HANOI – HALONG – HOA LU – TRANG AN – HANOI FOR ASIAN

Meals: Lunch and Dinner at local restaurant

Accommodations: at hotel

Transfer: Private vehicle

Activities for today

You are warmly welcomed by our tour guide at the airport, transferred to Hanoi capital of Vietnam. Check in and take a tour to visit Temple of literature, Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son pagoda, attend Water Puppet Show. Overnight in Hanoi.

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+ 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.

+ 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

Activities for today:

After breakfast, This morning, spent some leisure time on Ba Dinh Square, site of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Later, visit Ho Chi Minh's House on Stilts and the nearby One Pillar Pagoda. After lunch, proceed to Halong town. Halong Bay was awarded by UNESCO as a natural heritage in 1994. This four hour drive will show you the diversity of the North Vietnam villages and rice fields along the journey. Have dinner at local restaurant. Overnight in Halong City.

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 Note: Please note that the HCM Mausoleum is closed on Fridays and Mondays and most museums are closed on Mondays.

+ Ba Dinh Square: It is the name of a famous square in Hanoi where president Ho Chi Minh read the Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945. It is named after the Ba Dình Uprising, an anti-French rebellion that occurred in Vietnam in 1886–1887 as part of the Can Vuong movement. When Ho Chi Minh died, the granite Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum was built here to display his embalmed body. It remains a major site of tourism and pilgrimage.

+ 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.

+ HaLong Bay (Vịnh Hạ Long) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular travel destination in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam.

Ha Long Bay has an area of around 1,553 km2 (600 sq mi), including 1,960–2,000 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334 km2 (129 sq mi) with a high density of 775 islets. The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate. The geo-diversity of the environment in the area has created biodiversity, including a tropical evergreen bio system, oceanic and sea shore bio system. Ha Long Bay is home to 14 endemic floral species and 60 endemic faunal species.

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

Accommodations: at hotel

Transfer: Private vehicle

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 Or Dau Go caves, enjoy lunch on boat then back to Hanoi, shopping around 36 ancient streets. 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.

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, free and leisure until transfer to airport for departure with a sweet memories.