8 Days Tour to Hill Tribe Heaven in North Vietnam

Hanoi is well known for its history, architecture, charm, tranquility, and cuisine. Our first visit was to the most well-respected sites, the Ho Chi Minh Complex and Ba Dinh Square, essential pilgrimage points for many Vietnamese. The area surrounding the complex is a traffic-free zone filled with botanical gardens, monuments, memorials, and pagodas. It includes the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ho Chi Minh’s Stilt House, the Presidential Palace, the Ho Chi Minh Museum, and the One Pillar Pagoda.

Then, visit the 11th-century Temple of Literature, Hanoi’s first University. From here, continue to Bun Cha Huong Lien, the famous local spot where President Barack Obama dined with Anthony Bourdain.

In the afternoon, we drive approximately 25 minutes to the Ethnology Museum. The museum provides an insightful glimpse into the country’s lengthy history, with more than 15,000 photos and 10,000 objects and artifacts depicting a historical perspective of the lives, activities, customs, and habits of the 54 recognized ethnic groups of Vietnam.

End your day by walking through the Hanoi Old Quarter. The streets of this district are bustling with scooters, bicycles, cyclos, and cars zipping around pedestrians. The best way to enjoy the charming colonial architecture is to wander with your guide leisurely and stop for a cup of Vietnamese coffee or a local snack from one of the many compelling street vendors.

We return to our hotel in the late afternoon for some time at leisure to explore this fabulous city.

This morning, we headed south of Hanoi to the local town of Ninh Binh.

We start our picturesque journey through remote villages. We travel around 90km to Ninh Binh, which offers stunning landscapes due to its proximity to the Non-Nuoc and Canh Dieu mountains.

After stopping for lunch, we arrived in Ninh Binh and checked into our hotel. We are charmed by the marvelous scenery of the mountains, rivers, and pagodas.

After some time to admire the beautiful scenery and breathe the fresh mountainous air, we board a row boat for a fantastic ride to Tam Coc (Three Caves). 

The first visit is to Hang Ca cave, enclosed by the scenic beauty of huge rocks along the river and scattered green rice fields. It combines an image of a poetic painting of the countryside. Only nature could produce such a miracle. 

The quiet movements of the oars create a musical rhythm inside the cave as we approach Hang Mua (Cave of Dance). The beauty of this cave pulls one's mind away from reality into a dream world. The rocks eaten by seawater over thousands of years have been carved into a series of caves here. Although the sea is far away from the locality, caves remain.
 
Only a hundred meters away is Hang Ba, which is the coolest of the caves due to its lower formation. The attraction here is the natural light inside the cave reflected by the water. The vast and even rocks lying in the stream provide excellent platforms for those who wish to bathe in the waters. 

After our magical journey, we return to the village to rest and relax, or you can spend some time exploring the handmade handicrafts of the town or head out on a leisurely cycle, exploring this township and admiring its mythical mountainous range.

Awakening to nature's most peaceful and pleasant sounds, we devour a delicious breakfast before bidding farewell to the village for our drive to Ha Long Bay.

A 2-hour journey heading northeast, through local minority villages, we arrive in Ha Long Bay.

Ha Long Bay is by far one of the most enchanting and memorable experiences in Vietnam. The postcard pictures you so often see of it will become a memory to last a lifetime. 

Upon arrival, enjoy a welcome drink and a delicious freshly caught seafood lunch while sailing out of the Bay, passing amazing-shaped mountains. Enjoy the seascape from the sundeck or even in your private cabin through a glass window. For more experience, go swimming or kayaking and visit the island's caves. In the late afternoon, we take part in a Vietnamese cooking demonstration by the onboard chefs and enjoy the seafood feast for dinner as stars emerge from behind those jungle-clad limestone pillars.

We spend the night on board in the elegant cabin with handicraft wooden interiors and air conditioning. Alternatively, we can go night fishing before our overnight stay aboard.

This morning, we will take a small bamboo boat to Luon, a beautiful tunnel cave set within a lagoon. 

We reboard our boat and continue cruising the bay through the old part of Ha Long City, known as the fishing town, and the newly built harbor bridge. We enjoy our seafood brunch before heading back to the pier for our return to Hanoi.

On route, we stop at one of our favorite organizations in Vietnam: Hong Ngoc Humanities Centre in Sao Do Town. This wonderful establishment has been set up to provide skills and employment to people from small villages throughout the north of Vietnam, creating jobs and providing accommodation to disadvantaged people. You can purchase some exquisite local handicrafts and wares or watch and admire the fantastic and intricate workmanship of the production.

We return to Hanoi in the late afternoon, with time to relax or grab another bargain before our exciting overnight train trip to Sapa.

En route to the station, we stop for dinner at a quaint, hidden little treasure. There, we can sit and relax, enjoying the beautiful ambiance and delicious array of foods on offer!

We arrive in Lao Cai around 5:00 a.m. and are met by our transport for a spectacular hour-long journey up the impressive mountains to Sapa. 

Seeing is believing! The imagination cannot visualize nor appreciate the beauty of the stunning vistas and breathtaking mountainous rice terraces until you observe in proper form. 

Upon arrival in Sapa, we had breakfast and left our luggage at the hotel to rest before our afternoon exploration.

In the early afternoon, we commence our exciting trek downhill from Sapa town to Cat Cat Village. Our two-hour walk takes us through rice paddies, passing by different ethnic minority villages hard at work and flower and vegetable gardens until we reach a magnificent waterfall set within the lush mountains.

We take a rest and continue to the Cat Cat villages of the Black Hmong tribe. We enjoy the waterfall in Cat Cat and the beautiful scenery.

After a welcoming and a rest, we stroll around the village, learning about the traditional way of life of the Black Hmong. We observe the fascinating demonstration of traditional fiber processing, including weaving, Dyeing hemp cloth, Peeling bark from the dried hemp stalks, and Tying stripped bark ribbons to form bundles. The locals strongly encourage us to try our hand at perfecting their art. They certainly get a lot of laughs watching us!! 

We said goodbye to the village and continued our walk, returning to Sapa.

After breakfast, you will check out and leave your luggage at the hotel. Then, you will get ready for the trip. We were picked up by our vehicle and transferred to Lao Chai. We trek down to visit the Tay and Day tribes, then keep going along the bottom of the Sapa valley to get to Ta Van village, which is supposed to be the most beautiful one in the area.

The interaction and closeness we experience with the local minority groups is an absolutely incredible experience.

We return to Sapa for some free time to enjoy what the town has to offer, bargaining for some local wares, before our transfer to Lao Cai for our overnight train to Hanoi.

We return to Hanoi around 6 a.m. and head to town for breakfast at a local restaurant. After freshening up, you will have free time for your last shopping in Hanoi before transferring to the airport for your departure flight.