Ban Gioc Waterfall and Ba Be Lake Tour: Explore Vietnam's Natural Wonders in 3 Days
4.7
157 Ratings
Hoàn Kiếm

Embark on a 3-day tour to Ban Gioc Waterfall and Ba Be Lake in Vietnam. Discover the natural wonders, interact with ethnic communities, and explore the Nang River by boat.

Duration: 3 days
Cancellation: 3 days learn more
Highlights

Hanoi – Lang Son - Quang Uyen (Lunch, Dinner)

Lang Son - Our tour guide will pick you up by car at your hotel in Hanoi old quarter or Mr Linh’s Adventures office around 7:30-8:00am, transferring you to Lang Son. We will start by driving in the direction of the Chinese border for about 3 hours, before stopping at Chi Lang Pass a 20km-long gorge created from a narrow valley between two mountains.

This place occupies an important position in Vietnamese history, being the place of many victories against various Chinese invasions over the centuries and millennia, as far back as 981AD. As such it bears the reputation of Vietnam’s strongest citadel and bastion. Here you will have roughly an hour to walk around and explore the area around the Quy Mon Quan Gate, which translates as “The Gate of Monsters”, named for the many invasion forces that would spill through the pass over the course of history only to be beaten back by stalwart Vietnamese defenders.

Quang Uyen - After lunch at a local restaurant in Dong Dang, you will continue your trip into the pass, stopping to visit Mother’s Temple and Dong Khe – an important historical site where The Battle of Dong Khe was fought during the First Indochina War. In fact, this was the very first battle of the Indochina Wars, and the fighting here took place through September and October 1950, ending in a resounding victory for the Viet Minh.

In the evening you will get to enjoy dinner and overnight rest in a local homestay owned and operated by a local Nung family.

Highlights and activities: Chi Lang pass, Quy Mon Quan gate, Dong Khe battle site, ethnic villages, and a 3-5km walk

Cao Bang – Ban Gioc Waterfall – Ba Be National Park (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Ban Gioc Waterfall - Detian Falls - After enjoying breakfast at the homestay, you will depart for Trung Khanh which lies right on the border with China. Here you will have another chance to meet and interact with the local Nung people living in the village of Phuoc Sen, a mountainous village famous for its traditional blacksmithing. The farming tools made here are an integral part of the lifestyle which is evident in the surrounding rice paddies and fields.

Nestled amongst these amazing landscapes is the breathtaking Ban Gioc Waterfall which spans over 300 meters, split half and half between Vietnam and China. You’ll get some time here to simply take in the amazing atmosphere surrounding the falls, which presents an excellent opportunity for some fantastic photography.

Once you’ve finished at the falls, it’s time to head over to Nguom Ngao Cave, for a very different, but no less impressive natural wonder. The cave stretches for 2,144 meters underground and is brimming with incredible stalactites and stalagmites.

Ba Be - You will then return to Cao Bang town and head down the “snake pass” to Ba Be Lake, where you will stay overnight in a homestay constructed in traditional Tay fashion and owned and operated by a local Tay family. Here you can relax and unwind from the day and enjoy a delicious and authentic home cooked meal.

Highlights and activities: Ban Gioc waterfall, Nguom Ngao cave, Ba Be National Park, ethnic villages
Rounding out the day, you will then travel to Quang Uyen where you will have dinner and stay overnight at Nung’s house.

Ba Be Lake - Hanoi (Breakfast, Lunch)

Ba Be - After breakfast, you will board a boat to cross the lake to the north shore. From here you will start a hike in the rainforest of the central area of the Ba Be National Park. Along the shores of the lake, you will reach a prehistoric cave dating back 500 million years, hidden in an ancient forest composed of rare and hard wood trees, as strong as steel.
A little further, a fire station allows to observe the birds.

Ba Be National Park - Resume your hiking to reach the An Ma temple (a sacred temple of the Tay people venerating the snake god and military general of the Mac dynasty).

It is now time to choose how to spend your time on the boat: relax and admire the landscape or take a dip in the fresh waters of the lake? Anyway, enjoy the scenery with its beautiful karst formations lined with jungle.

Note: visitors who do not wish to participate in the walk can ask to stay on the boat to join Widow Island or do some shopping

Hanoi - Return to Ba Be Jungle Houses restaurant for lunch before ending the tour, you will be taken about 230 km back to Hanoi and stop at a tea plantation located among rolling hills. When we arrived in Hanoi, it was time to say goodbye, creating lifelong memories and bonds.

What's Included
  • Bamboo raft tour on Ban Gioc waterfall
  • Lunch
  • Hiking tour in Ba Be national park
  • Kayak & boat tour on Ba Be lake
  • Dinner
  • Breakfast
  • All sightseeing tickets and travel permits on frontier
  • Bottled water
  • Nguom Ngao Cave walking tour
  • No extra charge after confirmation
  • Professional vehicle transportations and commercial vehicle insurance. Professional driver
  • 24/7 hotline support guaranteed
  • Experienced English-speaking guide
  • All Taxes and Fees
  • Accommodation at Nung’s homestay in Cao Bang, at Tay’s houses in Ba Be national park
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Travel insurance
  • International & domestic flights and taxes
  • Beverage
  • Other personal expenses: drinks, souvenir, etc.
Additional Information

SET DEPARTURE ON TUESDAY & FRIDAYS
This exclusive small-group tour takes visitors from the venerable city of Hanoi, complete with stately French colonial buildings and a bustling old Vietnamese quarter, to the natural wonderland that is Ba Be Lake and the Ban Gioc waterfalls, the world’s 4th largest border waterfall after Niagara, Iguacu and Victoria. You will also be able interact with the ethnic Tay minority in small villages and explore the Nang River by boat.

  • May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
  • A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
Location
Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square
Phố Đinh Tiên Hoàng
Pickup from Hanoi Old Quarter hotels
Cancellation Policy

If you cancel at least 3 full day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel within 3 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(157 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Juanjo_jn
Jul 22, 2024
Very good experience - The places to visit are amazing. And I was very surprised with the accommodations. The areas were gorgeous and both homestays were beautiful and with nice food. I absolutely recommend the trip. Although Tinh didn't speak a fluent English, he did a good job and was very funny. I enjoyed him as a guide. The only bad side of the tour is that there are many hours on the road. But I think it's worth it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shakeyh2024
Jul 17, 2024
Great taste of northern vietnam - Fantastic taste of sites of northern Vietnam. Jason was a great guide and Win Win, the bus driver was great. There is a bit of driving, however it was well worth it. My favourite part was the small villages. The first homestay accommodation was fairly basic but the surroundings excellent.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bryan
Mar 11, 2024
Halong Bay and Ba Be National Park - Great organised tour from pickup at our hotel and dropped backed, Good knowledge by our guide Sonny and great driving by the driver, we first got picked up and went to Ha Long bay and spent the night with 30 others from a different tour on a boat in HaLong bay, good food and tours of caves and kayaking, only negative would be the over crowded islands, went back to Hanoi for a stay at a very nice hotel, from there the next morning we got picked up by Sonny and the driver, there were only four of us on this tour, we went to the caves, waterfalls on the China border and then on to a farm stay in a village, next day on to Ba Be Lake National Park where we spent the night at a lovely guest house, next day we did a long boat trip up to a village, temple and back to the guest house for lunch and then drove back to Hanoi .The tour did a circuit of North Vietnam, it is a lot of driving but the accommodation is very good along with all the food, the driver ( sorry forgot his name) was excellent along with Sonny the guide who's local knowledge was first class, Sonny kept a eye on everything including dealings with locals making sure we weren't over charged, dealings with Linh Hue via WhatsApp was excellent from my first research via the internet in Australia, high would highly recommend this company, regards Bryan, Australian
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Chinz1980
Jan 6, 2024
Family trip to Ban Giou and Babr Lake - Many thanks to our guide, Long Tran and our driver Mr Long for taking care of us on our wonderful family trip to Ban Giou Waterfall and Babe Lake. Even though the drives were long, the care, knowledge of our guide, beautiful scenery, accommodations and delicious food made up for it all. Thank you!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Guillaumebd2605wo
Dec 24, 2023
The northeast of Vietnam - A very nice excursion to discover the northeast of Vietnam, its magnificent waterfalls, its very beautiful lake and other non-tourist places. Special mention to our guide, Long Tran, who allowed us to better understand this region and its history. The accommodations chosen were of very good quality and the meals provided varied and qualitative. Despite the many hours of roads, our driver, Long, was able to drive us safely.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
L_ac963
Dec 16, 2023
Extraordinary !! - An excellent excursion, extraordinary pay, perfect organization with night at a local's home, we are well immersed in the life of the mountain inhabitants, the accommodation and the extra food, and the guide Mr Hung, super friendly who explains everything to us and really lets us discover the life of the locals, very kind, accommodating and caring for us, and a lot of humor. The driver was also excellent on these not easy mountain roads, we always felt safe. I recommend this excursion, you will be amazed by the Casade and the Lake. Extraordinary !!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Joezanz
Nov 5, 2023
Fantastic Northern Vietnam - Really enjoyable trip with the highlights being Ban Gioc Waterfall and then the home stay at Ba Be Lake. Our tour guide Tuan and driver Mr Bao were excellent and always ready to help or offer a smile. Do be prepared for a lot of winding roads on this tour but with plenty of stops to break it all up. We totally enjoyed being with just a small group of 5 and getting to know the others along the journey. The scenery in the mountains is fantastic and really shows off another side of Vietnam.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
505inev
Dec 16, 2023
Beautiful and lesser-explored part of Vietnam - Tour was exactly as advertised. Loved the Cao Bang province as it's so beautiful. The waterfalls were a bit underwhelming, but the landscapes and cave made up for that. It was fun to stay in the local homestays as it felt more authentic and peaceful. There was only one issue and that was with our tour guide (Mr Hung). We want to share this feedback as it can help improve the company as well as our guide's skills. Working points are: 1. English language: his English was a bit scripted when he would talk and provide information. Once you asked him a question he wouldn't understand. I don't think his level of English was sufficient to guide an international group. (An example: We asked, "How many people live in this town?" His answer: People in the village grow rice.) 2. Social skills: Hung came across pushy and stressy at times. I'm sure it wasn't his intention, but he stressed us out in the morning by trying to rush us out the door. Maybe the lack of English in this situation also didn't help. We received a feedback form on our way back to Hanoi. We filled out that he needed to improve his language and social skills on the form. We then sealed it into the envelope. Unfortunately, he opened the envelope in the car after we returned them to him. He then put them in his pocket during the rest stop. We believe he changed the answers on the form (we can't tell 100% for sure, but it sure looked like he did - we saw the envelope in his pocket). This is something we'd never expect from a guide. A feedback form with a sealable envelope should be confidential... this was very unprofessional. There were a few other unprofessional things we noticed along the way, but we won't get into the details here. Feel free to contact us for more information. :) Luckily for us, it didn't ruin the trip as we already explored and learned a lot about Vietnam (we already traveled here for 3 weeks). But we can imagine that for people who just arrived, it would be a letdown. - Zac and Ine
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Curiosity21928692146
May 2, 2024
Disappointing - Most of the days are spent traveling on the bus. First day spent on the bus to get to the first home stay 8 hours from Hanoi . The first home stay was nice, clean food was tasty, not so peaceful and tranquil as they sung karaoke until gone midnight. Back on the bus in the morning we went to the cave which was really quite cool then onto the waterfalls unfortunately for us were super busy . Guide told us the bamboo raft were only for the Chinese side but I insisted as it was the main attraction and on our itinerary after that I feel the guide was a bit upset with me . We were then back on the bus 7 1/2 hours later arriving at mr linhs home stay was pitch black and we got stuck in the mud in the boat crossing to the home stay . Home stay is nice clean food tasty but repetitive. Didn't have the home stay vibe though just hotel business just a name as mr linh himself lives in hanoi. Next day Ba be lakes on the boat,beautiful also another cave which was really cool. We walked along a path near a small village and back on the boat , lunch and then another 7 1/2 hour bus drive back to Hanoi . The attractions and home stay are lovely but it just feels like your taken there to take a photo and move on . I would not recommend this trip as most of it is spent on the bus it literally sucked the life out of me . The trip needs to be revised.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Laocoon33
Mar 4, 2024
Too many kilometers, to be avoided at all costs if the weather forecast is bad - Don't do it if the weather forecast looks bad! 900 kilometers by minibus in 3 days to always be in the clouds and see nothing. Furthermore, the first accommodation presented as "rustic because authentic homestay" is in fact more than basic and totally unsuitable for low temperatures (it was 6° at night without heating). Expensive and overall disappointing and not very exciting experience, especially if the weather conditions are bad...
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Select Date and Tickets
up to 15 guests
1
Adult
September 2024
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Today
More activities from this operator
From $644
5.0
2 Ratings
Ha Giang 4-Day Motorbike Tour: Experience the Rich Cultural Heritage & Breathtaking Nature
From $568
5.0
1 Rating
Cao Bang Trails Tour: Multi-Day Guided Adventure with Waterfalls, Valleys & Culture