PROGRAM DETAIL
Day 01 . Sat 10 March 2018 : Hanoi arrival (SQ176 @11:40) (-) | Guide and driver
Arrival in Noi Bai airport , you will be picked up then transferred to the hotel in city center. The check-in is available at 2 pm. The day is free for your own exploration and shopping. Overnight at hotel.
Day 02 . Sun 11 March 2018 : Hanoi - car to Sapa - Heaven Gate - Silver Waterfall (B, L) | Guide and driver
In the morning, you will takek 6-hour drive to Sapa by private transfer. On arrival, check in hotel & have lunch at a local restaurant
In the afternoon, met up at your hotel by local guide and driver then depart for the Silver Waterfall. The Silver Waterfall is located about a half hour from Sapa town which offers stunning views over surrounding mountains and lush forests belonging to Hoang Lien National Park. You are advised to stop by a farm for a cup of tea and talk with people to understand their local life. Then we continue our drive uphill to the Heavens Gate, the highest stretch of road in Vietnam as well as the provincial border of Lao Cai and Lai Chau provinces. Enjoy fantastic view over the valley! Overnight in Sapa
Day 03 . Mon 12 March 2018 : Sapa - Lao Chai - Ta Van - Giang Ta Chai (B, L) | Guide and driver
The day is devoted to a beautiful hike through the breathtaking scenery of Sa Pa valley. Start by road that descends in the wake of the street Cau May (6 km) En route, admire the rice terraces hidden behind mist of the morning, a truly awe-inspiring sight.
Follow a small track and cross Muong Hoa River and pass well tended rice terraces on your way to the Black Hmong village of Lao Chai. Continuing through the colorful rice terraces you will reach the village of Ta Van Giay. As you continue your trek along the Muong Hoa River you will cross a small suspension bridge, roughly 2km from the settlement. Here you can discover a fascinating collection of rock carvings. These engravings depict some beautiful images of man, stilt houses and some beautiful decorative patterns. We lunch in a home in the village. After lunch the walk continues through a bamboo forest to Giang Ta Chai, a Red Dao ethnic minority village. After taking a rest nearby a waterfall to refresh, you start climbing uphill to a road where the car is ready for your journey back to Sapa for overnight
Approx: 1-hour driving/ 4 hours walking/ 1-hour lunch.
Day 04 . Tue 13 March 2018 : Sapa - Coc Ly market - drive to Hanoi (B, L) | Guide and driver
After breakfast, follow national road 70 traveling through the lush farm land of Lao Cai province for 42 km to Phong Nien Commune, turn left and follow provincial road 154 which sneaks through the country side along the Chay river for 17 km to Coc Ly which offers beautiful scenery of high mountains, narrow valleys and terraced rice paddies. Enjoy several photo stops along the way, especially of the beautiful tear farms near Phong Hai. Arrive in the market place at about 09.00am, at crowded time of the market. Join local ethnic peoples for about 2 hours of the morning to enjoy the exciting atmosphere as well as activities of this weekly market. Walk from section to sections, corner to corners, seeing and smelling of different local product, spices, vegetable, farming tools, handicraft, even medicinal herb…especially meeting smiling peoples every where. Coc Ly is also famous cattle market where local farmers from villages in the region sell and by cows, horses, water buffaloes, pigs…, and there is a large ground just beside the main market place for this activity. The market is always crowded for the whole morning and over after lunch time. Leaving the market at noon, have lunch then drive back to Hanoi. Overnight in Hanoi
Day 05 . Wed 14 March 2018 : Hanoi city tour (B, L) | Guide and driver
You will be picked up at the hotel at 8:00am. Starting the day trip will be a visit of the Ho Chi Minh Complex, which compromises Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum (closed on Mondays & Fridays), his former stilt-house residence, the Presidential Palace and Ho Chi Minh Museum. We will then visit the Temple of Literature constructed in 1070 to worship Confucius, which served as the first Royal National University in Vietnam. The site also honors 82 Vietnamese doctorates who passed a number of rigid exams in the feudal ages. Their names, birthdays and birthplaces are engraved in 82 headstones perched on stone tortoises. It is widely believed that touching the heads of these tortoises will bring luck. Its peaceful green compound with its neatly maintained lawns, gardens and lotus ponds make it a tranquil hideaway from the city’s bustle and heat. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant.
In the afternoon, we will visit the Museum of Ethnology (closed on Mondays, the alternative being the History Museum), which offers informative and well-documented displays of the country’s 54 ethnic groups, including elaborate and colorful hill tribe costumes. The display continues in the museum’s garden with fascinating examples of traditional houses of numerous minority groups, from the Kinhs to the ethnic groups of the Central Highlands. Then back to the Old Quarter for a 1.5 hour walking tour, then you will have a deeper insight of local daily life . We then head to Ngoc Son Temple set on a tiny island in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake. Ngoc Son Temple dates back to the 13th century, and the lake itself is the picturesque heart of Hanoi, frequented by tourists and locals alike.
Day 06 . Thu 15 March 2018 : Hanoi- Tam Coc (B, L) | Guide and driver
In the morning, our car and guide will pick you up to travel to Hoa Lu – the former capital of Vietnam, about a two-hour drive from Hanoi. On arrival, you will visit two temples, one of them dedicated to Emperor Dinh and the other in memory of Emperor Le, followed by a brief visit to the remains of the Old Palace. After lunch at a local restaurant, you will visit Tam Coc (three caves), a peaceful valley among limestone ‘karst’ hills, There, you will be rowed along a gentle river between paddy fields and through the caves. After the boat trip in Tam Coc, the rest of day we will cycle along winding roads passing lotus ponds, temples and cottages, typical of Vietnamese countryside to visit Bich Dong Pagoda situated on a hillside. Overnight in hotel in Tam Coc.
Day 07 . Fri 16 March 2018 : Ninh Binh - Halong (B, L, D) | Guide and driver
After breakfast depart to Halong Bay via Thai Binh and Nam Dinh, passing a peaceful countryside typical of Red River Delta with endless rice fields and winding rivers. We will arrive at Halong’s tourist wharf around noon and embark an elegant wooden junk. Lunch will be served while the boat gently cruises past numerous islands and limestone structures rising from the emerald water. A fresh seafood dinner will be prepared by an experienced chef and served on deck. A peaceful night on board in your private cabin.
Day 08 . Sat 17 March 2018 : Halong - Hanoi - flight to Danang - Hoi An (VN185 HAN DAD 1830 1950 by Asiatica) (B) | Guide and driver
Rising to the tranquil beauty of the bay you have time for an early morning dip while the sun rises, followed by breakfast on board. We will continue to sail through the bay during the morning to explore more secluded areas. The junk will stay close at all times serving as a backup vessel for those that require it. Around midday we will return to the main harbor. A 3-hour drive will take you back to Noi Bai airport for your flight to Danang, then transfer to hotel in Hoi An for check in. Overnight in Hoi An
Day 09 . Sun 18 March 2018 : Hoi An walking tour & surrounding villages (B, L) | Guide and driver
08:00 Guide pick guests up at hotel, take bicycles along De Vong River to Cam An wharf.
Embark on the boat to Cua Dai sand dune, enjoy casting net show and learn how to cast net by local fisher man. Continue to Cam Thanh Water coconut village, have a brief introduction to the history there.
Take on the basket boat along the water coconut river. Fisherman will teach you how to catch the crabs (02 paxs/ boat). Divide group into 2 teams for basket boat racing and catching crabs. There will be a lovely present for winner.
Embark on the boat, enjoy the folk songs show by local people and learn how to make funny tools by water coconut leaf. Then get on board to Cam An wharf, continue to take a bicycle to Tra Que village. Have lunch and join in the daily activities with local farmer there. Back to your hotel by bicycle.
Return to Hoi An town. In the afternoon, you will be taken on a half-day walking tour through the narrow, winding streets of Hoi An’s ancient town, visiting Chua Ong Pagoda, Chinese assembly halls, the 200- year old Tan Ky ancestral house, and the Japanese Bridge.
Overnight in Hoi An.
Day 10 . Mon 19 March 2018 : Hoi An free (B) |
Breakfast at hotel and then day is yours to freely explore the peaceful riverside town in your own time. Overnight at hotel in Hoi An
Day 11 . Tue 20 March 2018 : Hoi An - Danang - Saigon (VN117 DAD SGN 1015 1145 by Asiatica) (B) | Guide and driver
After breakfast, at 8AM, you will be taken to the airport for the flight to Ho Chi Minh City.
Upon arrival, check into hotel. In the afternoon you will visit the Notre Dame Cathedral and the General Post Office. The Saigon city tour then continues along Dong Khoi Street, where the Opera House and the Peoples’ Committee building, built in 1897 by French architect Ferret Eugene, are situated. The 800 seat Opera House served as the home of the Lower House Assembly of South Vietnam after 1956. You will then visit The Reunification Palace, formerly known as Presidential Palace, which was the residence of the president of South Vietnam until the end of April 1975. Overnight at hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 12 . Wed 21 March 2018 : Saigon - Ben Tre - Saigon (B, L) | Guide and driver
You will be picked up at your hotel at 8:30am and driven to Ben Tre. Upon arrival at Hung Vuong pier you will embark a boat to cruise on Ben Tre River, one of the tributaries of the Mekong River. Enjoy the lively activities on the river like fishing and water transferring. You will stop at a brick-factory, to see how bricks are made by hand in a traditional way. Your next stop is one of numerous coconut processing workshops located along the canal.
Take a bicycle-cart along a village path and stop at a farmer’s house for lunch. You then talk a walk to a mat-weaving village before embarking small rowing-boats to travel along palm tree lined waterways back to Hung Vuong pier. You return to Ho Chi Minh City, stopping along the way to visit the beautiful Vinh Trang Pagoda. Overnight at hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 13 . Thu 22 March 2018 : Saigon - Cu Chi - departure (SQ185 @19:50) (B) | Guide and driver
After breakfast, drive to the Cu Chi Tunnels, situated 70km from Saigon. The Cu Chi Tunnel system was created around 1948 to assist the Viet Minh in their combat against French occupiers. Construction and enlargement continued during American bombings and they were turned into an underground city with living areas, kitchens, storage, weapon factories and field hospitals. The Cu Chi Tunnels could house up to 10,000 people who lived underground for years, getting married and raising children. During the Vietnam- American War the entire area of Cu Chi was designated as a fire free zone yet was heavily bombarded. Since 1988, two sections of the tunnels are open for visitors to crawl through and better understand the war.
You are free til transfer to the airport at 16:30 for departure flight (Late check out for 1 room is included)
Note: Standard check out time is 12:00PM