Detailed Itinerary

DAY 1 : HANOI – LAO CAI

Discover the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the One Pillar Pagoda. Visit the Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first university.

The afternoon is devoted to the walk at the Lake of the Restored Sword, a place that lies in the heart of Hanoi. Visit the Temple of the Jade Mountain, located at the shore of the lake. Take a cyclo to get around the old quarters. A water puppet show awaits us in the evening. Transfer to the trainstation to take the night train to Sapa. Overight on the train.

DAY 2 : LAO CAI - SAPA

Arrival at the Lao Cai train station. Transfer to Sapa. Check in at the hotel. Visit the silver falls at an altitude of 1900m relative to sea level. Ascent of the Ham Rong Mountain to the "gate of heaven," where you have a great view of the whole city. Discover the orchid garden.

Lunch. In the afternoon we visit the Cat Cat village, a typical village of the H'Mong ethnicity. Discover the daily life and culture of this minority. Dinner. On Saturday evenings you can witness the spectacle of the Love Market, where guys and girls from all villages come to Lao Cai to meet one another and maybe find a partner. They talk, sing and play different games according to their ethnic groups’ tradition. Overnight at the hotel.

DAY 3 : SAPA - TA VAN - SEO MY TY

Breakfast at the hotel, prepare for 4 days hike. Transfer to the South of the Muong Hoa Valley. We begin our hike to the Ta Van village. The stunning scenery of the mountainous region of northern Vietnam appears while we hike further. We continue to explore the mountains of Hoang Lien Son and the forests which have preserved their fauna and flora.

Picnic lunch in the middle of the nature. Discover a remote village of the black H'Mong ethnicity in the mountains. Here you can participate in daily activities of the inhabitants. We walk to the campground. There are people that help you installing the tent. Dinner. Rest around a campfire. Overnight at the camp.

DAY 4 : SEO MY TY - DEN THANG - TA TRUNG HO

We spend the morning visiting a hydroelectric reservoir. Then we continue along a path through a rain forest and a bamboo bridge over a creek to get to a valley with rice terraces where the Thang village of the black H'Mong ethnicity is located.

Lunch with the local ethnic group. The journey of the afternoon is a bit more difficult, you'll ascend a path that winds through the forest to the Ta Trung Ho village. The people belong to the Red Dao ethnicity, a minority group with unique red clothes. You can get to know the locals and discover their daily lives. This village is little known by tourists and Vietnamese, therefore, people are still very friendly and welcoming. Overnight amongst the Dao people.

DAY 5 : TA TRUNG HO - NAM TOONG - THANH PHU

After leaving the Dao's home, we hike to the edge of a forest of the Hoang Lien Son mountains. You walk through forests, rice terraces and beautiful fields of corn to the village of Nam Toong, another village of the Red Dao.

Lunch. The trek continues towards the My Son village from the Xa Pho ethnicity, a minority living in northern Vietnam. After an hour in the village discovering the daily life of the Xa Pho, we hike to the Thanh Phu village of  the Tay ethnicity. They are the second largest ethnic group in Vietnam. Dinner and overnight in the stilt house of a Tay family.

DAY 6 : THANH PHU - BAN HO - SAPA           

We continue the hike by crossing paths with the rice terraces until we reach the Ban Ho village where people of the Tay ethnicity live. Lunch in a traditional Tay house. In the  afternoon we leave towards the Lao Cai train station to take the night train back to Hanoi. Overnight on the train.

DAY 7 : HANOI

Arrival in Hanoi in the morning.

End of excursion

The price of the tour includes:

• train tickets Hanoi – Lao Cai – Hanoi

• transfers with private air-conditioned vehicle

• accommodation

• visits and services mentioned in the programme

• meals mentioned in the programme

• drinks: 2 bottles of water / day / person

• the assistance of a local guide (English speaking)

• travel insurance

The price of the tour excludes:

• personal expenses

• tips for the guide and the driver