Day 1: Hanoi Arrival
You will be picked up at NoiBai Airport upon on your arrival and transferred to your hotel in the city centre. You are then free for refreshment.
Overnight at your hotel
Day 2: Hanoi Images (B, L)
Am: Be picked up at your hotel at 8h00 then drive to following sites:
Tran Quoc Pagoda (means “Stabilizing the Nation”), the oldest pagoda constructed in the sixth century during the reign of Emperor Ly Nam De.
Ho Chi Minh Complex, where the body lies in a glass case with dim lights in the mausoleum, simple open wooden house on stilts surrounded by gardens with towering trees and a small lake, presidential palace built between 1900 and 1906 to house the French Governor-General of Indochina.
One pillar pagoda – a wooden pagoda on a single stone pillar, and it is designed to resemble a lotus blossom, which is a Buddhist symbol of purity, since a lotus blossoms in a muddy pond.
Temple of Literature (Van Mieu), which originally built as a Confucius Temple, then became Vietnam’s first university dating back to 1070. The temple highlights the importance influence that Vietnamese society has placed on education.
Pm: Have lunch at a traditional Vietnamese restaurant. Our walking journey starts from a historic temple of the ancient Thang Long Kingdom (Den Bach Ma), it would be a bit noisy and hectic, but the walking route will show you all best thing the Old Quarter has to offer. You will explore a maze of hustle and bustle streets with a hotchpotch of architecture - traditional tube houses, religious buildings, artisans’ workshops, colonial houses and modern concrete edifices.
Overnight at your hotel
Day 3: Hanoi - Halong (B/L/D)
Am: Be picked up at your hotel from 8h00 for 3.5 hour bus ride through the country side of the Red River Delta to Ha Long City. Upon arrival, aboard Halong, fresh seafood lunch (vegetable menu available) would be served while the boat is gliding out.
Pm: A short tender ride from the middle of the bay to an island for the famous Sung Sot Cave, followed by fun kayaking around the area. As the sun sets over the bay, you are free to swim from the boat or just relax on sundeck with your favorite drink. Dinner is served with typically local seafood.
Overnight on boat
Day 4: Halong – Hanoi - Sapa (B/L)
Am: Rise up for a breath taking on sundeck, be ready with your camera for a stunning vista in the serene bay. We visit an island and relax on its beach, or walk up to the top for the panoramic view of the anchorage area. You learn recipes and techniques that go into the most popular dish of the Vietnamese food on sundeck just before lunch time. Lunch would be served when cruising back to the harbor.
Pm: Our bus is waiting on the harbor to take you back to Hanoi. Trip ends at your hotel (we can help you book an extra night for this day) around 16h00.
20h00 - we pick you up from your hotel by private coach to Hanoi Railway Station to catch a night train to Lao Cai.
Overnight on train
Day 5: Lao Cai – Sapa - Cat Cat Village – Sapa (B/L/D)
Am: 6h00 – Arrival in Lao Cai Station, be picked up by your driver and join a bus transfer to hotel. The stunning rice terraces along an hour ride uphill will slowly wake you up for breakfast in Sapa town.
9h00 – we start hiking down to the bottom of MuongHoa valley to visit Cat Cat Village of Black H’mong People, where you witness local daily life and enjoy spectacular views over the beautiful valley towards Fansipan - highest peak in Vietnam and Indochina. Keep hiking further to Sin Chai village (Black H’mong) to see people weaving, embroidering and dying their black outfits. We will see an interesting waterfall (quick swim is an optional choice) at the end of the hiking trails before returning to the town (12h00) for lunch at a local restaurant.
Pm: After lunch, we climb up to well-known Sapa Garden to enjoy fascinating scenery over the French built Sapa town. Walking back to your hotel and relax at sunset time (16h00), or you can find some popular local food massage.
Dinner and overnight in hotel
Day 6: Sapa - Lao Chai-Ta Van-Sapa – Lao Cai - Ha Noi(B/L)
Am: Have breakfast in your hotel, andthen we trek along a mountain loop, from another side of the town, down to Lao Chai valley for other magnificent landscapes.The good walk start from the main down through the rice fields, passing by Lao Chai village of Dzay people before reaching a local family on MuongHoa stream bank for lunch.
Pm: Keep hiking through lush rice-terraces towards Lao Chai village to experience daily life and tradition of Red Dao people in Ta Van village. You would love to have a short visit with local families and learn about their traditional fiber processing. At the end of the village, we would be picked up by a private car and return to your hotel (you can have shower at hotel).
17h00 - Join a sharing transfer down to Lao Cai City for the night train back to Hanoi. You will arrive in Hanoi around 5h00 in the next morning.
Overnight on train
Day 7: Hanoi
We pick you up from Hanoi train station and transfer back to your hotel for shower and breakfast. Trip ends.
