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Itinerary
Day 1: Hanoi Arrival – Halfday City Tour – Overnight train to Sapa
Day 2: Lao Cai – Sapa
Day 3: Sapa – Lao Cai
Day 4: Hanoi – Halong World Heritage
Day 5: Hanoi – Halong – Ninh Binh
Day 6: Ninh Binh – Hanoi
Day 7: Hanoi – Departure
Detailed program:
The northern area of Vietnam is always an attractive destination for tourists visiting the country. After a full day visit to the charming capital of Hanoi, you will take a night train to Lao Cai – a China-Vietnamese border city. From Lao Cai there will be a short transfer to the hill town of Sapa. After exploring the area, you will return to Hanoi and visit Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. You will enjoy ending your trip with a relaxing traditional junk trip and take part in a wide variety of activities like kayaking, cave climbing or just simply sitting on the sundeck for a glass of wine as you contemplate what you seen and perhaps plan for a return trip and extended tour.
Day 1: Hanoi Arrival – Halfday City Tour – Overnight train to Sapa
You will be greeted by a guide upon arrival in Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, which celebrated its 1000 year anniversary in 2010.
You will have a half day to visit Hanoi’s main cultural attractions, the Temple of Literature (Vietnam’s very first university). You will also visit Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple, ending your day with a cyclo tour around the fascinating Old Quarter. The quarter showcases hundreds of specialty shops selling silk clothing, lacquer ware, embroidered linens, furniture, bamboo, cooking utensils, ceremonial objects and more. In the evening your guide will take you to the Hanoi Train station for the overnight train to Lao Cai.
Day 2: Lao Cai – Sapa
You will arrive at 06:30 and be taken on a 1.5 hour drive to Sapa. Once in Sapa, you will check-in to your hotel (early check-in subject to availability). You will then have breakfast at a local restaurant then enjoy free time to explore the town.
In the afternoon, you will enjoy a walking tour to the hill tribe villages of Cat Cat, home to the H'mong minority peoples. As you walk to the villages nestled in the valley below Sapa, you will meet some of the locals on their way to and from Sapa. You will have the opportunity to share cultural experiences with the families that live in the area before heading back to Sapa dinner and an overnight stay in Sapa
Day 3: Sapa – Lao Cai
Following breakfast, you will explore the Sapa daily market and then set out on our 3-4 hour trek that will take you along buffalo paths and trails. You will travel through the hill tribe villages of Lao Chai and Tavan, home to H'mong, and Dzay people. This is an absolutely spectacular walk through stunning scenery, inhabited by some of the friendliest people you will ever meet. You will have lunch along the way at a local restaurant on the way. From the village, you will rejoin car for a transfer to Lao Cai for an overnight train journey back to Hanoi.
Day 4: Hanoi – Halong World Heritage
Once you arrive in Hanoi, your driver will you pick-up you at the station and take you to downtown Hanoi for breakfast at a local restaurant. At 08:00, you leave Hanoi for Halong Bay and board a boat, enjoying lunch as sail through bay. The magical bay is home to thousands of limestone islands rising from the waves like dragons’ teeth. Later in the afternoon, you will visit an interesting fishing village with opportunity to interact with fishermen who have been living in the bay for almost three generations. Back on board, you’ll enjoy cocktails or cooking classes while watching the sunset, before indulging in a lavish dinner onshore. Afterwards, you can choose to do anything from joining movie night, playing board games, or relaxing at the beauty spa before retiring for the evening.
Day 5: Hanoi – Halong – Ninh Binh
You’ll the day with a morning Tai Chi exercise and an opportunity to view the sunrise over the bay. After breakfast, you will be taken to a beautiful limestone grotto before returning to the junk for a final glimpse of Halong Bay while cruising back to the dock. You’ll then transfer to Ninh Binh. Overnight Ninh Binh
Day 6: Ninh Binh – Hanoi
After breakfast start tour at Ninh Binh. Visit Van Long is an area of astounding natural beauty, whose splendor is often said to surpass that of Ha Long Bay. You will leave Hanoi at 8:30 a.m. and head south for a 2-hour drive along Highway One, also known as Road Mandarin. You will spend one hour visiting the Dinh and Le temples of the Ancient Capital Hoa Lu and then go on to Van Long for lunch. You may choose to enjoy an optional cow cart ride to Van Long Wharf for a 2-hour boat trip along the Van Long River and marvel at its limestone peaks. Along the way, you will also see caves, green rice fields, and the rural life of the locals. Back to Hanoi
Day 7: Hanoi – Departure
There is no activity planned for today, so you can enjoy your free time to go souvenir shopping until you are transferred to the airport for your onward flight.
