Arriving at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel. You’ll have time to relax after your journey. You’ll spend the night in Hanoi.

You’ll have the whole day to explore Vietnam’s capital city. Your guide will take you to the Temple of Literature, the first university in Vietnam dating back to the 11th century, and a popular attraction, as is Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, his simple stilt house where he lived and wworked, and the museum dedicated to his memory.

After lunch, you’ll drive to the excellent Ethnology Museum for an overview of Vietnam’s 54 distinct ethnic groups. Then you’ll visit Hoa Lo Prison – better known by captured US pilots as the ‘Hanoi Hilton’. You’ll also visit Hanoi Train Street, one of the most famous and adventurous tourist spots in Hanoi. This narrow street, hidden in one of Hanoi’s back alleys, is flanked by tall, closely packed houses. The railway, which runs through the backyards of these homes, sees trains passing by a few times each day. The bustling Old Quarter is a magnet for visitors, it’s noisy and hectic, but definitely a ‘must-see’ attraction. The Old Quarter is a maze of shopping streets and restaurants with a hotchpotch of architecture – traditional tube houses, religious buildings, artisfans’ workshops and cottages, colonial houses and modern concrete edifices.

In the evening, you’ll have tickets for a performance of traditional Water Puppetry (an art form unique to northern Vietnam, and a good, light-hearted introduction to its rural culture). You’ll spend the night in Hanoi.

After breakfast, you’ll drive to Mai Chau, passing through mountainous landscape on the way. You’ll have a stop en – route to have a soft break and photograph. Upon arrive in Mai Chau around noon, you’ll enjoy lunch. You’ll then spend your afternoon to cycle to authentic villages as Tong Dau, Na Tang, Cha Long where rarely visited by tourists. In the late afternoon, you’ll be driven to your lodge for overnight accommodation.  You’ll spend overnight in Mai Chau.

In the morning, you’ll be driven to Ninh Binh. Upon arrival, you’ll relax on a local rowboat trip in Tam Coc (three caves), a peaceful valley among limestone ‘karst’ hills, There, you’ll be rowed along a gentle river between paddy fields and through the caves.

You’ll come to a host family to enjoy a special lunch prepared by the home chef with the local cuisine featuring the yin-yang balance of the Asian culture.  In the afternoon, you’ll pick up your bike to ride along a scenic canal with walking around open rice fields and looking around at the amazing folds of the rock formations. You’ll have a chance to learn about Vietnamese agriculture and cycle through different villages and a unique area known for its magnificient limestone peaks. Then you’ll visit Mua Cave, the most beautiful place to view in Ninh Binh, where can see the city far from the standing in front of Tam Coc in back and the limestone mountain along to the south of Vietnam. In the late afternoon, you’ll be driven to your hotel in Ninh Binh for overnight. You’ll spend the nigfht in Ninh Binh.

After an early breakfast, you’ll leave for Ha Long Bay, one of the most spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Areas and the world’s largest marine limestone ‘karst’ landscape. There you’ll board a deluxe junk to take you round the Bay before stopping off at a beach on an island. Weather permitting, you’ll be able to swim, fish, and climb a hill (not a mountain!) for an overview of the Bay’s remarkable seascape. From there, you’ll continue your cruise to visit a fishing village – you’ll also have an opportunity to investigate one of the bay’s sea level caves in a small sampan or a kayak. Back on board, you can enjoy cocktails while watching the sunset. Later, unwind with a lavish dinner before an overnight stay on the board. The route is designed to avoid the busy areas and includes a very quiet location for your overnight stay.

You’ll wake in the fresh air on the bay with a swim and/or a Yoga or Taichi session on the large sundeck (beginners welcome!). After a light pastry and a tea or coffee for breakfast, you’ll dock to visit one of the most famous caves in the Bay. You’ll return to the junk for a brunch while cruising back to dock around noon whereupon you’ll be picked up back to Hanoi for overnight accommodation.

After breakfast, you’ll be free until your driver arrives to take you to Noi Bai airport for your departure flight home. End of services.