Detail Itinerary
Day 01: Arrival in Hanoi
Arrival in Hanoi. Welcome from the Lotussia Travel guide and transfer to your hotel. Free time to rest and get acquainted with the town. Welcome diner and night at the hotel. Diner included.
Day 02: Hanoi bicycling and visits
In the morning, we go to our friends Vincent and Huong for a bicycle ride in the Hanoi countryside. Lunch with them. In the afternoon, visit of the capital of Vietnam, the Small Lake or Lake of the Restituted Sword of the Giant Turtle; then the Temple of Literature, Tran Quoc Pagoda, and Quan Thanh Temple. Hanoi by night in a cyclo-pousse. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 03: Hanoi – Ba Be
Direction: the Tay country, the territory of several ethnic groups. And the fantastic Ba Be national park, a true sanctuary of over 550 species of plants and some 300 of animals. Jungle, lakes, waterfalls, mountains...nature lovers will be overwhelmed. Night in stilted Tay home on the edge of Ba Be Lake. Breakfast, lunch, and diner included.
Day 04: Ba Be
We start our day of discovery of that magnificent national park with a boat ride to the Dau Dang Waterfalls. Lunch at M. Hien’s, a very colorful person and a chef renowned in the region. Then trekking in the surrounding mountains, covered with forests, the habitat of Tay, H’mong, and Dzao minorities. Diner and night with our lake friends. Breakfast, lunch, and diner included.
Day 05: Ba Be – Cam Son
Breakfast on the lake, then drive to Thai Nguyen, visit of the Ethnographic Museum. Lunch in a restaurant, then, we reach Cam Son Lake on a beautiful countryside road. Night at the hotel. Breakfast, lunch, and diner included.
Day 06: Cam Son – Halong Bay
Arrival at the bay around noon. Checking on our junk boat for a fairy tale cruise on the jade checkerboard. Sumptuous seafood on board. Visit of the grottoes and swimming on a sleeping beach. At sunset, we drop the anchor in the calm waters near an isolated island and savor a seafood diner served by the crew. Night in a boat private cabin. Breakfast, lunch, and diner included.
Day 07: Halong Bay – Hanoi – Night Train to Hue
Breakfast in the middle of the City of Lime Palaces enrobed in a morning mist. We continue our cruise of the mirrored waters. Return to the pier around 11AM and drive to Hanoi, transfer to the railway station for the night train to Hue in comfortable sleeping wagons. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 08: Hue
Welcome at the railway station. Checking in our private house superbly located in a green environment. Visit of the mausoleums of Emperors Tu Duc and Khai Dinh, who reigned over the Nguyen Dynasty. After lunch, excursion in a sampan on the famous Perfume River until Thien Mu Pagoda (Pagoda of the Celestial Lady), one of the most ancient and beautiful religious monuments in Hue. Then, visit of the Forbidden Citadel. Small stroll through the city and return to our host’s house nestled among gardens, located in the town green suburbs. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 09: Hue – Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park
Morning departure to the province of Quang Binh, to reach Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, at the foot of the Truong Son mountain chain. The oldest karst region of Asia, the park offers a spectacular scenery of grottoes, underground rivers, archeological sites, and a tropical forest of rich and varied floras. Since 1993, the park is registered as a Unesco World Heritage. Visit of the Phong Nha Grottoe, famous for its kilometers of galleries, underground rivers, and numerous stalagmites and stalactites. Night in Dong Hoi. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 10: Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park – Hoi An
Early in the morning, we drive to Hoi An via the Mandarin Road and the spectacular Pass of the Clouds, which offers a magnificent view of Danang and the surroundings. Arrival in Hoi An at the end of the afternoon. Night at the hotel. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 11: Visit of Hoi
Stroll and visit of the ancient harbor city of Hoi An: small antiquities museum, Japanese Covered Bridge, the old houses, the silk stores, the talentuous tailors, etc. In the afternoon, bicycling to the Tra Que vegetable village, encounter with local farmers. Swimming on Cua Dai Beach (according to the season) before returning to town. Night at the hotel. Breakfast included.
Day 12: Hoi An – Danang – Pleiku
Transfer to Danang for the noon flight Danang-Pleiku. Arrival in Pleiku, in the heart of the High Central Plateaus, a wild region inhabited by numerous ethnic groups. Welcome and visit of T’nung Lake, located in an ancient crater, and of the Jorai minority’s village of Dektu. Night at the hotel. Breakfast included.
Day 13: Pleiku - Buon Ma Thuot
Drive in the heart of magnificent hills, stops on the way to visit primitive forests and rubber and coffee plantations. Night in the stilted house of a minority village. Breakfast, lunch, and diner included.
Day 14: Yok Don National Park
Day trekking in the Yok Don National Park, which shelters 316 species of animals, including 67 of mammals, 196 of birds, 40 of reptiles, 13 of amphibians, 38 of rare and precious animals on the way to extinction : elephants, gayaux, axis deers, gibbons, tigers, crocodiles, etc. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 15: Buon Ma Thuot - Dalat
Breakfast and departure for on National Road 27. Arrival in the village of Jun, inhabited by the M’nong, a tribe highly experienced in capturing wild elephants. Pirogue boating on the lake and lunch. Arrival in Dalat, the « Town of Eternal Spring . Night at the hotel. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 16: Dalat – Cat Tien National Park
Visit of the town: the church and the railway station, the French villas, the market, and the summer residence of Bao Dai, the last emperor of Vietnam. Lunch, then drive to Nam Cat Tien National Park. Night in a park guesthouse. Breakfast, lunch, and diner included.
Day 17: Cat Tien National Park
Superb trekking in the national park, renowned for its 600 species of plants, 240 of birds, and 50 of mammals, including rare ones such as elephants, tigers, or the last Java rhino. Night in a park guesthouse. Breakfast, lunch, and diner included.
Day 18: Cat Tien – Saigon
Morning departure to Saigon, the economic capital of Vietnam. Checking at the hotel. Lunch, then visit of the Chinese district of Cholon, the Central Post Office, and the cathedral. Breakfast included.
Day 19: Saigon - Can Tho
We leave Saigon in the morning to join the fantastic universe of the Mekong Delta. Arrival in My Tho, from which we go on a boat excursion on one of the Mekong numerous channels. Stop at Dragon Island to discover luxuriant orchards, where we taste delicious tropical fruits just picked from the trees. Taste of the “Elephant Ear” fish for lunch, then visit of a farm which produces rice and honey alcohol and coconut candy. We return to My Tho and drive to Can Tho, the Mekong Delta metropolis. Night at the hotel. Breakfast included.
Day 20: Can Tho - Saigon
Early in the morning, we go on a boat to discover the extraordinary floating market of Cai Rang, then we stroll among green orchards. After lunch, we drive back to Saigon. Night at the hotel. Breakfast included.
Day 21: Departure from Saigon
Free time for your shopping and own discovery of the town before transfer to Tan Son Nhat Airport for your departure. Breakfast included.
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