Ha Giang Loop Price: What a Tour Really Costs

What the Listings Show

The cheapest bookable format is a 2-day easy rider loop from Ha Giang city at $133. A 3-day loop from Hanoi with the sleeper bus both ways starts at $137. Riding yourself over 3 days starts at $205, a 4-day easy rider loop at $230, the open-air jeep at $398 and the 5-day easy rider ride to Ban Gioc Waterfall at $595.

The other easy rider listings run from $167 to $250. Where the price sits depends on four things: how many days, easy rider or self-ride, whether the Hanoi bus is included, and whether you share a room or take a private one.

Why There is No Single Price

Operators quote different figures for the same length. For 3 days HagiangTrips starts a group motorbike tour at 2,600,000 VND (about $101), while HagiangVibes starts an easy rider tour at 4,990,000 VND (about $193). HagiangTrips says final prices depend on group size, room type and itinerary, and the bus, the permit and the room standard move a listing the same way.

Every operator figure below names its source. For day-by-day comparisons, see the 2-day tour, 4-day tour, tours from Hanoi and self-drive pages.

Three Days is the Classic Buy

The 3-day, 2-night loop is the most common format. The cheapest 3-day listing on this site is Ha Giang Loop in 3 Days: Small Group of Up to 10 with Aquarius at $137 with the Hanoi sleeper bus both ways, which works out at $45.67 per riding day, the lowest day rate in the table. The 2-day The Short Loop: 2 Days, 1 Night with Hong Hao Travel costs only $4 less in total but covers one fewer day, so its day rate is $66.50.

Four days pushes the price to $230 and the 5-day Ban Gioc ride to $595.

Easy Rider or Self-drive: Which is Cheaper

Self-riding is the cheaper seat when an operator offers both. HagiangVibes lists the 3-day format at 3,490,000 VND self-ride against 4,990,000 VND with an easy rider, and the 4-day at 4,590,000 against 6,590,000. The Ha Giang Loop puts the same gap at US$134 against US$173 for 3 days.

On this site the comparison is indirect: the 3-day self-drive listing is $205 with the round-trip sleeper bus, while the 3-day Aquarius listing, which offers both self-ride and easy rider, starts at $137 with the bus too. Compare what each includes, not the headline numbers.

The Typical Split

Most listings include the bike or easy rider, fuel, helmet and gear, all nights, most meals, entrance fees and a guide. The usual gaps are the border permit, drinks, tips and bike insurance for solo riders. The permit is the one to watch: the 3-day Aquarius tour, the 2-day Hong Hao loop, the 4-day Infinity loop and the self-drive Chestnut tour all exclude it, and the first and last state the amount at $10 per person.

The jeep listing states no permit line at all, so ask the operator before booking.

Bus, Permit and Entry Tickets

The Hanoi to Ha Giang sleeper costs 250,000 to 350,000 VND (about $10-14) for a standard berth and 380,000 to 480,000 VND (about $15-19) for a VIP cabin, each way, per vietnamtourism.com. If your tour does not include the bus, that is a real add. The border permit covers Quan Ba, Yen Minh, Dong Van and Meo Vac and costs 230,000 to 300,000 VND (about $9-12) per ZingHome Ha Giang.

Listings that state the permit price it at $10, and HagiangTrips reports some operators charging 260,000 to 520,000 VND, so confirm the amount with your operator. Where a tour excludes the Nho Que boat, vietnamtourism.com puts the ride at 250,000 VND (about $10), while Places of Linda paid about 300,000 VND on a 2023 trip. The H'Mong King's Palace ticket is 40,000 VND (about $2) per vietnamtourism.com, and The Loop Tours puts the Dong Van geopark entry at about 50,000 VND (about $2).

Cash and the Small Print

Card payment is not universal in Ha Giang, and HagiangTrips says competitors typically add a 3-5% card surcharge, so carry dong for the permit, drinks and tips. A private room is the other quiet add: the 5-day listing charges a 500,000 VND (about $19) per person surcharge for one. HagiangTrips also flags optional shopping of 0 to 800,000 VND (about $0-31) as a possible extra.

Ask any operator two questions before paying: is the permit in the price, and is the Hanoi bus round trip or one way.

Bike, Rooms and a Three-day Total

Rental runs from 180,000 VND (about $7) a day for a Honda Blade or Wave, 250,000 VND (about $10) for a Vision or Future and 550,000 VND (about $21) for an XR150, per The Ha Giang Loop, with fuel extra. vietnamtourism.com puts a semi-automatic Honda XR150 at 250,000 to 400,000 VND (about $10-15) a day. Rooms: a homestay night is 300,000 to 500,000 VND (about $12-19) and hotels 600,000 to 1,200,000 VND (about $23-46) per vietnamtourism.com, though one 2023 trip report by Places of Linda paid about 113,000 VND per person per night for private homestay rooms. The Ha Giang Loop's worked example for 3 days and 2 nights, built on its own planning allowances, comes to 2,390,000 VND (about $93) without Hanoi transfers, or 3,090,000 VND (about $120) with them.

The Licence Question Comes First

Vietnam recognises only International Driving Permits issued under the 1968 convention with a motorcycle category, plus your home licence. Per Vietnam News, riders from the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have no valid IDP route, and riders on tourist visas cannot convert to a Vietnamese licence. vietnamtourism.com puts a ground-ambulance evacuation from Ha Giang to a Hanoi private hospital at 4,000 to 8,000 euro, which makes riding without cover the expensive option. The full passport-by-passport verdict and the checkpoint situation are on the self-drive page.

What Four Wheels Costs

The bookable option here is Ha Giang Loop by Open-Air Army Jeep: 3 Days at $398 per person, a 3-day open-air jeep with a professional driver, all entrance fees, breakfasts, lunches, two dinners and two nights in traditional houses with a private room. It starts and ends in Ha Giang city with no bus, so add the Hanoi sleeper at 250,000 to 480,000 VND (about $10-19) each way if you come from Hanoi. At $132.67 per day it is the priciest format per day, but you ride nothing.

If you want Ban Gioc Waterfall too, the 5-day easy rider ride to Ban Gioc is $595 with dorm beds in homestays.

Reading the Car and Jeep Numbers

The Ha Giang Loop states that its car and jeep prices are per-person starting prices, not the cost of hiring the whole vehicle. Ha Giang Motor Ventures does not say whether its 3,750,000 VND (about $145) for up to 4 passengers is per person or per jeep, which is far below the other jeep figures, so ask before comparing. HagiangTrips separately lists a private SUV for 3 days at 6,300,000 VND (about $244) and a private jeep at 8,000,000 VND (about $310).

Ask what the quote covers: driver, fuel, rooms, meals and entrance fees are not always all in.

Group Tour, Easy Rider and DIY

The clearest worked total comes from HagiangTrips: a 3-day group motorbike tour at 2,600,000 VND plus 650,000 for the bus, 800,000 for drinks and extras and 400,000 for tips comes to about 4,450,000 VND, which HagiangTrips puts at about $170. On this site the nearest bookable equivalent is the 3-day Aquarius loop at $137 with the bus already in, so the extras shrink to permit, drinks and tips. For a self-ride, The Ha Giang Loop's 3-day example is 2,390,000 VND (about $93) without transfers or 3,090,000 VND (about $120) with them.

The Loop Tours puts a 5-day DIY budget at 2,800,000 to 6,600,000 VND (about $108-256). Most listings leave tips out and many leave drinks out, so plan cash for both.

Daily Cash to Carry

HagiangTrips budgets drinks at 80,000 to 200,000 VND (about $3-8) a day and tips at 130,000 to 400,000 VND (about $5-15) a day. Add the permit once at 230,000 to 300,000 VND (about $9-12) if your tour excludes it, plus 40,000 VND (about $2) for the H'Mong King's Palace and about 250,000 VND (about $10) for the Nho Que boat where not included.

Compare Totals, Then Pick Days and Rooms

First, compare totals with equal inclusions, never headline prices: a $137 tour with the round-trip bus and most meals can beat a cheaper listing that excludes the bus. Second, choose days carefully. HagiangTrips puts the 4-day group tour only about 800,000 VND (about $31) above the 3-day, which makes the extra day cheap if your schedule allows.

Third, decide on rooms: one operator, hagianglooperstour.com, charges a single supplement of $5 a day, and the 5-day listing here charges 500,000 VND (about $19) per person for a private room, so shared rooms are the budget default. Fourth, check the bus and permit lines before paying, since those two are the most common adds.

• Compare what is included, not the headline price
• A 4th day costs about 800,000 VND (about $31) more on a group tour, per HagiangTrips
• Shared rooms avoid the 500,000 VND private room surcharge on the 5-day listing
• Confirm permit and bus in writing before you pay
• Carry dong to avoid card surcharges of 3-5% at some operators

Verdict by Traveller

HagiangTrips, an operator, calls a 3-day group motorbike tour at 2,600,000 VND (about $101) good value for mountain roads you should not navigate alone. The $137 listing here fits that shape with the round-trip bus, meals and beds included. If you are short on time, the 2-day loop at $133 covers Heaven Gate, Dong Van and Ma Pi Leng Pass in two days, see the 2-day tour page.

HagiangTrips recommends 4 days if your schedule allows, for roughly 800,000 VND (about $31) more on a group tour, see the 4-day tour page. The jeep at $398 is the pick for anyone who wants the views without riding, and the $595 Ban Gioc ride only makes sense if you have 5 days and want two provinces.

• 2 days, $133: the shortest format
• 3 days, $137: the lowest price per riding day on the listings
• 4 days, from $230: one more day on the road with an easy rider
• Jeep, $398: no riding, private room