Hà Giang Loop Do It Yourself (DIY)
If someone that did ‘the loop’ 5 years ago was reading this they would probably screw their noses up, ‘what do you mean didn’t get fined’?
Well, there are police checkpoints everywhere along the loop these days waiting for the moment a tourist passes by without an international driver’s license to collect a cool $1.5million VND ($95aud). I saw police checkpoints near Mèo Vạc, Đồng Văn, Yên Minh & Hà Giang.
Police checkpoints are everywhere and they are unpredictable where they’ll be. The best way to avoid a fine is to obviously get a international drivers license or do a tour with a company such as Jasmine Tours with an ‘easyrider’.
Tours have their merits, but for me being unbounded by tours following my own curiosity and interests is what travelling is all about.
Following this I ended up completing the loop in reverse..
- Away from the draws of the tour groups, cerca Du Già village
- Fuji 16mm 0.77sec. f/8 ISO 100
The loop in reverse
From Hanoi I headed straight for Cao Bằng and Bản Giốc. See Motobiking Northern Vietnam for a map of some additional places for an extended tour of the north.
After exploring and absolutely loving these regions, it was time to head west towards Hà Giang. By first exploring the north-east of The North it meant that I would be entering the loop in reverse around Mèo Vạc.
This turned out to be in my favour as it was obvious that the police checkpoints were set-up for drivers completing the loop in the traditional clockwise manner. Every time I drove past one of these checkpoints I would put my head down and smile quietly as heads would turn as I passed on through unimpeded.
Being a tourist you are easily recognizable based on the clothes you wear, the bike you have and the gear you carry. It was clear that they weren’t used to seeing tourists pass in the opposite direction as most people start and finish the loop in Hà Giang.
Some other ways you can potentially avoid a fine are:
- leave really early or arrive late in the afternoon through the notable villages mentioned above
- dress how the locals do
- organize alternative transport (message me privately for some tips)
- Last light heading back towards Hà Giang city
- Fuji 16mm 200sec. f/5.6 ISO 500
Pros of DIY
- Flexibility! this was my biggest reason for not doing a tour. If you like exploring and don’t mind stretching your comfort zone then DIY
- The cost – it cost me $250aud to rent a scooter for 3 weeks from Style Motorbikes, opposed to a 4 day Hà Giang loop tour generally costing around $350-$400 all inclusive
- Spontaneous interactions and friendships – being solo forces you to interact with people and local people are more likely to approach you
- The time to do things such as Ma Pi Leng skywalk which a lot of tours skip out on – in my opinion it was the highlight of the loop. I wrote a previous article on this area which you can check on the link above.
Cons of DIY
- Being alone – for large parts of my ride I was solo travelling. Depending on your views this may be a bad thing especially if you want to be in a big group partying like they do on Jasmine Tours
- Time constraints – by doing a tour they will take you to all of the ‘must-see’ places in the shortest amount of time
- Safety – being solo and uncomfortable on the loop is not a position you want to be in
Overall, I had a great experience doing the loop by myself connecting with some really cool travellers and locals which made for some very wholesome experiences.
Every traveller is different and what we want depends on constraints such as: time, money and confidence.
I hope this guide helped you decide whether to do the loop solo or not and sparked some ideas for your next trip.
Ps. if I plan to head back to Asia I’ll definitely be getting an international drivers license.
