Phong Nha to Ha Giang

By bus the journey from Phong Nha to Ha Giang is scheduled to take from 14 to 19 hours depending upon which bus service you take.

Bus Times from Phong Nha to Ha Giang

There are currently 15 bus services a day from Phong Nha to Ha Giang available to book online.

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Phong Nha Bus Stop

Grouptour services from Phong Nha to Ha Giang depart from near Central Backpackers Hostel – Phong Nha.

Ha Giang Bus Stop

Grouptour bus services from Phong Nha to Ha Giang terminate at Ha Giang City Hostel.

About Travel to Ha Giang

Ha Giang is a small city with around 70,000 permanent residents located in remote and mountainous Ha Giang Province.

Ha Giang Province

Ha Giang is the most northerly province in Vietnam, with a 270 km long border with China. Ha Giang is not only one of the most sparsely populated provinces in Vietnam, with a population of just over 800,000 spread out over 7,929.48 square kilometres, it also one of the most ethnically diverse parts of the country. Ethnic Vietnamese are believed to account for only 12% of the population, with ‘hill tribes’ groups such as the Hmong and the Tay being the largest ethnic groups.

Ha Giang Province is mountainous and for the larger part not suitable for large scale agriculture or building factories. Other than tourism, the main industries are small scale tea and fruit farming organised at a local level in remote communities.

Ha Giang City

Ha Giang City is by far the largest town in the province, and the main transport hub. For leisure travellers exploring the province Ha Giang City is the main starting point, although there are few points of interest in the city itself. What Ha Giang City does have, however, is around 80 guesthouses and hotels ranging in price from over $40 USD a night to $3 USD a night for a bed in a dormitory. Ha Giang City also has more than 50 restaurants and cafes serving a range of cuisines.

Ha Giang City is also somewhere you can rent a motorbike to explore the surrounding countryside.

Ha Giang Loop

The most famous activity in Ha Giang is following a road route (known as the Ha Giang Loop) starting and finishing in Ha Giang City covering 330 to 350 km depending on what detours you make from the main trail.

The time it takes to follow the loop ranges from 3 to 5 days depending on how many hours a day you want to, or are able to, spend driving a motorbike or car. Because of the narrowness of the roads and the sometimes poor road surfaces most visitors find they averaging about 10 km an hour during the journey, which means that to complete the loop in 3 days you need spend more than 10 hours a day driving.

Permit

The Ha Giang Loop takes visitors into what is classified by the Vietnamese as a ‘border area’ and a permit is required to enter into any part of this border area even if you don’t plan to do the whole loop.

Permits are available from the Immigration Police Office in Ha Giang City and cost $10 USD per person. In addition to the fee, applicants need to present their passport and the registration number of the vehicle they plan to use.

Route

Most visitors choose to follow the loop in a clockwise direction, initially following the QL4C road northwards before looping back west along the QL34 road where the two roads intersect. The Loop is often described as having 4 stages:

• Hà Giang to Yên Minh (101 km)
• Yên Minh to Đồng Văn (44 km)
• Đồng Văn to Mèo Vạc (24 km)
• Mèo Vạc to Ha Giang: (158 km)

Visitor Attractions on the Loop

There are lots of places to visit along the way, 4 of which are generally considered the main highlights of the Ha Giang Loop are:

• Ma Pi Leng Pass: The pass is the most spectacular part of the Ha Giang Loop, with the road cut inside the side of a steep sided valley.
• Dong Van Plateau: The plateau features numerous karst mountains rising dramatically from an otherwise flat landscape.
• Pho Bang Village: Pho Bang is a small wooden housed village inhabited by hill tribe people living a nearly traditional lifestyle.
• Dong Van market: Dong Van is a major Sunday market for the hill tribe people who come to buy and sell the fruit they grow and the products they make. It’s a colourful market and it’s interesting to see the local produce.