Day 1: Hanoi Arrival

Upon arrival to Hanoi, our guide and driver will be waiting to provide transport to the hotel for check in. The rest of the day is spent at leisure after your long-haul flights! Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 2: Hanoi City (B)

You will visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (where the preserved body of "Uncle Ho" may be viewed), his nearbyhouse on stilts, the lotus-shaped One Pillar Pagoda, Quan Thanh Temple, the Temple of Literature, Hoan Kiem Lake.

The tour continues with a 30-minute cyclo tour through Hanoi’s bustling Old Quarter, a place where Hanoians buy everything from noodles to light fixtures to Buddha statues. The quarter’s 36 streets were named for the products that were sold from their shops. Today, vendors on Tin and Bamboo Streets still sell the same wares. After exploring the old quarter’s shady alleyways, sip a strong Vietnamese coffee in a café overlooking Hoan Kiem Lake - an important symbol in Vietnamese folklore. Snap a photograph of the downtown skyline before returning to your hotel. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 3: Hanoi – Ba Be (B, L, D)

Starting from Hanoi, depart in the morning (8 AM) for the 4.5-hour drive to Ba Be Lake National Park. Arrive at noon and check in to a family-run stilt house on the edge of Ba Be Lake. The rest of the afternoon and evening is at leisure. Overnight in Ba Be.

Day 4: Ba Be (B, L, D)

Explore the Ba Be Lake on a boat trip. Admire the tranquil landscape of corn farm and stilt houses of the Tay community. You can walk to the village of the Nung people and see the waterfall of Dau Dang. Overnight in Ba Be

Day 5: Ba Be – Ha Giang (B,L,D)

After your breakfast, travel to the province of Ha Giang. Ha Giang is truly breathtaking and covers the most northerly and most remote area of Vietnam. We will stop for lunch on the way. There are many ethnic minority villages of the Pa Then people along the spectacular road that leads from Bac Quang district to Ha Giang. You have the opportunity to meet many local people in Ha Giang. Finally, we arrive at the village of Me where you will have dinner with the host family.

Day 6: Ha Giang – Yen Minh – Dong Van (B,L,D)

After breakfast, we start a soft trek to explore and learn about the local life of the Tay people. We then board a bus to go to the northern district and to Yen Minh via Quan Ba pass. En route, you can enjoy the spectacular natural landscape of Quan Ba and the village of Pho Cao. Discover the beautiful old houses of the Hmong and Lolo people before leaving for the Vuong's Palace. The building used to belong to a King of the Hmong people during the French domination. The palace attracts keen interest from architecturally minded visitors due to its mixed style of European and Chinese architecture.

We have dinner in Dong Van and stay there overnight. Remember to charge the batteries on your cameras as tomorrow offers opportunities of photographing many more places that are beautiful.

Overnight stay in Dong Van

Day 8: Dong Van – Meo Vac (B,L,D)

After breakfast, stroll out to the Dong Van Old Streets to see the old houses of the Hmong built centuries ago of clay bricks and tile roofs that are located near the market.

We will leave Dong Van, where we climb over the Ma Pi Leng Pass, along the zigzagged roads where we can enjoy the awesome mountain ranges and the Nho Que River. Ma Pi Leng is one of the best photo opportunities that this area has to offer. View the vast limestone mountain range and perpendicular walls of rock as we drive along the winding road. A further 15 km and we visit the village of Dao "Ao Dai" and Sung Mang before stopping for lunch at Lung Phin. Overnight at Meo Vac.

Day 9: Meo Vac – Hanoi (B,L)

After breakfast, we drive to Hanoi enjoying a stop for lunch along the way. Once you arrive in Ha Noi, you will be free at leisure to do whatever you choose. Dinner is on your own.

Day 10. Hanoi – Departure (B)

On the day of your departure, you are free to shop, relax and do whatever you would like at your own leisure until your transfer time to the airport. 

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