Published in April 2026

Everyone’s heard of the Ha Giang loop, it’s become a centrepiece of trips to Vietnam and for good reason, it’s a multi-day motorbike trip through a seemingly endless landscape of unbelievably beautiful mountain ranges, gorges and rivers.

But hear me out, there’s something better, quieter and arguably safer.

One of Vietnam’s largest waterfalls, some of the country’s most beautiful driving roads and even a mountain WITH A HOLE in it, (not AI), lies waiting for you in the very next province, Cao Bang!

Itinerary

Best Cao Bang homestay options including rental and easy riders.

Budget: Cao Bang Eco Homestay, from $6 per night

Mid-range: PIA Homestay and rental, from $12 per night

Luxury: Mo Villa, from $25 per night

Day 1 - Town of Cao Bang

Cao Bang town, the capital of Cao Bang province is your starting point for this journey. It’s reached exclusively by road, with night buses and smaller limousine busses from Hanoi. The town itself is actually pretty big, with a leafy central boulevard with cafes, supermarkets, restaurants and nightlife.

Get to Cao Bang from Hanoi by bus, we booked ours with 12go.com. They depart in the morning and arrive around 5pm to Cao Bang and usually drop you right at your accommodation.

You’ll find many homestays and hostels that advertise touring services of the province. These will help you decide what method is the best for you, with itineraries and loops depending on what you want to see and do. I’ll share recommendations on which places organise the best tours, easy riders and motorbike rental below the itinerary.

While in Cao Bang town, make sure you try ‘Banh Cuon Cao Bang’, a regional take on the iconic northern dish! This version has the hot rice rolls (usually with pork, mushroom and egg) served in a savoury broth, unlike the regular Hanoi style which has the rolls served on the side of a lighter, sweeter dipping sauce. The town also has a decent pizza restaurant, ‘Pedro’s Pizza’, located next to the towns central market.

As you’ll probably arrive in the afternoon, use this arrival day to stretch your legs from the long drive, enjoy some local dishes and explore the quaint city before heading off on your adventure tomorrow!

TIP: We use 12go.com for all our internal transfers in Asia, including from Hanoi to Cao Bang and other destinations in Vietnam!

Ban Gioc Accommodation Recommendations

Budget: Diep Homestay, from $8 per night (we stayed here!)

Mid-range: Homestay Nha Hang Lien Khoi, from $20 per night

Luxury: Lan Rung Homestay, from $40 per night

Day 2 - Journey to Tiger Cave and Ban Gioc Waterfall

Your first day on the road will hit a few hotspots including Nui Mat Than (Angel Eye Mountain) and the 400-million year old Nguom Ngao cave (Tiger Cave).

Depart Cao Bang town with your first destination of Nui Mat Than, this journey will take around an hour and wind through a valley, giving you the first taste of this incredible region of Far North Vietnam!

Once you’ve finished at Nui Mat Than, begin the the journey to the Tiger Cave. This leg will take you around two hours. You can stop in Quang Uyen for lunch and a coffee at Cafe Nha Xua and check out Thoong Ma waterfall about five kilometres out of the city on the way to Tiger Cave.

The Tiger Cave has a large carparking area of motorcycles and cars, park and pay for your entrance ticket at the official booth at the beginning of the large building, on the left as you walk towards the cave entrance. The entrance fee is around 50k VND, allow an hour to visit the cave.

After you’re finished in the impressive cave system, head to your accommodation for the night, enjoying the late afternoon with your hosts, eating good home cooked food and enjoying some karaoke if you’re really lucky! Tomorrow morning we’ll be on our way to one of the highlights of this region!

There aren’t many ala-carte restaurants in this area where you can quickly get food like in bigger villages, with most restaurants catering to large tour groups, so it’s recommended to have dinner and breakfast with your hosts.

Tip: remember this place is quite new to foreign tourism, so you might not find many English menus or English-speaking cafe and restaurant staff around here!

Homestay options along the route

Budget: Lung Muoi Homestay, from $15 per night

Mid-range: Khuoi Han Ecolodge Cao Bang, from $25 per night

Luxury: Cao Bang Eco Camping at God’s Eye Mountain, from $50 per night

Day 3 - Visit Ban Gioc Waterfall then begin towards Bao Lac

Good morning! Hopefully you enjoyed your night amongst the rice fields and mountains of Northern Vietnam, enjoy breakfast at your accommodation. From the village, Ban Gioc waterfall is only a five minute drive, and easily accessible. The entrance fee is around 50k VND, make sure you purchase your ticket at the table before the souvenirs.

This place is pretty incredible, with boat trips you can take into the mist around the base of this impressive waterfall system. Expect to pay an additional 100k VND for the bamboo boat ride. You can even pick up some Chinese goods like beer and snacks that have made their way over the border!

There’s also a border point about 3 minutes north of the waterfall where Vietnamese citizens can cross into China for three-hours to visit the waterfall from the mountain viewpoint on the Chinese side.

If it’s still before before 10am, head for Ba Quang panorama! Unfortunately we didn’t make it to this beautiful spot along the southern road away from Ban Gioc as there was serious rain when we visited that slowed down our drives significantly! In normal conditions, the drive between Ban Gioc and Ba Quang is around 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Enjoy lunch at Ba Quang and enjoy the 360 degree views in this spectacular part of east Cao Bang!

Where you stay for this night is dependent on the time. Your next destination is the western part of Cao Bang province, and from Ba Quang it’s around a 5 hour drive without stops. So if you’d like to break the drive up you could stop at a homestay outside of Cao Bang or in the town of Cao Bang itself. Keep in mind that the sun sets around 6pm year-round, and you don’t want to be driving these roads in the dark.

The drive to Bao Lac can be long, winding and road condition can vary depending on the season and how much rain has fallen in the region. When we went, sections of the road were covered in mud or washed out from the heavy rains and if you’re not sure about the conditions wouldn’t recommend driving that far in a single day.

Bao Lac Accommodation Recommendations

Budget: Com Homestay, from $15 per night (we stayed here!)

Mid-range: Viet Hoang Hotel Bao Lac, from $20 per night

Luxury: Thuy Duong Hotel, from $22 per night

Day 4 - Bamboo Forests, H’mong villages and Bao Lac

Make sure you’re up early and on the road towards Bao Lac as today is a long driving day. The road from Cao Banh to Bao Lac is called QL34, and passes through some absolutely spectacular villages, bamboo forests and along some beautiful canyons.

Between stops at sights, you can stop for a rest, coffee and food in the beautiful valley-side village of Tinh Tuc, home to a tin mine that you’ll pass shortly after making it through the town. Keep your eye out for the street that leads directly to a huge waterfall coming from the mountains above the village.

Stop along the way at the Rung Truc Nguyen Binh, a large bamboo forest that surrounds the road further up the mountain after Tinh Tuc on your way to Bao Lac.

You will pass through many beautiful villages on the road toward Bao Lac, with ethnic minority H’mong peoples making up a decent portion of them.

Choose between spending the night in Bao Lac town for access to eateries, mini marts and hotel-style accommodation or choose one of the beautiful homestays available in this area.

Day 5 - Khau Coc Cha Pass, Pac Bo, and return to Cao Bang!

Today will feature the windiest, but some of the most beautiful driving yet!

Head off early again after breakfast in Bao Lac, towards the Khau Coc Cha pass, this incredible climb features 14 switchbacks, climbing hundreds of metres up the steep mountain pass. Make sure you hike up to the viewpoint above for an impressive look at the road once you’ve made it to the top. There is a small collection of stalls selling food and drink as many tour busses stop here along their routes. Allow at least an hour and a half to get to the top of the hike, enjoy the view and head back down.

Once you’ve come down from the viewpoint, hit the road for Pac Bo! The road between Khau Coc Cha and Pac Bo passes several valleys, which means several mountain passes and some steep climbs. The road quality was fantastic during this section, but expect many twists and turns.

Pac Bo is a significant historical site in Vietnam, and the starting point of the Ho Chi Minh trail. This location was where Ho Chi Minh first re-entered Vietnam from China in 1941, and was the initial headquarters of his resistance.

The site is very well developed, with shuttle busses ferrying you around the different points of the site including the stream and cave, and a few temples. Entrance fee to the Pac Bo site is 20k VND, including the electric shuttles. Allow one to two hours for the site.

Make your way back to the parking area, and head off on the final leg back to Cao Bang. The road from Pac Bo to Cao Bang is a straight highway and the final drive will only take around an hour and a half.

TIP: You can use 12go.com to book return fares for your Cao Bang trip if you know what dates you will arrive and depart, otherwise book a one-way ticket and another for the return leg when you know you’re finished!

Other beautiful accommodation in Cao Bang

Budget: Me Farmstay Pac Bo, from $20 per night

Mid-range: Ba Be Chill House, from $25 per night (This is actually in Thai Nguyen province!)

Luxury: Kolia Resort, from $50 per night

Add more days!

Cao Bang is a massive place, and this itinerary passes by a lot of its highlights but can easily be expanded out to a week or longer!

Some spots you might want to add on to your itinerary include:

The beautiful Ba Be lake, reached by turning off QL34 and continuing past Phia Oac.

Thao Nguyen Slam Chiem, technically in Thai Nguyen province, this region also has spectacular mountain views.

Continue through Bao Lac along QL34 towards Meo Vac, here you will pass into Ha Giang province and can visit some beautiful places such as Tu San canyon.

If you have a multi-entrance visa, or have a passport that can obtain a Vietnamese VOA and feel like an adventure, you could get a taxi or drive to the Tra Linh border point and cross into China for a few days. You could get to the city of Jingxi by bus or taxi and spend some time before returning to Cao Bang!

Ride, Easy Rider, Taxi or tour?!

You’ve got a few options for how you visit Cao Bang and they will all vary in price and experience.

Self-riding

The self-guided adventure of riding yourself through Cao Bang is pretty special, but it’s important to understand the risks associated. Of course it’s the most exciting way to experience the region and offers unrestricted freedom of where you go, when you go, where you sleep and where you eat, but make sure you are adequately prepared and confident. Know that you’ll likely be several hours or even a full day away from a well-equipped medical facility should you require help, and the extremely rugged terrain that is susceptible to extreme weather can lead to flooding, frequent landslides and road collapse at short notice. It’s also possible that rental agencies will require the correct licensing for Vietnam.

Easy Rider

This is the best option for someone with no motorcycle riding experience or license, and the assistance of a local of Cao Bang province will lead to a pretty special experience in the region. They’ll take you on a loop of your choosing and allow you to choose specifics you’d like to see, help in arranging homestays and with meals. Unlike those in Ha Giang, these would usually be private trips, so if you’re going with a few friends it would likely just be your group with the easy riders. Expect to pay around US$250 for a 4-day tour, including food and accommodation.

Taxi’s

Car taxi’s in Cao Bang are almost exclusively private drivers from local towns. As such, their prices can vary wildly. That said, if you reach out to any homestays offering tours you could likely find one that knows a driver who would be happy to. Of course, you could always just head on a one-day tour to the Tiger Cave and Ban Gioc waterfall.

Tour

If you think a car or mini bus tour would be the best option for you, these will certainly be available however it’s likely they will only service guests visiting the Tiger Cave and Ban Gioc waterfall. While these are some of the highlights of the province, it is a limited experience to the other options available. Tours like these are usually economical for budget travellers.

That’s It!

If you’ve made it down here, thank you so much for reading!

That covers everything you need to know about visiting Vietnam’s far north province of Cao Bang!

Cao Bang and Ban Gioc Waterfall, 5-day Itinerary: Pac Bo, Angel Eye Mountain and H’mong villages

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