Mai Chau Tours

Why visit Mai Chau

Mai Chau is rural northern Vietnam at an easy pace. The valley floor is flat, so cycling and walking between villages such as Lac and Pom Coong is gentle, with the mountains always in view. The White Thai community here is known for its weaving, music and food, and many families open their stilt houses to guests, so a night in the valley is a simple way to see daily village life up close. Mai Chau also pairs well with Pu Luong for a longer trip into the hills.

Top things to do in Mai Chau

• Cycle the valley floor on quiet lanes through rice paddies between Lac, Pom Coong and Van villages.
• Stay in a stilt-house homestay, eating dinner with your hosts and sleeping on mattresses under mosquito nets on the open upper floor.
• Watch a Thai dance performance in the evening, often followed by rice wine sipped through long bamboo straws from a shared jar.
• Visit the weavers working at wooden looms under the houses, making brocade scarves and fabric in traditional patterns.
• Stop at Thung Khe Pass on the drive in for a view over the hills, where roadside stalls sell grilled corn and local produce.

Best time to visit

September to November is a good time to visit, with clearer skies and the rice turning gold from late September into October. Late May to early June is the other harvest season. March to May is mild, with fresh green paddies across the valley. June to August is hot and rainy, though the landscape is at its greenest. December to February is dry but cool, and nights can be cold enough to need a jacket and the heavy blankets homestays provide.

Getting there

Mai Chau is about 140 km southwest of Hanoi, roughly three and a half hours by car via the Hoa Lac–Hoa Binh highway and Highway 6, crossing Thung Khe Pass before dropping into the valley. A day trip is possible, but it means around seven hours on the road, so most travellers stay at least one night. From Mai Chau, Pu Luong is about two hours further south.