This trip covers the best of northern Vietnam from the mountains down to the bay and beaches
• Enjoy the highlights of Hanoi including the old town, street food, natural lakes, ancient pagodas, top museums
• Discover Sapa with mountain trekking and views, ethnic homestays, rice terraces
• Take a boat cruise in Halong Bay a UNESCO World Heritage Site with thousands of limestone islands rising out of the sea
Day 1 /Overnight train: Hanoi arrival – Airport pick up – City Tour – Dinner – Night train to Sapa (D)
Day 2 /Sapa: Arrival in Sapa – Cat Cat – Sin Chai Ethnic Village (B, L)
Day 3 /Overnight train: Sin Chai – Y Linh Ho – Lao Chai – Ta Van Ethnic Village – Night train back Hanoi (B, L, D)
Day 4 /Halong Bay: Arrival in Hanoi – Halong Bay, UNESCO-listed site – Cruise & Overnight on a 5-star Cruise Ship (B, L, D)
Day 5 /Hanoi: Halong Bay – Hanoi (B, L)
Day 6 /Departure: Hanoi – Departure (B)
Trip Package Includes
• A/C private transfers indicated in the program
• 5 nights of accommodations
∗ 1 night Hanoi
∗ 2 nights return train: Hanoi – Sapa – Hanoi
∗ 1 night Sapa
∗ 1 night Halong Bay on the cruise ship
• 12 meals: 5 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 3 dinners
• Cruise & Overnight on a 5-star cruise ship in Halong Bay (A/C private double/ twin cabin for 02 persons on the cruise ship)
• All admission costs at places mentioned in the itinerary
• English-speaking tour guide
• All entrance fees
• All taxes & service charges
• Local sim card for cell phone
Trip Package Excludes
• Other meals and personal expenses that are not noted in the program
• Trip insurance
Hanoi Arrival – Pick up - City Tour - Night train to Sapa
Private A/C transportation · Breakfast · Dinner · Tour guide · All entrance fees · accommodation on train Hanoi – Sapa (first class, soft sleeper, A/C four wooden berths cabin)
Upon your arrival at the airport in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, our driver and tour guide will pick you up and take you to your hotel in the heart of Hanoi’s old town to check in and meet your tour manager to review any questions in your itinerary.
After that, if time allows, we will take a 2-hour cyclo tour of Hanoi’s Old Quarter and visit Ngoc Son Temple. Then, proceed to Thang Long Theater for a water puppet show, a unique Vietnamese traditional art form, this art evolved from rural Vietnamese festivals, the artists, both men, and women stand waist-deep in the water to manipulate the puppets, causing them to move, talk, laugh, and even dance on the water’s surface. Then, we have dinner in a local restaurant in the heart of Hanoi’s Old Quarter until it’s time for our tour guide to take you to Hanoi Railway Station to catch our night train to Sapa.
Overnight on the train
Photos:
Sapa Arrival – Trek to Cat Cat Village & Sin Chai Ethnic Village
Private A/C transportation · Breakfast · Dinner · Tour guide · All entrance fees · Hotel in Sapa
As soon as the train arrives at the railway station at about 6 a.m., you are picked up to your hotel in Sapa town to check in and have breakfast before trekking to the nearby Cat Cat and Sin Chai ethnic villages to see the H’Mong people and their daily activities, as well as their earnings from weaving and dyeing cloth, on the way to these ethnic villages, you can also see paddy fields and the animals of the local H’Mong people, such as chickens, water-buffaloes, and pot-bellied pigs, and in Cat Cat Village, you can also see the old hydro-electric power station, which was built by the French in the early twentieth century. This evening, you should visit the nearby Sapa Love Market to see ethnic couples who come to find each other and share their feelings.
Overnight in Sapa
Photos:
Sapa – Y Linh Ho – Lao Chai – Ta Van Ethnic Village – Night train back Hanoi
Private A/C transportation · Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner · Tour guide · All entrance fees · accommodation on train Sapa – Hanoi (first class, soft sleeper, A/C four wooden berths cabin)
After breakfast, we trek to Y Linh Ho and Lao Chai ethnic villages through the Muong Hoa Valley, where we can learn about the Black Hmong people who are one of the largest minority groups in the Sapa area, they are proud of their traditional local culture, they speak their language and dress in traditional indigo-blue attire.
Then we went to Ta Van village to meet the Zay people who are a relatively small minority group of approximately 38.000 people and live primarily in the mountains of Northwest Vietnam, although some of their old customs have been lost due to development, many women still wear traditional purple, blue, or green shirts, Zay houses are constructed of wood and bamboo, with a clay floor. Return to Lao Cai Railway Station in the late afternoon and have dinner before boarding a night train back to Hanoi.
Overnight on the train
Photos:
Arrival Hanoi – Halong Bay – Cruise & Overnight on the 5-star Cruise Ship
Private A/C transportation · Breakfast · Dinner · Tour guide · All entrance fees · Accommodation on a 5-star cruise ship in Halong Bay
The train arrives at Hanoi Railway Station at about 5 am, where our tour guide will accompany you to the hotel to take a bath, relax, and have breakfast until about 08h00 our driver will pick you up and begin the 3hours drive to Halong Bay, UNESCO-listed site. * 12h00 – 12h30 Embark on the cruise briefing while cruising along the limestone islands of Fighting Cock, Turtle Island… * 15h30 – 17h30 Visit Amazing Cave (Sung Sot Cave) and kayak along the bay’s hidden parts * 17h30 – 19h00 Swim, take photos or simply relax as the sun sets * 19h00 Dinner is served to Socialize with other guests or simply relax.
Overnight on the cruise ship in Halong Bay
Photos:
Halong Bay - Hanoi
Private A/C transportation · Breakfast · Dinner · Tour guide · All entrance fees · Hotel in Hanoi
Halong Bay ▸ Hallow Caves
* 06h00 – 07h00 Swim, exercise, or go on a photo hunt to start your day * 07h00 – 11h00 Breakfast should be served at sunrise. Cruise to Ba Hang Fishing Village, pass Dog Rock and Incense Burner and then return to the harbor. Our cruise disembarks around 11:00 a.m. * 12h00 – 16h30. Transfer you to your hotel in the Hanoi center for check-in. The rest day is free for you, suggestion for you should not miss the night market in the old town.
Overnight in Hanoi
Photos:
Hanoi - Departure
Private A/C transportation · Breakfast
Airport transfer
Free time for more discoveries in Hanoi, until it’s time to transfer you to the airport to catch your flight back home or your next destination.