Terms of Use

These Terms of Use apply to the website freedomhagiangloop.com and to every tour booked with Freedom Ha Giang Loop ("Freedom", "we", "us") through the site, on WhatsApp or by email. "You" and "guest" mean the person who books and anyone they book for. Booking a tour, paying a deposit or riding with us means you have read and accepted these terms together with our Privacy Policy, Service Policy and Complaint Resolution Policy.

I. Responsibilities of both parties

1. What Freedom is responsible for

• Publishing complete, accurate and current information about our tours: the itinerary, what is and is not included, prices in Vietnamese Dong (VND), the homestays, the bikes and the pick-up points.
• Providing what each tour page promises: an English-speaking local guide for every group, a well-maintained motorbike with fuel, helmet, protective gear and rain gear, three meals a day, homestay nights, entry tickets, pick-up from the listed cities, and the travel insurance included in the tour.
• Keeping your personal information confidential, as set out in our Privacy Policy and required by Vietnamese law.
• Helping you before, during and after your booking: answering questions, confirming payment, handling changes, and dealing with anything that goes wrong on the road, within our scope of responsibility.
• Working with our partners (bus companies, homestays, the insurer) to protect your interests if a service is changed or cancelled.
• Freedom is not liable for injury, damage, death, loss, accident or delay caused by the actions of a transport company, homestay, restaurant, business or individual that provides a service during the tour but is not part of Freedom.

2. What you are responsible for

• Giving accurate and truthful information when you book: your name as it appears in your passport, a WhatsApp number and email address that work, and any dietary, medical or riding-experience details that matter.
• Checking and carrying your travel documents: a valid passport, a Vietnamese visa or visa exemption, and, if you choose to ride by yourself, your national driving licence together with an International Driving Permit under the 1968 convention (category A or A1). Police on the Loop check both, and we cannot let you ride without them. Overseas Vietnamese travelling on a foreign passport or residence card need the same valid visa or exemption as any other foreign visitor.
• Following the instructions of your guide and the rules of the homestays, obeying Vietnamese traffic law, wearing your helmet whenever the bike is moving, and never riding after drinking alcohol or taking drugs.
• Staying with your group. If you want to leave the group for any reason, tell your guide first. Report any incident, problem or request to your guide or to us on WhatsApp straight away, so we can deal with it at once.
• Paying your deposit and balance on time, as set out in section II.
• Telling us as early as possible if you need to change dates or cancel, so that we can help you under the cancellation terms in section II.
• Carrying a parental authorisation letter, certified by the competent authority in your home country, if you travel with a child under 15 who is not your own child.
• Treating the villages we visit with respect: the homestays are family homes, people are not photo props, and rubbish goes back to town with us.

3. Riding risks: what you accept when you book

Ha Giang is mountain riding. Steep passes, hairpin bends, gravel, fog, rain, livestock and trucks all share the road. Whether you ride yourself, sit behind one of our drivers or share a bike with a friend, travelling by motorbike carries real risks, including accidents, collisions, road hazards, weather, mechanical failure, injury and death.

By booking you confirm that:

• you are physically and mentally fit to take part, and you have told us in advance about any condition that could affect your safety (pregnancy, heart conditions, epilepsy, recent surgery, medication that causes drowsiness, and similar);
• you understand and voluntarily accept these risks;
• Freedom, its staff, guides, drivers and partners will not be held liable for injury, loss, damage or death arising from your participation, whatever the cause, including negligence, except where Vietnamese law does not allow such liability to be excluded;
• you will follow all safety instructions, local traffic law and the guidance of your guide throughout the tour.

If your riding, behaviour or condition puts you or others in danger, your guide may move you from self-riding to the seat behind a driver, or end your participation in the tour. In that case no refund is due.

4. Limits of our liability

• We are not responsible for the quality of services delivered by third parties.
• We are not liable for loss or damage caused by delays, cancellations or timetable changes of buses and other transport, or by natural disasters, landslides, road closures ordered by the authorities, epidemics, war, strikes or other force majeure events (see section III).
• Your guide may reorder, reroute or shorten the itinerary when weather, road conditions or the group's safety require it. Where we can, we offer an equivalent alternative; no compensation is due for changes made for safety or for reasons outside our control.
• Flights and visas are your responsibility. Airline tickets are governed by the airline's own conditions, not ours. If you cannot travel because a flight is cancelled or a visa is refused or delayed, the cancellation terms in section II apply, and we do not offer refunds or credits for that reason. This is exactly what travel insurance is for.
• You are responsible for your own belongings, documents and money throughout the trip.
• When something unforeseen happens we will do everything within our means to help you, but we are under no obligation to compensate losses beyond the responsibilities stated on this page.

II. Booking, payment and cancellation in brief

The full rules are in our Payment Policy and our Refund, Cancellation and Postponement Policy. The points that matter most:

• Prices are in VND, per person, as shown on the tour page at the time you book.
• Deposit: a deposit secures your booking. The balance is paid in Ha Giang before the tour starts, in cash (VND or USD) or by bank transfer. The deposit is not refundable if you cancel or do not show up.
• Confirmation: your booking is confirmed when you receive our confirmation on WhatsApp or by email. If you have paid and heard nothing from us within 24 hours, message us on WhatsApp. We are not responsible for delays caused by a wrong phone number or email address.
• Cancelling 15 days or more before your start date: 80% of the total tour price is refunded, provided the tour was paid in full. Deposits are never refunded, so a booking on which only the deposit has been paid receives no refund.
• Cancelling between 7 and 14 days before your start date: no refund; we move your booking to another date free of charge.
• Cancelling less than 7 days before your start date: no refund; a date change is the only option, subject to availability.
• No-show, missing your departure, or leaving the tour part-way through: the full price is charged and no refund is given, whatever the reason. Unused meals, nights, bus seats or activities are not refunded.
• If we cancel a tour for a reason on our side, or because of force majeure, you choose between a full refund of everything paid (deposit included), a credit for a future tour, or a new date. No compensation beyond the amount paid is owed.
• We may decline a booking without explanation if we believe a guest could be a danger to themselves, to others or to public safety.

Every cancellation or change must be sent to us in writing, on WhatsApp or by email.

III. Force majeure

Force majeure means events beyond our reasonable control: extreme weather, floods, landslides, earthquakes, fire, road closures or travel bans imposed by the authorities, epidemics, riots, war, strikes, fuel shortages, mechanical breakdown, and the failure or insolvency of a transport company or other supplier we rely on. If a force majeure event forces us to shorten, change, extend or cancel a tour, you cannot claim compensation for losses that result, beyond the options listed in section II.

IV. Insurance

Each tour includes travel insurance for the days of the Loop. It is a local policy with limited cover and does not replace comprehensive travel insurance from your home country. We require you to arrange your own insurance before you arrive in Vietnam, and we assume that you have done so. Make sure it explicitly covers riding a motorbike or being a passenger on one, medical evacuation and repatriation, and read the small print on licences: many policies only pay out if you hold the licence and permit that Vietnamese law requires. Any claim is made directly with your insurer under the terms of your policy.

V. Other commitments

• We publish honest, transparent information and do not mislead guests to win a booking.
• Any dispute about our services is first settled by talking it through in good faith; our Complaint Resolution Policy explains how. If no agreement can be reached, the dispute is resolved under Vietnamese law at the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC). Claims must be sent to us in writing within 30 days of the end of your tour.
• These terms are governed by the laws of Vietnam.
• Your electronic booking, payment record and our written confirmation are proof of your agreement to these terms; no signature is needed.
• We may update these terms; the date at the top shows the current version. Changes do not affect a booking that is already confirmed, unless the law requires it.

Questions about these terms: WhatsApp +84 973 910 970 (7am to 10pm, Vietnam time) or hello@freedomhagiangloop.com.