Spectacular Northern Vietnam: Hanoi, Ha Giang, Ba Be, Halong Bay 10 days 9 nights

Welcome to Vietnam! 
Upon arrival to Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport, welcomed by the local tour guide and transfer to downtown to check in the hotel. 
The rest of the day is at your leisure after a long flight and reset your bio-clock before gearing up for an interesting exploration ahead.
Overnight in Hanoi.
 

Breakfast at hotel.
Our journey starts with discovering Ngoc Ha Neighborhood offers a glimpse into the vibrant local life and storied history of Hanoi.
A short walk from the market leads to a smaller lake, visit a 400-year-old pagoda, and witness the remnants of a B-52 aircraft downed during the city’s 1972 bombing raids. 
Nearby, visit the B52 Museum to delve deeper into this historical event, showcasing artifacts and narratives that highlight Vietnam's triumph during wartime.
Continue our excursion to Westlake, Hanoi’s largest lake, then to the Red River dyke to feel the peace of the countryside outside Hanoi city. You pass by amazing green and beautiful farms where farmers growing vegetables and fruits, visit a family living near the Red River, sharing with them moments of life.
After this off-the-beaten-path experience, we will back to the city center by the historic Long Bien bridge designed by Daydé & Pillé company (French company), the same one that also built the Eiffel tower in Paris. The bridge has witnessed two fierce resistance wars of the Vietnamese people in the 20th century.
Enjoy local lunch with noodle dish of grilled fish (or grilled pork of beef) served with plenty of vegetables, and usually a broth.

Afternoon, we head to Temple of Literature - which was the first university in Vietnam and is dedicated Confucius. 
Finish the day with a wandering the crooked alleys of the iconic Old Quarter and the promenade around Hoan Kiem Lake.

At appointed time, transfer to Hanoi train station for your overnight train to Lao Cai. Check-in at your cabin and free time on board.
 

Your train arrives to Laocai station in the early morning, around 5am. Short shower in a mini hotel, breakfast then road transfer to Bac Ha.
Visit one of the weekly markets in the region (Saturday or Sunday). Bắc Hà market is the meeting place of different ethnic groups including Flower H’mong, Phu La, Black Dao, Tay and Nung and it is a fascinating spectacle: a superb example of a traditional minority market in Vietnam’s wild northern mountains. There are thousands of people and hundreds of stalls. It’s a unique spectacle. The produce is varied, fresh and colorful. The minority women and girls look fantastic in their traditional clothing. The men are just as intriguing: drinking various local liquors, smoking local tobaccos from bamboo pipes, slurping local noodles, and exchanging local gossip.
In the afternoon, walk/hike to discover beautiful panoramas, rice terraces and the way of life of the Flower Hmong and other ethnic groups living in remote hamlets. Depending on your desires, the route and the duration of the hike, you can choose a suitable option.
Return to the local house at the end of the afternoon. Preparation of dinner and meal with the family.
Overnight in the house of Tay people.
 

After breakfast, the drive takes you to Hoang Su Phi in Ha Giang province. The journey offers a captivating blend of scenic beauty and cultural immersion: terraced rice fields, valleys, small rivers, traditional stilt houses dot the landscape… You'll be greeted by the fresh mountain air and lush landscapes.
Hoang Su Phi is an excellent destination in the northern trekking circuit of Vietnam. The area of terraced fields in Hoang Su Phi extends to nearly 3,000 ha and is scattered in most communes. Among them, the most beautiful is still 760 hectares of fields recognized as a National Heritage. These places own well-known fields, along with the natural landscape of mountains, forests, poetic rivers and streams, adding more grace to the unbelievable.
Lunch at local restaurant.
Stop at ban Phung and/or Thong Nguyen villages for a hike before check-in Pan Hou retreat, a place that offers you pure nature, vibrant culture, and services that come from the heart. 
Dinner and overnight at Pan Hou retreat. 
 

Your hike is going to start at 9 am after a delicious breakfast to explore the nearby mountains through tropical forests and rice terraces.
You will stop at a Red Dao village for lunch. Out of necessity, they carved the mountain and its rivers to grow rice, the staple of their diet. These painful adjustments allow them to live at the heights and, by the way, provide you with unique landscapes to admire. The cooler climate and abundant fresh water also contribute to the growth of lush tea plants.
You continue walking in the afternoon through cassava fields, bamboo forests, tea plantations, then reach Yao village with ao dai and finally Pan Hou.

Walking time: 5 hours. Terrain:+ 400m / -400m
Note: Depending on your desires, the route and the duration of the hike, you can choose a suitable option (Yen Son village, Nam Khoa village).
 

After breakfast you will leave for Ba Be on a narrow mountain road. You will stop at different places to discover local markets and enjoy the view offered by the mountains. 
Arriving in Ba Be, you will visit the village populated by Tays, an ethnic minority living only from fishing and agriculture. Make yourself comfortable in a house on stilts with a splendid view of the river that flows into Ba Be Lake. 
Ba Be is a famous place in Northern Vietnam. You will walk around at your leisure to learn about the traditional lifestyle of the Tays. You will have the opportunity to help them in their daily tasks and thus better connect with the places and people who populate there, an unforgettable experience. 
Dinner and overnight at a locals' house.
 

Breakfast with local family.
Transfer to Buoc Luom pier for a boat trip on Ba Be lake surrounded by karst mountains. The boat will take its route on the Nang river passing by Puong Cave, an enormous tunnel (300m long by 30m high) that the river has cut through a lime mountain. This is a region little known to tourists where you can observe their natural state surrounded by mountains, fields and jungle as far as the eye can see. We hike around small villages and along the riverfront where you can observe the peaceful life of the Tay, H’mong people among the green rice fields. The boat then goes up river to the small village of Hua Tang. Lunch is served in a local house alongside the river. 
After lunch, a short walk through the jungle takes you to the very scenic Dau Dang Waterfalls, the famous natural gifts of northern Vietnam.
Your boat continues your excursion to discover magical landscapes on the Vietnam’s largest natural lake, on the top of mountain. Ba Be National Park has been recognized as a Natural World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Return by boat for another delightful evening at your Tay family.
Option: kayaking from Buoc Lom to Ba Be lake.
 

After breakfast, we say goodbye to the local host and our car takes you to amazing Hua Ma cave, a dry cave with thousands of stalactites and over the pass, so you can take amazing photos of the terraced fields. Stop for lunch in Cho Ra town. We continue our journey back to Hanoi. 
Overnight at hotel in Hanoi.
 

After breakfast, we drive more than 3 hours to Halong Bay, the pride of the Gulf of Tonkin, a Natural World Heritage as designated by UNESCO in 1994 and 2006. Upon arrival in Halong, check in the overnight cruise to discover the magnificent beauty of this “Descending-dragon” bay, created by thousands odd-shaped limestone rocks and karst grottoes. After a lunch on board, we can visit the Grottos, stop for swimming or kayaking, passing floating houses and approach islets to enjoy their beauty in close distance. Back to the cruise, enjoy cooking demonstration before having dinner.
Evening attend activities on the boat or relax at your own leisure. 
Overnight on the cruise.
 

You should wake up early to enjoy the dawn on the sea in the early morning. The Vietnamese call the “East Sea” by a point-oriented name “Eastern Sea”, so you may guess how miraculous seeing the sunrise over the islets of the Bay. After breakfast our boat will continue to cruise in marvelous areas, where almost each islet has its own name, adopting its shape or reminiscent like Sail Island, Fisherman’s head rock, Butterfly rock or Turtle islet etc. Early lunch/brunch will local food will be served on board.
Disembark and transfer to the airport for the departure flight home.