• What is the weather like in Cao Bang? What if the weather is bad?

Cao Bang is a mountainous province. While the summer could be up to 40 degrees Celsius or 104 degrees Fahrenheit, the winter in some parts of the province could get down to 0 degrees Celsius or 32 degrees Fahrenheit. However, due to the mountainous structure, the weather depends on the attitude. There is no absolute weather. We go out in rain, snow, or shine. Our experience spans over 500 km up and down via mountains and valleys. It means it might rain under the valley but above the cloud, it is perfectly sunny.

We reserve the option to cancel a trip if we think there is something that might affect our trip caused by the weather e.g. a mudslide or a rockslide that blocks our way. If you want to cancel your trip because of bad weather, or for any other reason, we require 48-hour notice to receive a refund. Please keep a close watch on the weather report for our area during the time of your planned visit.

• When is the best time to visit Ba Be Lake and Ban Gioc Waterfall?

This is a very difficult question, we think Cao Bang and Ban Gioc are beautiful at any season. Each season has its charm and beauty.

While hot season from April till the end of October is perfect weather to go on a motorbike. It is also the busy tourist season that you might find it a bit too much, though nothing in terms of tourism in comparison to other destinations in Vietnam.

The cold and wet season is from November till the end of March might not be ideal and as comfortable as the hot season. But it is a lot quieter, the landscapes are a lot more mysterious, people are a lot calmer and it feels lots cozier with a bonfire and good food. It is the true sense of northern Vietnam in our opinion.

On top of it, Northern Vietnam including Cao Bang is famous for rice terrace structures. Many people see these famous photos of an endless rice field in the mountains and ask us when they can see that. So for your references, this could be experienced from the 2nd week of September to the 2nd week of October every year. This is the time where the rice is ripe and people are ready for their harvest season.

• What kind of attire should we wear?

Of course, this depends on the time of year. In the cold season ( from November till the end of March) it is cold, especially for riding motorbikes, 3 layer rules are applied. A shirt, something warm, and something water/wind-proof.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE GOOD WALKING SHOES.

For the rest of the year, bring bikinis, long sleeves, and pants. In the worse case, please let us know in the customer information sheet. We have all the clothing for you to borrow.

• Is everything covered in the price?

In general YES, our experiences cover all costs. Food is a big part of our experience, we cover all the meals—in a country with so much great food, it would be crazy not to include meals. Please let us know if you have dietary restrictions (e.g. vegetarian, vegan, or organic-only) and/or allergies in the customer information form. For not using plastic bottles. We will provide you with a 750ml aluminum sports bottle that can be refilled at our lunch stop or homestay/hotel. Due to the nature of our experience, we encourage travelers to keep themselves alcohol- free during the experience, especially those who ride a motorbike with us. A beer or 2 which costs about one USD is fine at the end of the day.

• What is the tipping culture in Vietnam?

Tipping is always optional, but if you have a great time and want to thank your tour guide or simply want to contribute to our cause, gratuities are very much appreciated. Since we create experiences that are often alternative to the industry, helping us to spread the word by writing a review or recommending us to other travelers is also a great way to show your gratitude!

• Are your excursions suitable for minors, kids, handicapped, or other differently-abled guests?

Yes! People of all ages and abilities can have a great time on our tours! Our excursions are private or small group tours where you can go at a pace that is comfortable for you and your group. We can stop whenever needed. We can also customize each tour to be more suitable for all members of the group. We do love children and find that they truly enjoy the experience. It's just a matter of choosing to communicate about options for them. The same goes for other minors. In our experience, we have had a courageous 7-year old or an exciting late 50-year old having a blast, loving every bit of the adventure.

Since 2020, we’ve started to employ deaf communities to train them to be our guides. Therefore, we provide this adventure in sign language too. we sign in Vietnamese, American, and Korean sign languages.

• Where do we stay during our adventure?

The first night and last night we will stay at a homestay. These are the actual homes of minority locals who live in the villages where we will spend the night. You will get to meet their families, eat dinner at the family dining table, and share shots of traditional rice or corn wine (aka "happy water") with the hosts. Meals are typically fairly simple—but very tasty—and include rice, veggies (cooked and raw), a meat dish or two (usually pork or chicken), and sometimes egg from their own garden or raised/produced by their own. Sleeping situations vary from homestay to homestay. Some have a common room with mattresses on the floor, blankets, pillows, and a mosquito net, where each bed setup is separated by curtains for privacy. Other home-stays have raised beds in rooms with walls and a door. Which type of homestay we stay in depends on the guide cos they might bring you home and show you their villages. Our guides or drivers live all over Cao Bang Province you are going through. Other nights in the trip we will stay at a hotel. We selected the cleanest and nicest hotels the area offers for our trip. The room type might be single, double, and twins, or triple room.

We also provide you, with an additional fee, if you want to stay in better accommodations like a resort. There are a few exclusive resorts in the area, in case you want to stay in a higher standard place, please let us know, We’ll check the room for you. typically around 100 USD/night extra in these exclusive resorts.

We sometimes camp in nature too but note that this must be a group consent since it might affect the itinerary of the group. If you are booking a private trip, This option is possible. Camping sites are often with stunning views, away from residential areas. We make some bushcraft food over the fire and enjoy a quiet night in the mountain.

• Where can I leave my luggage during the motorbike ride?

You can safely leave your bags in our office in Hanoi. just please let us know while filling the booking form. Any hotel would also offer the services for free as a part of welcome back.

• What are a motorbike, a scooter, and semi-automatic hybrids?

A motorcycle often called a bike, motorbike, or cycle is a two-or three-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising, sport (including racing), and off-road riding. Most motorbikes in the West are fully manual and require riders to be able to comprehend the gear system while using a clutch system. Your car license is not something valid for riding a motorbike since it is a different category to ride a motorbike. A scooter is a type of motorbike and it is most often the easiest type to drive due to the fact that there is no gear system; there is only an acceleration system. It is as simple as accelerate and go. It is also called an automatic motorbike. In Asia, the most common motorbikes are semi-automatics. Semi-automatic motorbikes are the hybrids of a motorbike and a scooter. There are a simple gear system and no complicated clutches, which makes it much easier for users to ride.

• Which type of motorbikes do you use in this excursion?

It all depends on your level of riding a motorbike.

Even though a scooter is the easiest type of motorbike you can ride, we prefer not to use the scooter on our tours. Scooters are only city-friendly while riding in some parts of our motorbike tours, they are not really convenient. They are gas-consuming and difficult to repair when something breaks due to their unpopularity in mountainous areas. For our trips, we use mainly semi-automatic motorbikes. To ensure safety first, we have invested a lot of money into our Honda Wave Blades. This is a very reliable model and is friendly to new riders. This is the bike we hope you will ride with us. Otherwise, you will of course ride an automatic or if you don’t want to ride, our driver will be glad to ride you.

We can also have other types of fully manual dirt motorbikes. For riding fully-manual bikes, you need to have a license or experienced to do so. Note that an extra fee of 50 USD will be collected for riding these since they are very expensive motorbikes. We have a few mountain manual bikes Honda XR 150cc in store for you.

• Is it safe to be on the back of the motorbike?

Yes! Motorbikes are the most common way people in Vietnam travel. Almost every adult has a motorbike and almost every kid grew up on a motorbike here. We are no exception. We provide good equipment, trained drivers, and other safety gear. The experience is small group and you-centric, if you want to stop for a photo, just let us know! If you want to stop to take a breath in nature, we're happy to make that happen. We understand that Vietnam is overwhelming for many people from the West and we are here to make your trip safe and fun.

• I don’t have a license to ride a motorbike, will I get into trouble with the police? many travelers do that here though.

In short, no. But it depends on who you are, how you want to travel, and the size of your budget. Most tourists (young and wild backpackers with limited resources) take their own risk to ride a motorbike. This is the largest group that makes up the Vietnamese tourism industry.

Due to lack of capacity in communicating by personnel, the police (and authorities in general) usually ignore or don't stop this group, though they also take no responsibility if something happens. For example, if there is an accident, you will need to obtain some papers from the police or authorities for your insurance company to make a claim but will be very difficult to coordinate with the police.

In other words, their slogan is something like "your fun, your responsibilities". If nothing is wrong, it is totally okay, if something goes wrong, it's your problem, they are not going to help. Very often when something goes wrong, people don't share it on the internet for future travelers' reference.

Ban Gioc Adventure does not encourage any violation of laws, though a big part of our job is to maximize the fun and create an experience for you. By preparing and having a session with an experienced motorbike instructor, we are able to assess your driving ability and awareness of the surroundings. You are also able to make the call yourself if you wanna ride the bike. Note that any damages to our facility from accidents coming from riding your bike without experience will be charged to your bill. Please consider riding a bike without experience or preparation.

• International license and National license. Can I ride with these licenses? How can I prepare for my trip in terms of licenses?

If you have just a national riding license where you are from, Issued by the official authority. You can use it to ride in Vietnam. Though you need to submit it to the Ministry of transport to make the Vietnamese equivalence. After doing this, you will be issued a proper Vietnamese license like any other Vietnamese. Note that if you have a car license, you will have an equivalence to a car license which doesn't allow you to ride a motorbike and vice versa.

This process takes about 7-10 days with the fee from 100 to 120 USD. Depending on countries of origin and state of origin (As in the US). The valid length of your license is accordant to the length of your Visa. Unfortunately, If you have a visa of fewer than 6 months, this is not valid to get a license. it must be at least a tourist visa with a minimum length of 6 months or other permit or working visa to do so. If you fulfill this condition by the government, let us know so we can help to do it before your arrival.

If you have an international riding license that is relevant to the Convention on Road Traffic Vienna, 8th November 1968. You are in the grey area.

Vietnam has signed and only accessed it, not yet completely ratified, especially local authorities, provincial governments. Please see the convention for references with the "a" as in Accession for Vietnam.

In this case, It is up to the local government, local police to interpret it. Those who stop you. Not all local police are trained for and informed about this from the government due to the political structure (the government in Vietnam is like the federation government in the US while local or provincial governments is like State government that might have different regulations). Since we run tours and you go with us, so our guides are well trained with this so international licenses will be good with us.

What more important here to mention is that besides knowing riding motorbikes, understanding traffics and behaviors in Vietnam is very important. Make sure you have some practice and understand the traffic behavior here even if you have a license.. This is something that makes you safe.

• What is your refund policy?

We have a 48-hour refund policy. If you do not cancel your experience within this time frame you will be held responsible for the total amount of your tour. If your flight has been canceled because of the weather, please call us right away—no matter what time—and leave a message. We will try and reschedule your tour for you and discuss other options.

We discourage people from booking their tour on the same day their flight is due to arrive, as we all know flights run late all the time. If your flight is arriving on the same day as your tour, we suggest giving yourself at least 3 hours leeway between your flight arrival and your tour. Between flight delays, traffic, and having to drop off your bags at your hotel, know that the risk of running late is high.

Please also know that it is YOUR responsibility to keep a check on the 5-day weather forecast. We go out rain, snow, or shine and if you don't want to go out because of inclement weather, once again, you must let us know 48 hours before your tour.

• What is your insurance policy?

Even though it is not a government requirement for travelers to have insurance to enter Vietnam, it is your responsibility to travel with travel insurance when going on a trip with us. Let us know ASAP if you don’t have travel insurance in the information document. We can advise so you can buy some local insurance. If you sit on the back of a driver, most insurance will cover your expense in case of accidents. As a legal enterprise, our drivers are hired and trained as well as licensed. We can help with reporting, providing the authority with our corporate or legal document to obtain any paper for your insurance claim. Since the start of our operation in 2015, none of our customers got in any accidents. Riding your own motorbike is fun but it is extremely dangerous, especially in Cao Bang. If you insist on riding a bike without a license or experience, please make sure that you understand all the risks involved, including the worse case of a lethal situation. There is a waiver you need to sign as the requirement to be on our trip.

• What are your policies on damaging company property?

The most important part of a safe journey in any adventurous excursion is the facility and equipment. It is a requirement from many of our overseas partners including Airbnb Adventure which Ban Gioc Adventure is the only operator in Vietnam. We have invested most of our money in facilities and equipment to live up to their expectation. All of our equipment is original, certified for not only safety but also environment-friendly, social-responsible standard. Any damage, usually on the motorbike and equipment from riding a motorbike without experience will result in extra expense you will have to pay. Please pay attention to the guide’s instructions on how to best use them and avoid damages or losses.