Discover the most famous places in Laos and Northern Vietnam within 10 days. Natural beauty, historical relics, mausoleums, and the ancient Khmer temple ruins provide glimpses into the authentic beauty of these two charming countries, the rich history, and the skills and artistry of ancient craftsmen
Meal provided: No Meal
Upon arrival at Noi Bai International Airport, obtain your visa (if required) and clear Immigration and Customs.
After collecting your baggage, exit the airport to meet your driver (without a guide) for a short transfer to your hotel.
Settle in and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure.
Stay overnight in Hanoi.
Meal provided: Breakfast
Start a new day by visiting Ho Chi Minh Complex, an important place of pilgrimage. A traffic-free area of botanical gardens, monuments, memorials and pagodas, it’s usually crowded with groups of all ages, from all over the nation, who has come to pay their respects. Within the complex you can visit Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum (Outside visiting as it’s closed for annual maintenance), Ba Dinh Square, the Presidential Palace, Ho Chi Minh’s Stilt House, and Ho Chi Minh Museum.
Closed by, the famous One Pillar Pagoda which is built of wood on a single stone pillar 1.25 m in diameter. It is designed to resemble a lotus blossom, which is a Buddhist symbol of purity, since a lotus blossoms in a muddy pond.
After that, continue to visit the Temple of Literature (Vietnamese name is Quoc Tu Giam) – The Vietnam’s first University, which was built in 1070 in honor of Confucius, his followers and Chu Van An, a moral figure in Vietnamese education.
Have lunch at a local restaurant (on your own account).
In the afternoon, you are transferred to visit Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. Almost no foreign tourists to Hanoi refuse to visit the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, where they can look into a vivid picture of the miniaturized Vietnamese ethnic community’s life. Take a cyclo in Hanoi Old Quarter – 36 streets and guilds to discover the ancient feature of Hanoi and daily life. Stop to visit Ngoc Son Temple which is located at the northern end of Sword Lake (aka Hoan Kiem Lake). From the shore, walking on the Welcoming Morning Sunlight Bridge leads to the island.
Stay overnight in Hanoi.
Meal: Breakfast
Travel to Ninh Binh province. On arrival, visit Hoa Lu temple– The ancient capital of Vietnam in the 10th and 11th centuries. Enjoying the 11th & 17th-century architecture style, old sculpture – carving on wood & stone depicting the daily lives, dreams, and wishes for peace, good life, etc.
From Hoa Lu Temple, start your fun bicycle ride to Tam Coc. You cycle on paved roads, through rice fields, and local agricultural villages. Most of the bicycle ride is on a peaceful inter-communal route where the traffic is not too busy. Then, enjoy hours of excursion by small boat along the Ngo Dong River, beginning at the village of Van Lam and proceeding through a scenic landscape dominated by rice fields and karst towers. The route includes floating through Tam Coc – the three natural grottos (Hang Ca, Hang Hai, and Hang Ba), the largest of which is 125m long with its ceiling about 2m high above the water. The boats are typically rowed by one or two local women who also sell embroidered goods.
Back to Hanoi. Stay overnight in Hanoi.
Meal provided: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
After breakfast at hotel, you will be picked up by our driver and transferred to Tuan Chau International Cruise Port, you will enjoy a warm welcome by our cruise staff in the waiting lounge and complete check-in procedure.
12:00 Upon boarding, our crew welcomes you with a refreshing drink and cold towel before checking into your cabin. The vessel leaves Tuan Chau Marina, taking you on an exciting journey to discover the beauty of Ha Long Bay. Along the way, you can enjoy the view of some of the most beautiful spots in Ha Long and admire the grandeur of the Bay with thousands of limestone islands while the vessel heads to Trinh Nu Cave.
Enjoy your lunch at our luxurious restaurant on board while the vessel cruises toward Trinh Nu cave.
14.00: You return to your cabin for a short rest and prepare for kayaking activities in Trinh Nu Cave area.
15.00: You will be transferred to Trinh Nu Cave by tender.
Arriving at Trinh Nu Cave area, you will take part in kayaking activitie here. To get to Trinh Nu beach, you need to kayak around thousand-year-old limestone formations and then walk for 5 minutes through Trinh Nu cave. Trinh Nu beach will amaze you with its white sand, emerald water and mild pleasant weather condition.
17.30-18.00 Back on board, you will participate in Sunset party & cooking class while the vessel cruises toward the shore. You can enjoy relaxing moments while sipping a cup of traditional Vietnamese tea or coffee on the sundeck amid wonderful scenery and beautiful sunset. Ha Long Bay is calm during the day, but when the sun goes down, the Bay becomes even more tranquil and peaceful.
You will be instructed to make delicious traditional Vietnamese steamed rice rolls by our chef and then enjoy the rolls made on your own.
17.30-18.30 Happy hour – BUY 2 DRINK GET 1 FOR FREE
19.30 Gala Dinner. Enjoy your dinner on the Sundeck (if the weather is favorable)
20.30 After dinner, you will enjoy a peaceful view of the Bay at night on the deck. You can also participate in evening activities such as massage (subject to additional charge), herbal wood foot bath in your room (free of charge 01 herbal bag for each cabin) or enjoying music and some drinks at Sky Bar while admiring breathtaking view of the Bay at night and squid fishing.
The cruise ship anchors for your peaceful night stay in quiet area
Meal Provided: Breakfast, Lunch
06.15: Start your day with Tai Chi class on the sundeck.
06.30-07.00 Enjoy a light breakfast with coffee, tea, cake and fruit.
07.30 Exploring Sung Sot cave. This is one of the largest and most beautiful caves in Ha Long Bay. The cave has some unique rock formations which couldn’t be found anywhere else. The path to the mouth of Sung Sot Cave is under a canopy of leaves. Walking through steep stone steps, tourists may have the feeling of climbing on mountains and experience the excitement as if they are stepping to the sky.
08.30-09.30 Back on board, you can rest in your room, enjoy the herbal foot bath prepared by our crew, sunbathe on the sundeck, take pictures of Ha Long Bay or shop for souvenirs on the boat.
09.30 Check-out time.
Please put your luggage outside your cabin and leave the room key at the reception desk. Our staff will transfer your luggage to the waiting area. While waiting, you can shop for some products of the cruise.
10.00 Enjoy early lunch buffet at the restaurant on the 2nd floor and settle the bills if any.
11.00 Arrival at Tuan Chau Marina.
Transfer back to your hotel in Hanoi
Stay overnight in Hanoi.
Meal Provided: Breakfast
Breakfast at hotel, meet our driver and transfer to the airport for your flight to Luang Prabang.
On arrival at the Luang Prabang airport, you will be met and transferred to check in the hotel.
Situated in the centre of northern Laos, Luang Prabang is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its outstanding cultural, historic and architectural values and its harmonious relationship between the natural and built environment.
There is no activities planned for today, so you may stroll around for the first impression of this ancient city.
Overnight in Luang Prabang
Meal Provided: Breakfast
After breakfast, you will first visit Royal Palace Museum, which was built in 1904 during the French colonial era for King Sisavang Vong and his family.
We then embark on a leisure cruise upstream on the Mekong River, which also gives us a breathtaking view of the tranquil countryside, before reaching the mysterious Pak Ou Caves, two linked caves crammed with thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes left by pilgrims.
Along the way, we stop at the village of Ban Xanghai, where they make the local rice wine.
On arrival back in the city, we will visit the old Wat Sene and the nearby magnificent Wat Xiengthong a superb piece of Lao temple architecture, which presents a sweeping two-tiered roof and ornate mosaics including a beautiful ‘tree of life ‘glass montage on the rear temple wall.
If time permits, we will drive out of the city to visit Ban Xangkhong, the Thai Lue village, which is famous for its arts and crafts. We also visit the nearby village of Ban Xienglek specializing in making the traditional Saa paper.
You can either get to the nearby village and join a petanque game with the local team.
Late afternoon, we will make a stop at Wat Prabath to admire the sunset; this is the ideal place to catch the last beauty of the day.
The tour ends after a visit to the famous Night Market, where you can find a lovely collection of handmade textiles made by local and hill tribe people surrounding Luang Prabang.
Overnight in Luang Prabang
Tip: If you are fond of various ethnic cultures, you can visit Traditional Art and Ethnology Center (closed on Monday).
Meal Provided: Breakfast
Wake up as the sun rises, and we will prepare to join the most sacred tradition of Laos, the daily morning almsgiving, which dates to the 14th century. More than 200 Buddhist monks depart from various temple to gather their daily meals from the faithful residents sitting quietly on the streets.
We then visit the temporary morning market near the former Royal Palace. Just set on the ground, the local people come here to barter their day’s catch from rice, to vegetable, to fish, or chicken.
After breakfast at the hotel, we ascend the 329 steps to the top of Phousi Hill for a panoramic view of the city and the Mekong River.
If time permits, we will visit UXO Visitor Center (closed on Saturday, and Sunday), where you can find the documentation about the secret war in Laos.
Then transfer directly to the beautiful Kuang Si, which is the biggest waterfall in the Luang Prabang area with three tiers leading to a 50-metre drop into spectacular azure pools before flowing downstream. The pools also make great swimming holes and are very popular with both tourists and locals.
There is also the chance to walk to the nearby village of Ban Thapene, and explore the hidden waterfalls, which is rarely visited by other tourists.
If you wish, take a short visit to the Bear Rescue Center, which houses a couple of dozen animals rescued from the hands of poachers and traffickers.
On the way back to Luang Prabang, we will take a short visit to the Ock Pop Tock Living Craft Center, set serenely close to the Mekong, this beautiful, traditionally styled workshop, where weavers, spinners and batik makers produce top-quality fabrics, offers free tours every half-hour. This is also one of the best spots to admire the sunset in Luang Prabang.
We then transfer out to the train station to take the speed train to Vientiane. (18:20 20:20) (Note: You can either take the late flight from Luang Prabang to Vientiane).
Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel in town.
Overnight in Vientiane
Meal Provided: Breakfast
In the morning, we will first visit Wat Si Muang, which is very famous for its supernatural power.
After that drive to Buddha Park which takes around 45 minutes away. Also known as Xieng Khuan, this unusual park is filled with over 200 Buddhist and Hindu statues.
We then visit the Lao Disable Women Development Center, which assists disabled women to cope with their disability and advocate for their rights. Spend time watching the video and learn about the effort to earn their daily living. You can support them by buying some small handicrafts at the shop.
Start the afternoon with a visit to That Luang, the holiest site in Laos. Constructed by King Setthathirat in the 16th century, the temple is resplendent as the sun shines upon its towering golden spire.
Then, enjoy a panoramic view over the city as you climb the stairs to the top of Patuxai, Vientiane’s own “Arc de Triomphe”.
Continue down Lane Xang Avenue to the serene Wat Sisaket, the only temple left intact after the Siamese (Thai) invasion in 1828.
Continue on to the nearby Wat Phra Keo. Used as a religious museum, Wat Phra Keo displays a collection of both Lao and Khmer works of art.
End your tour of the capital along the banks of the Mekong River as the sun begins to set. Stroll along the river, stop to enjoy a cold drink, or sample a snack from one of the many local food stalls.
Overnight in Vientiane.
Meal Provided: Breakfast
You are free to stroll around the town for your own exploration before taking the departure flight.
End of tour.
Tour prices shown are 'per person', based on a travelling party of 4 adults, and sharing double or twin room.
** If you travel in group of 2, 3 and so on. Please feel free to contact us for specific offer.
** If you intend to travel alone, the cost might be much higher. However, you also earn money by using the Share Button above to invite your friends and family to book this tour with you.
Note: Amendments CAN be made to this tour to suite your requirements, but may incur price changes
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1. All of our itineraries can be tailor-made to suit your requirements, allowing us to create the perfect holiday just for you. Please click on the “Tailor this trip" button and complete the requested information for us. Upon receipt, our travel consultant will customize the best value vacation for your kind consideration. Please note: Changes CAN be made to the itinerary after our initial quote, but may result in a price change also!
2. We are aware that a good tour must have good hotels. In Indochina in particular (Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos) hotel prices make up the major expense of your holiday. Therefore, we would like to clarify how we define these charges:
3. Child policy:
We’ll immerse you in the diverse cultures of Vietnam by showcasing the unique local flavors. And with the perfect balance of included sightseeing and free time, you can customize your dream vacation with the things you have always wanted to do.
Most countries in South East Asia require you to obtain a visa. Please check carefully with your travel specialist regarding specific visa requirements for each country you plan to visit as the legislation does change frequently. Thailand offers a free visa on arrival to most nationalities. Other countries including Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar offer a “visa-on-arrival” service which requires you to pay a fee at the airport, or you may prefer to obtain this in advance through the relevant embassy or a visa agent. For visa-on-arrival in Vietnam, you must submit some paperwork before you arrive.
This is an option to get your visa for Vietnam instead of getting visa at the Vietnam consulate in your country.
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