Best of Northern Vietnam Tour – 7 Days

Breakfast at the hotel.

We begin a full-day city tour by visiting the Ho Chi Minh complex, including the One Pillar Pagoda, the former leader’s house on stilts and his Mausoleum. Continue on, transfer to West Lake to visit Tran Quoc Pagoda as known the oldest pagoda in the city, originally constructed in the sixth century during the reign of Emperor Ly Nam De, and then keep walking to Quan Thanh Temple, as one of the Four Sacred Temples of the capital.

Keep forward to the peaceful Temple of Literature - the first university of Vietnam.

Lunch will be served at a local Vietnamese restaurant.

In the afternoon, proceed to the Ethnologic museum, which focuses on the 54 officially recognized ethnic groups in Vietnam, it is widely considered to be the finest modern museum in Vietnam and a tourist attraction in Hanoi.

In the afternoon, a motorbike driver will pick you up from your hotel and then drive through narrow streets to the Opera house where you will learn about french colonial, architecture, and history. Continue drive to the railway train tracks, we can see how the locals live & work, just centimeters from the train tracks in tall narrow houses.

Later on, visit An Duong market to see where local people come to buy and sell fresh vegetables and food for daily life, and stroll around this huge, bustling place and take in the vibrant atmosphere that typifies Hanoi.

Back to the city center, stop at a local Vietnamese coffee shop by the street to enjoy a cup of Cà Phê Sữa Đá – Ice coffee with milk (on your own account) before we visit Long Bien Bridge, a magnificent structure built over a hundred of years ago wich spans the red river and connects the Hoan Kiem and Long Bien districts and provides shelter to locals living on the boats underneath, on motorbikes & bicycle can traverse so off we go!

Free time for dinner and return to the hotel.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Upon arrival, welcome by our tour guide and transfer to your hotel.

In the late afternoon, visit Dong Xuan market and start our street food tour in Ta Hien – Luong Ngoc Quyen – Hang Giay – Dao Duy Tu streets, where shows many kinds of local and traditional dishes. Here, you will have a chance to try some local vegetarian Vietnamese food such as Banh Cuon – the dish that is made from a thin, wide sheet of steamed rice, and Banh Duc – the cake made from either non-glutinous rice flour or corn flour. Che - Varieties of Chè are made with mung beans, black-eyed peas, kidney beans, tapioca, jelly (clear or grass), fruit (longan, mango, durian, lychee, or jackfruit), and coconut cream. This is one of the most famous dishes in Ha Noi and has been along with Hanoian for years.

Overnight in Hanoi

07:00 AM: Pick you up at your hotel and depart to Sapa, following Noi Bai - Lao Cai high-way. Along the way, you will have a chance to admire the beauty of northwest mountains with terraced fields. Have a short break for 30 minutes en route.

13:00 PM: Arrival in Sapa, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant.

After lunch, you head to Muong Hoa valley. You will pass through Lao Chai village of the Black Hmong minority and then Tavan village of Giay minority by following a very popular trekking route. You will spend the night in the local house of the Giay minority. You will be able to take a walk to enjoy the valley view as well as swim in the river nearby.

Approx: 1 hour driving/ 2 hours walking.

Once you get energy for your last day trek by having a delicious breakfast, you leave for Giang Ta Chai village of the Red Dao minority. You will trek through the bamboo forest, which belongs to Hoang Lien National Park. On the way, you will pass by a waterfall where you will have time to take a rest and enjoy the surroundings. You will find a nice place to enjoy lunch.

After lunch, you continue toward Su Pan, a small village located by the road. Here you start your journey back to Sapa by car.

Approx: 1 hour driving/ 3 hours walking/1 hour lunch.

Overnight in Sapa.

Optional – Fanxipan cable car:

After that we will explore Fansipan by cable car. The cable car system in Sapa is the world’s longest and highest cable car, running up from sleepy Sapa Town in Lao Cai Province to the peak of 3,143-meter. Fansipan Mountain, known as Indochina’s rooftop. Reaching Mount Fansipan used to mean a full-day hike at least. But from Feb 2016 the trek up will be reduced to a 25-minute flight by cable car. The 6.5km long cable car can carry a maximum of 2,000 passengers an hour, with each cabin accommodating 35 passengers.

Morning travel to one of the weekly hill tribe markets in Lao Cai province - which market will depend on the day of the week you are in town but all will promise you fun: Bac Ha market (Sunday), Coc Ly market (Tuesday) or Can Cau Market (Saturday). Flower Hmong, Tay, Nung, and many other hill tribes in their colorful villages will impress you by the way they interact and trade the market, and build their friendship with others. After lunchtime, embark on a walk to see how local people produce farming products in their living places. Return to Lao Cai in the late afternoon then we take the bus back to Hanoi.

Overnight in Hanoi.

After breakfast, we depart Hanoi for Ha Long Bay, listed as a World Heritage Area of outstanding natural beauty. “Dragon descending to the sea“as it is known in Vietnamese, picturesque Ha Long Bay has more than 1.000 limestone islets rising from the sea, many of them containing beautiful grottoes

Upon arrival at Ha Long Bay we embark on a boat trip to cruise discovering this magnificent UNESCO World Wonder. This is a great journey among surreal islands rising from a tranquil emerald sea. You will visit several key locations.

Visits:

– One of the most stunning caves of Halong Bay

– Stop at a beautiful beach and take a refreshing swim or sunbathe on the sundeck; take a short trek to the nearby summit for a panoramic view of the bay.

Back on board the junk, you will watch the sunset and be served a sumptuous dinner, with cocktails available for purchase from the bar. You will spend the night on board the junk, in a cabin with an ensuite bathroom.

Notes: The program may differ slightly based on the junk cruise’s itinerary.

Continue exploring the magnificent Ha Long Bay, and visit the fishing village and some of the many caves during the voyage. Breakfast (brunch) will be served on the boat. Check out the boat at 11:30 then transfer back to Hanoi.

Our private car and driver will take you to Noi Bai international airport for your departure flight (suggested flight: After 17:00pm for the domestic flights and after 18:00 for the International flight).