Day 1 : Hanoi arrival
Arrival at Hanoi airport, welcome by Vietnam Evasion driver, then transfer to the hotel.
The rest of the day is free for rest and personal discovery at your own pace.
Our hotel is located in the heart of the old quarter in the center which allows us to stroll easily for a complete change of scenery by immersing us in the lively and populous streets.
Night at the hotel
Day 2 : Hanoi (B)
After breakfast, we visit Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum where the father of the nation is buried and the One Pillar Pagoda.
Let's continue by the Temple of Literature, the first national university, where we discover the Mandarin competition and Confucianism.
Then, the Ethnography Museum (closed every Monday) which presents the traditions, cultures and traditional dress of the 54 ethnic minorities in Vietnam. This visit gives us a general overview of the peoples in Vietnam before seeing them in reality in the mountains.
A walk in the streets of old Hanoi lined with small typical houses with lively activities that allows to see the daily life of the locals.
Attend the water puppet show, a typical art born in the 11th century in the Red River Delta.
Night at the hotel
Day 3 : Hanoi – Ba Be national park (B, D)
Departure in the morning to Ba Be National Park to start our authentic journey in the North away from the tourist crowd to discover the splendid natural landscapes and meet the ethnic minorities in the remote villages outside the traditional circuits.
From Thai Nguyen, beautiful landscapes, typical villages of the minorities pass by. The road goes into the hills, crossing "bumps" more and more wild.
On the way, stop in a village to meet the inhabitants and discover their daily life.
Arrival in the afternoon.
Free time for personal discovery at your own pace.
Dinner and night in a big house on stilts on the edge of the lake, in a village in the heart of the natural reserve.
Night stay in the national park.
Day 4 : Ba Be (B, L, D)
Boat trip (3h) on the most beautiful lake of the country in the center of the national park. It was formed about 200 million years ago and is the largest natural lake in the country.
The lake is surrounded by limestone cliffs, which in turn are covered by primary forests. Ba Be Lake is a reservoir of biodiversity and is also an integral part of the national park of the same name.
We make a stop to visit the small Fairy Lake.
Boarding the boat again, another stop to visit the Dau Dang waterfall in the forest.
Return to our host house for lunch.
Afternoon:
Bike ride to Hua Ma cave through villages, peaks and limestone rocks in a valley along a river.
One hour to visit this impressive cave hidden on the slopes of the mountains.
Night at homestay
Day 5 : Ba Be – Bao Lac (B)
Transfer to Bao Lac
Stops on the way are planned to admire the sublime natural landscapes and contact the ethnic groups.
Visit in the afternoon of the village of the Black Lolos near Bao Lac (we shot the TV show "rendez-vous en terre inconnue" with Frederic Michalak in this region)
End of the day, visit of the small market in town
Free evening to enjoy the night life of this remote mountain town.
Night at the hotel
Day 6 : Bao Lac – Dong Van (B, D)
Drive to Dong Van passing by Meo Vac.
Stop at Ma Pi Leng Pass: superb view and picturesque landscape.
The high stone plateau of Dong Van is known as one of the 77 geological parks in the world and the second in Southeast Asia after Langkawi in Malaysia. This plateau is also called "the land of rocks". Despite the difficulties, people have been living there for thousands of years, trying to get their livelihood from a poor land.
Stops to meet with many farmers of the Mong, Dao, Tay ethnic groups...
Still by car, we continue to follow the mountain range, going from surprise to surprise.
2h30 of walking in the remote villages, outside the classical circuits to meet the ethnic groups of the region, discover the splendid landscapes and the local daily life.
We continue the hike on the local non-touristy paths to reach the remote hamlets and contact with the local inhabitants.
Arriving in Dong Van, we climb up to the French fortress of Pu Lo, built in 1890, evacuated in 1945, and well preserved. We reach it by a small concrete path, magnificent view on the valley.
Night at the hotel
Day 7 : Dong Van – Sa Phin – Lung Cu - Quan Ba (B, D)
Transfer to Quan Ba
Visit of the ancient palace of the king of the Mongs in Sa Phin.
And then visit Lung Cu, the extreme North of the country.
We take one of the most extraordinary roads of the country to Quan Ba.
On both sides of the road, the gray rock is omnipresent, with here and there the green spots of the food crops.
Each year, the ethnic groups prepare for a new crop. In order for the seeds to germinate and grow well, they must toil in the fields for several weeks. They use a special tool to dig deep into the hollows, where the soil is thickest, before planting seeds.
We make stops to take pictures and visit the villages.
The path zigzags between a forest of limestone peaks. They preserve at the top some remains of tropical forest. They make us think of the universe of the movie "Avatar". The slopes are covered with a carpet of black stones, where, in each interstice, the Green or White Mongs cultivate vegetables.
Night at homestay
Day 8 : Quan Ba – Lung Khuy - Ha Giang (B, L, D)
Morning:
Walking tour in the surroundings to discover the sublime landscapes and the local daily life.
Then visit the impressive Lung Khuy cave
Then transfer to Ha Giang.
Afternoon:
2.5 hours walking in the remote non-touristy places to discover the splendid nature landscapes and meet the ethnic minorities, the inhabitants live in spacious wooden houses on stilts. Beginning of the trekking by a climb through palm forests, tea plantations and rice terraces in the villages of local ethnic groups. Visit of the village, the houses...
Night at homestay
Day 9 : Ha Giang – Hanoi (B)
Back to Hanoi, we leave the mountains with regrets.
This trip allows you to see the villages, the Vietnamese countryside and the beautiful landscapes.
Night at the hotel
Day 10 : Hanoi – Lan Ha Bay (B, L, D)
For the cruise, I don't propose the one to Halong Bay, too touristic, but I propose to do it to Lan Ha Bay, very little frequented, much wilder and as beautiful on a small comfortable junk.
Departure to Cat Ba Island via Hai Phong
Around noon, boarding on a comfortable traditional junk for an extraodinary excursion to Lan Ha Bay from Cat Ba, outside the traditional tours. Lunch is served on board while the junk sails along the turquoise water. Visit the floating fishermen's villages, islands and islets, "sugar loafs and peaks" of all shapes and sizes emerging from the emerald water surface.
The engine will then be stopped in favor of sailing so that we can enjoy a relaxing moment. During this cruise, we discover this immense chaos of karstic mounts, caves, lagoons with all these ghostly forms that we see from far.
At the end of the afternoon, the boat drops anchor to spend the night in the bay in a quiet place away from the tourist crowd. It is then possible to take a bath in the middle of the sea or on a beautiful quiet isolated beach or to rest on the upper deck.
Dinner is taken on the junk in the middle of an idyllic landscape
Night on board
Day 11 : Lan Ha Bay – Ninh Binh (B, L)
Morning:
We wake up early to watch the sunrise over Lan Ha Bay.
Then we will continue our cruise in this bay by sailing through the thousands of "sugar loafs" emerging from the waves. We will have the impression to be in a world of fossilized animals millions of years ago.
In the middle of the morning, the junk arrives at the heavenly beaches of Ba Trai Dao.
We kayak in a quiet area between the limestone creeks.
Return of the cabins around 10:00 am.
Early lunch in the form of brunch on board.
We disembark around 12:00.
Transfer to Ninh Binh (Halong Bay)
Night at the hotel
Day 12 : Ninh Binh (B)
We embark on a small boat with oars (1h30 of boat) to discover the caves of Tam Coc. We pass under the successive tunnels carved by the passage of water. Fairy-like atmosphere in the middle of the peaks and limestone sugar loaf, a natural landscape made of karst mountains overhanging an exceptional aquatic landscape.
Transfer to visit the stone cathedral of Phat Diem (32 km from Tam Coc). The architectural complex of Phat Diem is one of the most original centers of Catholicism in Vietnam with a dozen of stone and wooden structures built in a style combining the architecture of Buddhist pagodas and Catholic churches.
Return to Tam Coc
Afternoon:
Bike ride along the small local road through villages, between rice fields and a limestone forest around Tam Coc to Hai Nham, Thung Nham, stop to visit Thai Vi temple.
Night at the hotel
Day 13 : Ninh Binh – Hanoi (B)
Visit the great Bai Dinh pagoda with its recognized records
Visit then the Dinh and Le temples at the ancient capital Hoa Lu
Transfer back to Hanoi
Night at the hotel
Day 14 : Hanoi – Return Flight (B)
Free time until our driver transfers you to the airport for your return flight.
