Hanoi – Ninh Binh – Ha Long Bay – Sa Pa – Da Nang – Hoi An – Ba Na Hills
The first half works out of one Hanoi hotel: an egg coffee class and the Old Quarter on foot, Hoa Lu and the Trang An grottoes at Ninh Binh, six hours on Ha Long Bay. A sleeper coach then takes you north to Sa Pa for Cat Cat village and the cable car to the summit of Fansipan at 3,143 metres. The last two days are in the centre — the Marble Mountains, a basket boat through the Cam Thanh coconut palms, Hoi An's old town by lantern light, and Ba Na Hills.
Day 1
A private car meets your flight and takes you to your hotel, with time to settle in and eat: pho, banh mi, whatever the street in front of you is selling. Between 13h30 and 15h30, at the hour that suits you, a barista shows you how egg coffee is made and you drink the cup you made yourself. Your guide then walks you through the Old Quarter — the legend of Hoan Kiem Lake, the French Gothic front of St Joseph's Cathedral, the streets in between — talking as you go rather than lecturing, and finishing at Train Street. This section has to run before 16h00, so a later landing moves it to another day. The evening is yours.
Meals: No meals included
Day 2
The guide collects you at 08h00 for the 110km drive south, with a short break on the way. At 10h15 you reach Hoa Lu, the first capital of Vietnam, and the temples to the Dinh and Le kings. At 11h30 you cycle at an easy pace along the canal roads and through small villages, limestone towers on every side. Buffet lunch at 12h15: goat, fried rice and a long spread of local dishes, with vegetarian food always available. At 13h00 a rowing boat takes you into Trang An, UNESCO-listed since 2014 and the landscape behind Kong: Skull Island, through Sang, Toi and Nau Ruou caves. At 15h15, Mua Cave and almost 500 steps up Lying Dragon Mountain for the view over Tam Coc. Back at your hotel by 19h30.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 3
A limousine picks you up at 08h30 after breakfast and runs to Quang Ninh, stopping once for a rest. You board at Tuan Chau Island between 11h45 and 12h00, and lunch of Vietnamese dishes and seafood is served while the boat passes the Incense Burner and Fighting Cocks rocks. At 13h30 you walk Sung Sot Cave, 25 metres above the sea and 10,000 square metres in area, along 800 metres of lit stone path. At 14h45 Luon Cave by kayak or bamboo boat; at 15h45 Titop Island, to swim or climb to the lookout. Back on board at 16h30 for the sunset party on the sundeck, ashore around 18h00, and at your Hanoi hotel by 20h30.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 4
The sleeper coach collects you at 06h30 and breakfast can be packed to take with you. It stops on the highway at 09h00 for a rest and something to eat, and reaches Sa Pa at 13h30. You leave your luggage at the hotel and go straight to lunch. At 14h30 you walk into Cat Cat, a Black H'mong village in the valley under Fansipan, where a local guide explains how people here live day to day, then on to Cat Cat waterfall and the small hydroelectric station the French built early last century. Local costumes can be hired for photographs at your own cost. Back in Sa Pa at 17h30 and dinner at 19h00, after which the stone church, the night market and the grills are yours to wander.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 5
Collected at 08h00 after breakfast and driven to the cable car station. The fifteen-minute ride crosses the Muong Hoa valley, with the Hoang Lien Son range and, most mornings, a sea of cloud below you. From the upper station about 600 steps take you to the summit of Fansipan, 3,143 metres, the highest mountain of the Indochinese peninsula. If you walk down instead of riding, you pass Bao An Thien Tu and Bich Van Thien Tu and the large bronze Buddha and Guanyin statues. Back in town at 11h30, check out at 12h00 and lunch, then free time to look around and shop. The sleeper coach leaves for Hanoi at 13h30 and drops you at your hotel at 20h00.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 6
You arrive at Da Nang airport, where a private car meets you and takes you to the hotel to check in. Between 13h30 and 14h00 the guide collects you from the meeting point for the Marble Mountains: Tam Thai Pagoda, Linh Ung Pagoda and the Non Nuoc stone carving village below them. At 16h00 you reach the Bau Mau coconut forest at Cam Thanh, ride a round basket boat through the water palms and watch the fishermen's basket show. At 17h30 you continue to Hoi An and walk the old town at your own pace: the Japanese Covered Bridge, the Fukien Assembly Hall, the yellow houses and the lanterns, dinner of local dishes, then the Nguyen Hoang night market. Back at the meeting point between 20h30 and 21h00.
Meals: Breakfast, dinner
Day 7
Picked up from your hotel in central Da Nang between 07h00 and 08h15, with a stop at 08h30 at a craft village on the same road while tickets are arranged. You reach the Ba Na Hills entrance between 09h45 and 10h00 and ride the world's longest single-rope cable car up to the French Village. From 10h30, the Lunar Castle, Eclipse Square and a film at the mountain's cinema. Buffet lunch between 11h45 and 13h00. At 13h15 there are short shows, the golden Sun World globe and Fantasy Park. At 14h45 a second cable car crosses to the Golden Bridge and the Le Jardin flower garden, and between 16h15 and 16h30 you ride back to the Time Gate for the bus to your hotel. No shopping stop is added at the end of the day.
Meals: Buffet lunch at Ba Na Hills
Day 8
Breakfast at the hotel, check out, and a private car to the airport timed to your flight.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 1 has to finish before 16h00, so if your flight lands later the egg coffee class and the walk move to another day. The Hanoi to Da Nang flight on day 6 is not part of the land package and is quoted separately.
Send your dates, the number of travellers and the hotel standard you want. We confirm availability and send a full quotation — no payment is taken online.
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