Ha Giang
Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh City
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Sapa
Mekong Delta
Da Nang
Hue
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Ninh Binh
Da Lat
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Phan Thiet
Phu Quoc
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Quy Nhon
Vung Tau
Thai Nguyen
The bus from Ha Giang to Ninh Binh is the easy part. What catches people out is getting off it at five in the morning, in the dark, in a town where check-in is at two in the afternoon.
I get back into Ha Giang city in the late afternoon, eat, take the direct night sleeper from the Bằng Phấn office on Trần Phú at around eight, and get off at Tam Cốc just after five, at a homestay I’ve already paid for from the night before. The rest of this is why I do it that way, what the other options cost, and what it’s like going north the other way.
- Quick Answer: The easiest way from Ha Giang to Ninh Binh is the direct sleeper bus, about 370km and 7.5 to 9 hours, from around 285,000 VND with Bằng Phấn, leaving Ha Giang city in the morning or at night. The night bus gets into Ninh Binh at about 5am, so it’s worth booking your Tam Cốc room from the night before. Going via Hanoi on two buses takes 9 to 10 hours, there’s no train from Ha Giang, and a private car does it in about 5 to 6 hours of driving.
- Ha Giang to Ninh Binh options:
- Direct night sleeper: leaves around 8pm, arrives around 5am, from about 285,000 VND.
- Direct day bus: leaves around 7:30am, arrives mid-afternoon, you see the road.
- Via Hanoi: a bus to Hanoi, then a limousine van or the train to Ninh Binh, 9 to 10 hours in all.
- Private car: the fastest, and only worth it split between a group.
- Where you get off: Bằng Phấn drops at Ninh Binh train station, the Thế Long hotel and Tam Cốc–Bích Động. Tam Cốc is the stop you want.
- What it cost me: 285,000 VND for the bus, plus $15 to $25 for the Tam Cốc room from the night before. About $27 to $36 all in.
- Ninh Binh to Ha Giang: Bằng Phấn leaves Ninh Binh at 8am, 4:30pm, 6pm, 7pm and 8pm, about 8 hours.
- Companies on the route: Bằng Phấn (4.8 on Vexere, nearly 2,000 ratings), Quang Nghị, Toán Oanh and Cầu Mè.
Ha Giang to Ninh Binh: The Route I Take
The last day of the loop gets you back into Ha Giang city at about four, which is too late for a comfortable bus to anywhere the same afternoon and just right for the night bus. There’s time for a shower, which a lot of the tour companies and hostels will let you have for free or a small fee, then dinner, and the walk down to the Bằng Phấn office at 100 Trần Phú.
The night sleeper leaves at around eight. It stops once or twice at roadside restaurants on the way, where you pay for your own food, and luggage is up to about 20kg plus a bag on board. Nobody sleeps well on a mountain road, but after the first hour the road straightens out into the lowlands and it gets easier. It comes into Ninh Binh at about five in the morning.
Where you get off matters more than people expect. Bằng Phấn drops at three places, Ninh Binh train station, the Thế Long hotel and Tam Cốc–Bích Động, and I tell the driver’s assistant when I board that I want Tam Cốc.
Ninh Binh city is where the station is and not where anything you’ve come to see is, and from the station it’s another 15 minutes or so to Tam Cốc, which at five in the morning means a taxi you then have to find. More on the difference is in Ninh Binh basics.
Ha Giang to Ninh Binh Bus Options
| Option | Leaves Ha Giang | Time | Cost | You get off at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct night sleeper | Around 8pm | About 9 hours | From 285,000 VND | Tam Cốc, the station or Thế Long hotel |
| Direct day bus | Around 7:30am | About 8 hours | Similar | Same stops, mid-afternoon |
| Via Hanoi | Several times a day | 9 to 10 hours | About 450,000 to 700,000 VND | Wherever your second bus or train goes |
| Private car | When you like | 5 to 6 hours of driving | A quote, best split between four | Your door |
Bằng Phấn is the company I use and the one with the most departures on this route, and it’s 4.8 on Vexere from nearly 2,000 ratings on the Ninh Binh leg. Quang Nghị, Toán Oanh and Cầu Mè also run it. The 285,000 VND fare is for an ordinary sleeper berth; the private cabin buses cost more and are worth it on a night bus if you actually want to sleep.
The thing to check when booking online is whether the bus is really direct. Some tickets sold as Ha Giang to Ninh Binh change buses in Hanoi, which adds a couple of hours and a transfer at an awkward hour. Most hostels and tour offices in Ha Giang city sell the same Bằng Phấn tickets, so it’s easy to buy in person on the last day of the loop and ask both questions to someone’s face.
Going via Hanoi makes sense if the direct bus is full or if you’ve got a night in Hanoi anyway. The Bằng Phấn cabin to Hanoi is 350,000 VND and six to seven hours, and from Hanoi a limousine van to Tam Cốc is about two hours, or the train to Ninh Binh station takes two to two and a half hours at 80,000 to 120,000 VND.
How Long Is the Bus from Ha Giang to Ninh Binh?
Seven and a half to nine hours for about 370km, depending on the bus and how long the stops are. That should come down once the Tuyên Quang to Hà Giang expressway opens all the way, which as of late summer 2026 it hadn’t.
The first stretch down from Ha Giang to Tuyên Quang is the slow part, winding and hilly, and after that it’s highway, round the edge of Hanoi and south.
The day bus is the one I’d take if I wasn’t in a hurry, since you see the first half of the road in daylight and arrive in the afternoon with a room waiting. It costs you the day, though, and after four days on the loop most people would rather sleep through it.
Arriving in Ninh Binh at 5am
This is the part I plan around. The night bus gets in at about five, and Tam Cốc homestays check you in at two in the afternoon. Nine hours with a bag, after a night on a bus, after four days on a motorbike, is a long morning.
What I do is book the room from the night before, so it’s mine when I arrive and I can go straight to bed. At $15 to $25 a night for a decent Tam Cốc homestay, it’s the best money on the whole trip, and some homestays will do it for a bit less if you message them and explain. Without that, most will let you leave your bags at five and some will find you a sofa, and I wouldn’t count on either.
If you’d rather not pay for the extra night, the day bus avoids the problem altogether. Where to stay, and which part of Tam Cốc, is in where to stay in Ninh Binh, and the pool homestays are in Ninh Binh pool homestays, which after the loop are hard to argue with.
What It Cost Me
The bus was 285,000 VND for a berth. The Tam Cốc room from the night before was the other real cost, and at $15 to $25 it roughly doubled the price of the trip. Food at the rest stops came to not much, since you’re buying rice and a drink at a roadside restaurant. All in, it’s about $27 to $36 to get from the end of the loop to a bed in Tam Cốc.
Going via Hanoi comes to about 450,000 to 700,000 VND in tickets depending on the van or the train, with no wasted night but a much longer day. A private car only makes sense for three or four people, and it’s a quote, so it’s worth asking two or three Ha Giang companies and comparing.
Going the Other Way: Ninh Binh to Ha Giang
Going north, Ninh Binh to Ha Giang is the same road and the same companies. Bằng Phấn leaves Ninh Binh at 8am, 4:30pm, 6pm, 7pm and 8pm, and it takes about eight hours. The night buses get into Ha Giang city in the early hours, before any of the loop tours start.
I think Ninh Binh is better after the loop than before it. The loop is the tiring half of the trip, and Tam Cốc after four days of mountain roads is flat, green and slow, with a bicycle and a boat and nothing that needs a clutch.
If you do go north first, the loop companies are used to people coming off the night bus, and a lot of them will give you a bed until the tour leaves. How the loop days fit together is in the Ha Giang Loop itinerary, and the Ninh Binh side is in the Ninh Binh itinerary.
Ha Giang to Ninh Binh FAQ
Is there a direct bus from Ha Giang to Ninh Binh? Yes. Bằng Phấn runs direct day and night sleepers, and Quang Nghị, Toán Oanh and Cầu Mè run the route too. Some tickets sold online change in Hanoi, so it’s worth asking.
Is there a train from Ha Giang to Ninh Binh? No. There’s no railway to Ha Giang. You can take the bus to Hanoi and the train from Hanoi to Ninh Binh, which is 2 to 2.5 hours.
How far is Ha Giang from Ninh Binh? About 370km by road.
Night bus or day bus? The night bus saves a day and needs a room booked from the night before. The day bus arrives in the afternoon and shows you the road.
Should I do Ninh Binh before or after the Ha Giang Loop? After, if you can. It’s the easier place to recover in.
Can I book the bus through my loop tour company? Usually, yes, and they’ll often let you shower before you leave.
What Goes in My Bag for the Night Bus
The big bag goes under the bus, and the small one comes up with me, because once you’re lying down it’s all you’ve got for nine hours.
A warm layer, since the air conditioning on these buses runs cold all night. Socks, because shoes come off at the door and go in a plastic bag. Earplugs and something to cover my eyes, for the stops and the lights. Water, a charged phone, and some small notes for the rest stop. And the homestay’s address in Vietnamese, saved on the phone, to show the driver’s assistant when he asks where you’re getting off.
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