A great discovery of ethnic life via hiking in the most authentic corners of northern Vietnam.

This tour directs you to the most authentic villages, the mountains covered with tropical vegetation but it also creates a good opportunity to visit and admire the magnificent landscapes towards the North-East part of Vietnam. Unusual encounters with minority ethnic groups via nights with the locals, weekly markets or simply a small meal with them will leave you with unforgettable experiences, without forgetting to create beautiful days of hiking for athletes.

Itinerary:

Day 1: Ha Noi - Arrival
Day 2: Ha Noi - Visits
Day 3: Ha Noi -Matra - Ta Phin - Sapa
Day 4: Sapa -Treckking
Day 5: Sapa - Coc Ly Market - Bac Ha
Day 6: Bac Ha - Panhou
Day 7: Panhou - Treckking
Day 8: Panhou - Ha Giang - Nam Dam Village
Day 9: Nam Dam - Dong Van - Meo Vac
Day 10: Meo Vac - Ba Be
Day 11: Ba Be - Treckking
Day 12: Ba Be - Hanoi
Day 13: Ha Noi - Halong Bay - Cruise in Halong Bay
Day 14: Cat Ba - Ha Noi - departure

 

Highlights:

- Private trip with personalized services
- Combined visits to unmissable sites and off the beaten track in the North, to discover the magnificent landscapes.
- Authentic discovery of the villages, with walks in the middle of nature in the mountainous region, to be closer to the daily life of the local people.
- Meet the Hmong, Dzay, Tay, Thai ethnic minorities ... spending nights with locals in order to better understand their daily life.
- Superb rides in a rowboat or bicycle, in the famous village of Halong Bay on land
- Overnight cruise, aboard a beautiful traditional junk, with an itinerary away from mass tourism in Halong Bay.
- Very warm welcome among the inhabitants.
- Tastings of typical minority specialties with locals.
- Spacious vehicle, good comfort for transfers

Day 1: Hanoi - Arrival
(guide, car, accommodation, visits, dinner)

Welcome by Zen Vietnam Travel guide and driver. Transfer to downtown Ha Noi.

An orientation walk or rickshaw in the old town district, otherwise called the 36 Trades Streets of Ha Noi because most of the shops on the same street sold the same thing: Rue des bambous, Rue de silk, Traditional medicine street, Bronze street, etc. A really typical district, but so charming, with its shops on the sidewalks, the small narrow houses, the scooters everywhere.

Installation at the hotel for the shower and rest. Warning ! hotel rooms are only available from 2 p.m.

Gourmet dinner at the famous ¨Cha Ca¨ dish in a local restaurant. Overnight at hotel in Hanoi.

Day 2: Hanoi - Visits
(guide, car, lunch, dinner, accommodation, visits)

Breakfast at the hotel.

Today you will start the visit of the capital Hà Nội with a very old Buddhist pagoda, the 6th century Trấn Quốc pagoda, located in a beautiful setting by the large West Lake. Then, you will visit the Quán Thánh temple at 300m.

Then, the visit of the ethnographic museum, which gives you a panoramic view of the life of the 54 ethnic groups with 54 different cultures in the territory of Vietnam.

Time for lunch at the restaurant.

In the afternoon, visit of the political district with the mausoleum of Hồ Chí Minh, the founding father of modern Vietnam, the presidential palace, the house on stilts of Hồ Chí Minh, the one-pillar pagoda. Visit of the Temple of Literature, the first university in the history of the country.

At the end of the day, you will witness the performance of the Water Puppet Theater, a unique culture that you will never find in any other country in the world. Vietnam is the only country that practices this art.

Dinner at the local restaurant. Overnight at hotel in Hanoi.

Day 3: Ha Noi - Sapa
(guide, car, lunch, dinner, accommodation, visits)

Breakfast at the hotel.

Departure at 8:00 am towards Sapa. After 4 hours on the motorway, you arrive in Sapa, the old summer resort founded by the French during colonial times.
Time for lunch.

In the afternoon, a short 3 hour hike through Ma Tra and Ta Phin villages, inhabited by the Black Hmong and the Red Dao.

Dinner at the restaurant.

Night at the hotel.

Day 4: Sapa - Treckking
(guide, car, lunch, dinner, accommodation, visits)

Breakfast at the hotel.

At 9:00 am, departure for a sports day. A 7 hour hike to the two villages Cat Cat, Y Linh Ho, Lao Chai, Ta Van-Giang Ta Chai, around the most beautiful rice terraces of Sapa. A wonder made by the hands of man and friendly encounters with minorities, the discovery of local crafts such as weaving, dyeing hemp fabrics, working the land ...

Lunch on the way, at the restaurant, at the inhabitant's or on picnic.

Arrival at Giang Ta Chai village at the end of the day. Welcome by the driver. Return to Sapa. A massage offered by Zenvoyage Vietnam at the end of the day to relax you after a beautiful day of walking.

Dinner at the restaurant.

Night at the hotel

Day 5: Sapa - Coc Ly - Bac Ha
(guide, lunch, dinner, car, accommodation, visit)

Breakfast at the hotel.

Today is Tuesday, the day of the Hmong Fleur's weekly market, Coc Ly market.

Departure around 8 am from your hotel. After a 2.5 hour drive, you arrive at the market where the Flower Hmong from the region come to exchange their agricultural products, have a drink together after a week. In fact, the market is not only an opportunity for shopping but also an opportunity to meet local people, a small local festival for young people, to meet each other. An opportunity to find the husband or wife of their life.

A short 45-minute boat ride on the way back. (To do with the water level because of the hydraulic dam).

Lunch at the local restaurant.

In the afternoon, stroll through the village of Ban Pho and the village of the former French military airport, Thai Giang Pho.

Night at the inhabitant, Tay ethnic group.

Day 6: Bac Ha - Hoang Su Phi - Panhou Bungalow
(guide, lunch, dinner, car, accommodation, visit)

Breakfast at the inhabitant's.

Departure to Ha Giang, the extreme province in the north of Vietnam via Xinman, Coc Pai. Visit the superb rice terraces at Ban Nhung, Ban Phung villages.
Lunch on the road.

Arrival in Panhou, a very nice bungalow that gets lost in the middle of the mountain. Time to rest.

Night and dinner at the PanHou hotel.

Day 7: Panhou - Treckking
(guide, lunch, dinner, car, accommodation, visit)

A beautiful day of hiking in the middle of the mountains, rice fields and villages hidden in the surroundings of Panhou.

5 hours of walking through the villages of the Dao in trousers, surrounded bybeautiful rice terraces and bamboo forests. Arrive at a Dao family, visit their house and have lunch at home.

In the afternoon, walk back to the Panhou Hotel.

Dinner and overnight in Panhou.

Day 8: Panhou Bungalow - Nam Dam
(guide, lunch, dinner, car, accommodation, visit)

Breakfast at the hotel.

Leaving Hoang Su Phi, you will still see some pretty landscapes. Join the RN 2, towards the city of Ha Giang. Visit of Thon Tha village, a paradise village with thatched-roofed stilt houses surrounded by hills of palm trees.

Lunch time.

Continuation of road to Quan Ba. You will start to ascend the Dong Van Karst Plateau, the geological park of the world. A new type of landscape that you have never seen in 8 days.

Arrival at the Dao village in pants, Nam Dam. A great village with mud houses. A walk at the end of the day will be unforgettable.

Dinner and overnight at the inhabitant.

Day 9: Nam Dam - Dong Van - Meo Vac
(guide, lunch, dinner, car, accommodation, visit)

Breakfast at the inhabitant's.

Departure to Dong Van. Today, you will return to the heart of the park, a grandiose landscape awaits you! Visit pretty Hmong villages on the way to Sung La. Before arriving at Dong Van town, you will visit King Hmong Palace, typical architecture of Hmong region.

Arrival in Dong Van, coffee break and visit of the old quarter.

In the afternoon, you continue the road towards Meo Vac passing through the Ma Pi Leng pass with its splendid landscapes. Arrival at Meo Vac.

Installation at the hotel.

Dinner at the local restaurant. Night at the hotel.

Day 10: Meo Vac - Ba Be
(guide, lunch, dinner, car, accommodation, visit)

This Sunday morning, you will participate in the weekly market of Meo Vac, the large local market for the ethnic minorities of this region. A bustling market that you cannot pass up.

After the market, we leave Meo Vac in the direction of Lake Ba Be.

Local lunch.

Arrival at Ba Be Lake in the afternoon, time to rest with the Tay family by the lake.

Dinner and overnight at the inhabitant in the house on stilts.

Note: A bit tiring day with a long drive, but inevitable. Be brave :)

Day 11: Ba Be - Visits - Trekking
(guide, lunch, dinner, car, accommodation, visit)

Breakfast at the inhabitant's.

This morning, you will leave for the discovery of Lake Ba Be and its national park.

Departure for a 19 km hike through several Coc Toc and Na Nghe villages to Dau Dang waterfall. Visit of the fall.

Lunch at the local restaurant.

In the afternoon, boat trip on the lake, up the Na Nang River to Ba Be Lake, contemplating the lush vegetation next to it. Possibility of taking a swimming break before returning to the village.

Dinner and Night at the inhabitant's.

Day 12: Ba Be - Ha Noi
(guide, lunch, car, accommodation, visit)

Breakfast at the hotel.

Depart for Ha Noi.

Lunch at the local restaurant.

Continuation of road to Ha Noi. Arrival around 4 p.m. at the hotel.

Rest time.

Arrival in Ha Noi. Installation at the hotel.

Night at the hotel.

Day 13: Ha Noi - Cat Ba - Cruise in Halong Bay - Overnight on board
(guide, car, lunch, dinner, accommodation, visits, private junk or collective boat)

Breakfast at the hotel.

At 7:30 am, departure for Hai Phong 150 km away to embark on a shuttle that takes you to Cat Ba Island. 30 minutes more bus and you arrive at the Ben Beo pier where you will board our beautiful private junk (or collective boat) and start the 24 hours on board for the discovery of one of the natural wonders of the world, the Halong Bay.

From our ¨zen¨ criteria for trips, we have chosen the part of the south of the bay where the large mass tourism boats do not pass yet, just a few small traditional junks in this area. A part of the bay that is still very authentic with thousands of rocks, wild beaches and huge floating villages that you cannot find in the other part of Ha Long Bay.

Lunch on board with seafood. Time for swimming or simply resting on the deck to admire this miracle that nature offers us. After 3 hours of navigation, we arrive at Hang Ca, a beautiful place for the kayak ride, another way to see the bay up close.
Around 5:30 p.m., we anchor in a magnificent circus in the middle of the bay where you will be alone. A hell of a time to watch the sunset over the bay.
Dinner on board and a test of squid fishing in the evening will be great memories.

Overnight on board.

Note: The order of visits during the cruise may be changed, depending on the weather conditions on site.

Day 14: Cat Ba - Ha Noi - Departure
(guide, car, lunch, visits)

An early morning wake-up call in a magical setting around 5 a.m. to admire the sunand sunshine on the bay, why not?

After a good breakfast, the junk continues to sail in the bay and takes you to Viet Hai village for a nice bike ride or visit the fish farm or just enjoy the tranquility on a beach. You choose !

Lunch on board and disembarkation around 11:30 am.

Visit of the old fort cannon. A magical point of view to see the bay again.

Return to Ha Noi for your flight home.

End of the trip!