HANOI – SAPA – HALONG BAY – HOALU – TRANG AN – HANOI FOR ASIAN

Meals: Dinner at local restaurant

Accommodations: at hotel

Transfer: Private vehicle

Activities for today:

Upon arrival at Noi Bai International airport, our tour guide and driver pick up transfer to hotel in Hanoi (check in at 14:00PM, free early check in subject to availability). Dinner at local restaurant. Overnight in Hanoi.  

Meals: Breakfast at hotel, Lunch and Dinner at local restaurant

Accommodations: on train

Transfer: Private vehicle and train

Activities for today:

Enjoy breakfast at hotel, Start at 8:00 from your hotel by car to visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, stilt-house and Museum, One pillar pagoda, Tran Quoc pagoda, temple of Literature- the first university of Vietnam. After the lunch time, visit to the Ethnology museum where contains more than 10,000 objects, 15,000 black and white photos and hundreds of video tapes and cassettes which depict all aspects of life, activities, customs, and habits of the 54 ethnic groups of Vietnam. Enjoy one hour cyclo trip around the trading area in Hanoi Old Quarter. Have dinner at local restaurant then transfer to train station take night train to Sapa. Overnight on train.

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+ Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum: It holds the embalmed remains of Ho Chi Minh. Visiting the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is a highlight for many locals' visits to the capital, and very few Vietnamese visiting Hanoi pass up a chance for a pilgrimage to the place where Vietminh leader Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence. It is closed every Monday and Friday, November and December closed for maintain.

+ Ho Chi Minh's House on Stilts: It is the house president Ho Chi Minh lived on and off from 1958 to 1969. It was constructed by the official French architect for Vietnam. Like most French Colonial architecture, the palace is pointedly European. The house is an interpretation of a traditional rural dwelling, and has been preserved just as Ho left it.

+ One Pillar Pagoda: It is a Buddhist temple in the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex near Ba Dinh Square, a replica of an older temple that was built in 1049 and destroyed in 1954.It is regarded alongside the Perfume Temple, as one of Vietnam's two most iconic temples.

+ Temple of Literature: It is a temple of Confucius in Hanoi. The temple hosts the "Imperial Academy", Vietnam's first national university. The various pavilions, halls, statues and stelae of doctors are places where offering ceremonies, study sessions and the strict exams of the Dai Viet took place.

+ Museum of Ethnology: It 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.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner at local restaurant

Accommodations: at hotel

Transfer: Private vehicle

Activities for today: Arrive Lao Cai at 05:00AM, from Lao Cai the road winds up the terraced hillsides to Sapa, a former French hill resort and home to some of Vietnam’s most colorful ethnic groups. There are many photo opportunities along the way. Transfer to hotel (check in at 14:00PM, free early check in subject to availability). Have breakfast at local restaurant, free time for shopping around Sapa Market. In the afternoon visit some of nearby hill tribe Cat Cat villages. Have dinner at local restaurant. Overnight in Sapa.

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+ Sapa market is located right at the heart of Sapa town, just a short walk to Sapa stone church that is built by the French in the early 20th century.

+ Cat Cat cultural village was formed in 19th century by the gathering of some families belonging to some ethnic groups living in mountainous areas of northern Vietnam, especially Black H’Mong .They lived next to each other along the mountain side and cultivated surrounding their home. Rice and corn were grown in terraced fields, while traditional handicrafts such as twisting flax and weaving fabric have been well-kept. Through times, Cat Cat Village has transferred to one appealing feature of Sapa’s tourism.

Meals: Breakfast at hotel, Lunch and Dinner at local restaurant

Accommodations: on train

Transfer: Private vehicle

Activities for today: 

After breakfast. Rise up as early as 6.00 am to visit the Coc Ly Market (Tuesday every week). This is the best time to visit this huge market with its entire colorful ethnic people like Lao, Lu, Black (flat) Dzao and Blue H’mong minorities. Not only that, the outstanding and amazing red H’mong, Tay, Dzay will be seen here as well. It is time for you to enjoy on your own leisure. Lunch and dinner at local restaurant. Transfer to Lao Cai station for overnight on train back to Hanoi.

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+ Coc Ly Market: This market is about 35km southwest of Bac Ha. Many ethnic traders from Bac Ha and other parts of Lao Cai dress up in colorful costumes and bring horses, chickens, buffaloes, vegetables or whatever they can sell to the festive market in the wee hours, and will not return home until 1pm. Because Coc Ly is more remote than Sapa, the dress and way of life of people is more traditional than in the large centers. A good idea is to stroll every corner of the market as you listen to unexpected conversations, see nice items and local life.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner at local restaurant

Accommodations: at hotel

Transfer: Private vehicle

Activities for today: Arrival Hanoi in the morning at 05:00AM. Have breakfast at local restaurant, visit Dong Xuan market and 36 old streets for shopping. Have lunch at local restaurant then depart to Halong Bay. Arrive Halong, check in hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure. Have dinner at Seafood Restaurant. Overnight in Halong.

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+ Dong Xuan Market is a market in the center district Hoan Kiem of Hanoi, Vietnam. Originally built by the French administration in 1889, Dong Xuan Market has been renovated several times with the latest in 1994 after a fire which almost destroyed the market. Nowadays, Dong Xuan Market is the largest covered market of Hanoi where the wholesale traders sell everything from clothes, household goods to foodstuffs.

Meals: Breakfast at hotel, Lunch on boat and Dinner at local restaurant

Accommodations: at hotel

Transfer: Private vehicle and boat

Activities for today:

After breakfast at hotel, 08:00AM take a boat trip to visit Halong bay, the world heritage site of Vietnam, Cruising around to see a lots of islands and islets including cook fighting island. Stop to visit Thien Cung Cave or Dau Go caves, enjoy lunch on boat then back to Hanoi, and stop on the way for shopping.

Arrive Hanoi. Visit Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son Temple. Attend Water Puppet Show, a theatrical genre reflecting the agricultural civilization of thousands of years ago. Have dinner at local restaurant. Overnight in Hanoi.

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+ Thien Cung cave: It is situated on the south-west side the bay, 4 km from the wharf outside of Ha Long City. The way to Thiên Cung is a perilous one, covered on both sides by thick forest. After entering a narrow gate, the grotto’s 130-meter-long girth opens up. Getting in we are more astonished in front of the very animated and splendid beauty which is made from stalactite. On the east wall of the grotto, there is a grandiose and imposing picture with characters of tales.

Going out of the Thiên Cung Grotto, we have a sensation of just watching a unique, meticulous, interesting fine-art museum which is made by nature, get out of the imagine, ability and intellect of man.

This grotto is recently discovered, one of the most beautiful grottoes in Ha Long Bay.

+ Dau Go Cave: The grotto is on Driftwood Island. Seen from afar, the entrance to the grotto appears to be blue, and has a shape similar to that of a jellyfish. After 90 steps up the island, the entrance is reached. The ceiling of the grotto is about 25 m. Hundreds of stalactites falling down from the roof of the grotto look like a waterfall. The grotto is divided into three main parts.

The exterior is a room with a vault full of natural light. Many forms may be seen in the rock formations of the chamber, depending on the imagination of the visitor of course.

Crossing the first chamber, one enters the second chamber through a narrow passage. The light here is mysterious, and new images appear in the stone. It makes us having a fear and be inquisitive.

The third chamber of the grotto is widely opened. At the end of the grotto is a well of clear water. Looking up in the dim light we recognize that surrounded is the image of an ancient citadel and a scuffle of elephants, horses, man with bristly sword and spear. All are making a rush and be petrified suddenly.

+ Hoan Kiem Lake ("Lake of the Returned Sword" or "Lake of the Restored Sword"), also known as Hồ Gươm (Sword Lake), is a fresh water lake, measuring some 12 ha in the historical center of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam.

+ Ngoc Son Temple was built in the 18th century on Jade Island in the centre of the ‘Lake of the Returned Sword’ or Hoan Kiem Lake. Legend describes how an emperor was once given a magical sword which helped him defeat the Chinese Ming Dynasty and in doing so saw the return of the Golden Turtle God to the lake.

+ Water Puppet Show: It is a tradition that dates back as far as the 11th century CE when it originated in the villages of the Red River Delta area of northern Vietnam.

Meals: Breakfast at hotel, Lunch and Dinner at local restaurant

Accommodations: at hotel

Transfer: Private vehicle, boat trip

Activities for today:

After breakfast at hotel.

8:00 Our driver and tour guide will pick you up at hotel start the journey to Ninh Binh province.

Ninh Binh is located south of the Northern Delta, between the Red River and Ma River. The old city of Ninh Binh is one of many famous historic sites in Vietnam. The provincial town of Ninh Binh as diverse landscapes because of its proximity to the mountains of Non Nuoc and Canh Dieu.

10:30 we will arrive at Hoa Lu Ancient Capital and visit 2 Temples of 2 Kings (Dinh Bo Linh and Le Hoan).

12:00 We have an hour for lunch at local restaurant.

After lunch, we take a boat trip to explore the cave complex in Trang An. Enjoy peaceful moments with clear water, fresh air and spectacular views of mountainous areas. Trang An Landscape Complex is a spectacular landscape of limestone karst peaks permeated with valleys, many of them partly submerged and surrounded by steep, almost vertical cliffs. This area was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

16:00 Our driver will take you back to Hanoi.

18:30 Arrive in Hanoi. Have dinner at Halal restaurant. Overnight in Hanoi.

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+ Hoa Lu was the capital of Vietnam in the 10th and 11th centuries. Hoa Lư was the native land of the first two imperial dynasties of Vietnam: the Đinh founded by Đinh Tiên Hoàng, and the Early Lê founded by Lê Đại Hành.

+ Trang An Grottoes is Scenic Landscape Complex in Ninhbinh province of Vietnam, It is covers an area of 6,172ha in districts of Hoa Lu, Gia Vien, Nho Quan, Tam Diep Town and Ninh Binh City, about 90km to the southeast of Hanoi. The complex is surrounded by a buffer zone of 6,268ha, mostly comprising paddy rice fields and villages. As a mixed cultural and natural property, Trangan Landscape Complex contains three protected areas, including Hoa Lu Ancient Citadel Cultural – Historical Area; Trang An – Tam Coc – Bich Dong Scenic Area and Hoa Lu Special-Use Primary Forest.

Meals: Breakfast at hotel

Transfer: Private vehicle

Activities for today:

After breakfast, transfer to airport for departure flight back home. End of services