During this Vietnam tour, you will get on a journey to explore picturesque mountain landscapes, ancient pagodas, and stay at traditional stilt houses, this will allow you to fully immerse yourself in the local traditions and cultures. Experience the breathtaking landscapes and rich culture of Vietnam in this unforgettable trip!
Brief itinerary
Day 1: Hanoi arrival
Day 2: Hanoi – Muong Lo (Nghia Lo)
Day 3: Muong Lo – Tu Le – Mu Cang Chai
Day 4: Mu Cang Chai – Sapa
Day 5: Sapa – Lao Chai – Ta Van – Hanoi
Day 6: Hanoi – Lan Ha Bay
Day 7: Lan Ha Bay – Ninh Binh (Tam Coc)
Day 8: Ninh Binh – Trang An – Hanoi
Day 9: Hanoi cooking class & street food tour
Day 10: Hanoi – Bat Trang – city tour
Day 11: Last moments in Hanoi
Highlight
The breathtaking terraced rice fields of Nghia Lo, Mu Cang Chai and Sapa
The massive Hoang Lien Son Mountain range
The karst peaks of Lan Ha Bay and Tam Coc
Meeting with local population and ethnic minorities in local markets
Ancient pagodas and temples in Hanoi’s surrounding
Full itinerary
B (Breakfast), L (Lunch), D (Dinner)
Open and close
On arrival in NoiBai airport, you will be picked up and transferred to your hotel in the city center. The check – in will be available at 2 pm. The rest of the day is free to rest or discover the city at your own pace.
Car: 20km Night: hotel
Departing Hanoi at 8:30 am, we will follow road No. 32 along the Red River to Yen Bai Province. The scenery along the way is simply beautiful with orchards of bananas, papayas and lush rice fields. Local farmers set up stalls all along the road to sell their seasonal produce to bystanders. After lunch in a local restaurant in Thu Cuc, an area famous for its tea culture, you will meet Mr. Tung's family to discover several varieties of tea in Vietnam. Young tea leaves will be picked and dried in the traditional way by yourself. Crossing Yen Bai City, we enter the mountainous areas of hills covered with green tea terraces. Finally, we will reach Muong Lo Valley, the town of Nghia Lo, the second largest rice field in the Northwest Vietnam and also the homeland of Thai ethnic people. Thai people first came here around 700 years ago, they grew rice and built their traditional wooden houses of iron and bamboo. Take a 2 – hour walk around the village to discover the Thai ethnic culture and daily life.
Car: 200km/5h Night: homestay
Departure from Nghia Lo to Mu Cang Chai, the road winds its way through Hoang Lien Son Mountain chain, which has the highest peak of Indochina, Mount Fansipan. Stop at Tu Le for an easy hike. You walk through rice terraces to reach Thai and H’mong villages where people still dress in traditional costumes and H’mong women sit by their loom. Tu Le is a small hill tribe town surrounded by picturesque landscape and full of warmhearted people living in tiny wooden houses nestled at the foot of the mountains. Leaving Tu Le, you cross KhauPha Pass (1550m). Dominating the entire area of La Pan Tan for a hundred years, the Mong still keep their morals and customs very well. Being always in traditional clothing, speaking their own language, refusing the invasion of modern life, they cultivate maize in plots of land embedded with rocks, they grow vegetables and especially rice in terraced rice fields. A new road will take you to the heart of the village where you can discover Mong culture and meet with villagers, a great opportunity for photo shoots.
Car: 100km/2h Night: homestay
After a 2 – hour drive, the road begins to climb up the Tram Ton Pass, the highest pass in Vietnam at 2047 meters of altitude. Stop for photos opportunities and enjoy the fresh air. From here, you can see Mount Fansipan, “the Roof of Indochina” with its 3143m peak reaching the clouds. Arrive in Sapa at noon. Free time to explore Sapa Town.
Car: 150km/4h Night: hotel
Breakfast at the hotel, then the trek through the beautiful Muong Hoa valley in Sapa begins. After following the road for 2km, we’ll reach Y Linh Ho village, home to Black H'mong ethnic people. We continue our walk to Lao Chai village and will enjoy beautiful views of terraced rice fields along the way. The guide will prepare a simple picnic style lunch for you. Transfer to Hanoi.
Car: 350km/6h Night: hotel
A two-day, one night cruise on Perla Dawn Sails to discover Lan Ha Bay is the best choice for those who are looking for a wonderful destination where still maintains its primitive natural beauty, less touristic. You will take part in many other exciting activities such as: swimming, cave exploring, dining on a floating farm, all while sailing through undiscovered waters and islands in the beautiful poetic southern part of Halong Bay. It takes only about 2.5 hours from Hanoi's Old Quarter to Got Ferry Pier in Hai Phong City where the Perla Dawn Cruise awaits you. Round – trip transportation is on request with an additional surcharge.
12:00 – 12:30: Embark the Perla Dawn Sails at Cat Hai's Got Ferry Port. Enjoy a welcome drink and cruise briefing. 13:15 – 14:00: A splendid lunch is served while cruising into the primitive Lan Ha Bay. 15:30 – 17:00: On a bamboo boat, visit Bright Cave, a serene round lake surrounded by lush trees and high stone cliffs. Then enjoy swimming in the private emerald water. 17:00 – 18:30: Return to the Perla Dawn Sails for afternoon tea on the top deck – a perfect time to take some of your best snapshots of the day when the sun begins to set. Relax with Massage and Spa treatment, always available upon request. 19:00: Delight in the shimmering atmosphere of thousands of stars while eating a fantastic, expertly prepared dinner on floating farm, all while floating in the center of serene Lan Ha Bay. To be impressed by an absorbing fruit and vegetable carving demonstration and a traditional music performance at dinner time. 21:00 – 22:00: Enjoy daily Happy Hour promotion – Buy 1 Get 1 Free on all beverages. Socialize with new friends and crew members and join some nighttime squid fishing. Overnight onboard.
Car: 130km/3h Night: on boat
06:00 – 06:30: Begin your new day with a Tai Chi session or a photo hunt. 07:00 – 07:45: Enjoy breakfast in the fresh air and peaceful beauty of the bay. 07:45 – 09:00: Experience kayaking to discover the lovely Tra Bau area. Visit a fishing farm and socialize with the resident fishermen to know more about life here and how the people work every day. 09:00 – 09:45: Pack your luggage and check out of your cabin while cruising towards the port. 10:00 – 11:30: Join a cooking demonstration before enjoying an extraordinary buffet lunch. 11:45 – 12:00: Disembark the Perla Dawn Sails & farewell the crews. Meet your driver and transfer to Ninh Binh.
Car: 150km/3h Night: hotel
After breakfast at the hotel, head to the pier where rowing boats are ready to take us on a 2.5 – hour exploration of the picturesque waterways of Trang An Ecological Tourism Site. Limestone mountains covered in lush vegetation, emerald waters, caves and rivers create a mysterious, seemingly enchanted waterscape. We will visit a network of 9 caves filled with sparkling stalactites of all shapes and colors. We disembark to visit Hoa Lu, one of Vietnam’s former capitals from 968 to 1009. The remains include two temples dedicated to the kings Dinh and Le. These temples are surrounded by beautiful hibiscus gardens, ponds filled with lotus blossoms and frangipani dispersing their delicate perfume. Take time to relax in this airy and tranquil atmosphere. Have lunch at a local restaurant. Drive back to Hanoi in the afternoon.
Car: 110km/2h Night: hotel
At 9:00 am, our tour guide will pick you up at your hotel in the old quarter and take you to the cooking center for your cooking class. First, let’s go for a walk to get to the local market. It's a great chance to buy local things by yourself and experience a variety of foods from all the groceries such as herbs, spices, vegetables, meats, fish, fresh fruits, etc. Everything will bring you back to the essentials, herbs and spices being a very important part of authentic Vietnamese food. You will have fun communicating and using body language with locals, creating incredible and unforgettable memories. Do not forget to take some pictures with them. Once the shopping is done, we come back to the cooking center. You will prepare and cook by yourself under the tour guide’s supervision, learning how to marinate and to spice things up being the most crucial lesson. You will also enjoy decorating dishes with carrot flowers, lemon grass stems, banana leaves and curved chili. The authentic magical sauce mixed from fish sauce, water, sugar, lime, chili, garlic and herbs is very easy to make. Finally, enjoy what you have made as a delicious lunch.
In the afternoon, discover the Old Quarter, also known as the “36 Streets & Corporations”. It is a veritable labyrinth of lanes where each of them is specialized in a trade or an art. The best way to explore this lively district is on foot. Designed to capture all aspects of the local daily life, the tour will cover the different elements in an original way: crafts, Buddhism, temples, gastronomy, local markets, visit of a traditional house – tube (a Vietnamese singularity), medicine…
Discover the capital through food, as a local, an unforgettable experience and the highlight of your journey. The day ends with a stroll around Hoan Kiem Lake (Lake of the Restored Sword) before watching the traditional water puppet show.
Night: hotel
This morning, go on an excursion to the Bat Trang ceramic village. Visit the pottery factory where the production is still handmade. Your children will try themselves to the art of turning the clay and bring back their work. Return to Hanoi. Then head to Van Mieu (Temple of Literature), the first "University of Vietnam" and continue with a walk around the lake of Hoan Kiem (Sword restored) located in the heart of the capital. Watch the water puppet show in the late afternoon. Overnight at the hotel.
Car: 50km/3h Night: hotel
Depending on the schedule of your return flight, take advantage of your free time to shop in the busy streets of the old quarter or rest at the hotel (room available until 12 noon). Transfer to the airport. End of our services
Car: 20km
€ 935euro/personneUSD
The price includes
þ Accommodation and breakfasts in hotels on the accommodation list
þ Meals clearly mentioned in the program: B = breakfast; L = lunch; D = dinner
þ The entrance fee to the sites
þ Competent English–speaking guides throughout the trip except the free days when it is mentioned clearly: without a guide
þ Private air – conditioned car for all land transport except free days when it is mentioned clearly: without driver
þ One litre of drinking water per person per day
þ All logistic services necessary for the program
The price does not include
ý International flights and airport taxes from/to your country
ý Bank commission
ý Means of transport not mentioned in the program
ý Meals not mentioned in the program
ý Tipping for services: local guides, crew members, drivers, porters…
ý Drink, telephone, linen or all personal expenses not mentioned in the "price includes" section
You need to know
Trip price
All prices mentioned in the quotes provided to clients are in US Dollars (USD). Euros are accepted, but the exchange rate will be determined by the international website https://www.xe.com/ on the date the payment is made. iLOTUS TOURS guarantees the rates mentioned in the quotes, invoices, or documents given to the client. Upon payment of the deposit or the full price, we guarantee the price of your trip (excluding changes made by you). However, certain force majeure situations may require us to adjust our prices to meet the travel conditions described in the quote. These force majeure situations may include: • An unpredictable and significant increase in the rate of our local providers (hotels, trains, planes, junks, boats, road vehicles...) • A significant currency fluctuation that has a considerable impact on the exchange rate • The introduction of a new tax imposed by the government Proof of these force majeure events will be provided to the client. In these cases of force majeure, even after the deposit has been paid, the client may refuse these increases and cancel their trip. We commit to refunding the deposit you have paid.
Reservation and Confirmation
All reservations must be sent to iLOTUS TOURS by email at: contact@ilotustours.com • Registration must be accompanied by a deposit of 25% of the total cost of the trip and 100% of the cost of international flights. • The deposit required for trips lasting less than one week is 50% of the total trip cost. • A larger deposit may be required in the case of last-minute bookings or depending on the specific requests of certain high-category hotels or airlines. • The balance must be paid upon your arrival, without any reminder from our side. • Upon confirmation of the booking, an invoice will be sent to the client by email.
Payment
The trip can be paid for in cash, by bank transfer, by credit card, or through an application (Wise, Revolut, One Pay...): • Cash payments must be made at the iLOTUS TOURS office located in Hanoi, and the client will not be charged any payment fees. • Credit cards: we accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and JCB. Any bank fees are the responsibility of the client. • Bank transfer in US dollars or euros.
Cancellation by the Client
In the event of trip cancellation, all cancellations must be confirmed by email. The client must pay cancellation fees corresponding to the following rates: • 25% of the total trip price, if the cancellation reaches iLOTUS TOURS less than 30 days before the trip start date. • 50% of the total trip price, if the cancellation reaches iLOTUS TOURS less than 10 days before the trip start date. • 75% of the total trip price, if the cancellation reaches iLOTUS TOURS less than 3 days before the trip start date. • 100% of the total trip price, if the cancellation reaches iLOTUS TOURS 2 days before the trip start date or in case of no-show. For trips to Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar, your travel advisor will provide you with all the information regarding the deposit and cancellation fees.
Cancellation by iLOTUS TOURS
iLOTUS TOURS reserves the right to cancel trips agreed upon with clients for reasons related to a force majeure situation: war or the threat of war, riots, a natural or nuclear disaster, a port blockade, looting, fires, and any terrorist activity, adverse weather conditions, an epidemic, quarantine, or any similar event. In all these cases of cancellation, iLOTUS TOURS will deduct the amount of these penalties from the deposit paid by the client but will refund the remaining amount to the client by bank transfer, with the client covering all bank fees.
