Exploring Northwest Vietnam in 5 days: A desk worker's adventure into the wild.

This year's Northwest journey spans 5 days, covering around 1,000 kilometers across 5 provinces, tackling the extreme landscapes of A Pa Chải, the misty town of Sapa, and conquering 3 of the Northern Passes.

A 5-day Northwest expedition for office workers passionate about adventure travel.

Preparation for the 5-day Northwest journey

Map: Utilize Google Maps for optimal navigation, save terrain maps, offline maps, and bookmark key locations along the route.

Finances: Budget approximately 2-2.5 million VND per person for expenses, distribute money and cards across multiple locations—on the backpack and on your person.

Essential Documents: Carry 2-3 documents with photos: ID card, passport, driver's license, distributed across different locations. Use backups for return flights or when required to rent a vehicle, lodging, etc.

Helmet + Hand and Foot Protection: Wear a 3/4 or full-face helmet for safety, add protective gear for peace of mind.

Rain gear set, backpack rain cover, backpack straps for rear of the bike, sleeping bag for emergencies without lodging. Bring technology gadgets, essentials for digital nomads, power bank... and save the contact numbers of fellow travelers.

Pack some snacks, dried fruits for the journey.

Before setting off, always buy spare water and fuel.

5-day Northwest Adventure Itinerary

The group consists of 4 individuals from Ho Chi Minh City, all working and studying. Therefore, we decided to fly to Hanoi in the evening and return early in the morning to go to work, saving annual leave days. This way, we'll have a full 5 days for exploring the Northwest routes.

Day 0: Ho Chi Minh City – Hanoi

Departure at 10 PM, arrival at Noi Bai Airport at midnight, then catch a sleeper bus to Sapa immediately, sleeping on the bus.

Sapa-bound buses from Hanoi all pass by Noi Bai Airport, but only Phuc Xuyen bus (Quang Ninh – Sapa) operates at this late hour, priced at 250,000 VND per ticket. Buses can be found waiting at the intersection of QL2 around 12:30 AM.

Taxi fare from Noi Bai to QL2: 40,000 VND.

Day 1: Sapa – O Quy Ho Pass – Muong Te – Pac Ma: 242 km

The route is scenic, except for the stretch just outside Sapa town (at 9 AM) affected by landslides, and the 8 km road along the Da River from Muong Te to Pac Ma is still under construction, requiring careful navigation.

The passes of O Quy Ho, Pa Tan – Muong Te, Muong Te – Pac Ma (along the Da River) are exceptionally beautiful.

Overnight stay at the Pac Ma junction (7 PM). There's a route to Mu Ca, Muong Nhe; another route to milestone 17, where the Da River flows into Vietnamese territory. The only lodging here is quite expensive: 400,000 VND per room with 2 beds, air conditioning, hot water, but the group had no other choice.

Day 2: Pac Ma – A Pa Chai – Cho Cha Cang: 60 km + 158 km

Our group departed early at 5:30 AM. The stretch from Pac Ma to Chung Chai about 60 km is not marked on the map, but it's now accessible and in good condition, although some parts are affected by landslides or degradation. Since crossing Dien Bien province, the road has been in good condition, and from the junction of Chung Chai (Doan Ket Bridge), turn right and go straight to A Pa Chai (37 km) without passing through Muong Nhe.

Trekking to the extreme west of A Pa Chai, you must contact the A Pa Chai border post on the way to the border gate to request permission (leave your documents), and ask the soldiers to guide you (if arriving in the evening, accommodation can be arranged. Dinner is cooked at a cafeteria priced at 70,000 VND/portion). Although the extreme west route is under construction, we still had to hike for about 1.5 hours uphill and 1 hour downhill.

Our group stayed overnight at a guesthouse near Cho Cha Cang market (9 PM). This area only has one guesthouse, priced at 150,000 VND per room with 2 beds for 4 people, equipped with hot water, and fans.

Day 3: Cha Cang – Muong Lay – Pha Din Pass – Muong Gion: 242 km

The shortcut from Cha Cang to Muong Lay is very scenic, passing through many ethnic villages and hydroelectric lakes. However, the section of QL6 from Muong Lay to Tuan Giao is in poor condition.

Pha Din Pass has been recently renovated and looks quite beautiful. The main road is easy to travel, but those seeking adventure can turn onto the old QL6 (before reaching the new pass).

At the intersection of Thuận Châu market (Son La), there's a road leading to QL 279. Road 279 is very beautiful, but the section from Quynh Nhai town to Muong Kim is very rough. The road is narrow and severely degraded.

Therefore, the group decided to stay in Muong Gion. The guesthouse is priced at 150,000 VND per room with 2 beds for 4 people, equipped with hot water, and fans. This guesthouse doesn't have a sign, only a signboard for a rice eatery right at the gas station in Muong Gion commune, the cultural center.

Day 4: Muong Gion – Khau Pha Pass – Tu Le – Mu Cang Chai: 173 km

Road 279 passes by Ban Chat hydroelectric reservoir, and after crossing Lai Chau province, it's very scenic. The road winds through tea hills and villages of the Thai ethnic minority.

The route from Mu Cang Chai – Khau Pha – Tu Le passes through beautiful terraced fields, perfect for photo stops.

Khau Pha Pass is one of the longest and most dangerous mountain passes, yet stunning when engulfed in mist and overlooking the endless terraced fields in Cao Pha valley, Lim Mong commune, Lim Thai.

Along the way, you can visit Mam Xoi hill (Ba Nha bridge) and Mui Giay. These are two picturesque spots often seen in Mu Cang Chai advertisements. Due to rainy weather and muddy roads, our group couldn't visit La Pan Tan, Lao Chai, or Che Cu Nha.

We stayed overnight at a traditional stilt house homestay in Thai village, 1 km from Mu Cang Chai town, priced at 70,000 VND per person, with complete bedding, two bathrooms with hot showers.

Day 5: Mu Cang Chai – Sapa – Ta Phin – Sapa: 157 km

From Mu Cang Chai, the whole group returns to Sapa via QL 32 and 4D. This time, we traverse O Quy Ho Pass in the opposite direction, on a foggy day. You can stop by the eateries at the pass summit for bamboo rice and cheap photo opportunities (10,000 VND per serving of bamboo rice).

Then, from Sapa, we head to Ta Phin village of the Red Dao people, visiting Ta Phin cave and herbal baths.

By 10 PM, the group boarded the return bus to Hanoi. At 3 AM, we took a taxi at the intersection to Noi Bai, priced at 150,000 VND for 6 people (sharing a 7-seater taxi with 2 French friends). Afterwards, the whole group rested and caught the 6 AM flight back to Ho Chi Minh City, arriving at the office by 9 AM.

Expenses for the 5-day Northwest Adventure

The expenses for a trip depend on various factors, so each person will have different spending levels. The expenses for our group of 4 from Saigon can serve as a reference for planning purposes.

- Round-trip airfare costs around 1.2-2 million VND (depending on the airline and timing of ticket purchase). Consider purchasing additional checked baggage allowance, as there's a lot of gear (more than 7 kg). Our group bought one baggage allowance package. It's advisable to book flights for late evening or early morning to save time and money.

- Sleeper buses: Prices range from 200 to 250,000 VND one way. We took Phuc Xuyen bus to Sapa (at 12:30 AM from Noi Bai intersection, priced at 250,000 VND per ticket) and returned with Queen Cafe bus (departing Sapa at 10 PM, with onboard WC, priced at 220,000 VND per ticket).

- Renting motorbikes in Sapa: Traveling over 1,000 km of steep mountain passes in the Northwest over 5 days can be challenging with motorbikes for rent in Sapa. Most owners only rent for a day. We rented 2 Wave RSX bikes at 120,000 VND per day, decently powerful and not too old. However, upon receiving the bikes, make sure to thoroughly inspect. We had to repair a loose bike neck (likely from long-term use) and one bike had a punctured tire, changed oil, but overall they held up well after enduring continuous rugged terrain for 5 days, carrying 2 people and 2 10 kg backpacks.

- Guesthouses: Average cost is around 50,000-100,000 VND per person per night, depending on bargaining skills and guesthouse quality. Our group spent 940,000 VND for 4 people over 4 nights.

- Food: Breakfast costs about 30,000 VND per serving (pho, bun, etc.), while lunch, depending on the dish, costs around 50,000 VND per person.

- Fuel: Our group spent about 400,000 VND per vehicle (for 1,000 km) and had about 3 liters of fuel left when returning the bikes.

- Sightseeing and entertainment expenses:

• Entrance ticket to Love Waterfall tourist area: 70,000 VND/person.
• Admission to Ta Phin village: 40,000 VND/person.
• Guide fee for A Pa Chai: 400,000 VND (regardless of group size).
• Total expenses (excluding airfare) are around 2.5 million VND per person.

As reported by Zing News

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Reference: Mytour Travel Handbook