Combined Vietnam-Laos trip – 16 days

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1

  Day 01: Hanoi – arrival

  ♦ Welcome at the airport. ♦ Transfer to the heart of the city. ♦ Immediate check-in at the hotel. ♦ Lunch on your own. ♦ Short walk around Hoan Kiem Lake. Evening at the theater: you will attend the water puppet dance show. ♦ Welcome dinner in a typical Vietnamese restaurant, overnight at the hotel.

• day 2

  Day 02: Hanoi – Discovery – Lao Cai

  ♦ Visit of the Bai Dinh district, the One Pillar Pagoda, the Tran Quoc Pagoda, and the Quan Thanh Temple. ♦ Lunch in a typical restaurant of this city. ♦ In the afternoon, visit of the Temple of Literature and the Jade Mountain Temple (Ngoc Son). ♦ One hour of cyclo ride to explore the colonial side of the old quarter and its 36 streets and craft guilds. ♦ Walk in the typical Hang Be market. ♦ Free dinner before taking the night train to the destination of Lao Cai-Sapa. ♦ Night on the sleeper train.

• day 3

  Day 03: Lao Cai – Bac Ha Market – Sapa

  ♦ Arrival in Lao Cai in the morning. ♦ Welcome and transfer to Bac Ha. ♦ Breakfast. ♦ Walk in a typical market with vibrant colors, where many ethnic groups are present: Red Dao, Blue Dao, Black Hmong, Flower Hmong, White Hmong, Xaphos, Bo Y, Bo La, Nhang, … ♦ Return to Sapa. ♦ Dinner at leisure and overnight at the hotel.

• day 4

  Day 04: Sapa – Lao Chai – Ta Van – Hanoi

  ♦ Breakfast at the hotel. ♦ Personal discovery of the colonial city of Sapa. ♦ Hiking through the two ethnic villages of Lao Chai and Tavan. ♦ Lunch at a local restaurant. ♦ In the afternoon, hiking on Ham Rong Mountain (Dragon's Jaw). ♦ Free dinner before taking the night train to Hanoi. ♦ Night at the hotel.

• day 5

  Day 05: Hanoi – Hoa Binh – Mai Chau

  ♦ Breakfast at the hotel. ♦ Departure in the morning from Hanoi to Mai Chau. ♦ Stop in Hatay province to visit the local market of the inhabitants. ♦ Arrival in Mai Chau around noon. ♦ Check-in at the large traditional Thai stilt house. ♦ Lunch with a local family belonging to the White Thais. ♦ In the afternoon, walk around the village and the surrounding villages. ♦ Dinner all together in the house. ♦ Night in the large traditional stilt house.

• day 6

  Day 06: Mai Chau – Ninh Binh – Hoa Lu – Van Long

  ♦ Breakfast. ♦ Visit of the former capital of Vietnam under the Dinh dynasty, from 968 to 980. ♦ Individual lunch. ♦ Sampan ride in the Van Long national reserve. ♦ Bike ride on the small winding paths through the rice fields. ♦ Free dinner and overnight at the hotel.

• day 7

  Day 07: Ninh Binh – Ha Long

  ♦ Breakfast at the hotel. ♦ Continue the journey to Ha Long Bay. ♦ Arrival at Ha Long Bay around noon. ♦ Immediate boarding on a very beautiful traditional wooden junk. ♦ Lunch on board the junk during the cruise. ♦ In the afternoon, visit the Surprise Cave. ♦ Then boarding to Ti Tôp beach. ♦ Lunch and dinner are served, with a menu of excellent seafood. ♦ Dinner and overnight on board the junk.

• day 8

  Day 08: Ha Long – Hanoi

  ♦ Morning bath. ♦ Breakfast on the edge of the junk. ♦ Cruise trip to the corners of Ha Long Bay. ♦ Lunch on the edge of the junk before disembarkation. ♦ Return to Hanoi at the end of the afternoon. ♦ Free dinner and overnight at the hotel.

• day 9

  Day 09: Hanoi – Luang Prabang

  ♦ Breakfast at the hotel. ♦ Transfer to Noi Bai International Airport for the flight to Luang Prabang. ♦ Arrival in Luang Prabang, welcome by our local guide and driver. ♦ Transfer by private car to the city center and check-in at the hotel. ♦ Free dinner and overnight at the hotel.

• day 10

  Day 10: Luang Prabang – Discovery

  ♦ Breakfast. ♦ Exploration of the royal capital: Vat Xieng Thong, Vat May, Vat Visoun and Wat Makmo. ♦ Visit of the museum in the former Royal Palace.

• day 11

  Day 11: Luang Prabang – Pak Ou – Kamu Lodge

  ♦ Breakfast at the hotel. ♦ Walk around the surroundings. ♦ Visit to the Pakbeng market. ♦ Departure around 8:30 am for a beautiful cruise on the Mekong. ♦ Continue to the Pak Ou caves. ♦ Cruise on the Mekong. ♦ Overnight at Kamu Lodge.

• day 12

  Day 12: Kamu Lodge – Luang Prabang

  ♦ Breakfast at the hotel. ♦ Return to Luang Prabang. ♦ Visit en route to the ethnic villages of the Thais Lu and the Khmu. ♦ Stop at Wat Pa Phon Pao.

• day 13

  Day 13: Luang Prabang – Xieng Khoang

  ♦ Departure from Luang Prabang to Xieng Khoang. ♦ Visit of ethnic villages, notably H’mong villages. ♦ Arrival in Xieng Khoang. ♦ Transfer to the hotel in Phonesavang. ♦ Visit of the Plain of Jars. ♦ Free dinner and overnight at the hotel.

• day 14

  Day 14: Xieng Khoang – Vientiane

  ♦ Breakfast at the hotel. ♦ Departure by car to Muang Kham. ♦ Then visit the Thai Dam and H’mong ethnic villages. ♦ In the afternoon, discovery of the historic cave. ♦ Transfer to Xieng Khouang airport for the flight to Vientiane. ♦ Arrival in the capital of Vientiane in the afternoon and check-in at the hotel. ♦ Free dinner and overnight at the hotel in Vientiane.

• day 15

  Day 15: Vientiane

  ♦ Breakfast at the hotel. ♦ Discovery of the capital, Vientiane. ♦ Lunch in a good restaurant in the city. ♦ In the afternoon, visit of Vat Ho Pra Kheo: the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the That Luang Stupa, and the Arc de Triomphe. ♦ Individual dinner and overnight at the hotel.

• day 16

  Day 16: Vientiane – Return journey

  ♦ Breakfast at the hotel. ♦ Transfer to Vientiane International Airport for the return flight. ♦ You finish your last day of the "Combined Vietnam Laos Trip".