Vietnam Sapa Trek & Ha Long Bay

Welcome to Vietnam and Southeast Asia! Get ready for new sounds, smells, and sights as we enter a unique, vibrant and colorful culture. Your Wildland Trekking guide will pick you up from Noi Bai International airport in Hanoi, Vietnam and transfer you approximately 1 hour to the Hanoi Essence Hotel & Spa for the night. We will enjoy dinner with our guide(s) and group as we get to know each other and talk about the details of our upcoming Vietnam trek.

Today will serve as a sightseeing and rest/acclimatization day from our International travel. After breakfast, your guide will host you on a tour of this historic city. Among Hanoi’s sightseeing highlights is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where we will see ‘Uncle Ho’ (Ho Chi Minh) laid out to rest. Ho Chi Minh was the founder and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and a very important figure in the development of Vietnam. We will also visit the Hanoi Hilton museum where John McCain and other prisoners were held during the Vietnam-USA War; the Ethnology museum and the Temple of Literature, which serves as an excellent example of Vietnamese architecture. We will have lunch during the day and return to the hotel in the late afternoon. We will have free time until meeting up for dinner. After dinner, we will return to the hotel and pack our bags to head to the train station for our departure for Sapa around 10PM. No Vietnam adventure would be complete without taking an overnight sleeper train (ours has air conditioning and very nice bathrooms.)

This morning between 6 and 7 AM our train will arrive at the Lao Cai train station in the mountain city of Sapa. Our driver will be waiting for our arrival and transfer us roughly 1 hour to our hotel, the Aira Boutique Sapa Hotel and Spa. After check-in, we will have breakfast at the hotel. We will meet up for lunch and dinner, and between meals you will have time to explore this amazing town. Sapa is known for its colorful markets, friendly people and beautiful textiles. You will love and be intrigued by this amazing place!

• Hiking Mileage: 9 miles
• Elevation Loss: 1,914 feet
• Trekking Duration: 6-7 hours

This morning after breakfast we will begin our hike. We will meet our local Black H’mong guide and begin our beautiful trek through the mountains. Expect there to be many local women walking with the group, asking to sell us goods. It is awesome to get to know the people, their culture and how they live their daily lives in Sapa. We will have lunch along the way and continue trekking through beautiful terraced rice fields, until we reach Ta Van Village, where we will check into the Ta Van Ecologic Homestay for the night. Ta Van Village is nestled in the mountains and provides a great opportunity to be immersed in the local village life of the Black Hmong and Red Dzao people. The majority of people in Ta Van are rice farmers and our local guide will be able to answer all of the questions we have. Upon arrival at the Ta Van Ecologic Homestay, we will be welcomed by our local ‘host mother’ who will be in charge of cooking dinner and breakfast for us. We may even have the option to help prepare spring rolls or appetizers! Getting to know the local people is one of our favorite things about this trek!

• Hiking Mileage: 10 miles
• Elevation Gain/Loss: appx 500 feet
• Trekking Duration: 7-8 hours

This morning after a hearty breakfast, we will pack our bags and begin walking to the village of Giang Tai Chai. The rolling hills and rice terraces of this area shape the local people’s culture and it is evident how the environment plays an impact on the people’s lives. Along the way, we will have lunch and then continue on to Ban Ho village where we will stay for the second night of our trek. Ban Ho is one of the most interesting and diverse villages in the Sapa area. Black Hmong, Red Dzao, White Tay and other minority hill tribes all live together here. Ban Ho is a lovely village surrounded by rice terraces, glistening streams and traditional stilted houses. We check into our accommodation at Uncle Chu Thanh Homestay. We will have free time for showers, rest or village exploration before our delicious dinner is served. Our guides will provide the plan for the next day.

• Hiking Mileage: 6 miles
• Elevation Gain: appx 500 feet
• Trekking Duration: 5-6 hours

This morning after a hearty breakfast, we pack our backpacks and set off for the village of Thanh Phu. Our trek today starts off by climbing roughly 600 ft until we level off near Nam Tong village. The terrain is sub-tropical and the trails are used by local people to connect the villages. We will have lunch in route and continue trekking until we reach the village of Thanh Phu. Upon arrival at Thanh Phu, we will be picked up and transferred to the Topas Ecolodge where we will check into our luxurious accommodation for the night, the Topas Ecolodge! We will have free time for showers, village exploration or rest until dinner is served. Our guides will provide the plan for the following day.

• Hiking Mileage: 4 miles
• Elevation Gain: appx 500 feet
• Trekking Duration: 3 hours

This morning we have a leisurely breakfast, pack our day packs and hike to Lech, a Red Dzao minority village. Upon arrival at Lech, we will visit with the Red Dzao people and learn about their culture and daily life in their village. After our visit with the Dzao, we will head back to the Topas Ecolodge, have showers and free time until lunch is served. We then board our private mini-bus for our 5 ½ hour ride back to Hanoi. We will arrive back to Hanoi, check into our hotel and all go to dinner together. It will be roughly 8:30pm when we arrive back to Hanoi, so we will have some snacks and drinks in route. Our guides will provide the plan for the next day.

This morning we will enjoy waking up at the Hanoi Essence Hotel & Spa in Hanoi. Breakfast will be served at the hotel and then we will depart between 9 and 10 am to Hai Phong. We arrive to Hai Phong before noon and will be welcomed to the Orchid Cruise’s lounge. Around midday, we will transfer by a smaller boat to the main cruise ship, which is waiting for us in the Cai Trap Canal. We will enjoy a welcome drink and receive a briefing from one of the crew members. Our cruise will set sail through the amazing Ha Long Bay, towards Da Chong Inlet and lunch will be served on board. After lunch, we continue sailing towards Con Vit and Gia Luan Islands where the amazing limestone karst structures rise up out of the water! It is absolutely amazing! Upon arrival, we have a road transfer to a 2000 year old cave called Trung Trang. After visiting the cave we will board the vessel and make our way to Lan Ha Bay for time to swim and relax. Back on board, we have the option to join a traditional cooking class, in which the chef will instruct us in making of some traditional Vietnamese dishes. We then have dinner and will enjoy the landscape of Ha Long Bay, while relaxing and soaking up the views.

This morning you can sleep in or rise early to witness Ha Long bay at sunrise! After breakfast, we will continue our journey and head out among small, wooden rowing boats to explore the bay in the area where the Ao Ech is situated and enjoy some time exploring by sea-kayak. After the morning of activities, we will return to the boat to complete the check-out procedure and enjoy a delightful brunch and tea ceremony and then cruise back to port. We arrive at the quay on the south side of the Bay where we will disembark in the late morning. At the quay, we will meet our driver, begin the drive back to Hanoi and have lunch before arriving at our hotel. We have the afternoon free to do some last minute shopping and/or site seeing before gathering back for our celebratory dinner.

After breakfast, your Wildland guide will meet you in the hotel lobby for your transfer back to Noi Bai International Airport. We will ensure that you arrive in time for your flight back home or you can continue your adventure in Vietnam. We hope you have had an amazing time and thanks for choosing Wildland Trekking!