Combination Vietnam Holidays 9 days

Destination: Hanoi - Cuc Phuong - Ha Long - Cat Ba - Mai Chau

Highlights: Mix of activities such as a culture tour in Hanoi  with a visit to some famous temples, museum, water puppet. Hanoi people are proud of its history and regard it as the heart of Vietnam. You'll also can do trekking tour in Cuc Phuong Natinoal Park and Cat Ba National. Time to enjoy tour in Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Areas. Relax on the beach in Cat Ba island, ethnic tour in Mai Chau valley.

Details Itinerary:

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)

9.00: You'll be picked up at your hotel to start a Hanoi city tour.

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/Cuc Phuong/Hanoi (B, L, G)

8.00 - 10.00: Pick up at your hotel and then drive to Cuc Phuong National Park

10.00 - 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 - 16.45:  You'll visit a Endangered Primate Rescue Centre en-route and return to Hanoi for your overnight accommodation.

Day 4: Hanoi/Ha Long/Cat Ba (B, L, D, G)

7.30: You’ll leave for Ha Long Bay, one of the most spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Areas and the world’s largest marine limestone ‘karst’ landscape.

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 5: Cat Ba (B, L, D, G)

7.30 - 9.00: Breakfast at your hotel and then drive to Cat Ba National Park

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 6: 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. End of the services.

Day 7: Hanoi/Mai Chau (B, L, D, G)

8.30 - 11.00: Pick up at your hotel and drive to Mai Chau valley, you'll pass-through mountainous landscape on the way.

11.00 - 12.30: You’ll ‘check in’ to a stilt house in Lac village, the home of a Thai ethnic minority group and have lunch at the same house on stilt.

13.00 - 16.30: You can wander around the houses to see the daily life of local people.

They specialise in weaving brocade products, and are happy to show visitors their skills. The village is operated as a community co-operative, set up by the people themselves.

16.30 - 19.30: Back to the village for refreshment and free time for shopping brocade products and a dinner will be served by the house holder.

20.00 - 21.00: You'll enjoy with the performance of dancing of White Thai minority people.

You’ll spend the night at house on stilt in Lac village.

Day 8: Mai Chau/Hanoi (B, G)

8.00 - 8.30: You can have breakfast at local family or alternatively wake up very early to enjoy the fresh air of the mountain valley.

8.30 - 12.30: You'll walk to visit Mai Chau market to visit the local life culture of the Thai people. You'll then continue walking to Van village - the village near by the mountain with good atmosphere surrounding and then back to the Lac village for your lunch.

12.00 - 14.00: You'll be driven to Hoa Binh to have a brief visit Hoa Binh Hydro Electricity

14.00 - 16.00: Return to Hanoi. You'll spend the night at a hotel in Hanoi.

Day 9: Hanoi departure

You'll be free to shop at some of the local market before being driven to the airport for your international departure flight.

Prices per person in US$:

Valid until December 31, 2013

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

Prices include:

o    Breakfast and accommodation in twin or double room.

o    Boats cruises as programme. 

o    Travel by private, air-conditioned vehicle with an experienced, safe driver.

o    Experienced English-speaking tour guide as indicated in the itinerary.

o    Entry fees for all sightseeing as mentioned in the programme.

o    Lunches and dinners, as above, in the local restaurants and on the boat in Ha Long Bay.

o    Thai dancing show as listed in the itinerary.

o    Government Taxes.

Price do not include:

o    Flight tickets and airport tax.

o    Visas.

o    Dinners except as specified above.

o    Drinks, gratuities and personal expenses.

o    Insurance.

Hotel list for Five Stars standard

o    Hanoi: Hotel de l’Opera Hanoi (***** city centre, Deluxe room)

o    Cat Ba: Cat Ba Sunrise Resort (**** a secluded resort by beautiful mountain and beach - private 8000 meters beachfront, Superior Room) or similar

o    Mai Chau: House on stilt of Thai people (clean and basic accommodation)

Hotel list for Four Stars standard

o    Hanoi: Sunway Hotel Hotel (**** comfortable hotel about a fifteen-minute walk from the city centre, Superior room) or similar 

o    Cat Ba: Cat Ba Island Resort (**** a walking distance to the beach, Deluxe Ocean-view Room) or similar

o    Mai Chau: House on stilt of Thai people (clean and basic accommodation)

Hotel list for Three Stars standard

o    Hanoi: La Belle Vie Hotel (*** good location, Superior Room) or similar

o    Cat Ba: Holiday view hotel (***sea side, over looking the beautiful Lan Ha Bay, Superior Room) or similar

o    Mai Chau: House on stilt of Thai people (clean and basic accommodation)

Hotel list for Two Stars standard 

o    Hanoi: Nam Hai hotel (*** in the Old Quarter, Standard Room) or similar

o    Cat Ba: Princes Hotel (** local standard, Standard Room) or similar

o    Mai Chau: House on stilt of Thai people (clean and basic accommodation)

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.