A Peaceful Vietnam Journey through Mountains, Bays, and Local Life



Overview
This heartwarming Vietnam adventure invites you to slow down and truly feel the rhythm of the land. From drifting on Halong Bay’s emerald waters to sharing stories in a mountain homestay, every day brings new colors, flavors, and memories. With hidden gems, street food, and soul-stirring scenery, this journey blends comfort with authentic local charm.
Day 1: Land in Hanoi – Relax after long flight
Day 2: Hanoi hidden gem – Hanoi walking street food tour
Day 3: Halong bay 2 days 1 night – overnight in cruise
Day 4: Halong to Ninh Binh
Day 5: Ninh Binh with Hoa Lu – Trang An – Hang Mua – Bich Dong
Day 6: Ninh Binh hidden gem – Transfer to Sapa
Day 7: Visit Fansipan mountain – Cat Cat village
Day 8: Trek to Lao Chai, Ta Van village – sleep 1 night in local family homestay
Day 9: Bamboo forest – back to town – transfer back to Hanoi
Day 10: Shopping time – Take a flight and leave Vietnam
Itinerary details
Day 1: Land in Hanoi – Relax after long flight
Landing at Noi Bai international airport, after collecting your visa and luggage, Moving outside and Our representative will receive you at the pickup point to escort you to the hotel. After a smooth check-in process (The room is at your disposal from 14.00 onwards), settle down in your comfortable room and de-stress yourself.
You can explore your own local sightseeing such as exploring the long standing history Hanoi, beginning with
– Ha Noi Train Street – Unique attraction where visitors can watch a train speeding by along a cramped thoroughfare.
– Ha Noi Church, The Opera House, then going around Hoan Kiem Lake and visit Ngoc Son Temple, Ly Thai To Statue.
– Observe the Dong Xuan Wholesale Market
– Lotte Mall with Observation Sky Deck
Optional—— traditional Water Puppet Show, a unique northern Vietnamese art
form especially designed for depicting scenes from rural life and episodes of national history.
Dinner by yourself. Overnight at Hanoi.
Night market is available from Friday to Sunday.
Day 2: Hanoi hidden gem – Hanoi walking street food tour
Morning: After breakfast,
Our guide will pick you up from your hotel in Hanoi Old Quarter. You will be greeted by our guide and driver at your hotel lobby or our meeting point for a safety briefing, we then begin our adventure.
On the first part of our Hanoi Jeep tour, we will take you to see the Hanoi Opera House – the biggest theater in Vietnam, which is also considered as a historical and architectural landmark as well as an attraction in Hanoi where a range of important events have taken place.
We expose you the REAL HANOI with a day in the life experiences, featured with the parts-unknown of the city with slices of life in the maze of backstreets, tiny alleyways, local homes, schools, random markets and black market, experiencing where & how locals live, work and play. Other travel companies just show you the beauty and tell you to run away from the bad and the weird of your destinations.
On Hanoi Jeep Tours’ journeys, not only do we show you the good but we also expose the bad and the weird of your destinations as it is what it is. For us, the run-off-the mill tourist sites are only the tip of the iceberg, the majority of your destinations remain hidden in the unknown parts-unknown.
On the second part of the Hanoi Jeep tour, we pass by & stop at the MUST-SEE places of our beautiful city. On the way we will pass through Ho Chi Minh mausoleum – the Mecca of Vietnamese Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, sacred place built to keep Ho Chi Minh’s body remained after he passed away so that he can somehow find contentment in seeing Vietnam united.
After that, we take you through the Thanh Nien street which lies between 2 beautiful lakes of Hanoi, one of the most beautiful streets of the city. Then we moved to banana island which we call The hidden charm of Hanoi where it is just about 3,4 km far from the center but the scenery is totally different from modern cities.
You have a chance to visit their farm, see the local’s houses, talk with local people to know about their lifestyle, enjoy the organic tropical fruits they grow by themselves and try the green tea.
After that we also take you to the peaceful & alluring out-skirt villages around West lake and Truc Bach lake to enrich your experiences about the contrast in harmony of life between the city center and the out-skirt. Then we went to visit and learn about Van Nien pagoda or also known as the 1000-year-old Buddhist pagoda, it’s one of the most ancient pagodas in Hanoi.
On the third part of the Hanoi Jeep tour, while we are traveling, you will see Hoang Hoa Tham, the most beautiful bonsai street in Hanoi, which will impress you with the fresh green trees and colorful flowers.
Our Jeep will take you go through the back street, see the small alleys of Hanoi as you would experience a hidden tranquil of Hanoi – B52 American aircraft which was shot down by Vietnamese people, a hectic of Hanoi with thousands of Skyscrapers in the new parts of the city. It is not only a ride but a journey that you would learn about Hanoi before, now and then.
On the last part of Hanoi Jeep tour, you will stop at different AUTHENTIC restaurants, eateries and food stalls to savor the tastiest of the tasty dishes of Hanoi including family heirloom & secret recipe dishes, local delicacies and specialties.
Reach hotel around 12h30
Afternoon 17h30 start the journey Hanoi walking street food tour
- Be picked up from hotels or meeting points located in the center of Hanoi Old Quarter (Only) – Quick Vietnamese greeting lessons.
- Tour guides discuss any food allergies before starting a tour and tell tourists about Vietnamese cuisine, Vietnamese (Hanoian) history, culture while touring.
- Tour guides will take tourists to eat at lots of special corners , alleys and restaurants of The Old Quarter that you might miss if you go by yourself to try variety of street foods and drinks
- The tour ends at Hoan Kiem Lake or anywhere convenient for tourists to return, and then tour guides will show them how to get back to your hotels/hostels if the tour has more than 2 groups otherwise we will take you back to hotels.
Day 3: Halong bay 2 days 1 night – overnight in cruise
Morning make check out, bring all luggage
08:00 am Pick up from Hotel in Hanoi Old Quarter
11:30 am – 12:00 am Arrive at Tuan Chau harbor, check in at the waiting room.
12:00 am – 12:30 pm Get on Tender Boat to Cruise and enjoy a welcome drink, meet the captain, crew to get a brief introduction about cruise and safety guidelines. Complete check-in procedure.
01:00 pm – 01:15 pm Enjoy Vietnamese seafood and vegetarian lunch, while cruising in the magnificent Ha Long – Lan Ha Bay, admiring the fascinating rock formations in the bay.
03:00 pm You can choose to relax on the sundeck or explore Tra Bau area and the natural lagoon of Lan Ha Bay and experience kayaking or swimming here.
05:30 pm – 06:00 pm Come back to our cruise and participate in our Cooking Class. Take photos and relax with “Happy Hour”: Promotion for drinks.
07:00 pm Enjoy delicious local food prepared and served for you by our wonderful on-board catering staff, night view on Lan Ha Bay is incredible.
09:00 pm After dinner, you can join the squid fishing program and relax on the sundeck, enjoy the atmosphere on Bay at night.
Day 4: Halong to Ninh Binh
06:00 am Taichi on the sundeck, sightseeing sunrise.
06:15 am – 07:00 am Cruises continue to pass amazing karst towers. Tea, coffee and light breakfast is served with fresh air and peaceful surroundings.
07:00 am Visitors Dark and Light Cave. Here you can freely kayak or bamboo Boat to explore the landscape, or immerse yourself in the cool, clear blue water of this place.
09:30 am Back to your cabin, relax and carefully check all the luggage before leaving your cabin.
10:00 am Check-out from the private cabin and enjoy a fantastic cruise on the bay for room service. Complete check-out procedure. Enjoy lunch at the restaurant while the cruise is returning to the harbor.
11:00 am Get on Tender Boat to back to Tuan Chau harbor
11:30 am – 12:00 am Car transfer service by the highway from Halong Ninh Binh
16:00 pm – 16:30 pm Reach Ninh Binh – check in and relax
Evening free time.
Day 5: Ninh Binh with Hoa Lu – Trang An – Hang Mua – Bich Dong
8:30 – Our tour guide and van will pick you up at your hotel
9h30: Visit Mua Cave (Mua means Dance) with 500 steps up to the Top of Mua Mountain. On the Top, you can overview all the nice scenes of Hoa Lu.
11h0: Visit Hoa Lu – the Ancient Royal capital of Viet Nam. We will visit Dinh king temple and Le king temple, in the 10th century, finding out the heroic histories of these two Kings in the Chinese Wars. After that, we went to Tam Coc (10 km far from Hoa Lu).
12:30 – Enjoy lunch at our restaurant with the great local cuisines.
13h30: Depart to visit Trang An Eco-Tourism attraction, there is beautiful scenery landscape, you will boarding a small boat to visit Trang An, you will see majestic limestone cliffs and mysterious yet inviting caves, as well as countryside sights, like peaceful streams, rice paddies and deserted green fields.
Take a boat trip to visit the cave complex: Sang Cave, Toi Cave, Ba Giot Cave, Nau Ruou in mystery and wilderness, see scenery of mountain and rivers Ha Long on land of Ninh Binh.
16h30: Get on bus and keep going to visit Bich Dong pagoda ( oldest pagoda in Ninh Binh )
Explore this tranquil, centuries-old pagoda nestled against a limestone mountain and surrounded by lush greenery and lotus ponds.
Climb through three levels of pagodas—Ha (Lower), Trung (Middle), and Thuong (Upper)—each offering serene spaces for reflection and stunning views of the countryside.
Admire the unique blend of natural beauty and spiritual significance, with a hidden cave temple at the heart of the complex.
17h00: We arrive at your hotel and finish the tour.
Day 6: Ninh Binh hidden gem – Transfer to Sapa
Morning, make check out – you can leave luggage in lobby
9:00 – Pick up at your hotel and transfer you to Ninh Binh Full Moon Travel office in Tam Coc.
9:30 – Our tourguide, motorbike ready here and after 15 minutes practice driving for whoever would like to drive by self we’ll start driving through some local village with beautiful scenery of rice fields, mountain , lotus fields.
11:00 Visiting Thai Vi temple, you will have a great opportunity to recall the heroic historical landmarks of the Tran feudal dynasty and admire the architecture, folklore and special arts of Thai Vi temple.It is definitely an unforgettable experience for first time visitors.
12:00 Stop at Buffalo Cave
– Enjoy Cooking class, have lunch
– Try feeding duck, riding buffalo, see buffalo cave,
– Bathe in the stream
13:30 Tour guide take you driving to Thung Nang area
14:30 Keep driving through Coi Khe village by local village road
15:30 Visit local market
16:30 Driving return Ninh Binh hotel
Evening transfer to bus station, check in VIP CABIN sleeper bus.
Day 7: Visit Fansipan mountain – Cat Cat village
Morning reach Sapa around 5 am, my partner transfer to our office and take a rest
Start the day right with a hearty breakfast
Once fueled up, we’ll head to Sun Plaza, where you’ll board the Muong Hoa Mountain Train to Hoang Lien Station.
From there, it’s cable car time! Soar through the clouds up to Fansipan, the “Roof of Indochina” and Southeast Asia’s highest peak. The panoramic views of lush valleys and rugged mountains will leave you speechless—a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
After conquering Fansipan, we’ll head back to Sapa town for a delicious lunch, followed by some downtime at your hotel to recharge.
1:30 PM: Ready for more? Your guide will take you on a trek to Cat Cat Village, a picturesque H’mong village tucked in the mountains. Wander through scenic trails, admire cascading waterfalls, and explore the historic remains of a French-built hydropower station. It’s the perfect way to connect with the serene beauty of Sapa’s countryside and meet the friendly locals.
5:30 PM: Return to Sapa town to unwind at your hotel for check in. Enjoy a delicious dinner (by your own), then take the evening at your own pace—browse the bustling night market, stroll through the cool mountain air, or simply relax after a day packed with unforgettable memories.
Overnight in Sapa hotel.
Day 8: Trek to Lao Chai Ta Van village – sleep 1 night in local family homestay
8:00 AM: Enjoy breakfast, you can leave big luggage in our store – just bring small bag for 2 days.
8:30 AM: Begin your trek through the stunning valleys of Sapa, starting with Y Linh Ho Village, home to the Hmong people. Admire the ancient rice terraces, which have been cultivated for generations.
Continue to Lao Chai Village, the heart of the Hmong community, where you’ll take a break for lunch amidst the tranquil scenery.
After lunch, trek to Ta Van Village, home to both the Hmong and Giay ethnic groups. Upon arrival, you’ll be warmly welcomed by a local Giay family for an authentic homestay experience.
Evening: Join the family in cooking a traditional dinner, sharing stories, and soaking up the warmth of their hospitality.
Overnight: Stay in a cozy homestay in Ta Van Village.
Day 9: Bamboo forest – back to town – transfer back to Hanoi
Wake up to the gentle sounds of village life—perhaps a rooster crowing or pigs roaming nearby. Enjoy a hearty breakfast with pancakes, tea, or coffee while soaking in the stunning views of the surrounding rice terraces.
Say goodbye to your hosts and continue your trek through a lush bamboo forest and past the tranquil Silk Waterfall to Giang Ta Chai Village. After a few hours of trekking, stop for a scenic picnic lunch.
Walk back to the main road, where a car or van will take you back to Sapa town.
2:00 PM: Arrive in Sapa, relax
17h00 transfer from Sapa to Lao Cai – check in train sleeper – private cabin
Overnight in sleeper train.
Day 10: Shopping time – Take a flight and leave Vietnam
Reach Hanoi around 6am, transfer to hotel – check in early and relax
Check out hotel before 12h00 – our car transfer to Hanoi airport – check in flight leave Vietnam.
NOTE:
- The itinerary might subject to change due to weather or tide condition with our prior notice
- Schedule subject to change upon weather and operation conditions
- Promotion might apply, inclusions and exclusions might change – you will be informed of changes upon booking.
- All prices are in United States Dollars ($) unless otherwise indicated. Please note that prices quoted are subject to change. Price changes may occur by reason of matters outside our control which increase the cost of the services which we arrange on your behalf. Such factors include adverse currency fluctuations, fuel costs, taxes and accommodation increases. The price is only guaranteed once paid for in full by you. No refunds will be made in respect of accommodation, meals, activities, transport or other services which are included in the tour price but, for whatever reason, are not utilized by you.
WHAT TO BRING
- Shoes • Camera + Film • Insect repellent • Original Passport • Hat • Sunglasses.
- Bring your own water container to refill water on tour, not waste plastic bottles.
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