What to wear in each season
Ha Giang has a hot, wet summer and a cool, dry winter, but on the Loop the altitude matters as much as the month. Ha Giang city lies low in the Lo River valley, while the north of the Loop, around Dong Van and Meo Vac, sits on a plateau at about 1,000 to 1,600 metres. Up there it is several degrees colder than in the city, most of all in the early morning and at night. So even in the hottest month, pack one warm layer.
| Months | What to expect | What to pack |
|---|---|---|
| December to February | Cold and mostly dry, with fog or drizzle on some days. In cold spells there is frost on the plateau, and in some winters light snow on the highest villages. | A warm fleece or down jacket, a windproof layer, a thermal top, gloves, a scarf or buff, a hat, warm socks |
| March and April | Mild days, cool mornings and evenings, the first showers | T-shirts, a fleece or sweater, a light rain jacket |
| May to September | Hot and humid in the valleys (often above 30°C in Ha Giang city), heavy showers, cooler nights on the plateau | Quick-dry clothes, a rain jacket or poncho, a spare dry set, sandals, one light long-sleeved layer |
| October and November | Rain fades during October. Clear, warm days, but cold evenings on the plateau, especially in late November. | Layers, a fleece or light down jacket for the evenings, a windproof jacket |
On a motorbike, the wind makes everything feel colder than the number on your weather app. A sunny 15°C morning feels cold at 40 km/h on a mountain pass, so riders and Easy Rider passengers need one more warm layer than car travellers.
In winter, the warm layer is for the evening as much as for the road, because almost no homestays have heating. Lodges and better hotels do, such as Aya Lodge in Sung Trai, a Hmong village on the plateau.
Clothes and shoes
Most people pack too much for the Loop. On a motorbike, everything has to fit in one small bag, and wet clothes rarely dry overnight in a homestay. For three or four days, this is enough:
- 2 pairs of long, light trousers. On a motorbike they protect your legs from the sun, scrapes and the hot exhaust pipe. Shorts are fine for the evenings, and for car travellers.
- 3 or 4 T-shirts or quick-dry tops. Cotton stays damp for days in the rainy season.
- 1 long-sleeved top. The sun on the plateau burns, even when the air feels cool.
- 1 warm layer, a fleece or light down jacket, in every season. In winter, a proper warm jacket.
- 1 rain jacket or windbreaker that packs small. In heavy rain on a motorbike, a poncho works better: it covers both you and your day bag.
- Closed shoes with good grip, such as trainers or light walking shoes. Paths to viewpoints, villages and markets are often steep, muddy or wet. You only need proper hiking boots if you plan treks on top of the Loop.
- Sandals or flip-flops. Some homestays ask you to take your shoes off inside, and bathroom floors are often wet.
- Swimwear in summer, when the rivers have enough water and it is hot enough to swim, for example in Du Gia.
- Sleepwear and warm socks for cool nights.
- A cap or sun hat for the stops, as your helmet covers you on the road.
Documents, money and phone
Passport and documents
Keep your passport with you on the Loop, even if you leave your big bag in Hanoi. Every hotel and homestay has to register foreign guests with the local police right after arrival, using their passport details, so expect to show it at every check-in.
- Passport, plus a photo of it on your phone and in your email.
- Visa or e-visa approval, if you need one, printed or on your phone.
- Travel insurance details. Check that the policy covers motorbike travel, as a passenger too. Many policies only pay out for riders who hold a licence that is valid in Vietnam.
- Driving licence and International Driving Permit, only if you ride yourself. Which ones are valid is explained further down.
- Booking confirmations and phone numbers for your tour, driver or homestays, saved as screenshots, because signal comes and goes.
Cash and cards
Ha Giang city has plenty of ATMs, and some hotels and shops take cards. On the Loop itself, almost everything is paid in cash: homestays, meals, coffee, fuel and entrance fees. ATMs are only in a few towns, such as Dong Van and Meo Vac, and they are not always working, so withdraw enough in Ha Giang city before you start.
- Small notes (10,000 to 50,000 VND) for snacks, drinks and coffee stops. A 500,000 note is hard to change in a village shop.
- On a tour, most costs are included, but bring cash for drinks, souvenirs and tips.
- A card as a backup for Ha Giang city and Hanoi.
Phone signal, SIM and eSIM
Viettel has the best coverage in Ha Giang. Other networks work in Ha Giang city but often drop out once the road climbs, and many travel eSIMs use those other networks. So either buy a Viettel SIM in Hanoi (take your passport, because the SIM is registered on it at the counter), or choose an eSIM that runs on Viettel and check this before you buy. Even with Viettel, expect dead spots on the high passes and in deep valleys.
- Offline maps: download the Ha Giang area in Google Maps before you leave, so navigation keeps working without signal.
- Offline translation: download Vietnamese in Google Translate. Few people on the Loop speak English.
Health and toiletries
Medical care on the Loop is basic. Pharmacies and health posts in the towns can handle small problems, but for anything serious you go back to Ha Giang city, and often on to Hanoi. A small kit means a headache or an upset stomach does not cost you a day.
- Your own medication, enough for the whole trip plus a few spare days, in its original packaging. Local pharmacies sell different brands, and staff rarely speak English.
- A small first aid kit: plasters, antiseptic, painkillers, anti-diarrhoea tablets and rehydration salts.
- Motion sickness tablets if you get carsick. The road over the passes is one bend after another, and car passengers feel it most.
- Sunscreen and lip balm. The sun is strong at altitude, and the wind dries your lips.
- Insect repellent for the warm months and for treks. Most homestays have mosquito nets over the beds.
- Toilet paper or tissues, wet wipes and hand sanitiser. Toilets at roadside stops and viewpoints often have no paper and no soap. The better toilets on the road are in coffee shops: order a drink for around 25,000 VND, and you can use the toilet and often the Wi-Fi.
- Basic toiletries: toothbrush, soap and shampoo. Homestays give little or nothing, while lodges and hotels supply them.
- A quick-dry towel. Many homestays now give towels, but not all, and you need one for swims anyway.
- Earplugs and an eye mask. Many homestays have shared sleeping areas with thin walls or curtains. The ones popular with backpacker groups get loud, with drinking and karaoke in the evening, and roosters wake everyone before dawn.
You do not need tablets against altitude sickness. That only becomes a risk from about 2,500 metres, and the highest villages on the Loop are well below that.
Bags, gear and electronics
- One soft bag, a backpack or duffel of about 30 to 40 litres. On a motorbike it is strapped behind the rider, so a hard suitcase does not work. In a car, a suitcase is fine.
- Plastic bags or a dry bag inside your main bag. Even under a rain cover, a full day of rain gets in.
- A small bag you wear, such as a sling or hip bag, for your phone, cash, sunscreen and snacks. Your main bag stays strapped on until the evening.
- A waterproof phone pouch with a neck strap, so you can take photos from the back of a motorbike without dropping your phone.
- A power bank. Navigation and photos drain your phone, some homestays have few sockets, and power cuts happen.
- Chargers, and an adapter if you need one. Vietnam uses 220 volts, and sockets take two-pin plugs, round or flat. Most European and American two-pin chargers fit. Travellers from the UK, Australia and New Zealand need an adapter.
- A headlamp or small torch for power cuts, dark village paths and the walk to a shared bathroom at night.
- Sunglasses. The glare on the plateau is strong, and on a motorbike they keep dust and wind out of your eyes.
- Snacks and a bottle of water for the long stretches between towns. Places to refill a bottle are rare, so you mostly buy bottled water on the way.
- A camera and a spare memory card, if you want more than phone photos.
Extra items for each way of travel
By car or jeep
Travelling the Loop by car makes packing easy: a suitcase fits, and you need no riding gear. A few things still help:
- A soft bag rather than a big hard suitcase. You carry it into a different homestay or hotel every night, sometimes up steep steps.
- A jacket on the seat, not in the boot. The car is warm, but the viewpoints are windy, and you step out many times a day.
- Motion sickness tablets taken before the passes, not halfway. Sitting in the front and watching the road helps too.
With an Easy Rider
With an Easy Rider, your driver handles the bike and the road, and your bag is strapped onto the motorbike. Keep it to one soft bag, and wear the small bag with your valuables. Since April 2026, licensed tour companies on the Loop must provide helmets and protective gear and brief guests on safety. On Local Vietnam’s Easy Rider tour, you get a helmet, knee and elbow protectors, a simple rain poncho and a rain cover for your bag.
- Gloves in winter. Passengers hold on for hours, and cold hands are a common complaint from December to February.
- A buff or scarf against wind and dust.
- Long trousers, and get on and off on the left side. The exhaust pipe is on the right, and a burn on the calf is a classic small injury on motorbike trips in Vietnam.
Riding yourself
Riding the Loop yourself legally takes more paperwork than most travellers expect. You need both:
- your national driving licence with a motorbike category, and
- an International Driving Permit (IDP) issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention, with the motorbike category stamped: A1 for bikes up to 125cc, A for bigger bikes.
Vietnam does not accept IDPs issued under the older 1949 convention. That rules out IDPs from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Israel, among others. An IDP is only issued in the country of your licence, so arrange it before you travel.
Police on the Loop check foreign riders often. Riding without a valid licence means a fine of 2 to 4 million VND on a bike up to 125cc, and 6 to 8 million VND on a bigger one. Worse, your travel insurance will most likely not pay if you crash. If your papers do not meet these rules, ride as a passenger with an Easy Rider instead. You still get the open-air ride, without the legal risk and without the hardest sections at the handlebars.
Before renting a motorbike in Ha Giang, add these to your bag:
- Closed shoes with grip, ideally covering the ankle. Most rental bikes are semi-automatic, with a gear lever and a rear brake you work with your feet, which is hard and unsafe in sandals.
- Riding gloves for grip and for protection in a fall, plus warm ones in winter.
- Sunglasses, and clear glasses for dusk. Many rental helmets have no visor, and dust and insects hit your eyes. Better still, avoid riding after dark.
- A phone holder for the handlebar, if the rental shop does not supply one.
At the shop, ask for a helmet that covers your ears, not a thin half-shell. Before you ride off, photograph the bike from all sides, so old scratches cannot be blamed on you, and save the shop’s number for breakdowns.
What to leave behind, and where to store or buy things
What not to bring
- A big hard suitcase on a motorbike trip. It does not fit on the bike.
- Valuables you do not need, such as jewellery or a laptop. With slow signal in the mountains, a laptop is rarely worth the weight.
- More clothes than four days need. Everything you carry gets packed and unpacked every night.
- A drone, unless you have a permit. In Vietnam every drone must be registered and every flight needs a permit, applied for through a Vietnamese organisation. Many travellers fly one anyway, but much of the Dong Van plateau is a border area, where the authorities stepped up controls in 2026. Flying there without permission can cost 40 to 75 million VND, and the drone.
Where to leave your big bag
- In Hanoi: most hotels keep bags for free while you travel, if you come back to stay with them. Lock the bag and ask for a tag or receipt.
- In Ha Giang city: tour companies and most hotels and hostels store bags while you are on the Loop. On a tour, ask about it when you book.
- By car: your bags simply stay in the car.
Where to buy what you forgot
- Hanoi’s Old Quarter has many outdoor shops with cheap fleeces, down jackets and rain gear. Most are copies of big brands, but they are fine for a week on the Loop.
- Ha Giang city has pharmacies, mobile phone shops, and stores selling ponchos, gloves and warm clothes.
- On the Loop, roadside shops sell rain ponchos, and local markets sell simple warm clothes for very little. The choice is small, though, so do not count on finding your size.
