Detail Itinerary
Day 01 : Arrival in Hanoi
Arrival
in Hanoi. Welcome from the Lotussia Travel guide and transfer to your
hotel. Free time to rest and get acquainted with the town. Welcome
diner and night at the hotel. Diner included.
Day 02 : Hanoi – Nghia Lo
Morning
departure towards Son Tay, visit of the very ancient village of Duong
Lam. Lunch at Mrs Thuy , one of our great cook friends. Then, en route
for Nghia Lo, amidst the rice fields, the tea hills, and the sleeping
rivers. Visits on the way. End-of-the-afternoon arrival in Nghia Lo.
Night at the hotel. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 03 : Nghia Lo – Mu Cang Chai
Keep
your eyes wide open, it’s going to be grandiose!!! Spectacular road,
stunning pass panoramas, and encounters with numerous mountain tribes.
In our opinion, one of the most beautiful road sections in Vietnam.
Lunch in a local restaurant. Arrival in Mu Cang Chai in the afternoon.
Breakfast, lunch, and diner included.
Day 04 : Mu Cang Chai
Day
of trekking through an incredible scenery of terraced rice fields over
the river, a patchwork of cultures and flowered slopes. Lunch in a
village. Return to the hotel at the end of the day. Breakfast, lunch,
and diner included.
Day 05 : Mu Cang Chai – Tam Duong
Superb
road between terraced rice fields and tea hills. On the way, visit of a
tea manufacture. Picnic in the nature or lunch in a local restaurant
local, as you like. Arrival in Tam Duong in the afternoon. Walk. Night
at the hotel. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 06 : Tam Duong
If
the town itself is relatively ugly, the surroundings are splendid,
going through oasis valleys surrounded by lime peaks that we discover
during a day of trekking. Lunch in a Black Dao family home. Return to
the hotel at the end of the day. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 07 : Tam Duong – Lai Chau
In
the morning, visit of the weekly market (Thursday), a place of intense
meetings between the various mountain tribes. After having been taken by
such a particular atmosphere, ride towards Lai Chau. Magnificent road
alongside the Nam Na River, an important affluent of the Black River.
Visit of the Black Thai village of Chan Nua. Arrival midday in Lai Chau. Small stroll in the surroundings. Night in an inn. Breakfast and
lunch included.
Day 08 : Lai Chau – Dien Bien Phu
Visit
of the local market local, small but busy. En route for Dien Bien Phu.
Arrival after lunch. General sightseeing of the Indochina War
remembrance with the visit of the Military Museum and of Colonel de
Castries’ headquarters (reconstructed). Stops on the battlefield and at
the French and Viet Minh cemeteries. Walk alongside the Nam River
Valley, inhabited by the Black Thai. Night at the hotel. Breakfast and
lunch included.
Day 09 : Dien Bien Phu – Son La
The
sublime scenery compensates for the bad state of the road. On the way,
encounters with numerous mountain ethnic minorities ethnic. Arrival in
Son La, visit of the penitentiary, then bath in the local hot springs.
Night at the hotel. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 10 : Son La – Hang Kia
Visit
of the market, then road to the south. We enter a splendid valley
inhabited by the Thai, Muong, and H’Mong minorities. Lunch and numerous
stops on the way. Arrival at the small village of Hang Kea, welcome from
our White Thai hosts. Night and diner in their stilted house.
Breakfast, lunch and diner included.
Day 11 : Hang Kia
Trekking
day in that magnificent valley. The mountain is full of activity,
colors, and “hellos” shouted by smiling little children. Second night in
our hosts’ home. Breakfast, lunch, and diner included.
Day 12 : Hang Kia – Trang An
In
the morning, visit of the Muong’s Xa Linh market. Lunch with our hosts,
then en route towards the province of Ninh Binh on a very beautiful
countryside road. Night at the hotel. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 13 : Trang An
We
recently discovered the site of Trang An, comparable to Tam Coc minus
the crowd, plus even more spectacular scenery where the green of the
rice fields superbly dominates among impressive karst sugarloafs.
Numerous rivers flow under the mountains through tunnels that we shall
visit during a magnificent boat ride. After lunch, stroll on a bike or
in an ox cart to discover the pagodas disseminated in the countryside.
Then boat discovery of the Kenh Ga floating village. Night at the hotel.
Breakfast included.
Day 14 : Trang An – Halong Bay Cruise
Morning
departure to Halong Bay. Arrival around twelve noon, checking on our
junk boat for a fairy tale cruise on the jade checkerboard. Seafood
lunch, visit of an impressive grotto, kayaking, swimming, etc. Night in a
boat private cabin. Breakfast, lunch and diner included.
Day 15 : Halong Bay – Hanoi
How
beautiful Halong Bay is at dawn, an elegant lace knit by the wind and a
light mist covering the water! Visit of a floating fishing village.
Lunch on board before returning to the pier. Drive back to your Hanoi
hotel. Water puppet show. Night at the hotel. Breakfast and lunch
included.
Day 16: Tour of Hanoi
In the morning, we start the town tour with the visit of Ho Chi Minh
Mausoleum, Tran Quoc pagoda, and Quan Thanh Temple. In the afternoon,
visit of the Temple of Literature, renown as Vietnam first university,
and of the extraordinary Museum of Ethnology. Hanoi by night in a
cyclo-pousse. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 17: Hanoi - Departure
Free time until the transfer to Noi Bai airport for your departure flight. Breakfast included.
