Take time to enjoy the cultural mosaics and inspirational landscapes of Northern Vietnam. See all the top destinations including Hanoi's lively Old Quarter, Sapa's mountains, terraced rice paddies and ethnic minorities, and the magical treasures of Halong Bay.
Chao Ban! Welcome to Hanoi, we will meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel for check-in. Today is free at your leisure to rest or explore, discovering your own first impressions of Vietnam (depending on what time you arrive). Overnight in Hanoi.
Depart at 8:00 am from your hotel by van. We will begin our day by visiting Uncle Ho at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and residential grounds learning about his great life. Next stop is the nearby Temple of Literature, the site of Vietnam's first University. Here we will also have a chance to see a traditional music performance. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant for a taste of authentic Hanoi Pho (noodle soup). In the afternoon, choose from one of the numerous museums or temples around Hanoi (Museum of Ethnology, Women's Museum, History Museum or Quan Thanh Temple).
In the late afternoon, take a cyclo trip around Hoan Kiem Lake and Hanoi's fascinating Old Quarter. This is your chance to be in the midst of typical Hanoi an life and Vietnamese culture. We finish our relaxing but informative day by attending a Water Puppet Show - a favorite experience for all visitors to Vietnam. We can help you to get back to your hotel if you wish, but often our guests would rather just spend the evening enjoying a drink with a view of the city. Tour finishes at about 4:30 pm. Dinner on your own.
At 8:00 pm transfer from a prearranged meeting spot to the station for your night train to Sapa. Boarding is at around 9:10 pm. You will be in shared AC soft sleeper cabin to travel North to Lao Cai town.
Our tour guide will show you the mini hotel which you will have a shower and basic breakfast before going on Halong bay on Day 6.
The train arrives at about 6:00 am. Look for the “Footprint Travel” sign when you exit the train station, as our guide will pick you up there. Take a morning drive through the clouds by car / van to Sapa, about 1.5 hours. When you arrive in Sapa you will be taken to a local restaurant for a morning shower, breakfast, a short rest and some last preparations before our inspiring trek.
We will then take short ride from Sapa to our trekking base. Our trek through the terraced valleys, up and down hills will take about 5 to 6 hours. We will pass rice paddies, bamboo forests, and minority villages. Lunch break along the way depending on our pace. When we arrive in Taphin village, our Dao host family will welcome us to their home where we will share in an ethnic style dinner and stay the night.
Inclusion:
Transfer, guide, morning shower, entrance fee, all meals, permit, homestay.
At the first gleam of daylight, you will see and hear the sounds of morning village life. You can join your host family in some of their morning activities like feeding the animals, cleaning the houses, gardening or preparing breakfast. After breakfast, we can take a short wander around the village or spend more time enjoying the view and company at the homestay.
You will be then supported by our car / van back to Sapa (30 minutes). When we arrive back in Sapa, check into the hotel, shower, and pause for lunch on your own. At 2:30 pm we will take an easy 5 km walk to Cat Cat village, home of Black H’mong hill tribe, and to take part in a traditional ethnic music performance put on by the ethnic minority people. Dinner and the evening on your own. Overnight in the hotel in Sapa.
Note:The music show in Cat Cat is closed on Tuesday afternoon, an alternative will be arranged.
Inclusion:
Transfer, guide, entrance fee, breakfast, music show ticket, hotel.
Wake up in Sapa town, breakfast at the hotel then enjoy the morning with some of your new friends that you may have met the afternoon before. Today your guide is available to you for the whole day, although, you have the entire day for free time and visiting the lively markets. Some suggestions include a visit to the orchild gardens of Dragon Mountain, or a cultural day trek to hill tribe village.
In the afternoon, depart from your hotel for the Lao Cai train station at 5:30 pm. The train leaves Lao Cai at 8:15 pm and arrives after a pleasant sleep in your first class, shared AC soft sleeper car to Hanoi.
Arrival in Hanoi in the early morning at around 5:00 am. Please find your way on foot back to a mini hotel near the Tran Quy Cap train station gate to have shower and a basic set menu breakfast.
Departure for Halon Bay is around 8:00 am on a shared van from your hotel. The drive takes 4 hours driving passing through the Vietnam countryside and rice paddy-life. Arriving at the port around noon, the junk's crew welcome guests on board. Check-in, enjoy a welcome drink & attend the cruise briefing. Fresh, local seafood lunch while cruising on to Bai Tu Long Bay. Stop for swimming, visit mysterious Thien Canh cave, Relax at a secluded beach, and kayak to explore the bay up close. Back on the junk to enjoy a relaxing sunset. Dinner and overnight on board.
Early risers can enjoy the sunrise and the quiet breath-taking beauty of karst landscape. From 7:30 to 8:00 am have breakfast in the fresh air, then visit Vong Vieng fishing village by a rustic row-boat. Meet the locals, visit a floating school & fish farms. Later take one more swim in the middle of the bay. There is ample time for the 11:45 am check-out from the cabin while cruising back. Lunch on the boat as we slowly cruise back to port.
We will be ashore then hit the road back for water puppet show at a traditional Vietnamese village before getting back toHanoiat around 6:00 pm.
Today is your free day in the Hanoi capital and all of its fascinating historical charm. Spend your day relaxing or shopping. Some suggestions include waking up early (about 6:00 am) and joining in some exercise around Hoan Kiem Lake; or indulging in many of the street food options; or visiting the numerous Hanoi markets and shops. Overnight in town.
Our Footprint driver will pick you up at your hotel and transfer you to Noi Bai International Airport for your flight home, your luggage full of a lifetime's worth of memories. We wish you a pleasant journey.
Overview
