9 nights 8 nights tour to explore the North of Vietnam

DISCOVER THE NORTH OF VIETNAM 9 DAYS 8 NIGHTS TOUR:

 

DAY 1 | HANOI ARRIVAL ( NO MEAL) - No guide 

 

Our guide and driver will warmly welcome you at the airport to bring you to your hotel. Relax after a long flight. Overnight in Hanoi.

 

DAY 2 | HANOI CITY TOUR (Breakfast, Lunch)

 

Have breakfast at your hotel.

08h00 - 08h30: We will pick you up from your hotel in Hanoi Old Quarter. In the morning, we will visit:

- Tran Quoc Pagoda, a Buddhist relic and national heritage lying on the West Lake.  

- Visit Ho Chi Minh’s complex, the final resting place of Viet Nam’s greatest father; his house-on-stil and One pillar pagoda – modeled after a lotus flower, a symbol of Hanoi.

- Arrive Ethnology museum to learn about cultures of 54 ethnic groups living in Vietnam. 

On Monday, the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology is closed, instead of the Vietnamese Women Museum.

Noon: Have a rest and enjoy lunch in a local restaurant in Hanoi Old Quarter. 

Afternoon: We will visit:

- Temples of Literature constructed in 1070 - dedicated to Confucius, sages and talented scholars. It is the most famous temple in Hanoi, also functioning as Vietnam's first university.

- Hoa Lo prison: Built in 1899. The French held mainly political prisoners here, along with those awaiting sentencing at the nearby Court of Justice, as well as American pilots who had been shot down and captured as prisoners of war. 

16h00: End of Hanoi City Tour, the car will take you back to the hotel or depending on the needs of visitors, the car can take you to Ham Ca Map area to be free to visit and experience (all costs is not included) at one of the locations below, then return to your hotel at your own expense:

- Free go for a walk to visit Hoan Kiem Lake, also known as Hoan Kiem Lake, and learn about the architecture of Vietnam and France around the lake area. Visit Ngoc Son Temple to worship Saints Van Xuong and Tran Hung Dao - famous generals in Vietnamese and world history and Huc Bridge.

- Rent a bicycle or tram to explore the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake.

- Buy tickets for the water puppet show.

Overnight in Hanoi

 

DAY 3 | HANOI - TUAN CHAU - HALONG - LAN HA BAY (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

 

Have breakfast at your hotel.

08h00 – 08h30 am: Pick up at your hotel in Hanoi Old Quarter 

11h45: Arrive to Tuan Chau International Port – have check-in procedures at the waiting lounge.

12h30 pm: Transfer to Aqua Of The Sea Cruise by speedboat

Welcome to Aqua Of The Sea Cruise and enjoy welcome drink, meet the captain, crew to get a brief introduction about cruise and safety guidelines.

13h00: Have buffet lunch while cruising in the magnificent Halong Bay – Lan Ha bay, admiring the fascinating rock formations in the bay.

15h00: Aqua Of The Sea Cruise cruise moves near Calves Head island or Tra Bau island in Lan Ha Bay.

Do kayaking and swimming

17h00: Free time to relax on the cruise. Don’t miss the sundeck area to catch the sunset, enjoy the sunset party and take part in a cooking class of authentic Vietnamese dishes.

19h15: Time for dinner

21h00: Evening entertainments: play game on the cruise (card games, chess, karaoke, squid fishing) or relaxing with massage service

Overnight on Aqua Of The Sea Cruise

 

DAY 4 | TAICHI – TRUNG TRANG CAVE – TUAN CHAU ISLAND – NINH BINH (Breakfast, Lunch buffet)

 

06h30: It is a perfect time to refresh and indulge yourself in the peaceful beauty of the bay with a tai chi session on the sundeck. If you want to hunt for dawn, get up from 5:30 to 6:00 depending on the season.

06h30 – 07h15: Have breakfast

07h15 – 09h00: The car takes you to visit Trung Trang cave 

Trung Trang Valley is the largest valley on Cat Ba Island. The valley covers an area of approximately 300 hectares, has a depth of 10m to 30m and is around 15km in the middle of Cat Ba National Park. Trung Trang Cave measures 300m lengthwise through the mountains. The cave was carved by nature for more than 2000 years. The cave has many stalactites that take on various shapes that will awe and inspire visitors to use their imagination.

9h30: You come back on board and it is time for check out.

9h45: Enjoy a delightful brunch at our restaurant while cruising back.

11h20 – 11h30: Disembark Aqua of the Sea Cruise at Tuan Chau Marina, say best wishes, and end your cruise with us.

12h00: Our bus will pick you up at Tuan Chau, transfer to Ninh Binh. 

Overnight in Ninh Binh

 

DAY 5 | HOA LU - TAM COC - MUA CAVE (Breakfast, Lunch, -)

 

Have breakfast at your hotel.

09h30: Our driver will pick you up from the hotel in Ninh Binh transfer to Hoa Lu. 

10h30: We arrives in Hoa Lu, the ancient capital of Vietnam from years 968 to 1010. Then you will visit the Temple of King Dinh and King Le to learn more about Vietnamese history under the Dinh, Le and Ly Dynasties.

11h45: You will have a buffet lunch with local specialties in the private area of our Ninh Binh Heritage restaurant. The vegetarian option is also available.

13h00: The limousine brings you to Tam Coc, known as “Halong Bay on the land”, where you will spend 1.5 hours on the boat to explore this area. On this excursion down the Ngo Dong River, you will pass through the beautiful paddy fields, limestone karst formation, and a stunning cave system including Hang Ca, Hang Hai, and Hang Ba caves for a unique experience. 

14h30: It’s time to join our 45 minutes cycling activity to discover the life of the local people.

15h30: We continue to visit Mua Cave, also known as the “Great Wall of China” in Vietnam, and climb 500 steps to reach the peak of Ngoa Long Mountain, overlooking the amazing view of the city and Tam Coc below.

16h30: You then get on the car for the transfer hotel in Ninh Binh

Overnight in Ninh Binh

 

DAY 6 | BAI DINH - TRANG AN - HANOI (Breakfast, Lunch, -)

 

Have breakfast at your hotel.

9h30: Our car will pick you up at hotel in Ninh Binh, transfer to Bai Dinh pagoda

10h30: Arrive in Bai Dinh Pagoda, one of the most famous pagodas in Vietnam and well-known for many Asian and Vietnamese records. In the pagoda, you can see 500-stone statues of Arhats, a Belltower with 27 tons and 36 tons of bronze bells, and a Golden statue of the Goddess of Mercy

12h20: It is time to enjoy Ninh Binh's specialties in the private area of our own restaurant called Ninh Binh Heritage. The vegetarian option is available.

13h30: After lunch, you continue your trip to Trang An, a World Heritage Site recognized by UNESCO in 2014. There, you can spend 2.5 hours on the boat ride to enjoy the beauty of this place, which owns a beautiful tunnel cave system and appears in the New Version of Kong in 2016 – “Skull Island”.

16h00: It is time to get on our limousine to get transferred back to Hanoi

18h00 - 18h30: Our car drops you off at your hotel in Hanoi

Overnight in Hanoi

 

DAY 7 | HANOI - SAPA - CAT CAT VILLAGE (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

 

Have breakfast at your hotel.

06.20: Our bus will pick you at the meeting point, departure to Sapa following Noi Bai – Lao Cai highway

13.00 – 13.30: Arrive in Sapa, have lunch and check in hotel.

14.30: You will start hiking to Cat Cat Village which is occupied by the Black H’mong tribe. Here, you can see the hydroelectric power station which was built by the French in twentieth century. You will experience the tribal way of life of ethnic minotities while enjoying wonderful views of the terraced rice paddy fields and the waterfall in Cat Cat village. Visitors will also understand culture, unique customs, traditional crafts such as weaving, touching carved silver, forged agricultural tools… Come back the hotel.

18.30: Having dinner.

After dinner, you are free to explore the charm of Sapa by night, enjoy roasted corn, baked eggs beside charcoal fire or go shopping.

Especially on Saturday night, we highly recommend a stop at the Love Market – one of the unique cultures of ethenic minorities in nortwest of Vietnam.

Overnight at hotel in Sapa.

 

DAY 8 | SAPA - FANSIPAN MOUNTAIN - HANOI (Breakfast, Lunch)

 

07.00: Have breakfast in the hotel.

08.00: Car and tour guide take you to Fansipan Cable Car Station to start the journey to conquer Fansipan with the world’s most modern 3-wire cable car system with a cabin that can accommodate up to 30 visitors. Then continue conquering to the top of Fansipan at 3.143m higher from sea-level, the roof of Indochina.

11.30: Back to Sapa, have lunch and rest.

13.00: Get on bus and go back to Hanoi.

19.30: Arrive Hanoi.  

Overnight in Hanoi

 

DAY 9 | HANOI - NOI BAI AIRPORT (Breakfast)

 

Have breakfast at your hotel.

Our driver will pick you up and drive to the airport for catching your flight back home. End of 9 days 8 nights tour to explore the North of Vietnam! Good lucks and see you again!