Northwest Vietnam 7-Day Private Tour: Tu Le, Mu Cang Chai, Moc Chau & Pu Luong
A 7-day private loop through the mountains west of Hanoi: the Thai valley of Tu Le, the Khau Pha pass and the H'mong rice terraces of Mu Cang Chai, the lakes and coffee country of Son La, the tea plateau and glass bridge at Moc Chau, and two nights among the stilt-house villages of Pu Luong before the drive back to Hanoi. Your own guide and driver, any start date. From US$1,163 per person for 2 travellers in 3-star hotels with one homestay night, less per person for larger groups.
Why travellers choose this trip
- See the terraces of Tu Le and Mu Cang Chai from the Khau Pha Pass and from the Mam Xoi and Mong Ngua viewpoints, reached by local motorbike taxi
- Spend a night in a Thai stilt-house homestay in Tu Le, or in a hotel with hot-spring baths
- Stop at Ngoc Chien, Nam Chien Lake, the Muong La market and a Son La coffee plantation, a route few visitors take
- Walk out over the gorge on the White Dragon glass bridge and through the Heart Tea Hill at Moc Chau
- Finish with two nights in Pu Luong: a Thai village with bamboo water wheels, a bat cave and a swim at Hieu waterfall
- The whole northwest loop in one week, with the long drives broken by stops worth making
Price per person
Per person in US dollars, sharing a twin or double room, for one private departure. The price per person drops as the group grows, because the vehicle and guide are shared:
| Group size (adults) | 3-star & homestay | 4-star |
|---|---|---|
| 2 travellers | US$1,163 | US$1,256 |
| 3 travellers | US$913 | US$1,007 |
| 4–5 travellers | US$848 | US$943 |
| 6–7 travellers | US$704 | US$798 |
| 8–9 travellers | US$641 | US$735 |
| 10 or more | Ask us for a quote | |
| Single room supplement | US$186 | US$267 |
Valid for travel until 31 December 2027, except Tet (Lunar New Year), Vietnamese public holidays and the Christmas–New Year peak, when hotels add surcharges and we requote. Children's prices are in the Age pricing table below. Send us an inquiry or message us on WhatsApp +84 988 660 505 and we confirm your price in writing within 24 hours.
Where you stay
Named properties are confirmed at booking; if one is full we use an equivalent of the same standard. Outside the main towns the northwest has no international-standard hotels, so in both versions Mu Cang Chai is a bungalow lodge and Pu Luong a valley resort.
| Place (nights) | 3-star & homestay | 4-star |
|---|---|---|
| Tu Le (1) | Thai family stilt-house homestay (shared facilities) | Osen Tu Le Hotel (hot-spring baths) or similar |
| Mu Cang Chai (1) | Mu Cang Chai Ecolodge, bungalow or similar | Mu Cang Chai Ecolodge, bungalow or similar |
| Moc Chau (1) | Muong Thanh Moc Chau, Deluxe Room or similar | Muong Thanh Moc Chau, Deluxe Room or similar |
| Pu Luong (2) | Pu Luong Bocbandi Retreat, Pu Luong Eco Garden or Pu Luong Valley Home, bungalow | Pu Luong Bocbandi Retreat, Pu Luong Eco Garden or Pu Luong Retreat, Deluxe |
| Hanoi (1) | La Dolce Vita Hotel, Superior Room or similar | Champton Hotel Hanoi, Deluxe Room or similar |
Planning your trip? Read our Vietnam e-visa guide and the best time to visit Vietnam by region and month, or browse all Vietnam tours. Want more time in the mountains? See our 11-day Northwest Vietnam tour with Sapa.
Tour at a glance
| Duration | 7 days / 6 nights |
|---|---|
| Type | Private tour — any departure day |
| Route | Hanoi (Noi Bai airport) → Nghia Lo → Tu Le → Khau Pha Pass → Mu Cang Chai → Ngoc Chien → Muong La → Son La → Moc Chau → Pu Luong → Hanoi |
| Accommodation | 3-star hotels and lodges, with 1 night in a Thai stilt-house homestay in Tu Le · 4-star version available |
| Meals | 6 breakfasts, 6 lunches (12 meals); dinners at your own arrangement |
| Driving | Day 1 about 6 hours, Day 3 about 8 hours with stops, Day 6 about 5 hours; other days 2–4 hours |
| Walking | Easy: village walks, the steps to Bat Cave and the path along Hieu waterfall |
| Best time | Mid-May to mid-June (flooded terraces) and mid-September to early October (golden harvest) |
| Price | From US$1,163 pp (2 travellers, 3-star) · US$641 pp for 8–9 travellers |
| Not included | Flights, visa, dinners, tips, insurance |
- Car
- Mountain
- Caves
Itinerary, day by day
Straight from the airport into the mountains: the Muong Lo rice basin and the Thai valley of Tu Le.
Your guide and driver meet you in the arrivals hall at Noi Bai International Airport, holding a World Mate Travel sign. You go straight onto the Noi Bai – Lao Cai expressway, which starts beside the airport, and follow it up the Red River valley as far as Yen Bai, then turn west onto the mountain road towards Nghia Lo. Lunch is in Nghia Lo, the market town of the Muong Lo valley. Muong Lo is the second of the four great rice basins of the northwest in the old saying that ranks them (Muong Thanh at Dien Bien first, then Muong Lo, Muong Than and Muong Tac), and the road runs between its paddies with the mountains closing in on both sides.
In the afternoon the road climbs out of the basin to Tu Le, a Thai valley ringed by terraced hillsides, known across Vietnam for its sticky rice, pressed green into com flakes at harvest time, and for the hot springs the valley is built around. You arrive in the late afternoon with time to walk through the village.
In the 3-star version tonight is a homestay in a stilt house run by a Thai family: mattresses on a wooden floor with mosquito nets, and shared bathrooms. The family will cook dinner if you tell your guide during the afternoon. In the 4-star version you stay at a hotel with hot-spring baths fed from the valley's springs. Dinner is at your own arrangement.
Flight timing: the drive takes around six hours with the lunch stop, and the last stretch is a mountain road best driven in daylight. Please choose a flight landing by about 10:00. For an afternoon or evening arrival we suggest a night in Hanoi first, quoted on request.
- Drive: about 6 hours with the lunch stop
- Meals: lunch
- Overnight: Thai stilt-house homestay in Tu Le (3-star version) or Osen Tu Le Hotel (4-star version)
Over the "horn of the sky" pass and up to the rice mound and the horseshoe.
After breakfast the road climbs straight into the Khau Pha Pass, one of the four great mountain passes of the north: around 30 kilometres of switchbacks over the ridge between Tu Le and Mu Cang Chai. Khau Pha means "horn of the sky" in Thai. Near the top you stop at the viewpoint looking back over the Tu Le valley; it is also the launch site for the paragliding festival held here every autumn.
On the far side you drop into Mu Cang Chai, the H'mong district whose terraced rice fields were recognised as a national scenic site in 2007. Lunch is in Mu Cang Chai town. In the afternoon you visit the two best-known viewpoints: Mam Xoi, the rice mound, a cone-shaped hill with terraces spiralling round it, and Mong Ngua, the horseshoe, a curved sweep of fields on the opposite hillside. Both are reached on narrow farm tracks the vehicle cannot use, so local motorbike taxis take you up and back down; the ride is included. Check in at your lodge in the late afternoon; dinner at your own arrangement.
The terraces change completely with the season: flooded and mirroring the sky from mid-May to mid-June, ripening gold from mid-September to early October, and harvested stubble through the winter, when the view is about the shape of the land rather than its colour. Ask us what to expect on your dates before you book.
- Drive: about 2 hours, plus the viewpoints
- Meals: breakfast, lunch
- Overnight: Mu Cang Chai Ecolodge, bungalow
The longest drive of the trip, broken by a rose farm, a mountain lake, a local market and a coffee plantation.
After breakfast you leave Mu Cang Chai for Ngoc Chien, a Thai valley high in the mountains of Muong La district, where you stop at a rose farm. On the way down you pull over on the bank of Nam Chien Lake, the reservoir held back in the valley below the peaks, for photographs of the water and the slopes above it. In Muong La town you walk through the local market, where Thai and H'mong families from the surrounding villages come to buy and sell.
You continue to Son La city for lunch at a local restaurant, then on towards the Moc Chau plateau, around 1,000 metres up. On the way you stop at a coffee plantation: Son La is one of the main arabica-growing provinces of the north. Check in at your hotel in the late afternoon; the rest of the day is free. Dinner at your own arrangement.
- Drive: about 8 hours with stops
- Meals: breakfast, lunch
- Overnight: Muong Thanh Moc Chau, Deluxe Room
A walk over the gorge on glass, the heart-shaped tea hill, then south into the limestone of Pu Luong.
Moc Chau is a cool plateau of tea gardens, dairy farms and plum orchards. After breakfast you visit the White Dragon (Bach Long) glass bridge, opened in April 2022. It runs 632 metres in two parts: a 290-metre span between two peaks, about 150 metres above the gorge, and a 342-metre walkway pinned to the cliff face. The floor is three layers of tempered glass, each 40 millimetres thick. Anyone who would rather not walk out over the glass can wait at the viewing area at the entrance.
From the bridge you drive to the Heart Tea Hill, where the rows of tea curve around a heart-shaped hollow. Walking paths run between the bushes and, depending on the season, you may see the pickers at work.
Then south out of Son La province into Thanh Hoa, with lunch at a local restaurant on the way. The last part of the road winds through limestone hills into Pu Luong, and you check in during the late afternoon. Dinner at your own arrangement.
- Drive: about 3.5 hours, plus visits
- Meals: breakfast, lunch
- Overnight: bungalow or lodge in Pu Luong
A day close to home: a Thai village with bamboo water wheels, a bat cave and a forest waterfall.
Pu Luong is a nature reserve of limestone ridges and forest, set up in 1999, with Thai and Muong villages strung along the valleys between them. After breakfast you walk through Don village, a Thai settlement of stilt houses among the rice fields, where bamboo water wheels lift water from the stream into the paddies.
You drive on to Kho Muong, a village at the end of a narrow valley, and climb the short path to the Bat Cave above it: a short climb on steps, then a walk into the chambers with a torch. Lunch is at a local restaurant.
In the afternoon you visit Hieu waterfall, a chain of limestone cascades in the forest with clear pools between the tiers. The path follows the falls upstream, and on a warm day there is time to swim in the lower pools, so bring a swimsuit. Back to your lodge in the late afternoon; dinner at your own arrangement.
- Drive: local touring and short walks
- Meals: breakfast, lunch
- Overnight: bungalow or lodge in Pu Luong
Morning mist in the valley, then back to the capital for a last evening in the Old Quarter.
A slower morning in the valley: the mist usually sits in the paddies early and lifts by mid-morning, and it is worth being on your balcony for it. After breakfast you check out and drive down out of the hills to the North–South expressway and on to Hanoi, with lunch at a local restaurant on the way.
You check in at your Hanoi hotel in the afternoon. The evening is free: Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarter are the obvious places to walk out to for a last dinner, at your own arrangement.
- Drive: about 5 hours
- Meals: breakfast, lunch
- Overnight: hotel in Hanoi
Free time in Hanoi, then the transfer to the airport.
Breakfast at the hotel, then free time until your transfer. At the time agreed with your guide, your driver collects you from the hotel and takes you to Noi Bai International Airport for your onward flight. Late check-out and extra nights in Hanoi can be arranged on request.
Every day of this tour can be changed. Tell us what you'd like to add or skip.
- Drive: about 45 minutes to Noi Bai airport
- Meals: breakfast
- Overnight: none
What's included
Included
Six nights' accommodation in the version you choose, twin or double share, with daily breakfast: 1 in Tu Le (a homestay in the 3-star version), 1 in Mu Cang Chai, 1 in Moc Chau, 2 in Pu Luong and 1 in Hanoi
Meals as listed: 6 breakfasts and 6 lunches (12 meals)
Private air-conditioned vehicle with driver throughout, including expressway tolls and parking
Private English-speaking guide for the whole tour
Entrance fees for every site on the programme, including the White Dragon (Bach Long) glass bridge at Moc Chau
Motorbike taxis up to the Mam Xoi and Mong Ngua viewpoints at Mu Cang Chai
Two bottles of drinking water per person per day
Government tax, service charges and tour operator liability insurance
Not included
International and domestic flights, and airport departure taxes
Vietnam visa and e-visa fees
Travel insurance (we strongly recommend cover that includes trip delay and medical repatriation)
Dinner on every evening, drinks, and any meal not listed
Personal expenses (laundry, minibar, telephone)
Tips for your guide and driver: the customary rate is US$5 per traveller per day for groups under 10, and US$3 for 10 or more
Single room supplement, and surcharges for Tet, public holidays and the Christmas–New Year peak
Age pricing
| Traveller | Age | Rate per person | Sleeping arrangement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infant (parents pay any entrance fees) | 0 to 2 years | No charge | No extra bed |
| Child sharing parents' bed | 3 to 10 years | $791 · 68% of the adult fare | No extra bed |
| Child in own single bed | 3 to 10 years | $1,000 · 86% of the adult fare | Extra bed |
| Child sharing a twin room with one adult | 3 to 10 years | $1,163 · 100% of the adult fare | Own bed in a twin room |
| Child 11 and over (adult fare) | 11 years and over | $1,163 · 100% of the adult fare | As an adult |
Frequently asked questions
US$1,163 per person for 2 travellers in the 3-star version (with one homestay night in Tu Le), or US$1,256 in the 4-star version. The price per person drops for larger groups: US$913 for 3, US$848 for 4–5, US$704 for 6–7 and US$641 for 8–9 (3-star). The single room supplement is US$186. Prices include 6 nights' accommodation, a private guide and driver, 12 meals, the Moc Chau glass bridge, the motorbike taxis at Mu Cang Chai and all entrance fees, and are valid for travel until 31 December 2027 outside Tet, public holidays and the Christmas–New Year peak.
Yes. Only your group travels in the vehicle, with your own guide and driver, and you can start on any date. Because it is private, the guide stops wherever you want a photo or a break.
This is a road trip through the mountains. Day 1 is about 6 hours from the airport to Tu Le with a lunch stop, and Day 3 is the longest day, about 8 hours from Mu Cang Chai to Moc Chau with stops at Ngoc Chien, Nam Chien Lake, Muong La and a coffee plantation. Day 6 is about 5 hours back to Hanoi; the other days are 2 to 4 hours. The roads are paved but narrow and winding, so if you are prone to car sickness, bring your usual remedy.
Please choose a flight landing at Noi Bai airport by about 10:00. The drive to Tu Le takes around six hours with lunch, and the last stretch is a mountain road best driven in daylight. For an afternoon or evening arrival we suggest a night in Hanoi first, quoted on request.
In the 3-star version you spend one night in a stilt house run by a Thai family: mattresses on a wooden floor with mosquito nets, and shared bathrooms. The family will cook dinner if you tell your guide during the afternoon, paid directly to them. If you prefer a hotel, the 4-star version uses Osen Tu Le Hotel, with hot-spring baths.
Citizens of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Nordic countries, Japan, South Korea and a number of other European countries can enter Vietnam visa-free for up to 45 days. Most ASEAN citizens get 14 to 30 days. Everyone else, including US, Canadian, Australian and Indian passport holders, applies online for an e-visa (up to 90 days, single or multiple entry) at the official portal evisa.gov.vn, usually issued in about 3 working days. Full list in our Vietnam e-visa guide at worldmatetravel.com/guide-for-vietnam-evisa.
Send an inquiry and we confirm the price in writing within 24 hours. Nothing is charged on this website. To confirm your tour, pay a 30% deposit by bank transfer or by Visa, Mastercard or Amex through a secure OnePay payment link that we email to you. The remaining 70% is due at least 14 days before you arrive. The deposit is non-refundable. If you cancel (in writing) more than 21 days before departure, you lose only the deposit, and any amount paid above it stays valid for 12 months towards another tour. From 7 to 21 days before departure the charge is 50% of the tour price, and within 6 days or for a no-show it is 100%. Groups of more than 8 people, and tours that include flights or Mekong river cruises, have different terms. Full details are in our Terms & Conditions at worldmatetravel.com/terms-and-conditions#cancellation.
Yes. Every day can be changed. You can choose the 4-star version, add a night in Hanoi before the tour, add nights in Pu Luong, or time your trip for the golden terraces of Mu Cang Chai from mid-September to early October. Tell us what you'd like and we send a revised quote within 24 hours.
Yes. Children under 3 travel free. Children aged 3 to 10 pay 68% of the adult price without an extra bed, 86% with an extra bed, and 100% when sharing a room with one adult. From 11 years, the adult price applies. The Moc Chau glass bridge sets child tickets by height rather than age; where the child ticket is cheaper we pass the saving on.
Breakfast and lunch are included every day except Day 7 (breakfast only). Lunches are set menus at local restaurants, served family-style with rice, soup and several shared dishes. Dinners are at your own arrangement; in Tu Le, Mu Cang Chai and Pu Luong the lodge restaurant is the practical choice in the evening. Vegetarian, halal, no-pork and allergy requirements are straightforward if you tell us at booking.
The tour runs all year. The terraces of Mu Cang Chai and Pu Luong are at their best when flooded, from mid-May to mid-June, and at harvest, from mid-September to early October. Moc Chau is most colourful when the plum and mustard flowers are out in January and February. December to February is cold in the mountains, with mornings close to freezing on the Khau Pha Pass and the Moc Chau plateau, so pack warm layers. The heaviest rain falls from June to August.
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