Best of Central Vietnam

Best of Central Vietnam (5 Nights / 6 Days)

Day 1: Arrival Hanoi arrival & City Tour 

Arrival at Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi, we will be welcomed by our friendly local guide and transferred to our hotel.

(Note: Hotel’s check in is 14.00/15.00, Early check in is NOT included). After that, we will visit some highlights in the city. Our first stop is Ho Chi Minh Complex which we will visit Ba Dinh Square, Ho Chi Mnh Mausoleum (outside visit only if later than 10.30 AM), his simple stilt-house and fish pond, the outside of the impressive Presidential Palace and finally the nearby One Pillar Pagoda that originally built since 11th century.Continue visiting the oldest pagoda in Hanoi – Tran Quoc Pagoda which located by the West Lake.

Lunch at Indian restaurant. After lunch, we visit the Temple of Literature, the Temple of Confusion, also the first university in Vietnam that was built in 1070. We finish our day with a cyclo ride around the Old Quarters through maze of narrow streets and shops. We then sit down for Water Puppet Show for 45-minutes show. Drop off at hotel and end the tour. Overnight stay at the hotel.

Day 2: Hanoi – Halong Bay – Overnight on cruise 

After breakfast this morning, we will take 180 KM to Halong Bay, which was recognized by UNESCO as the World Natural Heritage in 1994 and 2000. On arrival, we will board our overnight cruise and savour a delicious seafood lunch. We will be passing through several limestone islands, kayaking among the hidden areas of the Bay, swimming at Soi Sim Beach or trekking to the top of the island. Dinner and overnight stay on boat.

Day 3: Halong Bay – Hanoi – Overnight Train to Lao Cai 

Start your day with Tai Chi exercises before having breakfast. We then explore Sung Sot Cave – one of the most amazing caves in Halong Bay and passing through Ba Hang Fishing village, Dog Islet and more. Watch the cooking demonstration and enjoying lunch before cruising back to the pier and find our car to take us back to Hanoi. In the evening, our car will take us to Hanoi Railway Station to board the overnight train to Lao Cai.

Note: Day-use hotel in a 3* hotel near the Train Station

 Day 4: Sapa – Cat Cat – Y Linh Ho Village

Pick up at Lao Cai Station then we drive to Sapa. After breakfast at a local restaurant, we will hike downhill to Cat Cat Village with stops at a beautiful waterfall and a hydroelectric station. Continue hiking through the rice fields to Y Linh Ho – homes to Black H’mong people. After 3-hour walking, we return to the town and have free time at Sapa town. Overnight in a hotel in Sapa.

Day 5: Sapa – Fansipan Peak by Cable Car – Limousine back to Hanoi 

After breakfast at hotel, we then travel southward by car to Muong Hoa valley. On the way, we stop at some stopovers to get the panorama of Fansipan mount and Muong Hoa valley with hundreds of villages. Welcome at the gate of villages are local Black H’mong and Red Dao ladies and children with colorful costumes, who will invite tourists buy souvenirs.  Leave them behind, we start walking through the largest rice paddy terraced among Sapa area. On the way, we meet sometimes mothers and baby working on the fields, mothers are working on the water rice field while babies are sitting on the bank with an umbrella covered the  rain or sun. We also can stop at some local houses, local school for chatting or quick look how the daily life of Black H’mong and Giay ethnic minority people living and working. Later, we walk back up the road and transfer back to Sapa for lunch and check out, we will in our Express Bus to go back to Hanoi. Arrive in Hanoi at around 9h30 PM, we will check in the hotel for the night.

Day 6: Departure Hanoi

Breakfast at hotel. Free time for shopping in the maze shops in the Old Quarters or shopping malls. Check out and transferred to the International airport for departure flight to your return.