Vietnam Soft Adventure

When you arrive at Noi Bai International airport in Hanoi, you'll be welcome by one of our representative and transferred to your hotel in the downtown. The remainder of the day will be your own.

Meals: None
Overnight in Hanoi

This city tour of Hanoi takes in essential sites which will commence from your hotel lobby at 08.30 am. In the morning, you'll visit the Ho Chi Minh Complex including the Mausoleum, his former stilt-house residence, the Presidential Palace and the Ho Chi Minh Museum; The Temple of Literature - Vietnam’s first university dating back to 1070.

After lunch at a local Vietnamese restaurant, you'll continue visiting the Museum of Ethnology, widely acknowledged as the best in the country, containing an extensive display of life-size structures dedicated to Vietnam’s 54 ethnic minority peoples. You will also have tickets for a traditional performance of the famous Vietnamese water puppets.
This evening you will have the chance to visit and eat with a local family in Hanoi in their own household. You will be picked up this evening at your hotel approximately 6:00 p.m. by a student from the Hanoi University. It’s here that the students in Free Enterprise Organization were founded. This was set up to show visitors the true Hanoian way of life and promote interaction with the older generations to share their life experiences and stories. You will travel by taxi with the student to the local family's house in Hanoi. On arrival the owners will show you around the house and photos dating back generations. They will explain to you the function of the alter or ancestor room, a common trait in nearly all Vietnamese households. There will often be many family members in the household and during your tour of the house a traditional dinner is being prepared which you are free to join in to help prepare or observe. You shall enjoy a traditional Vietnamese dinner as the hosts introduce each famous dish. After dessert you may wish to enjoy a cup of tea with the family and look through some old family photo albums or hear some traditional folk stories or traditional instruments. You shall transfer back to you hotel with the student form the Hanoi university with a unique experience of local life in Hanoi.

Note: the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is closed all day on Monday and Fridays, as well as from 1st October to 30th November (approx.) for annual conservation.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight in Hanoi

After breakfast, leave Hanoi for for Mai Hich, Mai Chau, Hoa Binh (about 3,5 hour drive). On the way there, you will find it interesting to see countryside street markets and then, have a short break at Thung Khe mountain pass to enjoy spectacular scenery of the Northwest forest. Arriving at the village, you will be welcomed and served with a cold drink and wet towels by local girls dressed in traditional costume.
In the afternoon: cycling or walking to explore the countryside including vegetable gardens, fish ponds, stilt houses, terraces etc. You will get great opportunities to experience the normal daily life of Thai people through cultivation and breeding activities Visit some brocade weaving factories you can buy Thai handmade traditional scarves here.

Optional at extra cost: 18.30 Enjoy Thai traditional dinner with folk music as well as dance performances by Thai young people. It will be a good chance for you to try bamboo dance with friendly farmers and to drink Cần wine (a traditional alcoholic beverage of ethnic minority groups in Vietnam is made from the fermentation of rice starch and various forest fruits in pottery jars). Spend the night in a Thai family.

Summary: 2.5-3 km easy walk (~2-3 hours) or bicycling & sightseeing 5km (~2 hours)

Mai Hich is a small village located in South West of Mai Chau district. It’s about 13 km far away from the central downtown of the district. It neighbors the other 2 wards of Quan Hoa district, ThanhHoa province, in which 96% local people belong to White Thai race (an ethic minority group in Vietnam) living along the Xia stream, in primary forests and palm hills.

Unlike Ban Lac – a well-known tourist destination in Mai Chau, Mai Hich is a new tourist village, a harmony combination between human being and the nature. Whenever you come here, all your stresses, frustrations or anxieties of the busy life seem to be forgotten as you become immersed in gorgeous landscapes of jungles, the peaceful beauty of the countryside culture.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight in Mai Chau

This morning you will enter Pu Luong Nature Reserve by road 15C with breathtaking mountain view of the whole valley.
Start the day with trekking along a small hilly path all the way to Eo Ken village, observing and interacting in the everyday life that goes on around you, soaking up the fresh air and slow pace of this picturesque valley. The trek also involves stream crossing, steep ascent beautiful mountain views. After lunch, you will slowly descending and passing through a series of small villages. Mid-afternoon arrive at Kho Muong village, nestled beneath steeply walled limestone karsts in a tranquil valley. This is no doubt the village is one of the most beautiful villages in the area. After wandering around the village of Kho Muong, head to Pu Luong Retreat for overnight stay.

Summary: by road: 30-45 min, moderate walk (~5 hours)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight in Pu Luong Nature Reserve

After a simple breakfast, continue hiking toward Don Village passing Bang Village and rice terrace fields, stream for ~6km. You will arrive at Pu Luong Retreat in time for a delicious lunch, followed by free time to explore the beautiful retreat, with its captivating panoramic views and tranquil setting.
Afternoon you will be transferred to a suspension bridge over the Cham River, where you begin your walk in search of stunning water wheels. Get up close to each wheel and discover how water is moved from river to handmade bamboo aqueducts via simple constructions of all sizes. Arriving at a local fisherman’s house, enjoy a short break and gear up for the rafting adventure. Float along the calm river and enjoy the views, in between learning how to paddle and steer your handcrafted bamboo rafts. Arriving at Tan Lap bridge, you disembark to be transferred to Pu Luong Retreat for dinner.

Tucked away on a hillside with the most stunning panoramic views in the area, Pu Luong Retreat provides a refreshing escape from the crowds only 160km - 4 hour drive from Hanoi. With magnificent mountain ranges, stunning rice terrae fields, scenic rivers and waterfalls, breathtaking mountain passes and remote traditional villages, Pu Luong is truly a microcosm of Northern Vietnam.

Summary: 5.5 km moderate walk (~1.5 hours); 1.5 km rafting (~1 hours)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Start early to descend into the beautiful valley facing the Retreat where you walk around tumbling rice terraces. Trek through small paths shrouded in vegetation to slowly reveal a picturesque village sitting at the base of a towering mountain. Get your camera ready for great photo opportunities along the trek. Continuing to the base of the valley, weave between roads and farmland, villages and wild fields, ponds and rivers, mountains and open land. Savour the ever-changing scenery as you trek to a beautiful spot.
After lunch, a road trip [~2,5 hours] will take you to Tam Coc. Upon arrival, take a three hour sampan ride along the waterways of Tam Coc. Known locally as the ‘Halong Bay of the land,’ this winding river way is dotted with gorgeous limestone karsts with endless photo opportunities. You will also visit Bich Dong Pagoda comprising three pagodas located at different levels on a green mountain and the setting of the French film ‘Indochine’. Overnight in Ninh Binh.

Summary: 7 km moderate walk (~3 hours)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight in Ninh Binh

07.30: Leave your hotel and drive to Halong via Hai Phong with stop en-route at Vinh Bao to visit statue-carving village (flying lanterns). After lunch at a local restaurant, continue your route to Ha Long.
13:15 – 13:30: Embark at Hon Gai International harbor.
13:45 – 14:00: Check-in, enjoy welcome drink & cruise briefing.
14:00 – 16:45: Cruise to Cap La
17:00 – 18:00: Enjoy paddling around Cap La and Tra San by kayak.
18:00 – 18:15: Back to junk for relaxing.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight on a traditional junk in Halong Bay

07.30 – 08.00: Morning view of Bay’s landscape with a cup of tea or coffee. Have breakfast in the fresh air.
08.30 – 09.00: Start cruising to Cong Dam while discovering geological values of Bai Tu Long Bay.
09.00 – 11.00: Enjoy kayaking through the hidden lagoons and geological park in Cong Dam. Go swimming in the crystal water.
11.30 – 14.00: Back to junk for lunch and relaxing.
14.00 – 19.00: Cruise to Hon Co Island for swimming or kayaking to discover the stunning scenery of the Bay.
19.00 – 21.00: Explore the well- hidden and have a deluxe dinner in Thien Canh Son cave.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight on a traditional junk in Halong Bay

07.30 – 08.45: Cruise to Vung Vieng fishing village.
09:00: Visit Vung Vieng fishing village by a rustic row-boat, meet the local people and visit fish farms.
10.15: Check out of the cabin, start cruising towards the harbor.
11:00: Have lunch on board.
12:30 – 13.00: Disembark at Hon Gai habor.
13:15 – 13.30: Transfer back to Hanoi, arriving in the mid afternoon. The remainder of the day will be your own!

Meals: Breakfast, Brunch
Overnight in Hanoi

Your time will be your own until being picked up to Noi Bai airport for your onward journey or departure flight. Farewell from Vietnam!

Meals: Breakfast