How to book
Seven steps, roughly three weeks from first email to confirmed trek. What we need from you, when, and what we do at each stage.
The seven steps
- You send the form or an email. Route, month, party size, and the honest walking fitness of the slowest person in the party. That last one matters more than all the others and is the field people leave blank.
- We reply within one working day with either a confirmation that the route suits you, or a recommendation to move to a different one. About one enquiry in six gets moved, usually from Ha Giang to Pu Luong or Sa Pa.
- We send a written itinerary and a price. The itinerary names the villages and the houses, gives the daily distance and ascent, and states what happens if the weather closes a section. There is no obligation and no pressure at this stage.
- You ask for changes. Most parties change one or two things: an extra rest afternoon, a vehicle option for one walker on a long day, a market-day start. We rewrite and resend, usually the same day.
- You pay the thirty per cent deposit and we book the guide, the vehicle and the houses. Until this point nothing is held. In October and late March the good houses go four to six weeks out, so an unpaid enquiry does not protect your dates.
- We collect what we need: passport pages for the Ha Giang permit, your insurance policy number and emergency line, dietary needs and anything medical the guide should know. Then the balance, thirty days before the first walking day.
- The briefing. The evening before, or the morning of departure, your guide walks you through the route, weighs packs where relevant, checks boots and hands over the emergency card with the 24-hour number on it.
What we need from you, and when
| What | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Route, month, party size, fitness | First contact | Decides whether the route is right, which is the only question worth answering first |
| Deposit, 30 per cent | To hold the dates | Guide, vehicle and houses are booked the same day |
| Passport photo pages | At least 7 days before, Ha Giang only | The border permit is issued in Ha Giang city on the morning of day one |
| Insurance policy number and emergency line | At least 14 days before | We check that it covers trekking and evacuation. We have refused departures over this |
| Dietary needs, medical notes, medication | At least 21 days for vegan or severe allergy | A homestay valley has one shop; substitutions have to travel in with the vehicle |
| Balance | 30 days before the first walking day | Suppliers are paid before you arrive, not after |
What we check before you travel
Three things, and we are unusually stubborn about all three.
- Insurance that actually covers this. A standard policy often excludes trekking above 2,000 m, excludes camping, or covers repatriation but not the road evacuation that would actually happen. We read the policy number you give us and we will tell you if it is wrong. On Ta Nang, no valid policy means no departure and a full refund.
- Fitness against the hardest day. If your answers suggest the biggest day on your chosen route is beyond you, we say so in writing and offer a different route. If you insist, we will run it, with a written note that the guide may turn the party around.
- Footwear. The guide inspects boots at the briefing. We keep two spare pairs in common sizes in Hanoi and in Da Lat, and we have loaned them more than once. Trainers on wet stone are the most common injury we see.
Changing or cancelling
Moving your dates more than forty-five days out costs nothing if the new dates are available. Inside forty-five days a date change is treated as a cancellation and a new booking, because the guide and the houses have been paid to hold. The full ladder is in the booking terms and it is short enough to read.
If we cancel, which happens for weather on Ta Nang and for road closures in Ha Giang, you choose between a new date, an alternative route at the same price, or a full refund including the deposit. We do not issue credit notes.
Ready to start?
Send the form. Route, month, party size and the fitness of your slowest walker.
Questions travellers ask most
How far ahead should I book?
For October, late March and the Ha Giang market weekends, six to eight weeks. For the rest of the year, three weeks is comfortable and one week is usually possible on Pu Luong and Sa Pa.
Ha Giang has a hard floor of seven days because of the border permit, and we will not take a booking inside it.
Can I hold a date without paying?
For five days, once, outside the high season. We will not hold October dates unpaid because the houses will be gone, and telling you otherwise would be a lie that only shows up when you arrive.
What if one person in our party drops out?
On a private trek the per-person price moves to the next band up and we tell you the new number immediately. On a set departure nothing changes for the others. If the departure then falls below four walkers we offer the private price or a full refund of the deposit, and you choose.
Do you take payment on arrival?
The balance, yes, in USD or dong, at our Hanoi office or at the briefing. The deposit has to be transferred in advance, because it is what pays the houses and the guide to hold the dates.
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Tell us about the trek you have in mind
Dates, party size and the places you care about are enough to start. You get a draft route and an indicative price, not a brochure.