Day 1: Arrive in
Hanoi
(D)
Arrive in
Hanoi
. Transfer to hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure. Overnight in
Hanoi
.
Day 2:
Hanoi
(B, L, D)
City tour in Ha Noi to visit One-Pillar Pagoda,
Temple
of
Literature
and
Ngoc
Son
Temple
with
Hoan
Kiem
Lake
.
One-hour cyclo ride in the Old Quarters of Ha Noi. Afterwards transfer to hotel in Ha Long city. Overnight in Ha Long
Day 3: Ha Long - Ha Noi (B, L, D)
Five-hour boat cruise on the magnificent Ha Long Bay to enjoy swimming and exploring limestone caves. Return to
Ha Noi in the afternoon. Enjoy a traditional Vietnamese water puppet show in the evening before having a dinner.
Overnight in Ha Noi.
Day 4: Ha Noi-Sapa (B, L, D)
Leave Ha Noi by road for the picturesque day’s journey to Sapa, in the far northwestern corner of
Vietnam
. There
are many photo opportunities along the way and after a lunch stop at Yen Bai visit Dao and H’mong villages en
route. Arrive at Lao Cai in the late afternoon where you can gaze across the Red River at
China
on the opposite
bank. From Lao Cai the road winds up the terraced hillsides to Sapa, a former French hill resort and home to some
of
Vietnam
’s most colourful ethnic groups. Transfer to hotel. Overnight in Sapa.
Day 5: Sapa (B, L, D)
A morning walking tour of Sapa visits the busy market where Dao, H’mong and other hill tribes converge 
from the
surrounding countryside to sell their embroidery, silverware and handicrafts and to buy provisions. In the afternoon
visit some of nearby hill tribe villages, such as Cat Cat or Ta Fin. Overnight in Sapa.
Day 6: Sapa-Hanoi (B, L, D)
Return to
Hanoi
after breakfast via Lao Cai. Transfer to hotel on arrival in
Hanoi
. Overnight in
Hanoi
.
Day 7: Ha Noi - Ninh Binh - Ha Noi (B, L, D)
A 70km drive through rural northern
Vietnam
to the site of
Vietnam
’s first capital, Hoa Lu. After visiting the 
two
remaining sanctuaries of the ancient citadel, take a sampan on a river through the rice paddies to the grottoes of
the sacred
Tam
Coc
Caves
. Enormous limestone karats jut out from the green rice fields giving rise to this place’s
other name, ‘Ha long on Land’. Overnight in
Hanoi
.
Day 8 :
Hanoi
(B)
At leisure until transfer to
Noi
Bai
Airport
for onward flight.
