Day 1 : Arrival – Ha Noi – Ha Long (L.D)
Arrival at the international airport of Noi Bai. Welcome by NTS guide and transfer by air-conditioned vehicle to Ha Noi capital. Discover the city : the lake of the Restored Sword and the ethnographic museum. Lunch. Drive to Ha Long bay. Dinner and overnight at your hotel in Ha Long.
Day 2 : Ha Long – Ha Noi – Lao Cai ( by night train ) (B.L.D)
Breakfast on board. Enjoy a nice excursion through the limestone cliffs and emerald waters of the wonderful Halong bay. Visit grottoes. Lunch with seafood on board. After lunch, disembark and drive back to Ha Noi. Dinner and transfer to the Ha Noi railway station to take night train to Lao Cai. Overnight on board.
Day 3 : Lao Cai – Bac Ha - Sa Pa (B.L.D)
Breakfast. Arrival at Lao Cai railway station in the morning. Drive to Bac Ha. Explore the dominical market of minorities. Colorful embroideries, shot dresses and contagious cheerfulness. Excursion during 30 minutes by van and 30 minutes by walk through rice paddies, banana trees, bamboos, manioc field, sweet potatoes, soya beans… Discover villages where live the ethnic group of Phu La and the Meo-Hoa. Proceed to Sa Pa, situated at the bottom of Fan Si Pan range with the peak of 3,147 meters above the sea, regarded as the roof of Viet Nam.
Day 4 : Sa Pa (B.L.D)
Perched at the altitude of 1650 meters, Sa Pa town, enclosed by mountain covered with mist has the deliciously fresh air. Attracted by its temperate weather and its beautiful site, the French colonist has made Sa Pa a health resort since 1920. A few traces of colonist buildings subsist. Discover the colorful Sapa market, then take a stroll by walk through villages of Ta Van, Ta Fin, Lao Chai, that is the birthplace of mosaic peoples : Black H’mong, Tay, Red Yao. You will have the opportunity to meet local peoples, to appreciate the charm of the surrounding countryside with draught board of immense rice-terraced valley. Dinner and overnight in Sa Pa.
Day 5 : Sa Pa – Lai Chau (B.L.D)
Drive to Lai Chau along a very nice road, through a splendid landscape where rice paddies following the hillsides meet the primary forests. Lunch en route. Stopover at Lim market where Yao and H’mong minorities sell their products. Arrive at Lai Chau nestling at the bottom of a beautiful valley formed by the Da river. Dinner and overnight at hotel in Lai Chau.
Day 6 : Lai Chau – Dien Bien Phu (B.L.D)
Drive to Dien Bien Phu, a city situated in a very beautiful valley surrounded by the river of Namyoum and the high mountain. Trapped at the bottom of these 13 kilometer long and 9 kilometer wide pan-like valley, the French forces surrendered to Vietnamese army on May, 7th, 1954 , after a siege of the battle violence. You will travel on the mountain road with a tropical vegetation, through rice paddies and falls in the valley of Nam Ha, where the H’mong tribe cohabits with the white Thai minority. Lunch. Continue driving with a visit to villages on the way to Dien Bien Phu. Arrive Dien Bien Phu, visit the history museum of Dien Bien Phu. Dinner and overnight at hotel in Dien Bien Phu.
Day 7 : Dien Bien Phu – Ha Noi
Breakfast at hotel. Visit the site of Dien Bien Phu, which is a symbol of the end of the French presence in Indochina,with history vestiges of the ancient battlefield : the trenches, the bunkers and bases on the hills (the French gave them ladies’ names : Beatrice, Eliane, Dominique, Claudine…), the old reconstructed commanding post of General De Castrie. Lunch. Transfer to Dien Bien Phu airport for a flight to Ha Noi.
Arrival in Ha Noi. Visit the temple of literature. Take a 30 minutes tour of the 36 guilds of the famous Old Quarter by cyclo, the Vietnamese version of the rickshaw. Dinner and overnight at hotel in Ha Noi.
Day 8 : Ha Noi - Hue (B.L.D)
Breakfast at hotel. Transfer to the Noi Bai airport to take a short flight to Hue in the centre of Vietnam. Hue is the former capital of Vietnam under the Tay Son and the Nguyen dynasties ruled from 1802 till 1945. Guests are welcomed by NTS guide on arrival in Hue airport and transfer to the hotel for check-in. Discover the Royal Citadel. Lunch. Visit the elaborate mausoleum of former emperor Tu Duc and Khai Dinh emperor’s tomb. Enjoy a stroll in Dong Ba market. Royal costumed dinner with traditional music of Hue. Overnight in Hue.
Day 9 : Hue – Da Nang – Hoi An (B.L.D)
Breakfast at hotel. Check-out and take a boat trip on the Perfume River to visit the Thien Mu pagoda and then, continue the cruise to discover the mausoleum of former emperor Ming Mang. En route to Danang. Lunch in Lang Co Beach Resort before having a spectacular Pass of Ocean Cloud. Arrive in Danang, visit the Cham Museum which contains the finest and biggest collection of Cham sculpture in the world. Then, transfer to the charming ancient town and former trading port of Hoi An. Arrive in Hoi An, check-in hotel. Dinner and overnight at your hotel in Hoi An.
Day 10 : Hoi An (B.L.D)
Breakfast at your hotel. Discover the ancient town of Hoi An recognized as the World Heritage: the ancient streets, houses, bridge temple, Taoist temple and local Hoi An market. Check-out hotel. Lunch. Afternoon is at leisure and for swimming at Cua Dai beach. Dinner and overnight at hotel in Hoi An.
Day 11 : Hoi An – Kon Tum (B.L.D)
Breakfast at your hotel. Drive to Kon Tum. On the way, stopovers at different villages of ethnic groups for your discovery. Lunch en route. Arrival in Kon Tum in the late afternoon. Dinner and night at hotel in Kon Tum town.
Day 12 : Kon Tum – Ban Me Thuot (B.L.D)
Breakfast at hotel. Explore two surprising churches of Kontum, then drive to Ban Me Thuot via Pleiku. Lunch at a local restaurant en route. Visit Dektu and Dekcop villages of Bahnar ethnic groups. Dinner and overnight in Ban Me Thuot.
Day 13 : Ban Me Thuot (B.L.D)
Breakfast at hotel. Drive to the lake of Lak. Visit Jun village and take an elephant ride crossing the lake, the rice field and the minority village. Boating on the Lak lake in a pirogue (dugout canoe). Lunch. Visit the ethnographic museum of Ban Me Thuot. Dinner and overnight in Ban Me Thuot.
Day 14 : Ban Me Thuot – Ho Chi Minh (B.L.D)
Breakfast at hotel. Check out and visit Dray Sap waterfall. Drive to Ho Chi Minh through highlands with beautiful landscapes, rubber and coffee tree plantations. Arrival in Ho Chi Minh. Dinner and overnight at hotel in Ho Chi Minh.
Day 15 : Ho Chi Minh (B.L)
After breakfast at hotel, a city tour visits two fine examples of French colonial architecture : the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Old Saigon Post Office; the Palace of the Reunification (outside). Discover Cholon, the city’s Chinatown, with a visit to Thien Hau pagoda and Binh Tay market, the largest and famous one in Ho Chi Minh city. At Binh Tay market, there is 30 minute free time for shopping. Visit a lacquer ware factory, where guests can do shopping. Lunch. Free time until transfer to the international airport for departure.
Attention : This itinerary can be subject to modifications depending on the time schedule of domestic flights. The interest of the North Tonkin regions and highlands make you forget some discomforts of lodging and the rudimentary road infrastructures.
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