North Vietnam Tour & Excursions

North Vietnam 6 Day Tour starts from Noi Bai International Airport. 

Upon arrival in Hanoi, once you collect your luggage and clear the visa process, our local guide will be waiting outside with your name board ready to greet you and transfer you to your hotel (approximately 1 hour). Normal check-in time is at 14.00 and an early check-in is subject to availability. You will be given time to relax or you may like to walk around Hoan Kiem Lake (The Lake of the Returned Sword). You will enjoy the fresh air and see the local life of people living around the lake. You may find old men playing Chess at the corner of the lake or street vendors selling tropical fruits or small sweet cakes. Lunch is at your own expense.

At around 16:00 your tour guide will pick you up from your hotel and we walk to the nearby Water Puppet Theatre. You will be impressed by the unique Vietnamese traditional art dating from the 11th century. After the show, we will enjoy a delightful welcome dinner in one of the local restaurants. We then escort you back to your hotel for the night.

Day 2 of your Vietnam 6 Day Tour will be Hanoi City Tour. 

After breakfast, your tour guide will meet you in your hotel lobby at 08:30. We will spend a full day discovering all of the must-see destinations in Hanoi. First, we will visit one of the most popular destinations - the Ho Chi Minh Complex. This consists of Ho Chi Minh ‘s Mausoleum (closed on Monday and Friday and every afternoon), Ba Dinh Square, Uncle Ho’s House on stilts and the historical One Pillar Pagoda (Chua Mot Cot).  Your guide will then take you to one of the three most popular museums in the city – the Vietnam Military History Museum, the Fine Arts Museum, the Hoa Lo Prison, or the Ethnology Museum.

We will enjoy a delicious lunch at a local restaurant and continue our tour in the afternoon. Our first stop is the Temple of Literature - (Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam) constructed in 1070 under Ly Thanh Tong’s dynasty. Known as the first University of Vietnam, this is the place to worship the Confucian philosophers and to celebrate the high-ranking scholars of Vietnam. We then head back to the Old Quarter where you may like to spend more time discovering the heart of city. Wandering around the hidden alleys and finding the best local food and Vietnamese coffee in the narrow streets or on the sidewalks will be a rewarding experience for you.

We return to your hotel for you to organise your luggage, and have dinner at your own expense. Your guide will meet you in the hotel lobby at 20:30 and escort you to Hanoi Railway Station for the night train to Lao Cai - Sapa. You may wish to purchase some snacks to eat overnight on the train.

What is better than discovering the local life by seeing all the color of life in a colorful market. Day 3 of your Vietnam 6 Day Tour you will visit Bac Ha Market or an alternative local market. That will one of the most highlighted experience in your Vietnam Vacation.

On arrival at Lao Cai Station, your local guide will greet you with your name board. We will have breakfast before starting our 72km (around 1.5 hours) drive to Bac Ha Market, one of the largest minority people’s markets in the north of Vietnam. Every Sunday the minority groups such as the Red H’Mong, Black Dzao, Tay, and Nung people dressed in their colourful clothes gather here to sell their goods.  You will see many different products ranging from local fruit and vegetables to ducks, chickens, armpit-pigs, cats, dogs, horses, buffaloes, corn wine, as well as hand-made brocade fabrics and handcrafted silver jewelry. This is also an opportunity to interact with the minority groups. After visiting Bac Ha market you will have lunch at a restaurant to enjoy the local food of the area.

In the afternoon, we will drive back to Lao Cai. On the way we will stop at Trung Do, a village inhabited by the Tay people. This is a popular attraction for not only domestic visitors but also for foreigners. You will also have an opportunity to see the 15-20 houses on stilts in this village and the splendid landscape of lush rice paddies and cornfields on the shore of the Chay River. 

We return to Sapa and check into your hotel overnight. The rest of the day and evening is free for you to explore Sapa. Dinner is at your own expense.  Overnight in Sapa.

After breakfast in your hotel, your guide will meet you in the lobby at 08:30 to visit the Muong Hoa valley. You will enjoy the breathtaking panoramic view of the mountain ranges and the cultivated terraced rice-paddies. As we walk down the local paths to the Lao Chai-Ta Van villages you will learn about the rice-growing process from the local people. You will also have an opportunity to watch and learn about the cultural customs and tribal life of the Red Dzao, Black Hmong and Zay people. You will enjoy the fresh air and feel the local atmosphere here.

Lunch will be provided at a local restaurant before returning to Sapa for you to enjoy free time in the town. This is your opportunity to shop, have a massage, sample the local food, or to simply explore this fascinating place before you take the night train back to Hanoi at 17.00. You may wish to purchase some snacks to eat overnight on the train.

Halong Bay cruise always attracts all clients from all over the world and that will be the most highlighted destination in your 6 days in North Vietnam.

Return to Hanoi around 05.00. Your guide will transfer you to your day-use hotel (booked by our company). After breakfast in your hotel your guide will meet you in the foyer at  08:00 for the 3.5 hours drive to Halong Bay. Along the way, there will be an opportunity to take photos of the splendid rice-paddy fields and Red River Delta countryside surrounding the peaceful North Vietnamese villages.  We will take a 30-minute break for refreshments during the trip. 

Upon your arrival at Tuan Chau Harbor, you will board the boat and commence your Halong Bay overnight cruise. After a briefing and some general information about the trip, a delicious lunch will be served (there will be several options if you are vegetarian or if you have any special requests made in advance). Lunch will be served as you cruise amongst some of the thousands of stunning limestone mountains and islands. After lunch, you can relax in your cabin or on deck before joining the interesting on-board activities. These are subject to each boat’s itinerary and include kayaking, sampan boat rowing, swimming or a cooking demonstration by the cruise chef. Enjoy a cocktail on the sundeck during Happy Hour. The evening will commence with a tasty dinner. You are then free to relax or to join others in squid fishing. Stay overnight on the cruise. 

Our last day begins with an option to join an early morning session of Tai Chi on the sundeck with your tour guide. This is a healthy morning exercise that Vietnamese people believe brings a long life and keeps you feeling positive. After breakfast we visit the spectacular Luong Cave (inaccessible by larger boats). On returning to the boat, lunch will be served as we sail back to Tuan Chau Harbor where you will disembark and end your Halong Bay overnight cruise. Your driver will be waiting for you there to drive you to Hanoi (Noi Bai) Airport to catch your flight.

We finish our Vietnam 6 Day trip and it is time for us to say goodbye! Thank you for choosing Incredible Asia Journeys - best travel company in Vietnam on this adventure.