Exploring the Spiritual North of Vietnam: A 7-Day Journey

Upon arrival, you will be picked up and dropped off at hotel in Hanoi Central. The rest of the day is spent at your leisure

Night 1: Overnight at hotel in Hanoi

Following breakfast at your hotel in Hanoi Old Quarter, Sun Getaways Travel will come to pick you up around 08:00 AM  with our shuttle bus to start the 3-hour-and-a-half drive to Halong Bay through the paddy fields in the Red River Delta.

10.00 Stopover on the way for refreshments

12:00: Arrive at Tuan Chau harbor, 12:15 Welcome to Rosa Boutique Cruise and enjoy welcome drink get a brief introduction about cruise and safety guidelines. Check-in your cabin.

12:30: Enjoy Vietnamese seafood and vegetarian lunch, while cruising in the magnificent Halong Bay, admiring the fascinating rock formations in the bay.

15:00:  You at  Tung Gau Area. The airy and fresh air, cool breezes, blue sea and sky, and natural seascape will captivate any visitors setting foot here. Especially, Tung Gau of Lan Ha Bay is extremely suitable for enjoying kayaking and swimming and then Visiting Halong Pearl Farm Village

17.30: Come back to our Rosa Boutique Cruise and relax.

19:30: Time for dinner enjoying special food on the cruise.

21:00: Evening entertainments: play games on the cruise: cards game, chess, karaoke, squid fishing, and overnight on the Rosa Boutique Cruise. 

Night 2: Overnight on board

06.30: Early morning sun risers can enjoy Tai Chi lesson on sundeck.

07.00: Morning view of the bay’s landscape with a cup of tea or coffee. Have breakfast.

08:00:  Arriving Sung Sot Cave (Amazing Cave) and joining with guide to visiting and explore the cave

10:00: Check out and enjoy a fantastic cruise on the bay. Join the cooking class guided directly by Chef of Rosa Halong Cruise. You have a chance to practice Vietnamese traditional dishes such as spring rolls or famous cuisine of Vietnam.

11:00:  Enjoy the lunch on cruise.

12:00: Rosa Boutique Cruise is landing in Halong Bay harbor, tourist say goodbye to sailors and finish the cruise.

12:30:  Return to Hanoi by shuttle bus.

14:30: Stopover in Hai Duong province to visit a ceramics workshop.

16:00 – 16:30:  Arrive in Hanoi. You will have dinner by yourself and free time until about 21h00. Sun Getaways Travel’s tour guide come to pick you up from your hotel then transfer to Ha Noi Railway Station and catch the night train to Lao Cai. Arrive Lao Cai at 5:30 or 6:00 am.

Night 3: Overnight on train

The train arrives at around 6:00 am. Our guide will pick you up there and transfer to the former hill station of Sapa. 

After having breakfast at a local restaurant, a short rest and some last preparations before our Sapa trip. The first part is on the road but we soon turn to the right and walk on a small path down the valley to the Muong Hoa River along Y Linh Ho valley and from here lead to the Black H’mong in Lao Chai village. Black H’mong is one of the biggest minority groups in the Sapa area. They are proud of their culture and keep their traditions and way of living. They have their language and wear traditional indigo-blue clothing. 

Continue to Ta Van village (1.200 m) to visit the Zay people. Zay is a fairly small minority group of about 38.000 people who live mainly in the mountains in Northwest Vietnam. The development has meant that some of their old customs have been lost but many women still wear traditional shirts with a purple, blue or green color. Check in the room then you have dinner and overnight at homestay.

With the ‘Homestay’ experience, your overnight accommodation is provided by a local family in their traditional house-on-silts. There are some private rooms on the first floor for private tour and you will have toilet or bathroom sharing. The sleeping corner is set up with a single mattress (thin, but adequate), blankets (ditto), pillow and mosquito net. The restroom is at standard and a few steps from the main house. 

Night 4: Overnight at homestay in Sapa

Following breakfast with local people, enjoy marveling at the breathtaking scenery morning, then leave the village to continue to visit Red Dao people at Giang Ta Chai where we also have a short break near a hanging bridge made from cane and a beautiful waterfall. The Red Dao women have very colorful red embroidery and coins on their clothing. On their head, they wear a red scarf. Some of the women have shaved off their eyebrows because of a nice Red Zao Legend. 

We continue along small paths in the rice fields, cross the Muong Hoa River and trek up to Su Pan village where you will meet the car and transfer back to Sapa. The rest of day is free time for exploring the local market and Sapa town. Late afternoon, the car will pick you up for the night train back to Hanoi. Arrive at Lao Cai train station and take the night train back to Hanoi.

Night 5: Overnight on train

Early this morning, you will pick up at the station and then transfer to hotel for day use and have breakfast. 

After breakfast, our driver and tour guide will come to pick you up at about 8:00 am for City tour. You will visit the Ho Chi Minh Complex, which includes Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum (viewed from outside; closed Mon and Fri and from Oct-Nov), – the final resting place of the beloved national hero, Uncle Ho – and President Ho Chi Minh’s stilt house where he lived off and on from 1958 to 1969. 

9.30: You’ll visit the One Pillar Pagoda, which is a group of structures that collectively make up a pagoda built over the water in the middle of a square lake. After that, you’ll have a chance to explore the Tran Quoc Pagoda on the shore of West Lake. From there, it’s onto the Temple of Literature, which was Vietnam’s first university and is dedicated to Confucius. 

12.30: You have lunch at the restaurant in the Old Quarter. Afterward, you’ll visit Hoan Kiem Lake – the heart and soul of Hanoi.

Option 1: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday

You’ll stop in at MUSEUM OF ETHNOLOGY. This superb museum showcases the depth of Vietnamese cultural diversity with an astounding collection of 15,000 artifacts gathered from throughout Vietnam. Maps, displays and dioramas are labelled in Vietnamese, French and English.

Displays portray a typical village market, the making of comical hats and a Tay shamanic ceremony; videos show the real thing. You can also check out a traditional Black Thai house reconstructed in the museum. There’s also a centre for research and conservation where scientists from all over the world study traditional Vietnamese cultures

Option 2: Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Depart for Bat Trang ceramic village which is about 20 km away from Ha Noi, this is a pottery village with a half-millenary historic development.

15.30 – 16.00: We will come back to your hotel.Free day for shopping or relaxing at your hotel. Overnight in Hanoi 

Night 6: Overnight at hotel in Hanoi

Your time will be your own until your private car and driver arrive to take you to the airport for your flight to your next destination. Finish an unforgettable Vietnam Tour with Sun Getaways Travel. Goodbye & see you the next time!