Includes internal flights, twin shared accommodation, English speaking guides, private cars, sightseeing and meals listed. Excludes visa and travel documents, travel insurance, international flights, local tipping, etc.
This itinerary is to give you a flavor of what is possible. We can tailor this trip to suit your specific needs and expectations. You may alter any aspect of the itinerary from excursions to accommodation.
International Flight: Excluded Welcome to Vietnam! Upon arrival in Hanoi, our guide will greet you at the airport welcome area and transfer you to your boutique in the French Old Quarter for check-in. Feel free to take a stroll around Hoan Kiem Lake outside your hotel – a center point of Hanoi culture.
Accommodation: Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi
Day 2: Hanoi | Highlights of Vietnam’s Capital | Water Puppet Show and Dinner
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner In the morning, you’ll be escorted to see the Tran Quoc Pagoda. This 1,400-year-old temple features ten tiers surrounded by gardens and which also hosts a bodhi tree grown from a cutting of the original Buddhist tree under which Buddha sat. Next, you’ll take a stroll around the Hoan Kiem Lake where you can see the Tortoise Tower sitting on the water. Then you’ll enjoy a half-hour cyclo tour through the Old Quarter in Hanoi. The cyclo is a historic mode of transportation in the cities of Vietnam where a cyclist escorts you while you sit in a seat affixed to the front with a canopy over top.
Next, you’ll visit the One Pillar Pagoda – a pagoda situated on a pillar made of a single stone, in the middle of a lotus pond. This pagoda was built by a 9th-century emperor who saw it in a dream and regarded this as divine inspiration to recreate the structure in the vision. You’ll pass by the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum before visiting the highlight of this tour – The Temple of Literature. This ancient university was erected almost a millennium ago and has hosted many of the most prominent scholars through Vietnamese history. The site features many gardens, pools, buildings, and ancient trees where the best and brightest of Vietnam studied under the guidance of Confucius’s teachings.
Water Puppet Show with Dinner
The evening will start with a Water Puppet Show performed by the world-renowned Thang Long Opera House. This performance features a talent unique to Vietnam. You’ll watch as water puppets perform the folklore legends of Vietnam while live ethnic music sets the mood.
After the show, you’ll enjoy traditional Vietnamese cuisine at Home Restaurant – a historic French colonial residence restored in between the Old Quarter and the serene West Lake. Enjoy fine Vietnamese cuisine as you begin your enchanting journey through Vietnam and Laos. Once you finish your dinner, you’ll be escorted to your hotel.
Accommodation: Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi
Day 3: Hanoi – Lan Ha Bay | Voyage Lan Ha Bay with Cruise by Orchid
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner In the morning, our guide and driver will assist you with a transfer to Haiphong. Then continue to the Orchid Private Lounge and enjoy refreshments until boarding. Then board Orchid Cruise.
Receive a safety briefing and check in your cabins. The boat sets adrift for Da Chong islet, home to an old French lighthouse. Enjoy a sumptuous feast in the panoramic dining hall while en route to the islets of Con Vit and Gia Luan. The bay opens up to you with stunning green karsts towering above the water. This area receives very few cruise ships as it has just been newly opened up. Continue to Ba Trai Dao beach of Lan Ha Bay. A paradise with perfect beaches and natural beauty. Stop at one of the beaches for swimming or kayaking during the afternoon.
As dusk approaches, welcome the sunset with a local specialty – “Ba Kich”(a liquor made from Noni fruit). Back on board, you’ll join a cooking demonstration to learn a few Vietnamese culinary secrets. Enjoy your creation! Then time for supper in the dining hall. Delicious Vietnamese cuisine and seafood in a romantic setting. After dinner, you may enjoy watching the stars from the sundeck, watching a movie in the restaurant, or give night squid fishing a try with the staff(subject to seasonal availability).
Accommodation: Orchid Cruise
Day 4: Hanoi | Lan Ha Bay Sunrise | Return to Hanoi
Meals: Breakfast Rise early for one of the top best sunrises in the world. Then head to the sundeck for an invigorating Tai Chi session amongst a picture-perfect backdrop of karsts, sea, and nature. Enjoy breakfast in the dining hall before taking the journey to explore the area around Sang Tai sea cave via canoes.
Return back to the pier for check out. Our guide will be waiting to help you with luggage and transfer back to Hanoi.
Accommodation: Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi
Day 5: Hanoi – Sapa | Hill Tribes Villages
Meals: Breakfast Today, you will travel around 4 hours on the newly built highway northward from Hanoi to Sapa through the lush countryside and beautiful mountainsides. Sapa is a lovely small town located near the top of the Annamite Range and surrounded by the ethnic hill tribes. Then you will check in your hotel.
In the afternoon, our tour guide will take you to Muong Hoa valley to see one of the most beautiful valleys in northwest Vietnam. Descending into the valley by foot, you will see the largest terraced paddy of Sapa. A short walk takes you from Lao Chai village of the Black H’mong minority to Ta Van village of the Giay minority. You will have a chance to see the different traditions and costumes of these two ethnic minority groups. After the hike, return to the hotel for some leisure time in the evening.
Accommodation: Victoria Sapa
Day 6: Sapa | Authentic Weekly Bazaar of Flower Hmong Ethnic
Meals: Breakfast Each day of the week, various ethnic village tribes congregate together in remote sections of the mountains. They dress in their finest ethnic garments to represent their tribes as they come together to buy, sell, and trade their produce and livestock with other villages. The hill tribe market is a unique opportunity to see the colorful ethnic apparel proudly on display. It is a time of social and community gathering. Finally, return to your hotel and relax.
Note: As different regions have different markets on certain days of the week, we will clarify in the itinerary which market you will visit based on your travel dates.
Accommodation: Victoria Sapa
Day 7: Sapa – Hanoi | Return to Hanoi | Leisure
Meals: Breakfast Today, you will travel by vehicle back to Hanoi with the view of the lush countryside and beautiful mountainsides along the way. Arrive at the hotel and enjoy your leisure time.
Accommodation: Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi
Day 8: Hanoi – Luang Prabang | Flight to Luang Prabang
Internal Flight:Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner Morning is at your leisure to relax.
In the afternoon, take a flight to Luang Prabang. Upon arrival, our guide will greet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel for check-in.
Feel free to explore the beautiful city of Luang Prabang on your own to discover night markets selling local tapestries and souvenirs.
Evening dinner at Hive Restaurant with “Ethnik Fashion Show” – modern fashion show with a twist – ethnic wedding garments from over 100 ethnic groups in Laos on the show by Hmong underprivileged university students(all donations go to support their families and education).
Accommodation: Belmond La Residence Phou Vao
Day 9: Luang Prabang | Buddhist Ancient City and Temples
Meals: Breakfast Morning is at your leisure to relax.
The afternoon begins with a visit to the Royal Palace Museum, which hosts a range of interesting artifacts. We then head to the magnificent Wat Xiengthong with its roofs sweeping low to the ground, which represents classical Laotian architecture. We’ll also visit the impressive stupa of Wat Visoun and the shrines of Wat Aham and Wat Mai.
Xieng Thong Palace – 13 Days Family Trip Laos Northern Vietnam Hill Tribe Villages
A visit to Luang Prabang would be incomplete without ascending the 329 steps to the top of Phousi Hill for a beautiful sunset view of the city and its glowing reflection on the Mekong River. The tour ends after a visit to the famous Night Market, where you can find a lovely collection of handmade textiles made by local and hill tribe people surrounding Luang Prabang.
Accommodation: Belmond La Residence Phou Vao
Day 10: Luang Prabang | Beautiful Kuang Si Waterfalls
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Transfer in the morning to Ban Long Lao village – a Hmong and Khmu ethnic village who live simple lives off the land in a self-sustained community. After exploring the village and mingling with the locals, you’ll begin the hike to Kuang Si Falls. Along the way are lush green forests and clear streams. Visit a cave along the way that once acted as a bomb shelter. Arrive at Kuang Si Waterfall – one of the most turquoise waterfalls in the world. The afternoon can be spent swimming in the waterfall and visiting the Bear Rescue Center where several Sun Bears and Malayan Black Bears are being cared for after being rescued from bile farms and wildlife traffickers. Then you’ll return to Luang Prabang and evening is at your leisure.
Accommodation: Belmond La Residence Phou Vao
Day 11: Luang Prabang | Befriending the Gentle Giants of Asia
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch In the morning, transfer to Elephant Village – an elephant sanctuary with a focus on rehabilitation and care of rescued elephants. Here you’ll meet the camp manager and receive a short briefing about the elephants. Enjoy lunch at the outdoor garden restaurant. Then bathe your elephant – Go down to the nearby Nam Khan River to bath your elephant; perhaps the elephant will bathe you as well! Return to your hotel for leisure time.
Accommodation: Belmond La Residence Phou Vao
Day 12: Luang Prabang | Boat Trip on Mekong River to Pak Ou Cave
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch In the morning, we embark on a cruise upstream on the Mekong River, which also gives us a breathtaking view of the tranquil countryside. Along the way, we stop at the village of Ban Xanghai, where they make Laos rice wine and rice whiskey. You’ll be able to try some and see the process they use to make it. Then we’ll reach the mysterious Pak Ou Caves, two linked caves crammed with thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes left by pilgrims.
Lunch will be served nearby the caves. During lunch, you’ll have the opportunity to try a local dish called “Orlam” which is a soup with vegetables and features a spicy wood that is partially edible. On return, we disembark the boat to visit a traditional weaving village of Ban Phanom, which is famous for its hand weaving.
Accommodation: Belmond La Residence Phou Vao
Day 13: Luang Prabang | Farewell!
Meals: Breakfast Today our guide will transfer you to the airport before your homeward flight and will bid you a fond farewell. Thank you for traveling with us!
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Licensed guides and drivers, thru-trip emergency phone with our contacts so you can reach us at the push of a button, vehicles with seatbelts and airbags... - your safety is important to us.
Experience Asia in Comfort
Travel at the pace you want with the comforts you expect. Air conditioned vehicles and rooms, hotels with WIFI, Western toilets and bathrooms.
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Booking your tour
Once the tour is planned how you like, simply send deposit to reserve the tour and lock in the hotels and rate. Tour Confirmation will be sent with 14 days of deposit. Remainder will be settled 60 days before traveling.
Begin your holiday
Feel free to contact our team for any questions before your big day arrives. We will also contact you during the trip to make sure everything is going smoothly.
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It's easier than ever to get going! Request a quote today!
One of our Travel Experts will reach out to you and assist you with an itinerary and quote. Also, feel free to leave your phone number and we will give you a quick call just to say hello and clarify any questions we have about your inquiry.
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