Northwest Tour 7 days

Code: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, G = Guide   

Day 1: Arrival at Hanoi (D, G)

Upon arrival at Noi Bai airport, our guide will greet and accompany you to your hotel. Free time until you?ll be picked up to watch water puppet performance, a traditional art form closely connected with the long-standing spiritual life of the Vietnamese people. You?ll then be driven to a good local restaurant and enjoy a welcome dinner with us. Your overnight stay will be in Hanoi.

Day 2: Hanoi city tour (B, L, G)

The morning tour will begin with Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the resting place of Uncle Ho. You will also see his house-on-stilts and learn about the simple life of the Vietnamese?s beloved leader. Your next visit will be Tran Quoc Pagoda, one of the oldest pagodas, which still maintains its unique architecture harmonious with nature and boasts many precious Buddhist statues. You will then driven to Temple of Literature, the oldest school in Vietnam, giving it the distinction of being the most significant temple in both Hanoi and Vietnam.

In the afternoon, you will call at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, an excellent instruction to the cultural heritages of Vietnam’s 54 distinct ethnic groups. Later on, you will visit the beautiful Ngoc Son Temple and Hoan Kiem Lake – a striking blue gem in the city centre. The tour ends with 1 ?hour walking tour around the Old Quarters to enjoy its warmth and cosiness, looking up to contemplate centuries-old and weather-beaten houses, both familiar and exotic, etc. Your overnight stay will be in Hanoi.

Day 3: Hanoi/Mai Chau (B, L, D, G)

After breakfast, you?ll be picked up at your hotel and driven to Mai Chau valley. On the way to Mai Chau, you?ll take a chance to see the wonderful mountainous landscape. On arrival, you’ll check in to a stilt house in Lac village, the home of a Thai ethnic minority group and have lunch at the same house on stilt.

After lunch, you would take a walk around the houses to see the daily life of local people. They specialise in weaving brocade products, and are happy to show visitors their skills. The village is operated as a community co-operative, set up by the people themselves. You?ll then be driven back to the village for refreshment and free time for shopping brocade products and enjoy dinner preparing by the house holder.

In the evening, you’ll enjoy with the performance of dancing of White Thai minority people.

You’ll spend the night at house on stilt in Lac village.

Day 4: Mai Chau/Hanoi/Lao Cai (B, G)

In the morning, you would have breakfast at local family or alternatively wake up very early to enjoy the fresh air of the mountain valley. You’ll then wander to visit Mai Chau market to see the local life culture of the Thai people. Later on, you’ll continue walking to Van village – the village near by the mountain with good atmosphere surrounding and then back to the Lac village for your lunch.

In the afternoon, you’ll be transferred to Hoa Binh to have a brief visit Hoa Binh Hydro Electricity- one of the biggest one in Vietnam. After walking around to take some photos, you?ll return to Hanoi for your refreshment at local hotel before boarding a overnight train at 10 pm to Lao Cai.

You’ll spend the night on the train.

Day 5: Lao Cai/Sapa (B, L, G)

On arrival at Lao Cai Station, your tour guide will meet and take you to local restaurant to have breakfast. You’ll then be driven to start the tour with a visit to market frequented by ethnic minority peoples. The market with all it’s colorful ethnic people who gathers to buy and sell.  Come here, you would witness the culture and the customs of the minority?s people. You’ll have time for shopping in the market. Your picnic lunch will be served at local restaurant.

In the afternoon, you will be transferred to Sapa, seeing a home to a great diversity of ethnic minority people. Its breathtaking mountain scenery is some of the best in Asia with high green mountains cuddled in clouds, scattered rice terraces and rich agricultural areas where the native inhabitants live and harvest their crops…. The villages are traditional and are typically tucked away at the bottom of the hill slopes. Most of the villagers wear traditional colorful costumes. Rest of the day, your time will be your own to explore Sapa town .You’ll spend the night in Sapa.

Day 6: Sapa/Lao Cai (B, L, G)

Breakfast at your hotel, you’ll start the tour by hiking down a scenic valley calling in at the H?mong ethnic minority villages on the way. You’ll then be driven by Jeep to visit Lao Chai village – the village of Black H’mong people. In this village, you will have a welcome feeling at any house of the hospitable people. You could have time to talk with them and know more about their lives. You’ll then have picnic lunch.

In the afternoon, you’ll drive to visit Ta Van village – the village of Day people and then visit Giang Ta Chai village – a village of Red Dzao people. Later on, you’ll return to Sapa to refresh at a local standard hotel before being driven to Lao Cai station for your overnight sleeper train at 21.15 back to Hanoi. Your accommodation will be on the train.

Day 7: Hanoi departure (B)

Arriving in Hanoi early in the morning, you?ll be picked up and transferred to local standard hotel for your refreshment before being driven to the airport for your international departure flight.