Itinerary

1. Day 1: Arrive Hanoi – Hanoi City Tour [L]

   • 7:30-8:00: Our driver picks you up from the airport station and transfers you to the city center to join the group tour.
   • We will start our city day trip. Head to Uncle Ho’s final resting place, standing in Ba Dinh Square, where Vietnamese cultural and political events usually take place. Visit Ho Chi Minh’s stilt house, where Ho Chi Minh used to live intermittently during the Vietnam War, and One Pillar Pagoda – a Buddhist temple featuring a unique architecture inside and a peaceful lotus lake outside. Visit Tran Quoc Pagoda and the Bodhi tree, which was offered by Indian Prime Minister Rajendra Prasad as a gift when he visited Vietnam in 1959.
   • 12:30: Have lunch in a restaurant in the Old Quarter.
   • Continue to Hoa Lo Prison, the ancient temple named Ngoc Son Temple, and Hoan Kiem Lake (Sword Lake). Go to see the first Vietnamese university – the Temple of Literature (Quoc Tu Giam), founded in 1070 based on the teachings of Confucianism.
   • 16:15: Enjoy the Water Puppet Show – a well-known traditional Vietnamese art preserved through generations for over 800 years (Note: Show excluded).
   • Free time for dinner by yourself.

   Stay overnight in Hanoi.

   Please Note: The program will be adjusted to suit the arrival flights. The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is closed on Mondays and Fridays, and all museums are closed on Mondays. Alternatives will be recommended accordingly.

2. Day 2: Sapa Town – Cat Cat Village – Waterfall – Sin Chai Village (B/L/D)

   • 6:30-7:00: The tour guide from Vietnam Travel Advisor picks you up from your hotel/accommodation. Get on a big bus and depart for Sapa Town.
   • 9:30: Follow the highway to Lao Cai City with the first comfort break.
   • 11:00: Second comfort break at Lao Cai City before approaching Sapa.
   • 13:00: Arrive in Sapa Town with the colorful traditional costumes of H’Mong, Dzao, and Tay ethnic people. Receive a welcome drink and itinerary briefing. Enjoy lunch with local Vietnamese dishes, followed by check-in procedures.
   • 14:30: The bus picks you up to the gate of Cat Cat Village, home to the Black Hmong ethnic people, located near the bottom of a deep valley at the foot of Fansipan Peak. Our local guide will show you the daily life activities of the locals. Trek down to the valley bottom to the waterfall, where the French built a hydraulic power station. Stop for a photo with the bridge and waterfall, then walk uphill for the bus to pick you up and return to Sapa in the afternoon.
   • Trekking distance is about 2.5 km and lasts for 2 hours.
   • 17:00: Come back to Sapa Town. Have dinner and overnight in the hotel with night activities.

3. Day 3: Sapa – Explore Fansipan Peak or Ham Rong Mountain – Ha Giang (B/L)

   • Option 1: Ham Rong Mountain Tour
     • 8:30: The guide takes you around Sapa Center before climbing Ham Rong Mountain – one of the most spectacular and wonderful peaks of Sapa. Exercise your health and discover the natural beauty of life. From the top of this peak, you can have a panorama over the surrounding area.
     • 12:00: Come back to the restaurant and have lunch. Enjoy your time with comfort! After lunch, you have free time in the afternoon and night for leisure and shopping.
   • Option 2: Explore Fansipan Peak (Excluded cable car $45/person)
     • 8:00: After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to Fansipan Cable Station for an amazing trip to reach the Indochina Roof, 3,143 meters above sea level. Start by taking the cable car and step up to the peak. Visit the pagoda, enjoy the fresh air, and admire the beautiful landscapes from the high vantage point.
     • 11:00: Return to Sapa Town, check out of the hotel, and have lunch.
     • After lunch, enjoy free time to relax and shop.
     • 15:30: It’s time to say “Goodbye Sapa!”
     • Along the way, once again you have a chance to enjoy the magical beauty of the northwest mountains.
     • 21:30-22:00: Arrive in Ha Giang.

4. Day 4: Ha Giang – Meo Vac – Ma Pi Leng Pass – Dong Van (B/L/D)

   • 7:30: Begin your greatest adventure in one of the most remote areas of Northern Vietnam. Your guide picks you up at your hotel in Ha Giang City to start the drive to Dong Van.
   • Pass by Quan Ba and its legendary Fairy Bosom Hills. Visit a French bunker dating from the colonial era and stop in Mau Due for lunch.
   • Reach Meo Vac to start the first trek of the trip – a 10 km hike through Ma Pi Leng Pass, a must-see destination in Ha Giang. Stroll around the valley, cling to the side of the undulating mountains, and enjoy unrivaled views of the Nho Que River and terraced hemp fields that decorate the mountainsides. Walking this path will give you feelings you have never experienced before.
   • If you do not want to trek, you may stay with the driver in the car and zigzag down the pass to the end of the trail. Stop for photos along the way.
   • Arrive in Dong Van, settle into the hotel, and have dinner at a local restaurant.

   Highlights and activities: Dong Van, Quan Ba, Ma Pi Leng, 10-12 km trek.

5. Day 5: Dong Van – Vuong Palace – Yen Minh – Ha Giang City (B/L/D)

   • If you are lucky to be travelling in Dong Van on a Sunday morning, do not miss out on the weekly market which gathers all the local ethnic minorities in the area and gives you the unique opportunity to walk through the crowd, witness the trade market of buffalos, cows or chickens, or be dazzled by the colourful booths of traditional ethnic clothes.
   • Back in the car, we will continue our loop to the final frontier and travel through Ma Le, the ‘one-eyed ghost’ area. This road remains a secret, it can take you to the northernmost point of Vietnam, Lung Cu, home of the Lo Lo ethnic minority, or to Vuong palace which is our next destination. It is a unique place, home of the H’mong King, whose architecture is influenced by three cultures: Chinese, French and Hmong. It was also used during the French colonization as a secret storage room for opium.
   • The tour then continues to Yen Minh, known for its countless terraced fields, posed on the mountainsides. Lunch will be served at your next stop in Quan Ba.

   Highlights and activities: Dong Van, Quan Ba, Ma Pi Leng, 10 – 12 km trek

   Accommodation: Mr.Doan Homestay

   Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

6. Day 6: Trekking Arround Ha Giang (B/L)

   • Today is all about trekking so after breakfast, you will set out towards Lung Vai Village which will take between 6 to 8 hours depending on your walking speed. 
   • Along the way you can enjoy the stunning views and friendly locals passing by, before stopping for a picnic lunch in the remote village of Khuoi My. 
   • You will then continue, passing the farmers working their fields, until you reach Ban Tha village, where our driver will be waiting to take you back to Ha Giang City.

   Highlights and activities: trekking Ha Thanh

   Accommodation: not includes 

   Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

7. Day 7: Hanoi – Cao Bang – Lang Son [B/L/D

   • Our tour guide will pick you up by car at your hotel around 7:30-8:00am, transferring you to Lang Son. 
   • We will start by driving in the direction of the Chinese border for about 3 hours, before stopping at  Chi Lang Pass - a 20-km-long gorge created from a narrow valley between two mountains. This place occupies an important position in Vietnamese history, being the place of many victories against various Chinese invasions over the centuries and millennia, as far back as 981AD. As such it bears the reputation of Vietnam’s strongest citadel and bastion. 
   • Here you will have roughly an hour to walk around and explore the area around the Quy Mon Quan Gate, which translates as “The Gate of Monsters”, named for the many invasion forces that would spill through the pass over the course of history only to be beaten back by stalwart Vietnamese defenders. 
   • After lunch at a local restaurant in Dong Dang, you will continue your trip into the pass, stopping to visit Mother’s Temple and Dong Khe – an important historical site where The Battle of Dong Khe was fought during the First Indochina War. In fact, this was the very first battle of the Indochina Wars, and the fighting here took place through September and October 1950, ending in a resounding victory for the Viet Minh. 
   • In the evening you will get to enjoy dinner and overnight rest in a hotel in Cao Bang city.
     Highlights and activities: Chi Lang, Quy Mon Quan Gate, Dong Khe Battle Site, and a 3-5km walk.
     Accommodation: Thanh Loan Hotel
     Meals: Lunch and Dinner in local restaurant

8. Day 8: Ban Gioc – waterfall – Nguom Ngao Cave – Ba Be Lake (B/L/D)

   • After enjoying breakfast at the hotel, you will depart for Trung Khanh which lies right on the border with China. 
   • Here you will have another chance to meet and interact with the local Nung people living in the village of Phuoc Sen, a mountainous village famous for its traditional blacksmithing. The farming tools made here are an integral part of the lifestyle which is evident in the surrounding rice paddies and fields. Nestled amongst these amazing landscapes is the breath-taking Ban Gioc Waterfall which spans over 300 meters, split half and half between Vietnam and China. 
   • You’ll get some time here to simply take in the amazing atmosphere surrounding the falls, which presents an excellent opportunity for some fantastic photography. 
   • Once you’ve finished at the falls, it’s time to head over to Nguom Ngao Cave, for a very different, but no less impressive natural wonder. The cave stretches for 2,144 meters underground and is brimming with incredible stalactites and stalagmites. 
   • You will then return to Cao Bang town and head down the “snake pass” to Ba Be Lake, where you will stay overnight in a homestay constructed in traditional Tay fashion and owned and operated by a local Tay family. 
   • Here you can relax and unwind from the day and enjoy a delicious and authentic home-cooked meal.

   Highlights and activities: Ban Gioc Waterfall, Nguom Ngao Cave, Ethnic Villages, a 2 - 3 km trek
   Accommodation: Homestay
   Meals: Breakfast, dinner at homestay. Lunch in local restaurant

9. Day 9: Ba Be Lake – Hanoi (B/L)

   • After breakfast we’ll kick the final day of the tour of by boarding a boat and setting off onto the lake. It’s up to you how to spend your time on the boat, whether it’s relaxing and enjoying the views or going for a swim in the cool waters to refresh yourself. The views consist of stunning karst formations all around you covered with patches of wild vegetation and a rich wildlife.
   • The boat will then continue along the Nang River, giving you a chance to explore the caves of Puong Grotto where you can marvel at the stalactites and stalagmites created through river erosion, as well as observe the thousands-strong bat colony that lives here.
   • Now that you’ve reached the end of your tour, you’ll be driven the roughly 230 kilometres back to Hanoi, with a stop at a tea plantation nestled among rolling hills. Once we arrive in Hanoi it is time to say farewell, having made lifelong memories and connections

10. Day 10: Hanoi – Leisure – Departure (B)

    • After breakfast at the hotel, you will have free time to explore Hanoi at your leisure. One popular activity is shopping in the central area around the Old Quarter, where you can find a wide variety of traditional Vietnamese handicrafts, souvenirs, and street food.

    • The Old Quarter is a maze of narrow streets and alleyways, each dedicated to a particular craft or product. For example, Hang Bac Street is known for silverware, while Hang Gai Street is famous for silk products. You can also visit Dong Xuan Market, the largest covered market in Hanoi, where you can find everything from fresh produce to clothing and souvenirs.

    • In the afternoon, you will be transferred to the airport for your departure flight.