Overview
With this 6-day trip, tourists will have chance to visit the beautiful Halong Bay with an overnight cruise, 2-day trip to Ninh Binh to explore Hoa Lu ancient capital, Tam Coc Grotto and Thung Nham bird garden, as well as an amazing time in Hanoi with street food tour and a free and easy with local tour guide. Come and enjoy!
Highlights
- A street food tour in the evening to enjoy local foods of Hanoian
- An amazing cruise on Halong Bay to explore the beauty of the bay
- Two-day trip to Ninh Binh – the “Halong bay on land” with more exciting activities
Itineraries
Day 1: Hanoi arrival
Upon arrival at Noi Bai Airport, pick you up and transfer to Hanoi center. Check in hotel and then free time at your leisure. Evening,, spend around 2 hours for a special tour to enjoy the street foods of Hanoian. Overnight at hotel in Hanoi.
Day 2: Hanoi – Tam Coc – Cycling – Thung Nham
Have breakfast at hotel.
Around 07.15 Tour guide picks up from your hotel and departure to Ninh Binh.
09.00 Have a short break at a stop-over in Dong Van, Ha Nam province
10:00 Arrive Tam Coc start your first visit on a sampan boat rowed by a local for about 1.5 hours . The boat trip is a nice journey along the river with the peaceful scenery of Limestone Mountains, rice paddy and the sight of some temples along the way.
12:00 Enjoy delicious lunch served at the bungalow’s restaurant with Vietnamese cuisine
13:30 Check in bungalow/ hotel
14:00 Visit a local family in Tam Coc. They are a traditional Vietnamese family with three generations living together. Here you will get the chance to see the house architecture and their daily life and their handicraft job of making traditional embroidery.
14:30 Leaving the family, you will take a bike and start riding to explore the rice fields and limestone mountains with an unique route
15:00 Explore Hang But (Buddhist Cave). Then get on a small sampan to visit Thung Nham bird park, discover the most features of this area with more than 50.000 birds of 40 species flying to inhabit every day. Your best chance to take nice photos
17:00 Cycling back to the host family for free time relax with afternoon tea break
19:00 Dinner served with Vietnamese food and BBQ by the local family host. Then stay overnight at the bungalow or the hotel.
Day 3: Mua cave/ Local market – Cooking Class – Hoa Lu Ancient Capital- Hanoi
07:00 – 07:30 Breakfast at the bungalow or hotel. Clients will take one of two options below (give your option when booking):
Option 1: Local market – cooking class
08:00 Under the introduction of the tour guide, you will learn some basic keywords of the Vietnamese when purchasing goods in the local market. After that, you will be provided a list of courses in the cooking class and all necessary ingredients should be prepared. With the certain number of Vietnamese money, we go to a local market. After 30 – 45 minutes purchasing ingredients and exploring local culture at the market, we will come back to our class kitchen and get ready for the cooking class. Having a strong passion and love for Vietnamese traditional food, our talented chef, with his rich cooking experience, will introduce you the basic principles of each course and how to make it. Now you will have an opportunity to experience in cooking yourself like a real Vietnamese chef.
Option 2: Cycling to Mua Cave
(Recommended for tourists below 40 years old and don’t recommend on rainy or gloomy day. You have to climb of almost 500 steps each way)
08:30 Take a bike to Mua Cave, Mua Cave one of the most alluring places to view in Ninh Binh, Hiking up to the peak of Ngoa Long Mountain to take your amazing views of the Tam Coc, Ninh Binh area.
11:00 Back to the bungalow for lunch
All guests will share the same activities for the rest of the day:
11:30 Enjoy delicious lunch served at the bungalow’s restaurant with Vietnamese cuisine.
12:30 Bungalow/ hotel check out and relaxing, free and coffee at homestay garden
15:00 – 15:30 Departure to Hoa Lu, the ancient capital of Vietnam in the 10th century, visit the temple of King Dinh. Under the introduction of our local guide, you will get to know more about the Vietnamese history.
16.30 Leave Ninh Binh and drive straight back to Hanoi
18:30 Arrive in Hanoi, drop you back to the hotel. Free and overnight at the hotel in Hanoi.
Day 4: Hanoi – Halong Overnight Cruise
After breakfast at hotel, morning pickup service by shuttle bus (about 08:00 – 08:30am) then transfer to Halong Bay, short break on the way.
Upon arrival, welcome on board, check in your cabin and have delicious lunch at the restaurant. Afternoon activities might include a visit to one of the most beautiful cave in Halong bay, a floating village for bamboo boat riding, an island for relaxing/swimming and a lagoon for kayaking. Back to the boat, you will be able to join a cooking class or a sunset cocktail party before dinner time. Evening is free at your leisure or you can join a squid fishing trip with the crew. Overnight in private cabin on a sharing cruise.
Day 5: Halong – Hanoi
Morning tea and coffer will be served early. Optional to join a Tai Chi Class on the sundeck or photo hunting in the early morning.
After breakfast, other activities might include (if not arranged on the first day): visiting the cave, cooking class or climbing to the top of an island for panoramic view of Halong Bay. Then check out and enjoy a fantastic view on the bay, passing many islands and islets (karst formation) on the way back to habor.
Around 12.30 Transfer back to Hanoi, drop off at your hotel around 17.00. Recheck in and free time.
Day 6: Hanoi – free walking tour – Departure
After breakfast, join a free walking tour with volunteer tour guide to explore Hanoi on your own with local citizens, not professional tour guide. Learn more about local lifestyle with our friendly guides.
After tour, pickup and transfer to the airport for the departure flight. End of services.
