Day 1: Hanoi

+ Arriving in Hanoi in the morning, visit one of the most beautiful monuments in Hanoi, the Temple of Literature. Founded in 1073, it is the first university in the country where integrity men (mandarins) were trained. You will learn how competitions were organized in feudal times and the influence of Confucianism on the mentality of the Vietnamese.

+ Departure by car for Gia Lam station to take the Vietnamese TGV train. (While waiting for the train, you can sit on the sidewalk to drink green tea and chat with the locals, it is a typical culture of Hanoi where middle-class people receive the news by these “sidewalk radios”) . You will then board the train, you will live the Vietnamese TGV experience (Train à Grandes Vibrations), you will cross the Paul Doumer bridge – (Considered as the horizontal Eiffel Tower in Vietnam) and enjoy discovering on the way the neighborhoods where the locals live right next to the railway.

+ Lunch at the local restaurant.

+ In the afternoon, after a break, walk in the Old Quarters to see the lively life of the locals, the old typical houses and enjoy a street dinner in the evening (street food). You will have the opportunity to taste several local dishes made directly on the corner of each street.

+ Night at the hotel in Hanoi.

Day 2: Hanoi – Ha Giang (300 km)

+ 7:30 am: depart for Ha Giang by car. On the way, a few stops for breaks and to take pictures if you are interested in the view.

+ Lunch at a local restaurant.

+ Upon arrival in Ha Giang, visit and discovery of the Tha and Ha Thanh villages. It is a peaceful place where locals live in houses on stilts.

+ Allocation at a lodge. Dinner and overnight stay in Ha Giang.

 Day 3: Ha Giang – Du Gia – Dong Van (200 km)

+ 7:30 a.m.: After breakfast, depart for Dong Van – (Plateau of limestone rock where you will see limestone mountains everywhere in the shape of “sugar loaves”. You will also meet the H’mong who live in rustic houses in the heart of the valleys and who grow corn between the limestone rocks).

+ Lunch at the local restaurant.

+ Along the way, a stop is planned for the visit of the village Sung La – (a H’mong village where there are still beautiful authentic houses and it is also the cult place of the filming of the movie “History of Pao”. At Tham Ma pass, you can take a nice picture of the winding path.

+ Visit the Palace of the King of H’mong.

+ Short walk in the old district of Dong Van.

+ Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel in Dong Van.

Day 4: Ha Giang – Lung Cu – Meo Vac

+ 8h: departure from Dong Van for Lung Cu (30 km). On the way, you will still have the opportunity to see the beauty of the very sharp limestone peaks and to better understand the difficulty and poverty of the H’mong who live on these stony lands. In Lung Cu, you will do sports by climbing the flag tower – (Located on the top of a mountain, it delimits the end of Vietnam with China. From its summit you can have a panoramic view of the valleys, rice fields and the beauty of the Vietnamese mountains, including the Chinese mountains).

+ Return to Dong Van for lunch.

+ In the afternoon, departure for Meo Vac by the famous Ma Pi Leng pass (the most famous of the four famous passes of Vietnam) and by the path of happiness (a 25 km path, built by more than a million young volunteers for 6 years). On the pass, you will have the opportunity to take great photos and you will surely have the feeling of being very small in the middle of nature.

+ Departure by moto-taxi 8 km down towards the river where you embark on a small sampan (a small boat found everywhere in Southeast Asia, made according to a traditional design) to take the ride on the river through the mountains.

+ Departure to Meo Vac and allocation at a lodge.

+ Dinner and night in Meo Vac.

Day 5: Meo Vac – Ba Be (200 km)

+ 8h: Departure for Ba Be. On the way, stop to take pictures and visit an ethnic village.

+ Lunch at the local restaurant.

+ In the afternoon, homestay in Ba Be, in a Tay house on stilts.

+ 6 km bike ride through the village and the rice fields to the Hua Ma cave to visit it. (It is a large and magnificent cave with different shapes of stalactites and stalagmites everywhere that fills the space).

+ Return home and relax.

+ Dinner and night at the locals in Ba Be.

Day 6: Ba Be – Hanoi (260 km)

+ 7:30 a.m.: After breakfast, kayak trip on Ba Be Lake. (It is one of the highest lakes in Vietnam. You will feel the purity of the morning air and bathe in the pure water of the lake.) If you are lucky, you will find locals rowing canoes to retrieve fish nets and traps.

+ Check-out and departure for Hanoi.

+ Lunch at local restaurant in Bac Kan.

+ Allocation at the hotel in Hanoi. In the evening, you will have free time to explore the neighborhoods and sample local dishes.

+ Night in Hanoi.

Day 7: Hanoi – Ninh Binh (110 km)

+ 8h: Departure for Ninh Binh. Visit Hoa Lu – (Former Capital of the country in the 10th century which is located at the strategic place of defense.)

+ Lunch at the locals.

+ Then, take a boat trip to Trang An or Tam Coc, also called “Halong on land”. Quietly wedged in the boat, you can contemplate the landscape, take pictures of the limestone rocks placed on the rivers.

+ The next program is optional:

< Bike ride in Tam Coc around the village.

< Visit Ha Mua – you climb the 450 steps to reach the top. There you will find a panoramic view of villages, mountains and beautiful rice fields.

+ Dinner and overnight stay at a lodge in Ninh Binh.

Day 8: Ninh Binh – Cat Ba (150 km)

+ 7:30 am: Departure for Cat Ba via the towns of Nam Dinh, Thai Binh and Hai Phong.

+ On arrival, boarding for a cruise on shared junk.

Lunch and sailing in Lan Ha Bay, part of Ha Long. (It is also an area classified as the “Eighth Wonder of the World” by Unesco). Take the opportunity to relax on the deck of the junk and observe the beauty of the limestone peaks planted on the emerald water. It is possible to visit the floating village, (a set of hundreds of fish ponds on the sea) or to swim on a small beach (everything depends on the program of the junk).

+ Dinner and night on the junk.

Day 9: Cat Ba – Departure.

+ If the weather permits, it would be ideal to get up early to watch the sunrise over Lan Ha Bay or even practice Tai Chi on the deck of the junk.

+ After breakfast, the cruise continues crossing beautiful islands.

+ Taking brunch before disembarking.

+ After disembarkation, drive to the airport.