Sapa & Tonkin

DAY 1 – HANOI / LAO CAI

Arrival in the city. Time at leisure. You will have a hotel for day use in Hanoi before transfer to the station for departure by overnight train to Lao Cai. Overnight on board. Overnight in shared quadruple cabin.

DAY 2 – LAO CAI / SAPA

Arrival in Lao Cai in the morning. Breakfast at local restaurant. After breakfast departure to Sa Seng Village for a hike. Walk along a small concrete road with beautiful views of rice terraces leading to a village of the Black Hmong people. Experience how the local people established their homes with the surrounding rice and corn farms. Then, continue ascending uphill on a small rocky trail with lush green bamboo forest and bushes. Lunch is prepared at a nice place at the top overlooking the large and beautiful Muong Hoa valley. On the afternoon, descend downhill passing some small villages of the Hmong ethnic tribe in Hau Thao village. Be sure to take some excellent photos of the mountain overlooking Fansipan Mountain, the highest mountain in Vietnam. Have a chance to visit a local's house and learn about the Hmong ethnic culture and their way of life. The last part of the trip is an easy walk among villages and rice terraces. Return to Sapa by car. Accommodation.

DAY 3 – SAPA / HANOI

After breakfast depart for the Muong Hoa valley inhabited by the Black Hmong and Giay tribes. Start the downhill trek to the valley which is the largest aroz field in the Sapa area. The walk starts from Lao Chai, the Black H'mong minority village to the Ta Van of Giay people including a visit in a local school. Lunch at local restaurant. End of the tour and departure to Hanoi by bus. Accommodation.

DAY 4 – HANOI

Visit of the city: the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh (outside), and his former residence, the Single Pillar Pagoda, the Tran Quoc Pagoda, and the Museum of Ethnology, with its exhibition on Vietnamese ethnic plurality. Lunch. In the afternoon visit of the Temple of Literature, cycle ride in the old town where you will have some time at leisure to get lost in the streets and enter the antique stores. Then visit of the Ngoc Son temple on Hoan Kiem Lake. To end the day, attend a traditional show of aquatic puppets. Accommodation.

DAY 5 – HANOI / HALONG BAY

Departure by road to Halong Bay. Arrival and departure on board the Junco for a long cruise that will allow us to enjoy the environment of the bay, with an area of 1500km² and about 30,000 small islands of whimsical shapes that remind us of figures of animals or other objects. Weather permitting you can swim in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin, see the stalactite grottoes and enjoy the sunset in a privileged place. Night in the Junco.

DAY 6 – HALONG BAY / HANOI / DANANG / HOI AN

This day you will be able to enjoy the sunrise in the bay and enjoy a cruise back to Halong. Brunch on board (between 10:00 am and 11:00 am) and return by road to Hanoi. Transfer to the airport for flight to Danang. Arrival and transfer by road to Hoi An. Accommodation.

DAY 7 – HOI AN

Hoi An was an important port during the 17th and 18th centuries and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit the most picturesque area of the city, which preserves the atmosphere of its glorious past, the famous wooden covered bridge built by the Japanese community in 1593, the Phuc Kien Pagoda, the house of the Hung merchants and the Quang Dong Assembly. Lunch. Afternoon at leisure to relax on the beach or enjoy shopping in the old quarter. Optionally we suggest you to visit the famous Bridge of Hands, located in the hills of Ba Na. Accommodation.

DAY 8 – HOI AN / DANANG / HUE

Departure by road to Hue, through the Hai Van tunnel. Hue was the former imperial capital of Vietnam, city of poets and intellectual center of the country. Visit the Mausoleum of Emperor Tu Duc, built according to the laws of geomancy. Lunch. Visit of the Citadel to see the Imperial Palace and ride a rickshaw (cycle cart). Then, boat ride on the Perfume River to reach the Thien Mu Pagoda, emblematic octagonal tower of seven floors. Accommodation.

DAY 9 – HUE / HO CHI MINH

Breakfast. Transfer to the airport to depart on a flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Better known as Saigon, this city remains an important port for trade on the banks of the Mekong River, a cosmopolitan city with beautiful buildings reflecting its colonial past. City tour including the old Colonial Residential Quarter which includes the City Hall, the Opera House, the Post Office and the Reunification Palace (outside). Afternoon visit of the War Museum, “Cho Lon” Chinatown, Tien Hau Pagoda and Binh Tay Market. Transfer to the hotel. Accommodation.

DAY 10 – HO CHI MINH

Breakfast. Day at leisure. Optionally we suggest an excursion to the famous Cu Chi tunnels or to the wonderful Mekong Delta. Transfer to the airport at scheduled time.