WEEKEND ESCAPES

VIETNAM MIXED ADVENTURE WALKING, TREKKING, CRUISING, KAYAKING, AND SIGHTSEEING 12DAYS 11 NIGHTS

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VIETNAM MIXED ADVENTURE

WALKING, TREKKING, CRUISING, KAYAKING, AND SIGHTSEEING

(12DAYS 11 NIGHTS)

Code: STS – IDEA - ADV 12

Day 1: HOME – HANOI – FAMILIARIZATION WALK (D)
Arrival in Hanoi, the 1000-year-old capital city of Vietnam.
Enjoy a familiarization walk around the hotel area

Enjoy welcome dinner at local restaurant
Overnight in Hanoi

Day 2: HANOI – WALKING CITY TOUR – LAO CAI BY NIGHT TRAIN (B-L)
Full day for exploring the fascinating city of Hanoi where old and new things blend together, Vietnamese, Chinese and French cultures mix together.

Activities: a pleasant walk around the peaceful Ho Chi Minh area, visit HCM Mausoleum, HCM’s stilt house and garden, the One Pillar pagoda.

Walk from the mausoleum area to the beautiful Temple of Literature which is surrounded by a nice garden.

Have lunch at Koto restaurant

Afternoon visit the Ethnology Museum which is located in a big yard with interesting and colorful exhibits of the 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam.
Finally take a fascinating walk through the famous 36 busy streets of the Old Quarter and shopping.

8:00pm Pick up at your hotel in Hanoi and transfer to Hanoi Railway Station for boarding to Laocai.

Overnight on train. 4 pax share a tourist air-conditioning cabin of 4 soft sleepers

Day 3: LAOCAI - SAPA - LAO CHAI - TA VAN – TREKKING (B-L)
6:00 Early arrive at Lao Cai train station. Transfer by shuttle bus (for groups smaller than 7 pax) or by private car to Sapa for breakfast and relax. Start a nice trekking from Sapa town to Lao Chai of H’Mong group and Ta Van of the Day group. Have lunch at Ta Van village. Today is paradise for photographing

Transfer back to Sapa by car and relax in the hotel

Overnight in Sapa

Day 4: SAPA – MA TRA – TA PHIN TREKKING – BACK TO HANOI BY TRAIN (B-L)
After breakfast, take another nice trekking to visit the Ma Tra village of the H’Mong group and Ta Phin village of Red Dao people. Today is nice trekking in quiet villages.

Transfer back to Sapa by car. Have lunch at Gebera restaurant

Relax in the afternoon before transferring back to Lao Cai for taking a night train back to Hanoi. Overnight on train. 4 pax share a tourist air-conditioning cabin of 4 soft sleepers

Day 5: HANOI – HALONG BAY CRUISE AND KAYAKING (B-L-D)

5:00 Early morning arrival in Hanoi, go to observe the Hanoi people doing exercises around the Hoan Kiem lake, and enjoy breakfast at the restaurant. Transfer by shuttle bus (for groups smaller than 7 pax) or by private car to Halong Bay, a World Natural Heritage site. Upon arrival, check in aboard a deluxe junk and start cruising. Enjoy fabulous seafood, stunning sceneries, and water activities: swimming, kayaking (included), relaxing or fishing

Overnight aboard

Day 6: HALONG BAY CRUISE – DANANG – HOIAN (B-L)

You are waken up in the morning either by the early sun lights or sounds of the cruisers.
Morning continue the relaxing cruise along simply gorgeous sceneries including a very delicious lunch on board. Transfer back to Hanoi to take flight to Danang. Upon arrival, transfer to Hoian ancient town, a World Heritage site of Vietnam. Check in a hotel and relax.

Hoian is a great place for making clothes overnight
Overnight in Hoian

Day 7: HOIAN – MY SON – MARBLE MOUNTAINS CLIMBING (B-L)

Morning transfer to visit the My Son Holy Land, the famous Cham ruins and a world cultural heritage. Enjoy a nice walk of about 3km to the sites along the green hills and valleys. Explore the mythic historic ruins. Then walk back 3km to the car.

Transfer to Danang, have lunch at a local restaurant.

After lunch, visit the Marble Mountains where you can climb the mountains, beautiful caves, high pagoda tower for beautiful panoramic views of the South Vietnam Sea

Transfer back to Hoian for relaxation. Overnight in Hoian

Day 8: HOIAN WALKING – HCMC FAMILIARIZATION WALK (B-L)

Enjoy a relaxing city walk to more than 200 years-old temples and houses: Hoian History Museum, Fujien temple, Japanese Pagoda bridge, Phung Hung Ancient house. Continue to walk to Tra Que vegetable village and to other peaceful villages in the surrounding.

Have lunch at a local restaurant

Afternoon transfer to the airport to take flight to HCM.

Upon arrival, hotel check in. Enjoy a familiarization walk around the hotel area

Overnight in HCM

Day 9: HCMC CITY TOUR – WALKING TO CU CHI TUNNELS (B-L)

Morning transfer to the Cu Chi Tunnels where human knowledge has been enriched by experiencing a web-like tunnel system of more than 200km in length which provide shelters for Vietnamese guerrillas during the Vietnam War against American troops.

Stop to visit a local workshop of making rice paper cakes. From here you will walk less than 10km to the Cu Chi tunnels along the rubber plantation, rice fields and gardens. Arrival in Cu Chi tunnels, explore 2 underground tunnels of 150m and 100m through 3 levels. Although they are short distances, the challenge is not small. And walk around the forest and learn how the Vietnamese guerillas survived and won the war.

Have lunch at Ben Nay restaurant

Transfer back to HCMC and enjoy city tour visit the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Central Post Office, the War Remnants museum and the Ben Thanh Market.
Free time for entertainment, spa & massage, shopping.

Overnight in HCMC

Day 10: HCMC – MY THO – WALKING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE (B-L)

Morning transfer to My Tho with the colorful outskirt life as well as picturesque rice fields.

Arrival in My Tho city and get on a boat trip up Mekong River, take a nice rowing boat through Ba Nen canal to visit a workshop of making coconut candies. From here take a beautiful walk through village roads, nice fields and gardens to Hao Ai Garden for lunch with beautiful local Southern Vietnamese food, typically with the deep fried elephant ear fish and grilled big headed shrimp.

After lunch, take the boat to visit the Turtle Island. Enjoy local tropical fruits and traditional music show. Then walk around on the island.

Transfer back to HCMC

Overnight in HCMC

Day 11: HCMC – FREE DAY (B)

Full day free time to explore the city on your own or for relaxation, massage and spa, or shopping

Overnight in HCMC

Day 12: HCMC (B)

Free time till Transfer to the airport to take flight back home.

End of services.

Price: VND/pax (Valid in 2012)

(Except for Vietnamese Traditional New Year from 20 to 31 Jan 2012 + Christmas from 24 to 31 Dec 2012 and New Year from 31 Dec 2012 to 5 Jan 2013)

Hotel rating	5-7 pax	8 – 10 pax	11 - 14 pax	Single Surcharge
3-star	920,000 VND	866,000 VND	797,000 VND	249,000 VND
4- star	1,155,000 VND	1,096,000 VND	1,030,000 VND	463,000 VND