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Itinerary:
Day 1: Ho Chi Minh – City Tour
Day 2: Ho Chi Minh – Cai Be – Mekong Lodge
Day 3: Cai Be – Ho Chi Minh
Day 4: Cu Chi – Saigon – Flight to Danang– Hoi An
Day 5:Hoi Anvisit
Day 6: Hoi An – Col Cluods – Hue
Day 7: Hue – Flight to Hanoi
Day 8: Hanoi – City Tour – Train to Lao Cai
Day 9: Lao Cai – Bac
Day 10: Market Bac Ha – Ha Giang
Day 11: Ha Giang – Meo Vac
Day 12: Meo Vac – Bao Lac
Day 13: Bao Lac – Ba Be
Day 14: Ba Be Hiking
Day 15: Ba Be – Hanoi
Day 16: Hanoi – Halong
Day 17: Halong – Hanoi
Day 18: Hanoi – Departure
Itinerary details:
Day 1: HO CHI MINH ARRIVAL – ½ DAY CITY TOUR
Picked up at the airport by your guide, you will have the city tour: the old colonial quarters, post office, market, outside the Palace reunification, City Hall, Notre Dame Cathedral, the pagoda Giac Lam and Thien Hau Temple.Overnight in hotel.
Day 2: HO CHI MINH – CAI BE – MEKONG LODGE
Depart from Ho Chi Minh city to Cai Be: approx. 120km.Arrive Cai Be, greeting at Cai Be harbor and boat trip transfer to Mekong Lodge.Check-in bungalows.Daily lunch is served in the nice restaurant with the Vietnamese day-menu. From 15h00pm: afternoon cycling tour to Tân Phong island, go to one of the orchard: approx. 10km along village paths, in passing 3 wooden ferries, in about 2 hours.Cooking class in the evening & dinner in restaurant.Riverside Bar are open until mid-night
Day 3:CAI BE – HO CHI MINH
07:00 – 08:00am: breakfast in the restaurant.
From 08:00am: boat trip to the bustling floating market, visit handicraft villages, and Cai Be market on land, then transferred to Mekong Lodge.
11:30am: clear bill and check out.
12:00pm: boat trip transfer to Cai Be harbor. Back to Saigon.
Day 4: SAIGON – CU CHI TUNNEL – SAIGON – FLIGHT TO DA NANG – HOI AN
In the morning, departure for Cu Chi tunnels
Around 9:30AM: Arrive Cu Chi tunnels, View short video film and presentation about Cu Chi tunnels, before try a real experience with the world well known tunnels. After that travelers can try delicious manioc which is the main food in Cu Chi during the war.
For those interested there is an opportunity to fire off rounds from an AK47 or MK16 at the nearby rifle range.
Back to Sai Gon in the afternoon to take the flight to Da Nang. Check in and transfer to the hotel.
Day 5: HOI AN VISIT
Visit the ancient port of international trade, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Walk in the old city, among the ancient houses and old Chinese temples. Discover the Japanese bridge and local crafts. Tasting and preparing Vietnamese dishes. Walk to the local market, and then cruise on the River Thubon lined with pristine forests. Stop at the village of Kim Bong carpenters to meet famous. Free time in Hoi An and overnight in hotel.
Day 6: HOI AN – COL CLOUDS– HUE
Visit a silkworm breeding and the Cham museum housing one of the finest collections of Cham sculptures. Clouds mountain pass. Visit Hue. Cruise on the Perfume River: Thien Mu Pagoda. Royal dinner costume and traditional music. Overnight in hotel
Day 7: HUE –FLIGHT TO HANOI
Visit the citadel of the imperial city, the mausoleum of Emperor Tu Duc. Discovery of Crafts factory conical hats, incense sticks. Enjoy a walk to mingle with the people of Dong Ba market. Flight to Hanoi (1 hour).
Upon arrival, you will be picked up and transferred to the hotel in the city centre. Overnight in Hanoi
Day 8: HANOI – CITY TOUR – TRAIN TO LAO CAI
City tour: outside the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, residence, the One Pillar Pagoda and ethnology museum dedicated to local minorities. Culinary discovery: the "Chaca" fish. Visit the Temple of Literature. Tour by rickshaw through the narrow streets of the bustling old Hanoi. Discovery of Ngoc Son Temple on the lake of Restored Sword. Walk in the local market. Night train to Lao Cai air conditioned sleeper.
Day 9: LAO CAI – BAC HA
Am: after arriving in Lao Cai, having breakfast then heading to Bac Ha. Your trek commences with a short walk to Ban Pho village,where the residents are Flower Hmong, discover their life and get closer to their inhabit to understand more about their colorful life. Your lunch is served in a local house.
Pm: continue to Ta Van Chu village to have a cozy home stay here. Back to your hotel in Bac Ha town. Overnight in Bac Ha.
Day 10: BAC HA MARKET –HA GIANG
Visit of the typical market Bac Ha, brightly colored flowers where the Hmong lead the way; the opportunity to see the villagers in traditional costume sell buffl es, fruits and other local crafts. Drive to Ha Giang and through villages where you will meet ethnic Viet, Dao and San Chay. Lunch, then through a lunar landscape continue to discover villages and markets. Dinner and overnight at the inhabitant (basic comfort).
Day 11: HA GIANG – MEO VAC
Passage of Quan Ba Pass, the "gate of heaven." Visit the village of Lung Tam where Hmong women perpetuate their traditional textile trade. Visit the village of H'Mong and Pho Cao their traditional homes battered land. Discovery of the palace of King Hmong. Continue to Meo Vac via Dong Van, limestone plateau populated by Blue Hmong. Overnight in guesthouse.
Day 12: MEO VAC – BAO LAC
Road to Bao Lac. Opportunity to meet White Hmong, Nung the color indigo clothing and Tay. Visit the village of Black Lolos, a native of Yunnan in China. Overnight in guesthouse.
Day 13: BAO LAC – BA BE
Market Tour in Bao Lac, possibility of meeting with Hmong Lolos, Tay and San Chi. Drive to Ba Be National Park, beautiful area of mountains and rainforest. Cruise on the lake to the village. Dinner and overnight homestay in a traditional wooden house on stilts.
Day 14: BA BE HIKING
Down the Nang River by boat, through a landscape of limestone peaks. Walk on the shore to admire the stalactites and stalagmites in the cave Puong. Then hike through the trails. The opportunity to meet and experience the unique culture and daily life of the peasants of the Tay minority. Visit beautiful landscapes and villages of ethnic groups. Dinner and overnight at the inhabitant.
Day 15: BA BE – HANOI
Road to Hanoi via Bac Kan. Discovery of villages. Then visit the Ethnology Museum in Thai Nguyen. Overnight in hotel in Hanoi
Day 16: HANOI – HALONG BAY
After breakfast, departure to Halong Bay. On arrival around noon, check in a beautiful wooden junk for a cruise enchanting 2 days/ 1 night in Halong Bay.
During this cruise, you can explore this vast chaos of karst mountains, caves, lagoons with all these ghostly shapes that can be seen from far away. It is so nice to feel completely lost and discovering every second new forms of increasingly tormented rocks. In addition, the play of light, clouds and mist creates unexpected atmospheres. It is the same life on the bay with all its fishing boats, whole families who either live in floating houses or aboard simple craft.
In late afternoon, the ship dropped anchor for the night in the bay. It is then possible for you to swim in the emerald sea or kayaking.
The lunch and dinner are served on the junk menu with excellent seafood
Overnight on board the junk in private cabin.
Day 17: HALONG – HANOI
Morning in the bay, this is a special time for meditation and take a morning bath.
The buffet breakfast is served while the junk starts up slowly towards the pier. The return cruise allows you to discover other parts of the bay, including the Heavenly Palace Cave or the Cave of Surprise. Landing at 11:30 and taken the road towards Hanoi through the rice fields of the Red River Delta. Overnight in hotel
Day 18: HANOI – DEPARTURE
Transfer to the airport and flight back.
