Northern Nature Tour 12 days

Destination: Hanoi - Ha Long - Cat Ba - Cuc Phuong - Ba Be - Ba Vi

Highlights: This tour navigates your sense to the masterpieces of nature dominating in the North of Vietnam. You'll eye on enchanting Ha Long Bay, one of UNESCO World Heritage Areas, marvel at Cat Ba National Park hiking through the forest and float yourself on rowing boats along a gentle river between paddy fields through the Tam Coc. You'll also cruise around the sight worthy Ba Be Lake and have a stunning view to the Red River Delta from the top of a mountain at Ba Vi National Park.

Code: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, G = Guide  

Day 1: Arrival at Hanoi (D, G)

Arriving at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, you'll be met and driven to your hotel.

17.15: You'll be picked up to watch the Water Puppet show an art form unique to northern Vietnam, and a good, light-hearted introduction to its rural culture.

18.30: Your Welcome Dinner will be served at one of the good local restaurant.

You'll spend the night in Hanoi.

Day 2: Hanoi city tour (B, L, G)

9.30 - 10.30: You’ll visit Ba Dinh Square, where silent sentries guard the marble and Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum where Ho Chi Chi lies in state (closed on every Monday & Friday and October & November). You’ll see the simple cottage where Uncle Ho lived and worked. You’ll continue to visit the One Pillar Pagoda and hear the legend of its construction, born from the love of an emperor in the 11th Century.

10.30 - 11.00: You’ll drive to visit the serene Tran Quoc pagoda, the oldest in Hanoi, on the banks of Hanoi’s West Lake.

11.00 - 12.00: You’ll also call the Temple of Literature, built in 1070 and the dedicated to Confucius, it is a serene retreat from the busy streets outside and later become Vietnam’s first university.

12.00 - 13.30: Lunch at local restaurant

13.30 - 15.30: Visit the Ethnology Museum for an overview of Vietnam’s 54 distinct ethnic

15.30 - 16.15: Pass by Ngoc Son Temple and Hoan Kiem Lake , also known as Lake of Restored Sword from the legend that surrounds it en-route to one of the city’s fascinating museums.   

16.15 - 17.15: You’ll then take to the streets by cycle ride tour of the Ancient Qurter of 36 streets District. This densely populated corner of the city was once a centre of commerce where goods were sold under the street name of a particular guild. Still a thriving community of sellers today, you’ll see streets name such as Sugar Street, Tin Street and Paper Street. Ancient homes and temples are interspersed with stores in this souvenir hunter’s paradise.

You’ll spend the night in Hanoi.

Day 3: Hanoi/Ha Long/Cat Ba (B, L, G)

9.30: You'll take a short break at Hong Ngoc Embroidery workshop.

10.00 - 11.30: You'll continue driving to Ha Long Bay.

11.30: You’ll board your boat, a wooden junk built from the model of the old Vietnamese court vessels. It will take you first to the World Heritage area where you'll visit Amazing Cave. You'll have time for swimming on the emerald water in Ha Long Bay. Your lunch will be provided on board, usually based on fresh seafood. If you don't like seafood during this trip, please let us know what you like so we can arrange for you.

17.00: On arrival to Cat Ba Island, you'll picked up by bus to your hotel. Your dinner will be served at the local restaurant. You’ll spend the night in Cat Ba.

Cat Ba Island has a small seafront town and a large  National Park with mountains, lakes and the  Cat Ba Langurs, one of the most endangered species in the world - only 58 remain in the wild, all on Cat Ba. There are two small sandy beaches which are nice but often crowded.

Day 4: Cat Ba (B, L, G)

9.00 - 15.30: Your guide will take you to the National Park to hike through the forest. Although the distance is only about 18 km, it will take at least 6 hours to cover the undulating terrain. On the way, you’ll have a break for a picnic lunch at Viet Hai village.

15.30 - 16.30: You'll follow the path through some the farm, village and then to the harbour on the south of the island.

16.30 - 17.30: You’ll finally find a boat is waiting to take you back to the town’s harbour. On the way you can enjoy your swimming on Lan Ha Bay. Your dinner will be served later on at the local restaurant.

You’ll spend the night in Cat Ba.

Day 5: Cat Ba/Hanoi (B, G)

8.00 - 8.30: Breakfast at your hotel, you'll then be free to relax at Cat Co Beach.

15.00 - 16.00: You'll take a short walk to the other harbour where you'll take a hydrofoil to Hai Phong

16.00 - 18.00: Arrive in Hai Phong, you'll take a vehicles back to Hanoi for a free dinner. You'll spend the night in Hanoi.

Day 6: Hanoi/Ninh Binh/Cuc Phuong (B, L, D, G)

10.00 - 11.00: On your arrival in Hoa Lu, the former capital of Vietnam. You’ll visit Dinh and Le temples, which dedicated to Emperor Dinh and a memory of Emperor Le. You'll follow by a brief visit to the remains of the Old Palace

11.00 - 12.30: You'll be driven to Tam Coc (three grottoes) and have lunch at the local restaurant.

12.30 - 14.30: You’ll be rowed along a gentle river between paddy fields and through the Tam Coc, You'll enjoy a peaceful valley among limestone ‘karst’ hills on the way.

14.30 - 17.00: Driver and guide will take you to Cuc Phuong National Park. You'll spend the night in the local guest house in Cuc Phuong Park Centre.

Day 7: Cuc Phuong/Hanoi (B, L, G)

8.00 - 12.30: You’ll be able to wander through a subtropical forest, rich in flora and fauna with thousand-year-old trees and dripping vines, visiting the Prehistory Cave and the Endangered Primate Rescue Centre en-route. The Endangered Primate Rescue Centre is a temporary home for many gibbons and langurs that have been injured, or have been orphaned by poachers.  Among them are two of the rarest species in the world, Delacourt’s Langur, now confined to two or three spots in North Vietnam, and the elegant Cat Ba Golden Langur, now reduced to a colony of around 50 individuals in Cat Ba Island National Park. Strenuous efforts are being made to conserve both species. When those in the rescue centre have regained their strength, a carefully staged programme will release them into the wild

12.30 - 13.45: You'll have lunch at the park centre.

13.45 - 16.30: Return to Hanoi for your overnight accommodation.

Day 8: Hanoi/Ba Be (B, L, D, G)

8.00 - 12.00: Our car and driver will pick up at your hotel to drive 240km to Ba Be National Park.

12.00 - 13.00: You'll stop on the way to have lunch at local restaurant.

13.00 - 15.00: After lunch, the road will take you through striking mountain scenery. On arrival, you'll check in your hotel in the park centre. The rest day, you can enjoy a sunset and stroll in the crisp forest air before dinner. You'll spend the night in Ba Be National Park.

Day 9: Ba Be (B, L, D, G)

After a breakfast at your hotel, you'll pick up one of the motorboat to cruise around the Ba Be Lake which was known as Pe Lam, Pe Lu, Pe Leng. Following the Tay ethnic language, these word means "three lake".

8.30 - 11.30: You'll visit Puong Cave and then the Fairy Pond, set in dense forest with many birds.

11.30 - 13.30: You'll cruise to visit Dau Dang Water Fall that is quite sightworthy and have picnic lunch on the way.

13.30 - 15.00: You'll take a motorboat again to visit Horse Saddle Mountain. Your day will be finished by taking a short walk to the village of Tay people near by.

You'll spend the night in Ba Be. 

Day 10: Ba Be/Hanoi (B, L, G)

8.30 - 10.00: You'll be driven to visit weekly market of the minority people near Ba Be National park.

10.00 - 16.00: Drive back to Hanoi. You'll have lunch on the way.

You'll spend the night in Hanoi.

Day 11: Hanoi/Ba Vi (B, L, G)

You'll drive to Ba Vi National park and walk up to the peak 400. You'll visit the Ho Chi Minh temple on top of mountain and have stunning view to the Red River Delta. You'll return to Hanoi to spend the night.

Day 12: Hanoi departure (B, G)

You'll transfer to the airport for your departure flight.

Prices per person in US$:

Contact Us for more details

Valid until December 31, 2010

Surcharge for peak season of hotels are not inclusive in the prices above.

Prices include:

• Breakfast and accommodation in twin or double room.
• Boats cruise as programme, sharing a luxury cruise on traditional junk in Ha Long Bay.
• Hydrofoil ticket: Cat Ba - Hai Phong
• Travel by private, air-conditioned vehicle with an experienced, safe driver.
• Experienced English-speaking tour guide as indicated in the itinerary.
• Entry fees for all sightseeing as mentioned in the programme.
• Lunches and dinners, as specified, in the local restaurants and on the boat in Ha Long Bay.
• Government Taxes.

Price do not include:

• International flight tickets and airport tax.
• Visas.
• Dinners except as specified above.
• Drinks, gratuities and personal expenses.
• Insurance.

Hotel list:

• Hanoi: Flower hotel (*** close to the Old Quarter) or similar

• Cat Ba: Holiday View (*** 5 minutes walk to the beach, overlooking the Lan Ha Bay, Suite) or similar

• Cuc Phuong: Park Bungalow (local standard in the middle of forest)

• Ba Be: Park Bungalow (local standard)

Creating Unique Touring Experiences with Gia Linh Travel
  All the touring itineraries on this website have been carefully crafted by our in-country management teams and represent a series of experiences we can certainly recommend. However, we understand that every travel experience should be as unique and individual as each traveler. Our consultants are waiting to hear from you so that we can tailor or custom design a tour to your individual specifications.