Hanoi - Sapa - Halong 9 days/8 nights

Upon arrival in Hanoi, you will be picked up and transferred to the hotel for check in and relax.

After breakfast at hotel, start city tour with Ho Chi Minh Complex for visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ho Chi Minh Museum and One Pillar Pagoda, Tran Quoc Pagoda. Continue to visit Literature Temple, the first University in Vietnam in 16th century. Have lunch in one of famous restaurant in Hanoi. PM: Visit Ethnological Museum then have Cyclo in the Old Quarter and visit Dong Xuan Market, enjoy Water Puppet show in the afternoon. Have dinner then transferred to Hanoi railway station for the night train to Lao Cai. Overnight on the train.

Upon arrival in Lao Cai at 05:30 AM, you will be picked up and transferred to Sapa for breakfast. Relax then at 10 am we leave Sapa and start trekking. The first part is on the road but we soon turn to the right and walk on a small path down the valley to the Muong Hoa River and from here to the Black H’mong village Lao Chai. Black H’mong is one of the biggest minority groups in the Sapa area. They are proud of their culture and keep their traditions and way of living. They have their own language and wear traditional indigo blue clothing. After this you continue to Ta Van village (1.200 m) to visit Zay people. Zay is a fairly small minority group of about 38.000 people who live mainly in the mountains in Northwest Vietnam. The development has meant that some of their old customs have been lost but many women still wear traditional shirts with a purple, blue or green color. The Zay houses are build of wood and bamboo with a clay floor. We stay overnight with a local family in Ta Van and have our dinner here. Meals: (L,D).

After the breakfast we continue to visit Red Dao people at Giang Ta Chai where we also see a waterfall. The Red Dao women have very colorful red embroidery and coins on their clothing. On their head they wear a red scarf. Some of the women have shaved off their eyebrows because of a nice Red Zao Legend. We continue along small paths in the rice fields, cross the Muong Hoa River and trek up to Su pan where you will meet the jeep and transfer back to Sapa.

You are having a couple of interesting days waiting ahead. You travel by car toward the Silver Waterfall where you will be able to take a short walk to the waterfall. You will then drive further to Heaven Gate, the highest peak of roads in Vietnam. From there you can see Fansipan, the highest peak of Indochina mountains as well as enjoy stunning views. The trek will be relatively soft until lunchtime. After a couple of hours of hiking, you will have a break at a nice spot in the forest and enjoy a good lunch. With new energy you start ascending as well as descending towards the campsite. En route you have many opportunities to enjoy the scenery and magnificent views to Sapa area and beautiful landscape of Lai Chau province. You will arrive to the campsite at 2900m ASL in the late afternoon. Now it is time to relax and enjoy a well prepared dinner.

The train arrives in Hanoi at 05:00 AM. You will be picked up and transferred to breakfast then drive to Halong Bay. Drive 170 km(3.5 hours) from Hanoi through the heart of the Red River Delta where you'll see many farmers tilling their green fields to Halong city. Upon arrival, we board our private boat for 4 hour cruise on the pristine emerald water of Halong Bay. The cruise brings us through many green limestone islands to some beautiful caves. We will visit Thien Cung – the heaven palace cave- one of the most beautiful caves in Halong Bay. Enjoy the local fresh seafood for lunch. Cruise back to Halong city for check in and relax. Have dinner at the hotel. Overnight in Halong.