DAY 1: Hanoi arrival
Meet your tour guide on arrival at Hanoi international airport and join your fellow travellers in a coach transfer to the city centre for hotel check-in.
Hotel rooms may not be ready until 14:00 but an early check-in would be guaranteed with a surcharge. The rest of the day is at leisure.
*** Subject to your arrival time, you may want to venture out to explore the city on your own or join one of our wonderful optional excursions in and around Hanoi, such as a walking tour through Hanoi’s Old Quarter for you first impression of Vietnam’s capital city.
Meals: NA
Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi
Activities: Be picked up and transfer to hotel, free day at leisure to prepare for the trip
DAY 2: Hanoi - Lao Cai
Breakfast at hotel.
8:00 - 8:30 Start your journey with a pickup from your hotel.
We start the trip at the Ho Chi Minh Complex including Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (closed on Monday, Friday and during the months of September and October), Ho Chi Minh Museum, his house-on-stilts, Presidential Palace and the unique One Pillar Pagoda. Then visit Temple of Literature, known as the first university of Vietnam and built more than 1,000 years ago.
We continue visit the beautiful Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple then a walking tour into the hidden alleys of Hanoi Old Quarter. Ending trip with enjoying a leisurely one-hour cyclo touring the streets.
Optional: If you are not interested in Cylco you can change it to a Water Puppet Show.
Around 16:30, return to your hotel.
Alternative for visit on Monday and Friday and during September and October:
Explore the heart of Vietnamese nation at the amazing Ho Chi Minh presidential complex (OUT SIDE) and the profound and meaningful pagodas and temples, especially visiting unique and beautiful structures and religious cultural beauty of QuanThanh Temple. Continue to enjoy the solemn and wonderful landscape on the peaceful and historical values of Tran Quoc Pagoda.
Tucked away between Hanoi’s Old Quarter and the Red River is the Long Bien market. Vendors and middlemen begin gathering here around two in the morning to snap up the best of the day’s incoming food. This is the reason why the market has just been voted as one of the best 7 streets market in the world by the Conde Nast Traveler Magazine. And it might be a place in the wish list of all travelers.
We continue visit the beautiful Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple then a walking tour into the hidden alleys of Hanoi Old Quarter. Ending trip with enjoying a leisurely one-hour cyclo touring the streets.
Optional: If you are not interested in Cylco you can change it to a Water Puppet Show.
20:00 You will be transferred to Hanoi Train Station for an overnight train to Lao Cai. It takes about 9 hours to go from Hanoi to Lao Cai by train.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Overnight train to Lao Cai
Activities: Hanoi full day city tour and night train to Lao Cai
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Museums is closed on Monday and Friday so there will be other alternative options if your departure date on Monday and Friday.
DAY 3: Lao Cai – Sapa – Y Linh Ho – Lao Chai – Ta Van
05:30 ~ 06:00 Arrive at Lao Cai Train Station. Pick up at the train station and transfer to Sapa by a tourist shared bus (1 hour to get to Sapa).
Early check in is possible when you arrive if the room available ( Or you will pay extra) otherwise we will provide you a basic room where you can have shower .
Relax for awhile to get ready for our full day trekking.
Start the trip at 9:30.
First start of 6km of walking down to the south east of Sapa along the side of Muong Hoa valley to Y Linh Ho Village of the Black H’mong. Continue a 2km-trekking down to Lao Chai Village, through terraced rice fields to Ta Van Village of the Dzay minority people. Lunch at a local family, it gives you a worth chance for you to learn about the local house architecture which is full of their daily life styles and exclusive custom. Enjoy the landscapes…on the way. Last trek is about 2Km to the bus stop in Ta Van then get back to Sapa by jeep or minivan..
Meals: Breakfast, Picnic Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel in Sapa
Activities: Full day soft trekking, pass along dirt tracks as well as through several villages of ethnic minority groups.
Trekking level: 6/10. 10 km trekking, 8 km driving from Ta Van Village back to Sapa.
DAY 4: Sapa - Cat Cat - Sin Chai - Lao Cai - Hanoi
A walk down to the South-west of Sapa (around 4 km) to visit Cat Cat Village of the Black H’mong. Relax at the food of the stunning waterfall and the vestige of a hydroelectric power station that was constructed by the French during the colonial time in Vietnam. Enjoy picnic lunch by the side of the river, and then next 3 km to Sin Chai Village, the village located at the foot of Fansipan, “the roof of Vietnam and Indochina”. From here you can enjoy huge stunning landscapes before climbing up on the way a jeep to return to Sapa.
16:30 Transfer back to Hanoi by shuttle bus.
21:30 Arrive in Hanoi.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi
Activities: Join a trekking tour to discover the untouched beauty of the villages in Sapa before heading back to Hanoi by bus.
Trekking level: 4/10. 7 km trekking, 3 km driving from Cat Cat back to Sapa.
DAY 5: Hanoi - Halong Bay
Halong Bay is listed by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage and voted as a Wonder of Nature by the New7Wonders Foundation. You will have a night staying in this world famous bay.
Be ready for pick-up at your hotel lobby at 08:00. Halfway to Ha Long City we will have a stop at Hong Ngoc Humanitarian Center. Apart from having clean western style toilet facilities we will be able to see local craftsmen at work and have time for relaxation.
Upon arrival at the pier, embark on the boat and set sail on a cruise through the limestone cliffs and emerald waters of Halong Bay, taking in the spectacular scenery of this UNESCO World Heritage site.
Lunch is served as you cruise by impressive rock formations with unusual names and shapes.
In the afternoon you will start to discover Halong Bay, listed as a World Heritage of outstanding natural beauty, known in Vietnamese as “Dragon descending to the sea“. Depending on each cruise’s itinerary of the day, you may visit a beautiful cave, have some swimming at Titov or Soi Sim beach.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Cruise in Halong Bay
Activities: Leave the city behind, drive through fascinating countryside to the dock where this Halong Bay adventure truly starts. Climb aboard a traditional junk boat – with its beautiful woodwork and beaming crew – and venture out into emerald waters of the bay.
Our tour guide will not accompany aboard the cruise in Halong Bay. Resident English speaking guide on board available.
DAY 6: Halong Bay – Hanoi
Wake up the next morning at sunrise, you are invited to practice Tai Chi on the sun deck. Enjoy the feel of the early morning salt water scent and bask in the early sun rising from behind the mountains. Continue sightseeing in the wonderful bay, enjoy brunch on board while cruising back to mainland. Arriving at the harbor, you will be picked up for transferring back to Hanoi. End of service.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: NA
Activities: Spend the morning on cruise in Halong Bay and transfer back to Hanoi.
Important Notes:
- PROGRAMS & SCHEDULES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE
- In case of unpredictable bad conditions of weather in Halong Bay, please kindly understand that the cancellation will be made ONLY by the Management Board of - Halong Bay and normally the announcement will be informed in short notice.
- If you have any specific food requirement (vegetarian, vegan, food allergies, etc.) please inform us in advance, we will provide notices to our restaurants, tour guides and partners so they would be able to serve you the best.
- 30% of total package price should be deposited once the booking is confirmed
- 10% of total package price will be charged if cancellation after the deposit made
