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)
The whole day is dedicated to the visit of Hanoi, a fascinating city with many facets.
We visit Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum where the father of the nation rests 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.
In the evening, 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 - Mai Chau (B, L, D)
Departure for Xam Khoe via Mai Chau (Xam Khoe is 25 km from Mai Chau, still authentic and much less touristic).
This valley surrounded by green mountains and dotted with lake, rice fields, rivers and houses on stilts of the Thai minority, is an excellent breath of fresh air.
Lunch at a local's house in the village.
Afternoon:
Walking tour (2h) in the villages, meeting people, discovering the daily life and the beautiful landscapes: green rice fields, karst mountains in the shape of "hump, sugar loaf" covered with lush vegetation, fertile crop fields, fish farming and garden...
In the evening: participation in the folkloric dance and music show presented by the villagers.
Night at homestay
Day 4: Mai Chau – Pu Luong (B, L, D)
Departure for the Pu Luong nature reserve.
We then walk through the small green rice fields in the villages of the Thai ethnic group located along the way in the mountains, beautiful rural and natural landscape, immersion in daily life and contact with local peasants.
The landscapes, rice fields warm up our camera.
Night at the hotel
Day 5: Pu Luong – Ninh Binh (B)
Transfer to Ninh Binh
This trip allows us to observe the landscapes, the Vietnamese countryside and the activities of the local daily life.
Visit of the great Bai Dinh pagoda with its famous records.
Then visit the Dinh and Le temples in the ancient capital Hoa Lu
Overnight at the hotel
Day 6: Ninh Binh (B)
In the morning, 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 (30 km from Tam Coc). The architectural complex of Phat Diem is one of the most original centers of Catholicism in Vietnam with a dozen stone and wooden structures built in a style combining the architecture of Buddhist pagodas and Catholic churches.
Return to Tam Coc
A climb on Hang Mua offers you a panoramic view on the region.
Then bike ride through villages, rice fields and limestone forest around Tam Coc to Hai Nham, Thung Nham and then Thai Vi temple.
Overnight at the hotel
Day 7: Ninh Binh - Lan Ha Bay cruise (B, L, D)
Morning departure for Cat Ba Island via Hai Phong
For the cruise, we do not propose the Halong Bay cruise, too touristic, but we propose to do it in Lan Ha Bay, very little frequented, much wilder and as beautiful on a small comfortable junk.
Around noon, boarding on a traditional junk for an extraordinary excursion to Lan Ha Bay from Cat Ba, outside the traditional circuits. Lunch is served on board while the junk sails along the turquoise water. Visit the floating villages of fishermen, islands and islets, "sugar loafs and peaks" of all shapes and sizes emerge from the emerald water surface.
During this cruise, we discover this immense chaos of karstic mounts, caves, lagoons with all these ghostly forms that we see from far away.
We kayak in a quiet place between the limestone creeks.
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 8: Lan Ha Bay cruise – Hanoi (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 loaves" emerging from the waves. We will have the impression to be in a world of fossilized animals millions of years ago.
Bike ride in the beautiful village of Viet Hai on a small path between fields and limestone peaks.
Return of the cabins around 10:00 am.
Early lunch in the form of brunch on board.
We disembark in the late morning, transfer back to Hanoi.
