Tentative schedule but need help with transit in between!

Hey there everyone,

Been hitting the internet and researching till I'm square-eyed but still can't get a clear answer to my transport issue!

I've been to Vietnam before and ridden HCMH from the bottom to Hanoi - now I just want to complete the top!

Tentative schedule for mid Oct for 2 weeks:
Day 1 & 2 - Fly into Hanoi and have 2 days there. Take an 8hr sleeper night bus to Ha Giang
Day 3 - 7 - Rent motorbike and complete Vietnam Coracle's Extreme North Motorbike tour and stay day 7 at Ha Giang.
Day 8 - Day bus back to Hanoi
Day 9 & 10 - Halong Bay cruise including overnight stay on the boat. Return to Hanoi and take 10hr overnight bus to Phong Nha.
Day 11 - Relax in Phong Nha
Day 12 & 13 - Trek and camp overnight in Hang En. Stay Day 13 in Phong Nha
Day 14 - Day bus back to Hanoi and fly out to Myanmar either same day or next day.

My questions are - does this sound reasonable? And would you pre-book your buses and trek? Thanks so much!

Well, Hang En tours don't run in October so you won't need to book that. :-(

October is not a good time for Phong Nha. If you do not mind it, do train instead of night bus.

Oops! Got myself mixed up. Okay - change the plans to start late Nov so we are hitting Hang An at the start of Dec?

Anything else major I'm missing like a big market day or ???

You cannot 'pre-book" buses here, you do it in Hanoi. DO NOT bother with a day bus Ha Giang-Hanoi, the road is absolutely boring for at least 8 hours (plus kamikaze drivers on daytime !).

change the plans to start late Nov so we are hitting Hang An at the start of Dec?

Well, Hang En won't be running until Mid December or possibly even slightly later depending on weather/water levels.

Also, that's not a great time for Ha Giang/Sapa: all the rice terraces will be just, um, terraces since the harvest will be long done.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I'm a little confused as the hiking agency advised that it opens at the start of Dec? And motorbike forums stare that Oct/Nov is ideal for riding the Ha Giang Northern Loop?

Could you recommend a better time or other ideas then please?

Ha Giang first:

Harvest up that way is September/October. After that the rice terraces are devoid of rice. So if you start late Nov, you won't see the rice either their green or golden best. You can go to Ha Giang any time of year, although it gets pretty cold in winter. Just seems a shame to not see the place at its best. I'd aim to be there when the place is green or around the time of the rice harvest - probably July - Septemberish.

Hang En next:
I don't know who you were planning to go with. Oxalis have the Hang En cave tour restarting mid December, but they will cancel tours if there is any risk of water levels rising

Don't worry too much about cut rice up around Ha Giang ; except in a few places, the soil is poor, so it is corn, and
most of it is rock. November is OK to make the loop
THere are other stunning caves in Phong NHa if yours is "closed"

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