and US$160 for four. Toddlers aged 3 to 5 are US$78 and US$96. Our enduro and dirtbike days are priced separately, from US$120 a day.

For most people the real choice is the 3-day group tour at US$167 or the 4-day at US$202. Doing the simple math means thirty-five dollars buys you a whole extra day of riding, plus another homestay night and all the meals that go with it, which is really the best value on the whole price list! The fourth day is also the day which is kept for caving and exploring inside the mountains - because we have more time and less distance to travel. It’s well worth it, if you have the time, to complete your adventure with this slower-pace day, to really take it all in.

What is in the price

Everything below is already paid for before you leave:

• The night before your tour at our villa in Ha Giang, so you start rested rather than stepping off a bus and onto a bike
• Your bike, and fuel for the entire loop
• An English-speaking guide, and an easy rider if you would rather ride pillion than drive
• A YOHE full-face helmet, ECE safety approved
• Every meal on tour: breakfast, lunch and dinner while you are away
• Your homestay nights
• Entrance tickets and activities along the route
• Secure storage at the villa for the big bag you are not taking on the bike, plus a safe for valuables

That list is the reason our price looks higher than some. Fuel alone over three days of mountain riding is not nothing, and entrance tickets at the big viewpoints add up quietly.

What is not in the price

Getting to Ha Giang. The loop starts here, and most people come up from Hanoi. The bus takes about six hours and costs US$15 on a limousine coach or US$20 on a VIP cabin sleeper, and we can book it for you. There are also direct services from Sapa, Ninh Binh, Cat Ba and Cao Bang.

Extra nights at the villa. The night before your tour is included. If you want to arrive early or stay on afterwards, a dorm bed is US$15, a double room US$45, a triple US$55 and a family room US$60, per night.

Drinks, snacks and anything you buy. Beers at the homestay, coffee at the viewpoints, a stubbie holder from the shop, the odd bag of whatever is being barbecued at the roadside.

Travel insurance. Not compulsory, but we would not do the trip without it. Check that your policy covers riding a motorbike, because plenty quietly exclude it. We take all possible safety procedures to reduce accidents but shit happens to the best of us, so better to be covered.

How much cash should you carry?

We don’t recommend carrying heaps of cash around when you don’t need to. This tour isn’t really one for shopaholics, as besides the roadside stalls and a few shops within the town centres there’s not a whole lot to buy. You may want a few extra beers, a game of pool, a couple of coffees and spot a cool souvenir for someone back home.

We recommend around 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 VND for 4 days, depending on how spendy you are. Draw it before you leave Ha Giang city. There are ATMs in town, but out on the loop they are scarce, and homestays, roadside kitchens and little shops are cash only.

Because your meals, fuel, tickets and beds are already paid for, the cash in your pocket is only for the extras you choose. You don’t have to spend any of your cash - but it’s a good idea to bring some just in case.

Do you tip your easy rider?

Only if you want to. It is not expected and nobody on our crew will think less of a trip that ends without one. We mention it because “how much do you tip your Ha Giang Loop driver” is one of the things people search for most. So we want you to know that what we pay our guides and drivers is a fair wage. We don’t want to guilt trip our customers into giving tips, so that our staff members can afford food for their families. We look after our Flipside staff team, so that they are genuinely motivated to provide quality tours for our guests. If you feel like they’ve done a great job and they deserve a tip - that’s awesome and we know they really appreciate it too!

Why the cheapest quote is rarely the cheapest trip

Three things that separate a cheap loop from ours.

Group size. A cheap seat often means a group of twenty riding in a line behind one guide. Ours are small, which is why our guides can actually watch how you are riding. Your smaller tour group is more personable and you spend less time waiting around for every bathroom stop and photo opportunity.

The bikes. Fuel and maintenance are the first things squeezed on a budget tour. Every bike we send out gets a fifteen-point check each morning. Our bikes are retired once they’re past their best days of use. Our helmets are full face helmets with international safety standards. Our easy-drivers are free of charge and trained to drive safely and to the road conditions of the day. We don’t squeeze on safety.

What gets added later. Fuel stops, entrance fees, lunch, the “optional” boat trip. None of those are truly optional once you are standing there… but they are exactly what turns a cheap quote into an expensive week.

Is the Ha Giang Loop worth the money?

Three days of riding the best road in Vietnam, every meal, your bike, your fuel and two nights in homestays with families we have known for years, for under two hundred US dollars. We are biased, but we think that is the best value adventure in the country.

If you want a price for your own dates, or you are weighing three days against four, tell us what you are after and we will come back to you honestly, usually within a day.