Ban Gioc Waterfall (Thác Bản Giốc)
The first time I saw a picture of Thác Bản Giốc on Instagram, I knew that one day, when I visited Vietnam, I was going to see these waterfalls.
The Ban Gioc Waterfalls are in the very North-East of Vietnam. The falls occur on the Quay Son River, a beautiful jade-blue body of water flowing from China. The falls and river create a border between China and Vietnam.
Ban Gioc Waterfall is still a relatively off-the-beaten-path sight. Mass tourism has yet to arrive and, outside of weekends and public holidays, there’s rarely more than a trickle of foreign and domestic visitors.
Most foreign visitors that come to the falls have either purchased or rented a motorcycle, and are exploring Northern Vietnam on bike. Ban Gioc Waterfalls are quite a distant from Hanoi, and few tour companies are offering trips up there (and the ones who are, are expensive.)
We looked into one in Hanoi, Mr. Linhs Adventures, and they were charging $215USD per person for a 3 day, 2 night trip.
We decided that we were going to make our way to the falls, sans bike, sans tour. Everyone else we met in Cao Bang province was travelling by bike, and gave us funny looks when we told them we arrived there by bus.
How to get to Ban Gioc Waterfall, without a motorbike!
The Ban Gioc Waterfalls are 360km from Hanoi, or about 8 hours driving.
We inquired at a few places about taking a bus directly to Ban Gioc Waterfall, or to the closest village, but there are none from Hanoi that we could find.
First, we had to take a bus from Hanoi to a city called Cao Bang. Then, we take another bus from Cao Bang to Thác Bản Giốc.
Bus from Hanoi to Cao Bang City
You can take a bus from the Hanoi Bus Station (click for directions) to Cao Bang City. I couldn’t get an exact schedule, but they leave multiple times a day, and have different bus options (ie sleeper bus or just seats.)
We arrived around 9am, and took the next available bus which was at 10:30am, and cost 180.00VND per person. Ours was not a sleeper bus, just a small bus with seats which kept stopping off to pick up people/packages along the way. A sleeper bus will cost a little bit more.
Google maps says a 6 hour drive, but on a bus it’ll be more like 8 hours. The buses will do 1-2 stops a long the way.
You could take an overnight bus and go straight to Ban Gioc Waterfall after arriving into Cao Bang, but I would recommend staying overnight in Cao Bang, otherwise you’ll be wrecked.
When you arrive in Cao Bang, a taxi anywhere around the city the center (so, to your homestay) should cost around 20.000VND. When we first arrived, they tried to charge us 50 to get to our homestay, which was only a 5 minute drive away.
Cao Bang City
Where to Stay in Cao Bang:
The best place to stay in Cao Bang is definitely Primrose Homestay. When we walked into the room, it looked like something out of Pinterest! It was one of the nicest places we’ve stayed in Asia, and the price is very reasonable.
The owners were very friendly and tried to help with everything they could. When we got into the room, there was fresh water for us, and a little area guide with recommendations of restaurants!
It’s in a great location as well. Only a 2 minute walk from the homestay to the bus stop, where you can catch the next bus to Ban Gioc Waterfall.
When you arrive into Cao Bang, it’s only a 10-15minute walk from the bus station, or a 5 minute taxi ride. Don’t pay more than 20.000VND for the taxi.
They have both double rooms and dorm rooms available at Primrose Homestay. They only have a couple of double rooms, so I recommend booking a little bit in advanced, as it is the most popular homestay in Cao Bang.
We opted to stay overnight in Cao Bang before and after our trip to Ban Gioc Waterfall. On our way back through we tried to book the night before, and Primrose Homestay wasn’t available. We booked a night at Cao Bang Eco Homestay.
It is a great second option. The lady there spoke English very well, and helped us organize our bus the next day to get to Ha Long Bay. That started a bit complicated as well, but she knew exactly how to do it and was very helpful.
My only complaint is that there are no restaurants nearby, so you have to walk at least 15-20 minutes to find food. Which isn’t too long, but when your starving at the end of the a long day, it seems like a long walk haha.
Remember that a taxi anywhere around Cao Bang should only cost about 20k. If you say homestay, drivers will automatically take you to the Primrose Homestay. If you are getting a ride to Cao Bang Eco Homestay, make sure the driver knows to go to that one.
Where to eat:
There is a restaurant literally next door to the Primrose, all they do is Pho, but it was pretty darn good. There are also a bunch of other restaurants that are within walking distance, and a market where you can get some fresh fruit. We bought some of the biggest, juiciest apples from there.
One of the most popular restaurants in Cao Bang, is Pedros Pizza. It’s a hard temptation to say no to pizza, and they do pizza pretty well. Not a lot of people will speak English when you are this far up North, but the staff at Pedros do speak English, and they also do delivery!
The Bus from Cao Bang to Ban Gioc Waterfall
The bus stop is right along the main street, and only a few minutes walk from Primrose Homestay. As you can see on the front of the bus, it says ‘Thác Ban Gioc’, which is where you are headed my friend! Thác in Vietnamese is waterfall.
The cost for the bus ticket is only 70.000VND per person, and it takes about 2-3 hours. The bus stops in many villages along the way, picking up people/packages and dropping them off.
The busses start at 6:30am, and go by approximately every half an hour. The bus will take you all the way to Thác Bản Giốc, and park right across from the entrance.
The buses are frequent enough that you could do this as a day trip, but I would recommend staying overnight. Due to bad weather, we ended up staying 2 nights, and really enjoyed our time in the area. The scenery up in this area is so unique and beautiful, it was like Halong Bay on land! It’s a great opportunity to see and experience the local life up there, which has been mostly untouched by tourism.
Apart from the Ban Gioc Waterfall, there is also a beautiful Buddhist Temple with an incredible view of the falls, and The Nguom Ngao caves to check out.
Where to stay near Ban Gioc Waterfall:
If you do decide to stay overnight, I can recommend staying at Khuổi Ky Homestay. It’s a beautiful stone house built in the Khuổi Ky Stone Village.
The village has 14 stone houses on stilts leaning against the rock and facing Khuoi Ky stream. Local people believe rock is the source of life and the center of the universe. Rock is used in daily life here for building houses, fences, dams, and mills. It makes sense, since the village is surrounded by beautiful, towering limestone cliffs.
The owners don’t speak much English, but they are so friendly, and the lady has mastered the art of using google translate.
It’s very basic, but the mattresses are comfortable, and the family is really hospitable. The bathrooms could be better, but they do have hot water.
Just as a warning: Booking.com says there is the option to book a private double room, but it is just some curtains. The Homestay is a big open room, and they set up mattresses on the floor, and will put curtains (and mosquito nets) around if you want privacy.
Both nights we stayed here, we met some great fellow travelers.
They serve food and drinks here, and the food is pretty good. There aren’t too many places around to get food, so you’ll most likely be getting all your meals from the homestay, but they are pretty cheap. Beers are cheap too! There are plugs to charge your electronics. No towels though, so bring your own. I always travel with a quick dry towel.
The family sleep in a separate house, so usually after dinner they say goodnight, and it’s just the travelers sleeping in the homestay.
This homestay is in a pretty good area. We decided to walk everywhere, but they will try and help organize you a motorbike if you want one to get around.
It’s approximately a 45 minute walk to Ban Gioc Waterfall.
You’ll pass the Buddhist Temple on the way, you can either check it out on your way to or from the falls. I will warn you, it’s a pretty steep hike up the hill, but it is totally worth it.
Nguom Ngao Caves are only a 15 minute walk away as well. I’ve seen quite a few caves before, and I wouldn’t say this one is super special, but it is quite beautiful, and if you have the time I would recommend checking them out.
There are a few other homestays in the area. We saw 2 or 3 signs right behind ours, and also a few signs (and a few hotel options) nearer to the falls. However, we found the hotels online to be quite expensive.
Since the homestay is about a 45 minute walk from the falls, we used google maps to show the bus driver where we wanted to be dropped off. They dropped us off on the main road, and we walked about 10 minutes to reach the homestay.
Accidents happen, make sure you are covered for all your adventures!
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Ban Gioc Waterfall
The main attraction, the reason we came all the way up North. The beautiful, Ban Gioc Waterfall.
The falls are 30m high, and 300m across, making them the widest (but not the tallest) waterfalls in Vietnam. Certainly, they are some of the most beautiful. In Vietnamese, the two falls are considered as two parts of one waterfall with the sole name Bản Giốc.
Costs and Facilities
Entrance: 45.000VND per person
Toilets: Yes
Parking: Yes, free
You can also take an optional boat ride to get up close to the falls!
Cost: 50.000VND per person
The boat ride is only 5-10 minutes, but I totally think it was worth it. It was pretty amazing to get up close the falls, and feel the spray of their mist on your face.
Buddhist Temple:
As mentioned earlier, you must visit this temple while you are here. It’s on a hill top nearby the waterfall, you will pass it on your way to the falls entrance. On google maps it is called Truc Lam Phat Tich Pagoda Pass (click for directions.)
Cost: Free!
It is a super steep hike up, but the monastery is beautiful, and has an incredible view. When we went up, there was no one else around, so we had this incredible view all to ourselves.
Nguom Ngao Caves:
Costs and facilities:
Cost: 45.000VND per person
If you go in with a bike, a lady will direct you underneath a covered area, and ask you to pay 10,000VND to park the bike. If you don’t want to pay, just park it on the gravel and you’ll be fine there.
There are a few little food vendors and people selling souvenirs.
The ticket does not include a guide, so you’re just going there to look at the caves, as there isn’t much signage either. There was one sign explaining the caves outside the entrance, but once you go inside, it’s just a paved pathway through the cave, and they have set up lights all along the way.
You can take your time wandering through the caves. It will only take 30-60 minutes.
Getting the bus back to Cao Bang
Easy Peasy, we just grabbed our bags and walked from Khuổi Ky Homestay back to the main road. It only took about 10 minutes before a bus came by and picked us up. I think this bus was a more local bus, as it had all locals on it (who were very friendly) and was cheaper at 50.000VND per person. It had a sign in the window that said Cao Bang on it, and the guy who seemed to be in charge asked us to make sure that’s where we were headed. They dropped us off at the main bus station when we arrived back into town.
Overall Breakdown:
- Bus from Hanoi to Cao Bang City: 180.000VND (about $8USD) per person
– Approximately 8 hours driving - Private double room in a Homestay in Cao Bang: $10-15USD per night
- Bus from Cao Bang City to Ban Gioc Waterfall: $70.000VND (about $3USD) per person
-Approximately 2.5 hours driving - Ban Gioc Waterfalls entry: 45.000VND (about $2USD) per person
- Mattress in Homestay near falls: $5-10USD per night
- Buddhist Temple: Free
- Nguom Ngao Caves: 45.000VND (about $2USD) per person
Disclosure: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links that I may receive a small commission from. This is at no additional cost to you. By clicking and/or booking through affiliate links found on this site you are helping to support this website and helping make it even better.
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Adventures We Chase
Wow I’m a sucker for waterfalls and these are nothing short of amazing. Thanks for the awesome post
Me too, tell me about a waterfall and I will chase it! This is definitely one of the best waterfalls I’ve chased 🙂
Ban Gioc looks absolutely stunning! When I plan a trip to Vietnam, I will definitely keep this hidden gem in mind. Thank you for such a detailed guide!
Yes definitely do! It’s been one of our favorite times in Vietnam, and it very much is a hidden gem, hardly any other people up that way. The area is so beautiful as well. It’s a long trip to get there, but definitely worth it!
Great guide! The waterfalls look amazing! It is quite a journey to get there from Hanoi, glad you guys were able to figure out how to get there on your own.
Thanks, the hard journey was definitely worth the reward! The waterfall was amazing and the whole area up there is so beautiful. A great way to get off the beaten track in Vietnam!
Was wondering if you ccan get from the waterfalls to Hanio, as we are going to the waterfalls from China the heading into Hanio. Thank you.
Hi Les,
I’m not really sure that the waterfall has an official border crossing. When we went we were strictly told that we could not cross the river to the Chinese side, and that if we wanted to do the boat to get up close to the falls, then the boat has to stay to a certain side of the river. So that would be the first thing I would look into.
Otherwise, you can basically follow the guide in my blogpost! There is a bus that parks right next to the entrance of the falls that will take you to Cao Bang City, which is a minimum 2 hour drive, but the bus will stop along the way. I recommend to stay a night in Cao Bang, and then take a bus from Cao Bang to Hanoi. That is around a 7 hour bus journey.
Cheers and enjoy the falls!
Those waterfalls are incredible! I need to get back to Vietnam to explore more!
not sure what to put here. this is on my bucket list
i’a sole sister widow…is this something a 75 year old can do I’m in good health