09 DAYS NORTH-EASTERN DISCOVERY

09 DAYS NORTH-EASTERN DISCOVERY

Private tour (HANNED09): Daily departure from Hanoi with local English or French-speaking guide (other language speaking guides at surcharge)

Overnight in a stilt house with Tay ethnic people at Ba Be Lake • Boat trip in Ba Be National Park • Visit the beautiful waterfall of Ban Gioc • Unforgettable boat trip on wooden junk through Halong Bay

Day 1 : HANOI – ARRIVAL (-/-/-)

Meet at the airport and transfer to hotel to check-in.

HALF DAY HANOI CITY TOUR

Visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (closed on Monday, Friday and during the entire months of September & October) and his former residence (closed on Monday and Friday), One-Pillar Pagoda and the Temple of Literature, known as the first university of Vietnam and built more than 1,000 years ago. Afterwards, continue to Hoan Kiem Lake and visit the Ngoc Son Temple.

Accommodation at hotel in Hanoi

Meals included:

Day 2: HANOI – BA BE LAKE (B/L/D)

 In the morning, depart for your overland journey to the North East of Vietnam. Your first stop will be in Thai Nguyen to visit the Ethnology Museum. Learn more about the cultures of the various ethnic minority groups of Vietnam. Afterwards, we continue our journey to Ba Be Lake with lunch en route. Enjoy the wonderful drive offering beautiful vistas of the countryside.

At Ba Be, experience the peace and tranquility of the unspoiled tropical jungle, emerald waters, limestone mountains and the tribal lifestyle.

Accommodation at Ba Be National Park Guest House (simple accommodation)

Meals included: Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 3 : BA BE LAKE (B/L/D)

Today, enjoy a boat trip downstream the Nang River into Ba Be Lake. Discover Ba Be National Park. Visit the Puong Cave and get off the beaten track to the scenic Dau Dang waterfalls. After a picnic lunch, continue your boat trip to a Tay village. Visit the village and share the daily activities with the Tay people.

Dinner and accommodation in the village (simple stilt house accommodation)

Meals included: Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 4 : BA BE LAKE – PAC BO CAVE– CAO BANG (B/L/D)

Depart for Cao Bang. Admire spectacular mountain landscape with terraced rice fields and minority ethnic villages dotting the hillsides. After lunch in Cao Bang, drive to Pac Bo Cave – the former headquarters of the Vietnamese revolutionaries. Here, Ho Chi Minh used to live in a cave nearby a beautiful stream in early 1941, when he re-entered Vietnam after 30 years of living abroad in search for ways to liberate the nation from French colonialism.

Accommodation at Thanh Loan Hotel (simple accommodation)

Meals included: Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner at a local restaurant

Day 5: NGUOM NGAO CAVE – BAN GIOC WATERFALL – CAO BANG (B/L/D)

 Short trek to visit the Nguom Ngao Cave, a big and yet unexplored cave with extraordinary natural stalactites (please wear appropriate shoes and shorts, since you most likely will get wet). Continue to Ban Doc Waterfall, which shares the river border with China. Picnic lunch, then return to Cao Bang.

Accommodation at Thanh Loan Hotel (simple accommodation)

Meals included: Breakfast

Picnic lunch

Dinner at local restaurant

Day 6 : CAO BANG – LANG SON (B/L/D)

Today’s journey leads to Lang Son to visit the Ky Lua market as well as sites of local legends. Visit the Tam Thanh and Nhi Thanh Pagodas situated in grottoes.

Accommodation at Hoa Sim Hotel (simple accommodation)

Meals included: Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 7 : LANG SON – HALONG BAY  (B/L/D)

Depart for Halong Bay and experience an overnight trip on a traditional wooden junk. Halong Bay, deservedly listed as a world heritage area of outstanding natural beauty, means “dragon descending to the sea” in Vietnamese. This unbelievably picturesque bay has more than 3,000 limestone islets rising from the emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin, many of them containing beautiful grottoes. Some of the tiny islands have beaches, as well as grottoes, sparsely vegetated slopes and weird wind- blown rock formations created in the limestone.

Enjoy the boat ride wending your way through the mystical limestone casts jutting from the sea. Swimming, weather permitting.

Lunch and dinner with fresh seafood onboard.

Accommodation aboard a Traditional Junk

Meals included: Breakfast

Seafood lunch onboard

Seafood dinner onboard

Day 8 : HALONG BAY – HANOI  (B/-/-)

Continue exploring Halong Bay. Enjoy breathtaking hours cruising through this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Disembark at around 10:00 hrs and return to Hanoi.

Rest of the day at leisure in Hanoi for own exploration of the city.

Accommodation at hotel in Hanoi

Meals included: Breakfast on board

Day 9 : HANOI – DEPARTURE  (B/-/-)

Morning at leisure until check-out before 12:00 hrs and transfer to to Hanoi / Noi Bai International Airport.

Meals included:   Breakfast

“WE WISH YOU AN ENJOYABLE JOURNEY”

SPECIAL NOTE

Bring along - Light cotton dress / trousers

- Warm jacket (rain and wind)

- Silk sleeping bag

- Mosquito repellent

- Good walking / hiking shoes

- A walking stick

- Swim wear

- Travel towel

- Sun hat / sun lotion

- Hand lotion

- Lip balm

- Camera

- Charged batteries for your camera

Roads - Driving can be a challenge as roads can be bumpy or under construction

- Driving time depends on weather and road conditions – only rough estimates can be given

Reward - Stunning scenery

- Countless photo opportunities off the beaten track

OUR PRICE IS BASED ON THE FOLLOWING HOTELS

Superior Hanoi Boutique 1 Hotel (Hanoi), Ba Be National Park Guesthouse (Bac Kan), Thanh Loan Hotel (Cao Bang), Hoa Sim Hotel (Lang Son), Traditional Junk in Halong

TOUR PRICE