3-Day Ha Giang Loop Jeep Tour: Open-Air Drives & Mountain Passes
Three days crossing Vietnam's highest passes in an open-air jeep, staying in villages most tours skip.
A 3-day jeep tour of Ha Giang Loop in northern Vietnam with an English-speaking guide, all meals, and overnight stays in traditional homestays. You ride an open-air jeep through Pac Sum Pass, Ma Pi Leng Pass, and the Dong Van Karst Plateau, visiting Hmong King's Palace, Nam Dam Village, and remote settlements where seven ethnic minorities live side by side. The tour includes breakfast, lunch and dinner each day, entrance fees, and pickup from Ha Giang.
Step-by-step itinerary
Day 1: Ha Giang Loop and Dong Van Arrival
- Breakfast at homestay
- Meet guide and jeep driver
- Drive outside city and see landscape
- Stop at Pac Sum Pass viewpoint
- Visit Quan Ba Heaven Gate viewpoint
- Visit Nam Dam Village and Dao ethnic group
- Drive through Lung Tam Valley
- Stop at Can Ty Pass viewpoint
- Lunch at local restaurant with valley view
- Drive through Tham Ma Pass and take photos
- Visit Hmong King’s Palace
- Arrive at Dong Van and have dinner
- Explore Dong Van town in evening
Day 2: Ma Pi Leng Pass and Du Gia Village
- Breakfast in Dong Van
- Drive to Ma Pi Leng Pass and admire views
- Ride Sky Path and see Nho Que River
- Stop at Ma Pi Leng Pass peak for photos
- Drive through Lung Ho, Mau Due, and Meo Vac villages
- Break at M road pass
- Lunch at local restaurant in Mau Due Valley
- Drive to Du Gia Village
- Stay overnight at Tay minority homestay
- Dinner and happy water with host family
Day 3: Return to Ha Giang and Departure
- Breakfast and say goodbye to homestay host
- Drive from Du Gia to terrace paddies valley
- Cross Nam Cang Village and see landscape
- Pass Sky Gate and Bac Me national road
- Return to Ha Giang city
- Take bus or limousine back to Hanoi
What’s included
- All meals: three breakfasts, three lunches, and two dinners at homestays and local restaurants.
- an English-speaking tour guide for the full three days.
- entrance fees to all villages and historical sites.
- accommodation in private rooms at traditional homestays.
- two small bottles of water per day.
- the open-air jeep with an experienced driver and fuel.
Times
- Every day 08:00 08:30
Before you book
Operated by Ha Giang Jeep Adventures
Prices and times updated 2 days ago
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The experience
The jeep leaves Ha Giang at 8:30 am on day one after breakfast at the homestay. You'll drive ten minutes outside the city to see the first mountain landscape, then stop at Pac Sum Pass to look down into the valley below. From there the route climbs to Quan Ba Heaven Gate, over 1,300 meters up, where you stand between two limestone peaks and see the panorama of the range stretching away. The jeep continues to Nam Dam Village, where you spend 30 minutes with the Dao ethnic minority group and see how their houses are built into the hillside. By afternoon you're driving through Lung Tam Valley toward a local restaurant with a view of rice terraces, where lunch is served.
After lunch the jeep takes you through Tham Ma Pass (also called Chin Khoanh Pass) toward Dong Van. This stretch crosses the Dong Van Karst Plateau, a UNESCO geoheritage site where thousands of limestone rocks rise from rice fields and the landscape shifts with every turn. A few kilometers before Dong Van town, you stop at Hmong King's Palace, the home of the Voung family in Sa Phin, to see how the local royal family lived. You arrive in Dong Van in the late afternoon and spend the night in a traditional house with a private room.
Day two is the most dramatic. After breakfast, the jeep heads toward Ma Pi Leng Pass on the Happiness Road connecting Dong Van and Meo Vac. This pass sits at 2,000 meters and is known as the "king" of passes in Vietnam: the road winds through cliffs and the views drop away on both sides. You ride down the Sky Path to a viewpoint where you can see the whole valley and the Nho Que River 360 degrees around you. The rest of the day takes you through remote villages: Lung Ho, Mau Due, and finally Du Gia Village, where seven ethnic minorities live in the same settlement. You have lunch at a local restaurant in Mau Due Valley, then spend the second night at a homestay with a Tay minority family, including dinner and rice wine with the hosts.
The final day drives back toward Ha Giang through Duong Thuong Village and a valley of rice terraces that some say look like a fairy's breasts. You cross Nam Cang Village and Sky Gate, then rejoin the national road at Bac Me. By afternoon you're back in Ha Giang, with time to catch a bus or limousine to Hanoi the same day or the next morning, depending on what you want to do.
Is this one for you?Book this tour if you're staying in Ha Giang or arriving without a rental car and want to see the Loop's highest passes and most remote villages without riding a motorbike. The jeep picks you up in town, handles all the driving on narrow mountain roads, and puts you in a homestay each night so you don't need to arrange transport or accommodation separately.
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Top questions
Can children come?
Yes. Ticket types: Youth (12 to 17 years); Child (5 to 11 years); Infant (1 to 4 years): free.
What's the difference between riding a motorbike and taking this open-air jeep tour?
The open-air jeep gives you the same 360-degree view as a motorbike, you see everything around you, but you're sitting on a bench seat instead of balancing on two wheels, and the jeep is more stable on the winding mountain roads. You don't need to drive or know how to ride a motorbike, and the jeep carries your luggage.
Do I stay in hotels or homestays on this tour?
You stay in traditional homestays with private rooms: the first night in Dong Van and the second night in Du Gia Village with a Tay minority family. Both are typical local houses, not hotels.
What's included in the meals, and are there options for dietary restrictions?
The tour includes three breakfasts, three lunches, and two dinners: all authentic local food served at homestays and local restaurants along the route. Drinks at restaurants are not included, and you should mention any dietary needs when you book so the guide can arrange alternatives.
How high do the passes go, and is the road safe for someone who gets motion sickness?
Ma Pi Leng Pass reaches 2,000 meters, and Quan Ba Heaven Gate is over 1,300 meters. The roads are winding mountain passes, so motion sickness is possible. The jeep is more stable than a motorbike, and you can ask the driver to stop whenever you need to. Two small bottles of water are provided each day.
What time does the tour end on day three, and how do I get back to Hanoi?
You arrive back in Ha Giang in the afternoon on day three. From there, public buses and limousines run to Hanoi. You can take an afternoon limousine the same day or a night bus, depending on your schedule and what you want to do after the tour.
3-Day Ha Giang Loop Jeep Tour: Open-Air Drives & Mountain Passes
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from US$ 398 per person
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