The north of Vietnam is a stunning place to visit, and we highly highly highly (very highly!) recommend spending some time up there. OK, a tour of the Ha Giang Loop may well already be on your radar, but how about an amazing Vietnam Tea Tour – a tour which will take you to amazing tea plantations deep in the Hoang Su Phi mountains!
Similar in concept to a Ha Giang Loop tour, you’ll head out on a motorbike (on ride pillion) to the stunning mountains of Hoang Su Phi, some 3-4 hours drive from the town of Ha Giang.
Tours can be customized according to your requirements (tour operator Hieu is very accommodating) but we’d highly recommend sleeping over for at least one night at one of the very cute Hoang Su Phi homestays. Otherwise, you’re in for a very long day trip if you’re planning to drive there and back from Ha Giang.
And what can you expect on a Vietnam Tea Tour?
First off, you’ve got some amazing scenery to enjoy, with winding mountain roads looking out over deep valleys filled with rice paddies. Expect to stop every few meters for photos…
Secondly, you’ll get to see the real Vietnam; cute mountain villages with locals leading water buffalo down the road, winding mountainous roads with stunning waterfalls to your left and right, and friendly locals waving as you ride by…
Lastly, you’ll visit some local tea plantations including local Shan Tea plantations and factories – if you’re in-season you might even get to see some of the locals picking tea from the branches of the huge Shan trees (yep, they even climb up and pick leaves from the upper branches!).
This is a great little tour that you can make as short or as long as you like. We’d suggest at least the one-night stopover, so you can get one-on-one with a local family, a truly great Vietnam experience (and we’re firm believers in mixing it with the locals if you really want to get a feel for the real Vietnam)!
