Vietnam In 12 Days: Explore The North Of Vietnam

Explore The North Of Vietnam In 12 Days Package

Explore The North Of Vietnam In 12 Days Package

This 12-day adventure takes you off the beaten track to experience the tranquil beauty of the Vietnamese countryside. The stunning scenery and the warmth of the local people will make you fall in love with the north of Vietnam in 12 days.

Explore The North Of Vietnam In 12 Days Package

Bac Ha – Home of colourful markets rich of several ethnic minority groups
Ha Giang Province – Vietnam’s final frontier rich of a multitude of ethnic cultures and stunning landscapes
Halong Bay – A scatter of islands in emerald waters designated UNESCO World Heritage Site
Hanoi – Bustling capital city of Northern Vietnam
Sapa – Northwestern Vietnam’s first trekking base through terraced rice fields

Explore The North Of Vietnam In 12 Days Package

Day 1: Hanoi Arrival – Explore The North Of Vietnam In 12 Days Package

You will arrive in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam and the country’s second largest city. Your guide and driver will meet you outside the baggage claim of Noi Bai Airport and take you to your hotel in the city centre. In the afternoon, you can take a walk around the centre, visiting some of Hanoi’s main attractions: the Opera House, Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple on your own.
Dinner on your own and overnight at hotel
Accommodation: 3-star hotel

Day 2: Hanoi – Ha Giang (B/L/D) – Explore The North Of Vietnam In 12 Days Package

After breakfast in your hotel, you will be collected by your driver and guide. Now you will leave behind the buzz of the city and travel to the sweeping countryside of Ha Giang via Tuyen Quang. You will arrive in Ha Giang in the early afternoon and check in your room. Then, you can take a short walk around the rice fields or take an easy trek to a waterfall, and if it gets too hot, you can always copy the kids jump into the pools. You will have dinner and stay overnight at your hotel.
Accommodation: 2-star hotel

Day 3: Ha Giang – Dong Van (B/L/D) – Explore The North Of Vietnam In 12 Days Package

After breakfast, you will take a drive to Dong Van Karst Plateau. On the way, you will have a chance to see a beauty of Pac Sum pass, Heaven Gate, Fairy Mountain in Quan Ba, looking down at Tam Son Town from above. After lunch in Yen Minh, you visit a beautiful, old house named Pao’s House which was made famous in the film Chuyen Cua Pao or The Story of Pao. You will then visit the residence of the Vuong family (Palace of Hmong King) before continuing the drive to Dong Van town. You will have dinner and stay overnight at hotel.
Accommodation: 2-star hotel

Day 4: Dong Van – Lung Cu (B/L/D) – Explore The North Of Vietnam In 12 Days Package

After breakfast, you will visit the Dong Van Old Quarter, lined with old houses full of character some of which are one or two hundred years old. Here you can enjoy the peaceful and ancient atmosphere of Dong Van. The rest of the day will be spent travelling through the remote and beautiful countryside of Dong Van where you will pass through several small villages. You will visit ancient houses, the Hmong minority villages, trek to the flag tower on the top of Lung Cu Mountain and view the ancient valley from above. The journey will be rewarded with a brilliant back of picturesque valleys covered in rice paddies and the warmth of the local people. The H’mong and Hoa people, who are the local ethnic minorities, exhibit their friendliness through their colourful clothing and warm hospitality. Later you will return to the same hotel in Dong Van.
Accommodation: 2-star hotel

Day 5: Dong Van – Meo Vac – Ha Giang (B/L/D) – Explore The North Of Vietnam In 12 Days Package

After breakfast, you will start the trip back to Ha Giang, this time taking a different route. The van will stop at Ma Pi Leng Pass*, one of the most incredible stretches of road in Vietnam, for taking photos of the mountains and plummeting valley below. You will visit Meo Vac Market and then come back to Ha Giang via Bao Lam, Bao Lac and Bac Me. You will stop for lunch on the way and arrive in Ha Giang in the late afternoon. After checking into your hotel, you are free at leisure to explore the town or recover your energy for the next day.
Ma Pi Leng Pass is one of the four most beautiful passes in Vietnam, ranked number 4. Others are O Quy Ho Pass (Sapa – Laocai), Khau Pha Pass (Yen Bai) and Pha Din (Dien Bien).
Accommodation: 2-star hotel

Day 6: Ha Giang – Sin Man (B/L/D) – Explore The North Of Vietnam In 12 Days Package

After breakfast, you will set off on a full day journey to Sin Man and Hoang Su Phi from Ha Giang Town. The rough but scenic route traverses a dense jungle before crossing over a pass and down to Sin Man. This day is a real challenge for our driver as we travel by winding roads with many hairpin bends and steep hills. Along the way, you may meet people from the many different ethnic minority communities living in the mountain. The Nung Ing, Tay, Red Dao, Dao Ao Dai, La Chi and Co Lao are just some of the many hill tribe groups who have settled there. You will stay overnight in a homestay in Sin Man.
Accommodation: Local homestay

Day 7: Sin Man – Bac Ha (B/L/D) – Explore The North Of Vietnam In 12 Days Package

Today you will drive to Bac Ha, the capital of the region of the Flower Hmong, a relaxed base to explore the northern highlands and hill-tribe villages. You will have lunch en route. After you arrive in Bac Ha and check-in to your hotel, you are free to explore the town as you wish. This is an amazing drive through mountainous road of Hoang Su Phi, though there’s no time to get bored as the scenery is truly breathtaking.
Accommodation: 2-star hotel

Day 8: Bac Ha – Sapa (B/L/D) – Explore The North Of Vietnam In 12 Days Package

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel, before setting out on a full day’s trek to explore Sapa’s cultural diversity and unforgettable natural beauty. Take a guided hike through yawning valleys decorated with terraced rice fields and pass through remote hill tribe villages. You have three trekking options to choose from: Soft trek (~ 3 km), medium trek (~ 6km) and long trek (~ 12km). Trekking is an excellent way to explore the daily life and familiarise yourself with the cultures of the H’mong, Dzao and Dzay people who populate the region. You will have lunch in a hill tribe village after which you can explore the village by yourself. In the evening you will have dinner with a local family and enjoy the night in a traditional homestay.
Accommodation: Local homestay

Day 9: Sapa – Hanoi (B/L) – Explore The North Of Vietnam In 12 Days Package

After breakfast at the homestay, your driver will take you back to Sapa Town. Then you are free to discover the hillside town at your leisure. In the afternoon, take a drive back to Hanoi.
Accommodation: 3-star hotel

Day 10: Hanoi – Ha Long Bay (B/L/D) – Explore The North Of Vietnam In 12 Days Package

After breakfast at hotel, get picked up for Halong Bay Cruise with group tour.
You will spend 24 hours on a traditional Junk Cruise in the amazing bay: a natural wonderland composed of jutting limestone islands and sparkling turquoise waters.
You will arrive at the dock around noon and board your junk. You can savour a gourmet lunch of fresh seafood on board as you sail out into the mystical bay. In the afternoon, cruise around some of Ha Long’s many islands.
You will have the chance to feel the soft white sand and the cool clear ocean when you stop at a sheltered island cove (weather permitting). You will spend the night on your junk lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of calm waters.
Accommodation: 3-star cruise

Note: The above itinerary is subject to change without prior notice and depends on weather condition!

Day 11: Halong Bay – Hanoi (B/L) – Explore The North Of Vietnam In 12 Days Package

You can awake early and participate in Tai Chi on the top deck or simply relax and enjoy the sunrise over the bay’s towering islands. Enjoy a morning cup of coffee or tea, before setting out to explore nearby islands by rowing boat. You will return to the junk for breakfast and then you can take advantage of the sundeck and admire the amazing rock formations ofthe bay as you navigate back to Halong City. Drive back to Hanoi for overnight at your hotel.
Accommodation: 3-star hotel

Day 12: Hanoi Departure (B) – Explore The North Of Vietnam In 12 Days Package