*Pai Adventure kindly offered for Alex & I to go on their 4 day 3 night Ha Giang Experience Tour at a discounted rate, so this was a partly gifted experience. 

---

Choosing Pai Adventure for the Ha Giang Loop

We embarked on this journey with Pai Adventure, a small, local tour company based in Ha Giang City. Unlike larger tour operators, Pai Adventure offers intimate group sizes and unique, off-the-beaten-track experiences while still covering the classic highlights of the Ha Giang Loop.

We opted for the Discover Ha Giang Tour, which provides an itinerary that differs from the tours run by popular backpacker hostels such as Jasmine, Mama’s Homestay, and Bong Hostel. While still visiting the must-see sights, this tour includes additional viewpoints and activities that are less crowded and more immersive 

---

Getting to Ha Giang and Preparing for the Loop

For an additional cost, Pai Adventure arranged our transport from Sapa to Ha Giang City. Upon arrival, we stayed in a provided hostel the night before setting off. The evening before the tour, we packed a small bag to take with us, while our larger backpacks and suitcases were stored securely. Don’t forget to bring your passport, as you’ll need it for checking in at accommodations along the way.

Alex and I arrived in Ha Giang in the early evening, uncertain about who our fellow travellers would be. However, our guide, Dan, called us during dinner to confirm our pick-up time for breakfast the next morning, which immediately reassured us.

---

Day 1: Into the Heart of Ha Giang

Our adventure began early, with Dan ready to go at 7:30 am. We met the rest of our group – three friendly Vietnamese travellers from Ho Chi Minh City – along with our easy riders (motorbike drivers). Dan was my easy rider, while Alex’s was a lovely guy named Khim.

Five bikes set off on the streets of Ha Giang City. It was a pretty nervy start for me. Considering I’ve never had anything to do with a bike let alone ridden one before this was definitely out of my comfort zone. Even now in retrospect the thought of getting back on a bike doesn’t fill me with joy. Very shortly after setting off we stopped at a classically local Vietnamese cafe, think little plastic stools and low tables. Dan ordered us some breakfast, Alex had pho and the vegan option for me was sticky rice (thankfully the food did get better for me as the trip went on). We ate up and got back on the bikes and made our way out of the city into the northern Vietnam countryside. The spectacular views zoomed by. Little did we know they would only get better as the days went on. We stopped regularly at different spots, with Dan, our guide, informing us of what we were seeing, where we were and what the local people were like. We stopped at a viewpoint then headed to Khau Lan Waterfall which required a bit of a trek down to it, but boy was it worth it. Here we had the chance to go for a swim and have a bit of a chill. When we arrived we were the only people there, then another tour group joined us. This is one of the “off the beaten track” spots that not many other tours visit. There were 2 more stops along the route to the town of Yen Minh, where we stopped for lunch. Lunch was another local Vietnamese restaurant that provided us with a buffet style meal with lots of different Vietnamese dishes we could choose from. Tofu was the vegan option for me, which was really delicious. Dan was so attentive in case we wanted anything more. The next main stop on our journey was to Sang Tung Stone Desert which is a really interesting mountain formation covered in rocks hence the very apt name of stone desert. 

There is quite a lot of driving to be done on Day 1 as you need to make it to Dong Van before the end of the day, so you do spend a lot of time on the back of the bike. Our next stop was to the Hmong King’s Palace, also known as the Palace of the Vuong Family, which is a historical site located in the Sa Phin Valley, Dong Van. It actually wasn’t on our itinerary and the group of Vietnamese we were with didn’t stop here. However, Dan said we had time to if we wanted, so we did. This was our last stop of the day and we rode into the sunset. We arrived at our hotel just as it was getting dark which was a lovely surprise because we were expecting a hostel dorm. The hotel was a private double room with en-suite which was more than adequate for one night. We headed out to dinner as a whole group, which again was a very traditional hot pot style dinner. After dinner you have free time to spend the evening however you would like. We went to a bar just off the main square in the town of Dong Van which had some great entertainment on, but really you can make the evening your own. 

---

Day 2: Breathtaking Views and Cultural Immersion

It was another bright and early start as we had a really busy schedule to get through on Day 2. The plan for today was to head to the Meo Vac district. Breakfast was a quick Bahn Mi and then we jumped back on the bikes for a short drive to our first stop. Here we went on the most breathtaking hike to the “White Cliff”. The trek offers panoramic views of the Nho Que River, Tu San Canyon, and the winding Ma Pi Leng Pass. Here you can also see the mountains of China in the distance. It is by far the best view of the entire trip. The bikes were ready and waiting for us at the end of the hike and we made our way to our next accommodation stop. This was in the town of Meo Vac and it was one of the most beautiful accommodations we stayed in on our entire backpacking trip. Again it was a private double room with en-suite, decorated so beautifully and the room size was huge. It had the most beautiful outlook of the mountains. It felt like its own little village complex as there were many other accommodations, bars and restaurants around which we would come to enjoy later in the evening. We had a quick check in and dropped our bags off, before riding on to our lunch stop, which again was a Vietnamese buffet. Our next stop was Phong Luu Gorge and we biked down into the canyon (the deepest canyon in Southeast Asia) then hopped on a barge on the Nho Que River which boasts beautiful emerald-green water. Remember to take your swimming stuff with you here because there is the opportunity to swim when you stop at a pebble beach! 

As we were doing the 4 day 3 night tour we left our Vietnamese friends as we had one more stop to visit for the day whereas they headed back to the accommodation. We headed to Meo Vac Sinkhole which is truly an untouched and off the beaten track stop. It was only recently discovered a few years ago so it’s not on any main tourist routes. We were the only ones there so we sat for a while and watched the sunset behind the mountainous landscape. It was a moment I will never forget. Once we made it back to our accommodation we headed out to dinner with the Vietnamese group which was another buffet style but definitely my favourite meal of the trip. Our night was filled with karaoke, pool and a lot of happy water. We ended up making friends with a much larger Vietnamese group, so although we were communicating through Dan and karaoke, this didn’t stop us from having the best night together. It was one of those moments which you look back on in bewilderment but in a great way.

---

Day 3: Hidden Caves and Unforgettable Roads

I can’t lie after two nights of back to back happy water and a few too many early starts in a row, the start of Day 3 was a tough one. The tiredness was kicking in, however, it turned out to be one of my favourite days. Sadly we said goodbye to our Vietnamese friends, who were feeling worse for wear more than I was, so Alex & I spent the remainder of our trip just us two and our easyriders Dan & Khim. We stopped for a quick breakfast of Bahn Mi and Bun Cha and then headed to a local market. This market was definitely local in every way, as it was certainly not designed for tourists, which was refreshing having been in a lot of markets on our backpacking trip that were only there to sell tourism style things. The driving on Day 3 was quite honestly the best drive of the entire trip. I will never be able to describe the feeling I felt whilst on the back of the bike, winding through the mountains watching the scenery unfold before us. The roads were smooth, the views were to die for and it was just pure bliss. 

Our main stop for the day was Hang Tham Lin, a hidden cave, where we jumped on a bamboo raft down the stream to the entrance of the cave. Here we swam in the cool waters and also had lunch at the water’s edge. It was at lunch that a local told us about a shortcut route back onto the main road which would save us nearly an hour on our journey. Our easyriders had never done this route before so I was a little apprehensive and even more so when we got onto the route and we were winding up the side of a mountain on the tiniest dirt path you could imagine. This route was not for the fearless, there were so many tight, steep bends, but once we made it to the top and the road plateaued out the views were unimaginable. We drove through a tiny village and you are quickly reminded of how remote you truly are. This was an experience that not even our easyriders had had before. The local was right, the shortcut saved us an hour off our journey so when we stopped at the next viewpoint we spent a while there playing board games and having drinks. 

Our final ride of the day was to our homestay, which was as close to a hostel as we got on the trip. We had a private double room which overlooked a field of buffalo and the bathrooms were shared. The location was so beautiful. Before dinner we went on a walk around the town of Du Gia. There is also a waterfall here where all of the bigger tours go, however, we decided that due to it being really busy we would give that waterfall a miss because we had already seen a more spectacular waterfall on our trip a couple of days before. We had a very chilled last night on the loop sitting by the river and playing cards. 

---

Day 4: The Final Ride Back

Our final day of the loop started with breakfast at our homestay and then it was straight on the bikes to make our way back to Ha Giang City. There was a section of this journey where the road was really not the best, so it was quite uncomfortable in parts. We were also witness to a road block because two lorries were struggling to pass each other due to the narrow, gravelled nature of the road. Thankfully they made it past each other safe, with only a few scratches to their vehicles… The views made it all worthwhile and we had regular stops at different viewpoints. 

Our next stop was to Lung Tam Linen Weaving Village, a traditional Hmong village renowned for its intricate brocade weaving. We got to see how they traditionally turn plants into linen materials. We headed straight to our lunch spot where thankfully we managed to miss the crowds because by the time we were finished it was completely packed with Ha Giang Loop tours. Because we were ahead of schedule we took a short ride to a viewpoint just down the road and we sat for a while taking in the views. Not a single other tour group joined us in that entire time. We made our way to another waterfall stop where we could swim and then to another viewpoint. Then it was onto our final stop of the whole entire trip. It was a really cute cafe with a beautiful view. It must be the last stop (or the first stop depending on which way you go) of the loop for all the tour groups because it felt like everyone was there! 

The final ride back into Ha Giang City was the most emotional ride in every single way. Not only was I relieved to be back on smooth, tarmacked roads but the anxiety on the back of the bike finally dispersed on the safer roads. All whilst feeling incredibly grateful and overwhelmed to have experienced such an unbelievable four days.

---

Final Thoughts on Pai Adventure

My honest review of doing the tour with Pai Adventure is that if you’re a young solo traveller wanting to make friends, this tour might not be the best for you. They are a small company that aren’t that well known as of yet and their speciality is offering small group tours, therefore socially this probably isn’t the best option. However, if you have a friend or partner or group of friends that you are travelling with or are just more than happy to go alone this is the perfect tour for you. Alex & I spent quite a lot of the time during the day just the two of us. In the evening, we would reconvene as a group, which was super good fun despite the language barrier! At the minute Pai Adventure is less well known amongst western tourists, however, this is definitely nothing to be put off by. We had a full Vietnamese cultural lesson not only from our group of Vietnamese friends who were more than welcoming but from Dan who was an incredibly knowledgeable tour guide and came on every excursion with us. Plus as the company grows and they become more well known more travellers from all over the world will book on to their tours.

Hands down the best thing about doing the tour with Pai is the accommodation we stayed in whilst on the tour. We had seen and heard horror stories from friends and other people on social media who had done the loop. We were expecting big dorms with very little privacy and very little sleep to be had. However, this couldn’t have been further from the truth. Alex & I stayed in a double room every night (bar the first night in Ha Giang City which is a hostel dorm, but a more than acceptable one). The accommodation was beautiful, clean hotels and homestays. The homestay in Meo Vac was especially outstanding. 

After much in depth research (you can read all about how I made the decision here) we went with True Traveller* for our travel insurance, however they don’t actually cover the Ha Giang Loop motorbike tour which was slightly problematic because we knew that we didn’t really want to miss out on it. We chose the policy knowing we might have to do the tour without travel insurance or find some other way of doing it, potentially via Jeep. However, Pai Adventure includes travel insurance (not just insurance of the bike) up to 30 million VND which I have not seen any other tour company offer. This made it an absolute no brainer for us.

I have never been more thankful that we did something that goes against the grain of what a lot of other western backpackers choose to do. Oftentimes we would see hoards of bikes go past from these hostels in groups of 20 whilst we had stopped at a viewpoint off the itinerary. Maybe it’s because I’m getting increasingly closer to my 30s rather than my 20s, but there is something to be said about being in such a small group and fully immersing yourself in the culture and local area.

I’m not quite sure how to explain the feeling, the sights, the smells and all the other things you experience on the Ha Giang Loop. I don’t think it’s an experience that will ever be matched. There isn’t anything that I would recommend more if you are doing part of the Banana Pancake Trail.

Enjoy your Travels!

Em x

More from My Ha Giang Loop Series
🗺️ The Ha Giang Loop: The Ultimate 4-Day Adventure 
💰 How Much Does the Ha Giang Loop Cost? An Honest Backpacker Breakdown
⚠️ Is the Ha Giang Loop Dangerous? 
🛡️ Travel Insurance for the Ha Giang Loop 
✅ Does World Nomads Cover the Ha Giang Loop?

*This post contains affiliate links.

Subscribe to join the Travels community & be notified of future posts!