EXPLORE THE NORTHERN VIETNAM

(10days/09nights)

Day 01: Hanoi in (D)

Arrival Noi Bai Airport, transfer on your own to Hanoi, check in the hotel.

Free in the afternoon to explore Old Quarter of Hanoi. Meet your local guide at the hotel for welcome dinner at one of the finest restaurant in Hanoi.

Day 02: Hanoi city tour (B,L)

Full-day tour of Vietnam’s capital, including Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, traditional stilt house, Ho Chi Minh Museum, and the revered One-Pillar Pagoda. Pay visits to typical Vietnamese places of worship, Quan Thanh Temple and Tran Quoc Pagoda, along the shore of West Lake. Just before lunch, move to see the Vietnam’s first university, the thousand-year-old Temple of Literature.

In the afternoon, pay a visit to Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son temple then stroll down the Old Quarter of Hanoi to explore the very busy part of Hanoi. Stay over night at the hotel.

Day 03: Hanoi - Tam Coc (B, L)

8h00, Depart to Hoa Lu in the morning, one of the most famous sites of Vietnam for its historic vestiges and its impressive pitons limestone. Visit Temples of Dinh Bo Linh King and Le Hoan. After lunch at local restaurant, take a Sampan to discover the caves of Tam Coc and Bich Dong ("three lagoons"). Return to Hanoi at the end of the afternoon.

Day 04: Hanoi - Halong (B, L,D)

Arrive Hanoi in the early morning, transfer to the hotel for breakfast and shower.

Depart to Halong Bay and arrive around noon. Board a traditional wooden junk and begin your exploration of magical Halong Bay, one of Southeast Asia’s premier tourist destinations. An excellent, fresh seafood lunch will be served on the boat while cruising to the most beautiful areas of Halong bay. The junk will drop it’s anchor in quiet place for staying over night, dinner is served on board.

Day 05: Halong - Hanoi - Lao Cai (B,L)
After a morning bath, a brunch to you is served all the morning while you continue your cruising. Return to the port of Halong right after the lunch. Bus picks up and transfer back Hanoi. Arrive Hanoi at the end of the afternoon, check in the hotel for shower and break, transfer to Hanoi Railway station for night train to Lao Cai

Day 06: Lao Cai - Sapa (B)
Arrival Lao Cai station in the early morning, drive up to Sapa (45 minutes) on a road which offers a beautiful view. Check in the hotel and breakfast., then trek down to the valley of Sapa, crossing rice-field, hill tribe’s villages. Return to the hotel at the end of the day. stay overnight at the hotel.

Day 07: Sapa (B, L)
Full day of trekking to the Hmong, Zay or Dao people’s villages. Depending on the weather, the trekking route or visited sites will be decided by the local guide. Dinner at local restaurant, stay over night at the hotel.

Day 08: Sapa - Bac Ha - Hanoi (B,L,D)
Depart in the early morning for Bac Ha market – the most colorful up-market in Northwest of Vietnam where you can meet about 10 different ethnic minorities, the place that people attending not only for trading but for rice-wine drinking, social communication, meeting, friend making…After the market, lunch at a local restaurant and trek down to some villages of Flower Hmong people. At the end of afternoon, return to Lao Cai for dinner and night-train back Hanoi. Overnight on the train.

Day 09: Hanoi (B,D)

Free day in Hanoi. Meet your tour guide for farewell dinner at 6h00 PM

Day 10: Hanoi out (B)
Transfer to the airport on your own for flight home.