Short version: roughly 300 km, six to seven hours, and three ways to do it. Most people take a night bus, arrive early, and sleep again before the tour starts. There are no trains and no useful flights.
The sleeper bus
The standard option and the cheapest: a bus of flat berths rather than seats, usually around 200,000 to 350,000 VND. You lie down, you keep your shoes in a bag by the door, and you get there. Berths at the back are noisier and move more; the lower deck is easier to get in and out of.
The cabin bus
The same idea with a door. Each berth is a small private cabin, typically 400,000 to 550,000 VND, and the difference in how much you actually sleep is larger than the difference in price. This is what we book for guests who ask us to arrange the transfer, and what we would take ourselves.
The limousine van
A minibus of nine to eleven seats, around 450,000 to 600,000 VND, usually running in daylight. It is faster and it can collect you from your hotel. You cannot lie down, which matters more on the way back than on the way out.
Night or day?
Night buses tend to leave Ha Noi between about 9 pm and 11 pm and arrive between 4 am and 6 am. That is a strange hour to land anywhere, which is why our tours include a free dorm bed on the night you arrive — we call it night zero. Check in whenever you get there, sleep properly, and start the loop the next morning rather than after four hours of half-sleep.
Travel by day and you see the drive, which is genuinely pleasant for the last two hours. You also lose a day, which is the whole argument against it.
Booking it
Most services leave from around My Dinh station on the west side of Ha Noi or from pick-up points in the Old Quarter — check which when you book, because they are half an hour apart in traffic. You can book online yourself, or ask us and we will arrange it, including pick-up from other provinces. Bus tickets are not included in the tour price.
Coming back
Book the return before you leave, not after the tour. On the last day you will arrive back in Ha Giang City in the afternoon, shower, collect the luggage you left with us, and eat before an afternoon or evening departure. If you are carrying on to Sapa, Ba Be or Cao Bang rather than back to Ha Noi, tell us at the start and we will sort the ticket out while you are riding.
A few small things
- Bring a layer. The air conditioning on a night bus is not subtle.
- Keep your passport and money on you, not in the hold.
- There is at least one rest stop. It will be at an hour you do not want it.
- Leave the big bag with us in Ha Giang — you only need a small one on the bike.
