Day 1: Sunny Welcome to Hanoi

Chao Ban! Welcome to Hanoi, we will meet and take you to your hotel, check-in and today is free at your leisure to rest or explore, discovering your own first impressions of Vietnam. Overnight in Hanoi.

Inclusion: Transfer, guide, hotel, welcome dinner at Koto Restaurant

Day 2: Hanoi city tour, night train to Lao Cai

Depart at 8:00 am from your hotel by van. We will begin our day by visiting Uncle Ho, learning about his great life at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Presidential Palace, and his residential place. Next stop is the nearby Temple of Literature. The site of Vietnam´s first University, built in twelfth century, to teach Confucius’s theory to royals. Here we will also have a chance to see a traditional music performance. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant for a taste of authentic Hanoi Pho (noodle soup). In the afternoon, choose one from the numerous museums or temples around Hanoi (Museum of Ethnology, Women´s Museum, History Museum or Quan Thanh Temple). In the late afternoon walk around Hoan Kiem lake and Hanoi´s fascinating Old Quarter for some great fun, shopping, and street side traditional food, maybe to try one “hanoi bia”. This is your chance to be part of typical Hanoian style and its traditional Vietnamese culture. We finish our relaxing but informative day by attending a Water Puppet Show, a favorite experience for all visitors to Vietnam. We can help you to get back to your hotel if you wish, but often our guests would rather just spend the evening enjoying a drink with a view of the city. Dinner on your own.

8:15 pm: Transfer from an prearranged meeting spot to the station for your night train to Sapa boarding at around 9: 15 pm. You will be in shared AC soft sleeper cabins to travel North to Lao Cai town.

(Our tour guide will show you a mini hotel which you will have showered and basic breakfast before going on Halong bay).

Inclusion: Transfer, guide, entrance fee, lunch, puppet show ticket, Soft sleepr A/C train ticket.

Day 3: Hanoi – Lao Cai – Sapa, trek to Ta Phin (~ 14km)

Today’s morning: The train arrives at about 6:00 am; and looking for the “Origin Travel” sign when you exit the train station, as our guide will pick you up. Then take a morning drive through the clouds by car / van to Sapa (~ 1.5 hours). When you arrive in Sapa you will be taken to a local restaurant for a morning shower & breakfast.

We will then take short ride from Sapa to our trekking base where we start our trek up and down hills (~ 5- 6 hrs) through terraced rice fields, bamboo ranges and many minority villages. Lunch break before we keep hitting the road to Ta Phin village. Our Dao host family will welcome you to their traditional home where we will share in an ethnic style dinner and stay the night.

Inclusion: Transfer, guide, train ticket, entrance fee, all meals, permit, homestay.

Day 4: More Trekking around in Ta Phin and back to Sapa

At the first gleam of daylight, you will see and hear the sounds of morning village life. You can join your host family in some of their activities like feeding the animals, cleaning the houses, gardening or preparing breakfast. After breakfast, we could take a short morning wander around the village or resulting in more time spent with the host family.

You will be then supported by our car / van back to Sapa (30 minutes). When we arrive back in Sapa, check in to the hotel, shower, and pause for lunch on your own. At 2:30 pm we will take an easy walk (~ 5km) to Cat Cat village, homeland of Black H’mong hill tribe and to take part in a traditional ethnic music performance put on by the ethnic minority people. Your own dinner and evening, sleep in the hotel in Sapa.

Note: The music show in CatCat is closed on Wed afternoon, an alternative will be arranged.

Inclusion: Breakfast, transfer, guide, entrance fee, music show ticket, hotel.

Day 5: A wonderful trek to Hmong village (~ 6km), then Lao Cai for night train to Hanoi

Wake up in Sapa town, breakfast at the hotel then enjoy the morning with some of your new friends that you may have met the afternoon before. You have the entire morning and lunch for free time and visiting the lively markets.

At around 2:00 pm, travel by car/van down to the south of Sapa town then we will do a mix of wonderful trek & hike along the terraced paddy fields, streams and villages (2- 3 hrs) to visit the peaceful Hmong village of Y Linh Ho to learn more about the Black Hmong. You will return to Sapa by van. A refreshing shower will be arranged before your train in Sapa or Lao Cai. Dinner on your own well before the train leaves for Hanoi and arrives to Hanoi at about 5:00 am.

Inclusion: Transfer, guide, train ticket, breakfast, entrance fee, Soft sleepr A/C train ticket

Day 6: Hanoi – Ha Long, welcome on the boat

Arrival in Hanoi in the early morning at round 5:00 am. Please find your way by foot back to a mini hotel near the Tran Quy Cap station gate to have shower and basic set menu breakfast.

Depart, 8: 00 – 8: 30 am on a shared van from your hotel to Halong city. After 3.5 hours driving and viewing simple, country side, rice paddy life, we arrive at the at port. At 12.00, the junk crews welcome guests on board at Hon Gai Wharf. Check- in, enjoy welcome drink & cruise briefing. Lunch with fresh local seafood while cruising to Bai Tu Long bay via Indochina film studio, Teapot islet, Blockhouse islet, Goat Head islet. Stop for swimming, visit mysterious Thien Canh cave. Relax at a wild beach, swim & kayak to explore the bay. Back to junk to enjoy relaxing or the sunset. Dinner and overnight on board nearby Vong Vieng village or Trinh Nu cave.

Inclusion: Transfer, guide, entrances fees, kayak, boat/junk, breakfast, lunch, dinner, permit, fishing gears.

Day 7: Explore the tranquil scenery in Bai Tu Long bay, back to Hanoi- Fly to Hue

Early risers can enjoy the sunrise and the quiet breath-taking beauty of Bay’s landscape. From 7.30 to 8:00 am have breakfast in the fresh air then visit Vong Vieng fishing village by a rustic row-boat. Meet the locals, visit floating school & fish farms. More time to swim in the middle of the bay. From 10: 15, we serve on a La-Carte-Menu, you can order any dishes in the menu whenever you want for breakfast and lunch. Continue cruising through the bay, along the way seeing more of the fascinating formations. 11: 45 check out cabin while cruising back. By noon at 12:00, we will be ashore then hit the road back to Hanoi at around 4: 00 pm.

5:30 pm, we pick up from your hotel for Fly to Hue. Boarding at 20: 10 pm. Arrived Hue at 21:10  Our guide pick up with sign (Origin Travel and your name)

Inclusion: Transfer, guide, entrance fee, boat/junk, breakfast, lunch, fly ticket, Hotel

Day 8: Hue City tour of Vietnam last feudal dynasty, boat trip on Perfume river

After brackfast we will visit the splendid royal tombs, there are actually more than 6 tombs but we will choose to visit two of three tombs as below: Minh Mang, Tu Duc and Khai Dinh. After that we walk/transfer to the boat dock for our cruising on the Perfume River, viewing the city and the tranquil villages on the riverbank. We will walk up to visit the Thien Mu pagoda, a nicely located pagoda, overlooking the Perfume River and the beautiful scenery beyond, where you get to learn more about the Buddhism in Vietnam. Transfer back to your hotel. Check in hotel. Free time to relax, shower and stay overnight at your hotel.

Inclusion: Transfer, guide, entrance fee, breakfast, lunch, local boat, hotel.

Day 9: Hue – Vietnam cyclo, visit market. Transfer to Hoi An

After breakfast at your hotel 9:00 am. We will go on a relaxing Vietnam cyclo ride to visit Dong Ba market around 1hour then transfer to Hoi An. From here it will take us about 4 hours to get to Hoi An. There is fabulous sightseeing en route and we may make stops at: Lang Co beach, Hai Van pass, Cham Museum, and the Marble mountains. Then onto Hoi An, overnight here. This is also a very good chance for you to get get nice tailor-made clothes at a reasonable price.

Inclusion: Transfer, guide, entrance fee, breakfast, Vietnam cyclo, hotel.

Day 10: Hoi An, walking tour in the ancient town & My Son Holly Land

Depart at 8.00 a.m, this morning we will travel by car for about 1 hour to visit My Son – the Holy land of Cham people and now the World Heritage. We drive back to Hoian at noon time. Lunch break afterward. In the afternoon, we take a walking tour around Hoian – a charming town, we will visit the old Tan Ky House, the Covered Bridge, the Phuc Kien Assembly Hall… There will be a chance to enjoy the traditional music at a common house of Hoian. Relax and overnight in Hoi An

Inclusion: Transfer, guide, entrance fee, hotel.

Day 11: Hoi An – Touring to Tra Que Village

At 8.30am, visit Hoi An’s colourful market, and experience the amazing sights, sounds and aromas of this busy market. We will have the opportunity to interact with the local sellers and learn about all the ingredients to be used in the cooking lesson.

Travel to Tra Que Organic Village, you then walk around the vegetable garden where farmers work on their fields using the traditional methods of hundreds of years ago – no electrical machinery here. We pick fresh saw-tooth coriander and Vietnamese mint for our cooking lesson before tasting a special herbal drink at a local home.

To the local village market and with shopping list in hand we purchase a range of local ingredients, including star anise, cardamom, sesame rice paper, water spinach and banana flower.

Arriving at Tra Que’s Family House we have a chance to freshen up before beginning our class. Working together with our Family Chef we learn the traditional ways of preparing and cooking Vietnamese food from scratch. Using the freshest ingredients and traditional Vietnamese utensils (still in use today) we cook 4 famous dishes.

After the class we sit down and a chance to savour the dishes we have prepared. In the afternoon, enjoy a leisurely boat trip and bid farewell to your host family before riding back to Hoi An, on the way back stop at Nhat tomb and Ba Le well. The tour finishes at around 4pm.

Inclusion: Breafast, hotel.Tourguide, transfer, Cooking demonstration, Permits to visit village, Bicycle

Day 12: Hoi An Free

Inclusion: breakfast, hotel

Day 13: Da Nang – Saigon, city tour

Breakfast at the hotel then transfer to the airport for your flight to SaiGon at 9.40. Pick up and transfer down town and check-in at our hotel before our city of bustling Saigon starts. Visit the Binh Tay Market in Cho Lon; stopover at Thien Hau, a 150 year old Chinese Temple; then to a Lacquer wares workshop and the Jade Emperor pagoda. In the afternoon visit the War Remnants Museum, the Notre Dame Cathedral and the historic Central Post Office, we’ll drop you off at your hotel around 5:30 pm. Stay ovvernight in Saigon.

Inclusion: Transfer , guide, entrance fee, breakfast, domestic flight ticket , hotel

Day 14: Tay Ninh and the Cu Chi tunnels

Departing Saigon at 8:00 am from your hotel for a morning excursion to Tay Ninh to the Great Cao Dai Temple (a place to worship a mixture of Buddhism, Confucius, Taoism, Hinduism and Christianity). We see the noon mass at the temple (1 hour). Lunch in Tay Ninh.

In the afternoon we visit the Cu Chi outdoor museum to learn about the infamous tunnel systems of the Viet Cong. Take this opportunity to get a unique understanding of the guerillas underground fight strategies during the war and crawl through 50 – 100 meters of the 200 km tunnel system. On the way back to Saigon, local rice paper workshops, and views of Vietnam countryside and paddy fields are pleasant sights. We’ll drop you off at your hotel around 5:30 pm. Overnight at your hotel in Saigon.

Inclusion: Transfer, guide, entrance fee, breakfast, hotel

Day 15: Saigon to the fertile Mekong Delta (Cai Be – Can Tho)

Depart Saigon at 8:00 am from your hotel. Head south to Cai Be. Upon arrival at 10:30 am, board a boat for a journey through the Mekong’s floating market. See how river life goes on here, watch the trading between merchant ships and local farmers. Alive and exciting. Cruise through the secluded canals and cross the Mighty Mekong to an island where we will stop to enjoy fresh seasonal fruit before boating to Vinh Long. Back on the bus for our trip to Can Tho to overnight.

Inclusion: Transfer, guide, entrance fee, breakfast, hotel.

Day 16: Can Tho – Saigon

An early start for a boat trip to Cai Rang floating market, then we have some distance to cover. First a cruise, then a walk on a quiet country road taking in the magnificent scenery and getting a little bit closer to the locals as they go about their daily routine. In the afternoon, we head back to Saigon. We will drop you at the same hotel by 6:00 pm.

Inclusion: Transfer, guide, entrance fee, local boat, breakfast, hotel

Day 17: Departure Saigon, Goodbye Vietnam

Breakfast at hotel. Depending on your flight you may have some time for some more shopping. Then we will transfer you to the airport for your flight home. Good bye Origin Travel Team and Vietnam and hope to see you again soon in our beautiful country!

Inclusion: Transfer, breakfast.

Price ($US) for private tour

S.S is used for Single Supplement: A surcharge added to the cost per person when one wants to have her/his own room.

Costs are $ US NET. Subject to 3% surcharge if paid by credit cards or 2% on travellers’ cheque.

Costs exclude: Visa, Insurance, drinks, personal expenses, others not mentioned in details, tips are welcome!

Trip notes:

Hotel: We use 3 starstandard hotel (s), twin shared room (s). Upgrade is available on request.

Site: Ho Chi Minh mausoleum is close for re-maintenance in September and November yearly and almost all museums are closed on Monday and Friday weekly, you can choose to visit another site instead. No short or informal wear is allowed in the Mausoleum, temple, pagoda.

Meals: Vietnam food

Halong Bay Tours: Private Car/Van, deluxe Cabin on Red Dragon, Lagoon Explore Junk or Prince Junkwith maximum 10 people and twin shared cabin aboard.

Car / Van Quality: Using new AC car or van depending on your group size

Tour guide: English speaking guides (on site).

What to Bring: Passport, change of clothes, sun-glasses & hat, toiletries, sun-block, insect repellent, flashlights, good shoes, personal first aid kit & medicines, small VND notes for buying drinks. If you feel the need then sleeping bags, cable lock for your bags is recommended.

Please Travel Responsibly: The small things you do will make a big difference!

Booking Terms & Conditions: Tour itinerary and tour prices are subject to change without prior notice.

For other package tours in Vietnam: Essential North Vietnam 9 days, A glimpse of Vietnam 14 days, Vietnam package 21 days or  tailor-make your own tour, please contact us

Other Notes:

• Please be aware that flight times, trains, hotels and other services are subject to availability. Where flights/trains are cancelled or delayed Footprint will endeavor to secure alternative arrangements of similar value,
• Hotels, flights, train’s details will be updated at time of booking confirmed (your fax of confirmation)
• Check – in: 14:00; out: 12:00 noon. Early check in if it is subject to availability.
• This itinerary and supplementary information has been complied in good faith and was accurate at time of writing.

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Dear Ruby.

Here we are back at home after very long flights.

From all family we want to thank for your amazing support. You and your company, Origin Vietnam, has done a wonderful job from hotel selections, tours, guidance, restaurants, and assistance. We got the friendly vietnameese people and their country in our hearts.

And, let me tell you, your nice program to support schooling for the Cong Dam fishing village is something that give to tourists the real sense of visiting spectacular landmarks and putting a small sand grain for future generations. This has been a great experience and a regarding opportunity to share with kids from this beatiful area. Your campaign is certainly a nice program that says a lot about your great sense for supporting your nice country. Please, keep same enthusiasm and your dream will be a reality in the near future. Count with us to spread your ideas and get the support needed for these kids.

Jorge – Colombia

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