On your arrival, you are met local guide and driver who will take you to hotel. Then you have your free time.
In the evening, we enjoy the Water Puppet Show, a unique northern Vietnamese art performance that we cannot be missed on our schedule for today. We will have a chance to learn more about the rural life of Vietnamese peasants and national heroes via series of history stories which were beautifully demonstrated by the artists.
Water Puppet Show
Morning, we have breakfast at hotel, then start our cycling day around Ha Noi and visit some of the highlights of Ha Noi; Temple of Literature, Ethnology Museum, and Women Museum. We will have a light lunch at Vietnamese Noodle Soup (Pho), and then ride around the old quarter of Ha Noi. After that, we ride outskirt of Ha Noi along the dike to Bat Trang pottery village which is very well known for its ceramic art and porcelain for our exploring this Vietnamese traditional craft village. Visiting this site, we also join with the artist do make your own pot, cup, dish as a good souvenir gift to take home. We start to ride back our hotel.
Bat Trang pottery village
An exciting new day waiting us to discover, we depart for Ha Long, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. Hạ Long Bay has an area of around 1,553 km2, including 1,960–2,000 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334 km2 with a high density of 775 islands and islets reflecting on turquoise water. These limestone have gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments.
There are a lot of photo opportunities on our way to Ha Long when we drive through the rural area, street markets, paddy fields, vegetable farms, poultry farms and lotus farms.
We take a rest stop at Hong Ngoc shop after a 2- hour drive for coffee break then continue to Ha Long Bay. At midday, we board the junk for the overnght cruise. Seafood lunch is served on board while the junk is slowly going among the islands and islets.
There are some activities for us to join in this afternoon; visiting the cave, swimming at Ti Top beach, climbing up the top of Ti Top Island for panoramic view of the bay, kayaking, joining squids finishing at night. The junk is anchored in a quiet bay for overnight. Dinner and overnight on board.
Morning just join the Tai Chi Class on sundeck for half an hour and then we will have breakfast. We visit Sung Sot cave, fantastic stalactites, and stalagmites. Enjoy a pleasant cruise back to the pier for disembarkation then drive to Ninh Binh
Sung Sot cave
Starting our beautiful bike riding around this World Heritage Site, we visit Hoa Lu old capital which was the economic, political and culture center of Dai Co Viet, an independent Vietnamese polity founded in 968 AD by the local warlord Dinh Bo Linh who was known as Dinh Tien Hoang, the first Dinh Emperor. This site consists of Dinh and Le temple dedicated to Dinh Tien Hoang and Le Dai Hanh Emperors. Continue our cycling to Bai Dinh pagoda, a complex of Buddhist temples on Bai Dinh Mountain. The compound consists of the original old temple and a newly created larger temple. It is considered the largest complex of Buddhist temples in Vietnam and has become a popular site for Buddhist pilgrimages from across Vietnam.
Cycling from Bai Dinh to the pier for a boat trip to Tam Coc, a picturesque scenery which is known as Ha Long on land. The Tam Coc (“three caves”) portion is a three-hour excursion by small boat along the Ngo Dong River, beginning at the village of Van Lam and proceeding through a scenic landscape dominated by rice fields and karst towers. The route includes floating through three natural caves (Hang Ca, Hang Hai, and Hang Ba), the largest of which is 125m long with its ceiling about 2m high above the water.
Return to our hotel then free at leisure.
Morning, we enjoy our breakfast at hotel, then cycle to Cuc Phuong National Park, Cuc Phuong boasts an engaging cultural and wildlife heritage and enchanting scenery. Magnificent Limestone Mountains rise majestically from the green rice-terraces and traditional stilt houses of the Muong hill-tribe. Covered in a dense forest, this landscape forms the habitat for some of Asia's rarest animal and plant species. It is no wonder that researchers, naturalists, enthusiasts and conservationists alike are drawn to this corner of the world. The ancient forest harbours over 2234 vascular and non-vascular plants, 122 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 135 species mammals, including the Clouded Leopard, Delacour's Langur, Owston's Civet and Asian Black Bear. There are also an incredible 336 documented bird species. Visitors in April and May should be blessed with the chance to see literally thousands of vibrant butterflies. On our arrival we meet local guide, then do 3 hour trekking.
Late afternoon, we drive to Ha Noi railway station for our night train trip to Sapa.
Cuc Phuong National Park
Early morning, we get to Lao Cai railway station, then transfer to Sapa town. Sapa is a hill station resort built during the French in 1880s and a lovely town located at 1600 m above the sea level. Sapa is very famous for hill tribe markets, mountainous and fabulous Hoang Lien Son Mountain range in which Fan Si Pan, at a height of 3314 meters above the sea level, is considered as the highest peak of Indochina peninsula. We enjoy our breakfast at hotel where we can leave our luggage, then trekking to Ta Van and Lao Chay village. Late n the afternoon, we drive back hotel and check in. The rest of the day is free at leisure.
Sapa
Morning, we trek to Cat Cat village for 2 hours, then we enjoy our free time. Late in the afternoon, we drive to Lao Cai railway station for an overnight train to Ha Noi
En route, we visit to Ta Phin, the home of the Red Dao people.
We also have a chance to visit the border gate between Vietnam and China in Lao Cai City before getting on the train.
Dinner is at local restaurant.
Cat Cat
Early check in hotel , and then we enjoy our free time in Ha Noi.
You are free at leisure until your departure flight. End of services.
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Tour exclusion: