Vietnam Adventure Challenges 14 Days

Day 1: Arrival at Hanoi (D, GP)

Arriving at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel. After a short rest, you will have a cyclo ride around the bustling streets of Hanoi and discover the city’s architectural mixture of French colonial style, pagodas and communal houses with many Chinese features, merchants’ residences, ‘tube’ dwellings, modern buildings…

In the evening, you will enjoy a water puppet show – an art form unique to the rural Northern Vietnam culture. After the show, you’ll have dinner at a restaurant in a restored French colonial building. You will spend the night in Hanoi.

Day 2: Explore Hanoi in the back of a motorbike (B, L, G)

You’ll have the whole day to explore Vietnam’s capital city on the back of a motorbike. You will visit the Temple of Literature, Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum Complex, the bustling Old Quarter.

The day also includes a ‘Street Life’ experience, also on the back of a motorbike. A street food brunch is included – take your pick from traditional Hanoi Pho (beef noodle soup), Nom (green papaya salad with seasoned beef), Banh Goi (pillow-shaped rice pastry with minced pork and mushroom), Banh Cuon (hot rice paper with pork and fried onion) or Bun Cha (fresh noodle with grilled pork). You will spend the night in Hanoi.

Day 3: Hanoi/Ha Long kayaking (B, L, D, G)

After breakfast at hotel, you’ll leave for Ha Long Bay, one of the most spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Areas and the world’s largest marine limestone ‘karst’ landscape. There you’ll board your boat, a wooden junk built in a traditional style. The boat cruise will take you to visit Sung Sot Cave (Amazing Cave) which is considered one of the biggest and finest caves in the Bay. The boat will then stop at a beach for you to swim before continue cruising to a quiet area for the night. All your meals will be provided on board, usually based on fresh seafood, and you’ll sleep in a twin cabin with an en-suite toilet and shower.

Day 4: Ha Long/Hanoi/Lao Cai (Brunch, G)

You’ll spend the morning cruising Ha Long Bay, followed by brunch just before docking around noon and leaving for Hanoi. In the evening, your car will arrive to take you to Hanoi railway station in time to board the overnight sleeper to Lao Cai.

Day 5: Lao Cai/Ethnic Market/Sapa (B, L, G)

Arriving in Lao Cai Station in the early morning, you’ll be met and taken to visit an ethnic market frequented by ethnic minority peoples. The ethnic market is considered one of the most wonderful and colourful markets in extreme North Vietnam where thousands of local people in their traditional attires busily buy and sell the local produces like dog, cat, pig, horse….

After a picnic lunch, you’ll continue your journey into the mountains to Sapa, a small town perched on the mountainside opposite Mt. Fan Si Pan, Vietnam’s highest peak. The rest of the day will be free to explore the town. You’ll spend the night in a Sapa hotel with good mountain views.

Day 6: Sapa/Su Pan/Thanh Phu/Sin Chai (B, L, D, G)

After breakfast, you’ll mount a mountain bike to explore Sapa valley. You’ll cycle down a winding road running along the Muong Hoa valley, home to Black Hmong, Giay and Red Dao minorities. The bike ride today will be around 40km with 5.5 hours and 1 hour for lunch. You will have dinner in a local house and stay overnight in a bamboo hut.

Day 7: Sin Chai/Nam Nhiu/My Son/Ban Ho/Sapa/Lao Cai (B, L, G)

Today’s ride will be a little softer. You’ll pass villages and stop at a local school. You’ll also be able to meet members of the Xa Pho people, one of the smallest ethnic groups unique to the northern highlands. From there you’ll pass Thanh Phu and continue to Ban Ho where lunch will provided in a local house. The bike ride today will be around 20 km with 4 hours biking and 1 hour for lunch.

In the mid-afternoon, you will be transferred back to Sapa for refresh and then later to Lao Cai before boarding the overnight train back to Hanoi.

Day 8: Hanoi/Nha Trang (B, DP)

Arriving in Hanoi in the early morning, you will be met and transferred to your hotel for breakfast and refresh. You will be free until your car arrives to take you to Noi Bai airport to board the noon flight to Nha Trang. On arrival, you’ll find a car and driver waiting to take you to your hotel, which will overlook the Bay. You’ll spend the night in Nha Trang.

Day 9: Full day private boat trip in Nha Trang (B, L, G)

After breakfast, a car will arrive to take you to board a boat for a whole-day cruise to some of the small islands in the bay. You’ll anchor off Mun Island for snorkelling and a glass bottom basket boat ride to see colourful corals and the mysterious marine life. You’ll then cruise to Tam Island for swimming or relax on the beach before heading to visit Tri Nguyen Aquarium on Mieu Island.

If you wish, you can join with other tourists to the ‘music entertainment’ with a wine and fruit party, followed by a seafood lunch on Tre Island. In the late afternoon, you’ll get back to the mainland and drive to your hotel. You’ll spend the night in Nha Trang.

Day 10: Nha Trang/Whale Island (B, L, D)

In the morning, the Whale Island Resort minibus will carry you to Ninh Hoa where you’ll board a speedboat to spend 4 nights on the island.

The Whale Island Resort is a ‘get-away-from it all’ hideaway which is 80km north of Nha Trang. It’s small and basic but exclusive and comfortable. Sailboards, small catamarans, and equipment and a motor boat for snorkelling are available. You can dive at Whale Island – the coral is considered better than in Nha Trang. There is a pleasant bamboo restaurant and a beachfront bar serving drinks at sensible prices. Accommodation is in simple bamboo bungalows on the beach. Don’t expect resort hotel conveniences – you’ll have to put up with occasional insects and geckoes in your room, no telephones or televisions, and very few people. This is a place for relaxing ‘au naturelle’!

Day 11 to Day 13: Whale Island free (B, L, D each day)

Your time will be on your own! Diving and snorkelling can be arranged directly with the Whale Island on arrival.

Day 14: Whale Island/Nha Trang/Ho Chi Minh City departure (B, DP)

Your time will be free until your car arrives to take you back to the mainland and then to the airport in Nha Trang for your flight to Ho Chi Minh City in good time to connect your departure flight. Tour ends.