Off Beaten Track North Vietnam 13 Days/ 12 Nights

Tour route: Hanoi -  Ba Be - Ha Giang - Yen Minh - Dong Van -  Bac Ha – Sapa - Lao Cai - Ha Long

• Day 1 - Hanoi arrival
• Day 2 - Hanoi Sightseeing (B)
• Day 3 - Hanoi - Ba Be (B,L,D) - 260 km, 6 hours driving
• Day 4 - Ba Be Trekking (B,L,D)
• Day 5 - Ba Be Kayaking (B,L,D)
• Day 6 - Ba Be - Meo Vac (B,L,D) - 260 km, 6 hours driving
• Day 7 - Meo Vac - Dong Van - Yen Minh - Quan Ba - Ha Giang (B,L,D) - 200km, 6 hours driving
• Day 8 - Ha Giang - Bac Ha (B,L) - 240 km, 6 hours driving
• Day 9 - Bac Ha - Coc Ly Market - Sapa (B,L)
• Day 10 - Sapa - Cat Cat - Y Linh Ho - Lao Chai - Ta Van - Sapa (B, L) - 16 km, 6 hours trekking
• Day 11 - Sapa - Ma Tra Village - Lao Cai - Overnight train to Hanoi (B,L)
• Day 12 - Hanoi - Halong Bay (B,L,D)
• Day 13 - Halong Bay - Hanoi Departure (B)

Day 1 - Hanoi arrival
Arrival and welcome at Hanoi Airport. Transfer to check in at your hotel. Room is at your disposal at 2.00pm. Spend the balance of day free at your leisure. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 2 - Hanoi Sightseeing (B)
Full-day tour of Vietnam’s capital city, including Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum (closed on Monday & Friday), traditional stilt house, One-Pillar Pagoda, and the thousand-year-old Temple of Literature also known as the First University of Vietnam. After lunch break, visit the Ethnology Museum (closed on Monday) where you could learn a lot about diversified cultural of 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam. Return to city centre and climb into a traditional cyclo (pedicab) to discover the colonial side of the city, the city’s traditional 36 streets in the Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem lake and Ngoc Son Pagoda at the edge of the lake. In the evening, enjoy a traditional water puppet show. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel. Remark: Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum closes from 08 September to 08 November for annual maintenance. Easia Travel will arrange the visit outside.

Day 3 - Hanoi - Ba Be (B,L,D) - 260 km, 6 hours driving
Morning departure from Hanoi to Ba Be Lake (260 kms – 6 hours) with lunch on the way. Arrive at the lake just in time for a boat cruise to the boatmen’s home village. The village is located right on the edge of Ba Be Lake with a panoramic view of the surrounding cornfields, the lake and mountain ranges. Dinner and overnight at a traditional wooden stilt house of locals.

Day 4 - Ba Be Trekking (B,L,D)
Start the day with a visit to a local market (there are different local markets open on different dates according to lunar calendar such as: Quang Khe, Nam Cuong, Cho Ra ...). Then depart for a hike of about 3 km (1 hour or 1.5 hour) to the Vang village of Tay minority people. A mountain path at 350m height allows you to access this picturesque village which is nestled in the heart of a valley. En route visit a waterfall where you could take a swim if you would love to (depend on season). Picnic lunch. Return to Pac Ngoi village in the afternoon after hiking 8km (about 3hours) along a small river. Enjoy the majestic scenery with peaceful rice paddies, corn fields and limestone rocks while keep hiking on the road. (If you do not wish to make another hiking, your private vehicle is already waiting for you at the main road - just about 3km away from Vang village.) Night and dinner in a local house.

Day 5 - Ba Be Kayaking (B,L,D)
In the morning, the boat is waiting to take you on the other side of the lake, then we start our kayaking excursion to visit a smooth part of the lake and then access to its further area. After lunch at Pirate Ong continue the kayak trip for a few hours more. In the late afternoon, get back on the boat and you will be taken to an isolated place for a swimming in tranquil water. Dinner and overnight at the local house.

Day 6 - Ba Be - Meo Vac (B,L,D) - 260 km, 6 hours driving
We leave Ba Be by land transfer to Meo Vac in upper mountainous area of northern Vietnam (260 km – 6hours driving). Enjoy beautiful natural landscape along the way with majestic mountain ranges and peaceful rivers. We will also enjoy lunch en-route. Arrive at Meo Vac the town of Lo Lo and Pu Peo ethnic minority people in the late afternoon. Dinner on your own and overnight at the hotel.

Day 7 - Meo Vac - Dong Van - Yen Minh - Quan Ba - Ha Giang (B,L,D) - 200km, 6 hours driving
After breakfast, we leave Meo Vac and head straight to Dong Van – the imestone plateau which is inhabited by the Blue Hmong ethnic group. Enjoying the poetic and magnificient moutainous scenery with endless local houses, countless caves and colorful orchid flower on the way. 30km zigzag road between Dong Van and Meo Vac is the most impressive section of your trip which offers breathtaking views of the landscapes and Nho Que karst river. On arrival at Dong Van Town, if lucky enough, we can witness one more excited local market: Dong Van market which is organised on every Sunday only. After visiting Dong Van town, we continue driving to Pho Bang, an old district with many stone houses and also the villa of Vuong Chi Sinh Royal family, whose architecture is a mixture between Chinese and European styles showing H’Mong people’ creative idea in their constructive art.. Keep on our trip passing through Yen Minh, Quan Ba before arriving at Heaven Gate the peak of the highest mountain in the area. During the drive you will discover sugar fields and limestone peaks touching the skies which are located among stone forests. The H’Mong people living in this remote and wild region are clearly influenced by their rough environment but learned to adapt over time. Their vehement vitality would not be able to fit in anywhere else. Under harsh climatic conditions: burning heat in summer and piercingly cold in winter, people live and work continuously to transform gray rocks hills with no signal of life into invigorating cornfields. They actually founded a culture and civilization of maize cultivation in this area compared with rice cultivation in the Red River Delta. Arriving in Ha Giang in the late afternoon. Dinner and overnight in the Me village. Note: The Dong Van market is held on every Sunday morning. Meo Vac, Dong Van, Yen Minh and Ha Giang are remote areas and have not many tourists. Local restaurants in this area therefore do not have the same standard as restaurants in big cities. Tourists have to take meals as local residents only.

Day 8 - Ha Giang - Bac Ha (B,L) - 240 km, 6 hours driving
After breakfast at the hotel, we leave Ha Giang for Bac Ha Town where you will arrive in the late afternoon. If time permit, when we just about 20km away from Bac Ha Town, make a stop at Thai Giang Pho village of flower Hmong people for short visiting. Local children will follow you everywhere you go, giving you a chance to explore the reality of life for the ethnic minority people in the mountains of Vietnam… Check in your hotel for relaxation. Dinner on your own and overnight at the hotel.

Day 9 - Bac Ha - Coc Ly Market - Sapa (B,L)
In the early morning, leave Bac Ha for Lao Cai then Coc Ly tribal market (around 45 km from Bac Ha – takes place on every Tuesday moring only) which offer the chances to see H'mong and Dzao minority people in their most colorful costumes. Take a boat trip down stream on Chay river to enjoy scenic view from river and trek to Dzao. Lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, continue our driving to the Old French hill station of Sapa. Check in your hotel and spend the balance of day free at leisure. Dinner on your own. Overnight at the hotel. Remark: Coc Ly market is held on every Tuesday morning only. Other markets are held in the region on some other days of the week: Sin Cheng & Cao Son are on every Wednesday; Lung Khau Nhin & Muong Khuong are on every Thursday; Can Cau market is on every Saturday morning and Bac Ha Market is on every Sunday morning. Depending on your traveling dates, another market visiting will be arranged rather than Coc Ly market.

Day 10 - Sapa - Cat Cat - Y Linh Ho - Lao Chai - Ta Van - Sapa (B, L) - 16 km, 6 hours trekking
In the morning, take a walk from Sapa town to the direction of Cat Cat village. You will stop by a little waterfall and a hydroelectric power before continue walking on a trail through rice terraced fields. You can also enjoy the spectacular scenery while walking along a narrow river. Upon arrival at Y Linh Ho village of Black Hmong, we will take a rest and enjoy a pinic lunch nearby the river. After lunch, keep walking to the Muong Hoa valley and you will pass through Lao Chai village of Black Hmong, then Ta Van village of Giay. After finishing the visiting, return to your hotel in Sapa by private vehicle for relaxation. Dinner on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 11 - Sapa - Ma Tra Village - Lao Cai - Overnight train to Hanoi (B,L)
The morning, leaving Sapa town behind, you will take a short transfer to the small village of Sin Chai, inhabited by Black H’mong people. Sin Chai is located at the foot of Fansipa n Mountain in an area covered by rain forest and under the protection of Hoang Lien National Park. Upon arrival at the village, you start the walk around a nd experience the daily life of the villagers who still maintain their ancestor’s way of life. You continue the walk out of the village, following a dirt trail running through rice paddy and corn hill along a narrow river, enjoying the spectacular scenery surrounding. After a short walk you will reach a suspension bridge where you also can visit a local house of the few Black H’mong families living here. You will then return to the village centre, where you get on the vehicle and have a drive back to Sapa. Afternoon is free at leisure until you are transferred to the train station of Lao Cai. Dinner on your own. Overnight on the train in an air-conditioned cabins with soft sleeper berth (4persons/ cabin).

Day 12 - Hanoi - Halong Bay (B,L,D)
Arrive in Hanoi in the early morning. Transfer to hotel for taking a shower and having breakfast before leaving for Halong Bay a stunning UNESCO World Heritage site with its 3,000 islands of towering limestone dotting the bay and Gulf of Tonkin (180km – 3.5 - 4 hour driving). After arriving at noon, you will board a beautiful boat for an overnight cruise on Halong Bay with an excellent menu of fresh seafood. Lunch and dinner are served on boat. Overnight on board.

Day 13 - Halong Bay - Hanoi Departure (B)
Wake up early in the morning to enjoy aquamarine water of the bay at its best. After tea break, the boat continue to cruise quietly through spectacular limestone formations of Halong Bay. Enjoy this more isolated bay’s spectacular and unique islands of the bay. Return to Halong harbour after a brunch for transfer back to Hanoi Airport for your departure flight. Stop en route to visit a pottery village. Meals on your own. End of services.

    1. What should I do if I want to book a tour but cannot pay immediately?
    2. How do I know that my booking is confirmed?
    3. What if I have special requirements for the tour?
    4. The manner and method of payment?
    5. Do you accept credit card and what kind?
    6. What can I get more information if I can’t go to meet you in person?
    7. What currency system is your company using?
    8. How about the quality of the tour which we buy from Kinhdo Travel
    9. What should I do if I want to cancel/change my itinerary?
    10. Can I make a reservation for my friends or my family members?
   Anwsering Questions

1. What should I do if I want to book a tour but cannot pay immediately?

When watching tour on the websites, if you want to book a tour but cannot pay immediately, you can definitely book that tour in advance. We would record the tour on our system. Then we will contact you via email to discuss payment issues. And you need to pay in advance 30% of the invoice value to ensure that you will use our service.

2. How do I know that my booking is confirmed?

After you have booked our tour, there will be an automatic email sent to your email which you used to book your tour. It is a confirmation of our company to notify that the booking process have been successfully stored. Within 2 working days, our representative will make a conversation with you via email or telephone call. The itinerary along with detailed information about your tour will be specified during this process.

3. What if I have special requirements for the tour?

In our online booking form, there would be a blank box which is offered to the visitor, who has special needs. It so called Special Requirements. By filling this blank, you will be ensured that our company would try our best to make you the most comfortable days without worrying anything.

4. The manner and method of payment?

Manner:
You can pay at the time of booking confirmation.

Or for any reason that you cannot pay immediately, you can pay after successful booking confirmation. But you have to pay before the start of the tour at least 3 working days. (For the tour that starts no later than 3 days from the date of booking, you must pay immediately after successful confirmation of booking. Because we have to pay the costs necessary for you during the tour in advance (for example, hotel reservation cost, or entrance fees, and so on).

5. Do you accept credit card and what kind?

Visa card are

6. What can I get more information if I can’t go to meet you in person?

If there is any enquiry, please contact us via email or telephone call.

Address: R1001,10th Floor ­­­_Thanh Cong Tower, No.57Lang Ha Street, Ha Noi,VN.

Email   [email protected]
Mobile +84 923 256 688

7. What currency system is your company using?

We will change to USD with the equivalent value at the exchange rate of the Vietnamese market at the time of payment.

8. How about the quality of the tour which we buy from Kinhdo Travel

Operated over 5 years, our company has been secured one of the leading travel agencies in quality. With such a long time working in tourism, we have drawn a lot of experience gradually. The company is staffed entirely by experts in the tourism field. The qualified workers have been trained carefully, which aim to deliver the best service to any tourist. Whether you are a hard-to-please customer or an easygoing one, you will soon enjoy the guaranteed services and facilities in our tour. With such the experience like that, we make sure that all organized tours are designed for each particular customer with the best quality that we can offer.

9. What should I do if I want to cancel/change my itinerary?

Change The Time of A Tour: Normally, we will not charge this change if you notify us 10 days before the starting day of the tour. Except hotel partner refuses to change (very rare), you have to pay additional costs to book hotels at the new time.

Change A Tour: We will calculate the different levels of the prices between the old tour and the new one, and the cost of the booked service in advance can be refunded or not (hotel booking fees). After that, we will you with the complete detail.

Cancel A Tour: Deciding to cancel the tour, you will pay a cost to tour cancelling services. This cost will depend on many factors, which may change from time to time (for example, how long does the notice time in comparison with starting day of the tour...)

IF YOU ENCOUNTER ANY PROBLEM, PLEASE CONTECT US IMMEDIATELY FOR SPECIFIC INSTRUCTION.
Email   [email protected]
Mobile +84 923 256 688

10. Can I make a reservation for my friends or my family members?

Yes, you can. If you are a person who pays for and participates in the tour, you won’t need to worry about this. In case you want to make a reservation for your friends or family members, you should follow our instruction. In other words, this means you pay for it but you don’t come along with the tour. In that case, we offer you a blank space which is “Customer information”. That is the name of a person who pays for the tour. Right below that space, there is “How can we contact you in Vietnam”. Please fill in the blank with any person that you intend to book a tour for.
After completing the payment procedure online, you will receive an email in which a form is attached. Then, you fill in the form with the personal information of your friends or family members. After that, we can acknowledge all the necessary information.