Cross through some small villages before arriving at But Thap Pagoda in time for lunch at a local restaurant.

Visit the But Thap pagoda before continuing on to Bat Trang ceramic village. Arrive Bat Trang, we will cycle around the village, meet a craftsman in  workshop. He will show us how to make pottery and then we can try to make some by ourselves.

Join our vehicle again for the drive back to Hanoi. End trip.

At 08:00am, you will be a met up by Lotussia Travel team at your hotel in Hanoi. After briefing and a short warming up exercise, we will leave hotel for a full day bike tour of Hanoi.

The tour is split into a morning session with a visit to Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (closed on Mondays, Fridays and Afternoons), his House On-Stilts, the One-Pillar Pagoda and the Temple of Literature.

After lunch (not included), we will cycle to the Museum of Ethnology where we can find the biggest object collection of 54 Vietnamese ethnic groups.

Cycle back to your hotel at around 17:00. End trip.

Itinerary:

Day 1: (Saturday) Lao Cai – Coc Ly – Boat Trip – Bac Ha. (L.D)

After having breakfast, you will travel by car or cycle from Lao Cai Railway Station. The ride is relatively flat from Lao Cai. It will take you through rural area. The road is rougher for the last 16 km. You arrive in Coc Ly, where you start a boat cruise downstream Chay River. Along the ride, you can enjoy magnificent sight of the beautiful caves and life on the riverbank. You will have lunch on a beach or later in Trung Do village of Tay minority, where you can stop by a traditional Tay house for a cup of tea. After lunch, you first cycle on the dirt trail through the village and cross a narrow stream. Your ride will be then on a good road, which goes uphill toward Bac Ha town. You stay overnight in a hotel and have diner in a local restaurant.

Cycling: Approx 5 hours cycling

Day 2: (Sunday) Bac Ha – Lao Cai. (B.L.D)

After having a morning coffee, you take a short walk to visit the old castle of the former Hmong King. From there you can have a view over the town. You will then visit this huge market with its colorful array of ethnic minority people such as Flower Hmong, Phu La, Black Dao, Tay, Nung who gather to buy and sell. After spending the whole morning exploring the market, your lunch will be served in a local restaurant. After lunch you will be able to take a nice ride around nearby beautiful Ban Pho village of Flower Hmong and Nung minorities. After visit Ban Pho village your start heading back towards Lao Cai by cycle or by car. The ride will be mostly downhill and flat through rural area, which is home to Phu La, Nung and Tay minorities. Before you arrive in Lao Cai, you will be able to stop by china – Vietnamese border, where the Red River flows into Viet Nam territory. You will have time for shower and dinner before you get on a night train to Ha Noi

Cycling: Approx 3 hours cycling

Note: The trip could be started and finished at Sapa or Lao Cai Railways Station, according to your wishes. There will be supply car provided. In case the trip starts from Sapa, the itinerary can be changed depending on your wish. You will be able to spend the night in a traditional Tay house at Trung Do village.

Itinerary:

Day 1: Sapa – Ban Ho – Thanh Phu – Sin Chai

Your trip starts from Sapa. You cycle downhill on a windy road, which goes along Muong Hoa valley. The valley is home to Black Hmong, Giay and Red Dao minorities. From the road you will have many opportunities to enjoy amazing scenery of mountains and rice paddy terraces as far as the eyes can see. After a short break in Su Pan, you will cycle downhill until you reach Thanh Phu village of Tay minority. Here you stop for lunch in a traditional Tay house.
After lunch, your ride will be mostly uphill; you head toward Sin Chai village of Red Dao minority.  Here you will have a tasteful dinner and overnight in a local house.

Cycling: Approx 6 hours cycling.

Day 2: Sin Chai – Nam Nhiu – My Son – Ban Ho – Sapa

Today’s ride will be a little softer. You will pass by some tinny villages. You can stop by a local school and give children some small gifts such as pens or books. You will also be able to meet Xa Pho minority, one of the smallest ethnic group, which cannot be found in other areas. You will pass by Thanh Phu and continue to Ban Ho.

In Ban Ho you will enjoy lunch in a local house. After lunch, you will take a short walk to the nearby river, where you will be able to have a swim. You can take a break and have a cup of tea in a Tay house before you get on a car for a journey back to Sapa.

Cycling: Approx 4 hours cycling

Note: The road from Ban Ho to Thanh Phu and Sin Chai can turn in muddy and slippery in rainy time, and becomes impossible to get through. You will have to walk your bike once in a while in between Sin Chai and Nam Nhiu. The itinerary can be changed in bad weather.

Itinerary:

Day 1: Sapa – Tram Ton – Binh Lu  – Ban Hon

You first travel by car uphill toward Tram Ton. On the way, you can take a short walk to Silver Waterfall and then head to Heaven Gate, where you will be amazed by breathtaking view to mountain surrounding included Fansipan, the highest peak of Indochina. Your ride will be mostly downhill toward Binh Lu. You will stop by Chu Va village of Flower Hmong for a break before you arrive in Binh Lu. Here you will have lunch in a local restaurant.

After lunch, you turn in a dirt road to the villages. You will have time to stop by Pa Pen village of Lu minority and then Na Hum of Thai, two group ethnic minorities, which cannot be found in Sapa area. You are in a beautiful valley of rice paddy terraces and Limestone Mountain surrounded. You will arrive in Ban Hon village of Lu minority, where you spend a night in a local house.

Cycling: Approx 4 hours cycling

Day 2: Ban Hon – Tam Duong – Binh Lu – Sapa

The next morning, you cycle toward Tam Duong town. You pass by several villages stretching along the way. The ride is relatively flat. You will be able to visit the market in Tam Duong, where you meet Flower Hmong, Black Dao and Lu minorities. You stop by a local restaurant for lunch.

In the afternoon, you start on your journey back towards Binh Lu. There is almost no traffic and you will cycle through small villages and meet different ethnic minorities. The ride will be mostly downhill and flat. On the way, you can visit a Black Dao village, where you may find a beautiful handicraft for souvenir. Eventually, you arrive in Binh Lu. You will be able to take a short walk to stretch your legs before you get on the car on a journey back to Sapa.

Note: The back road from Binh Lu to Tam Duong can turn in muddy and slippery in rainy time and a small river can come high. Therefore, the itinerary can be changed in bad weather. The night spent in local house in Ban Hon could be changed into hotel accommodation in Tam Duong.

Approx: Total distance: 46 Km
Up / straight / down: 15 km / 0 km / 31 km

Approx: Total distance: 28 Km
Up / straight / down: 0 km/ 8 km/ 20 km

Itinerary:

Your ride will be mostly downhill through suburb of Sapa. You pass by Sapa town before heading downhill to Taphin.  In Taphin, you will witness the daily life among the villages and communities of the Red Dao and Black Hmong minorities. You will also have time to take a short walk around the village. You will later get on the car for the journey back to Sapa.

Cycling: 3 hours cycling

Note: It is possible to cycle all the way from and back to Sapa on a good road as you wish.  There will be a supply car provided.

Itinerary:

You head out from Sapa by going downhill to the villages. The ride takes you into one of the most beautiful valleys of the area. From Lao Chai you turn in a dirt trail, which sneaks through rice paddy terraces and villages, home to different hill tribes such as Black Hmong, Giay. You will have time to stop by a local house as well as enjoy excellent views over huge rice paddy terraces. You will later arrive in Tavan, where the car returns you to Sapa.

Cycling: 3,5 hours

Note: It is possible to cycle all the way from and back to Sapa on a good road as you wish. The trail from Lao Chai to Ta Van is hard and partially steep and becomes muddy in rainy time. There will be a supply car provided along the ride except from Lao Chai to Ta Van.

You will be met up at your hotel at 8:00am by our tour guide. He then give a brief explaination about the biking route, riding tips and related information. Leaving hotel, we will follow an narrow road where there is surprisingly little noise of bike horns. We will bike along these small streets  until we reach the peach garden there we cross the river to join an immense corn field. As we cycle through the corn field, and vegetable gardens, we will see how the life is quiet and peaceful after just few minutes cycle.

The dog barks; farmers plant vegetable working on their fields; children play on their house court with simple toys…these are common sceneries we will experience during our trip. Stopping by a local house and talking with local people will make your trip more enjoyable.

We will join the Long Bien historical bridge before biking to another part of Hanoi. Long Bien bridge is a historic cantilever bridge across the Red River that connects two parts of the city of Hanoi, Vietnam. It is also commonly referred to as the Paul Doumer Bridge. After crossing the bridge, we continue cycling through local villages, rice fields and smiling faces.  With the guide, you will know how we plant rice, how the villager life is, how our rituals are…

Around noon, we bike back to the hotel. Trip end.

For further information about departure & price, please contact us at info@vietnamcycling.com or info@lotussiatravel.com