Photographer's tour in Haut Tonkin

Hanoi arrival / walks and rest (D)

Arrival in Hanoi
After formalities, a dedicated driver (without a guide) will pick you up at the airport for a direct transfer to the hotel to drop off your luggage.
Rooms are only available around noon.
While waiting for room availability, you can take walks in the city for photos and first discoveries.

Meet at the hotel at 6:30 PM for a welcome dinner at a local restaurant, depending on your arrival time.
Overnight in Hanoi

Hanoi / visits, discoveries, walks and photos on site (B,L)

Breakfast.
Meet at 08:00 AM with the guide for a day of visits and walks to sites for photos:

Visit the Temple of Literature, the entire Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex (exterior) + One Pillar Pagoda, Tran Quoc Pagoda (for beautiful photos)

Lunch with Hanoi specialty (Cha ca)

In the afternoon, a discovery walk through Dong Xuan market for beautiful photos of Hanoi's small streets, and then a walk along Long Bien Bridge (Paul Doumer), built by Gustave Eiffel for beautiful photos on the Red River.

Sunset on this bridge if the day allows with the sun

A beautiful walk towards Long Bien Bridge (or called Paul Doumer bridge during the French era) and a look into the "Train Street" area. Return to the hotel for rest. Dinner at leisure. Overnight at the same hotel

Hanoi - Ban Giuong (Phuc Hoa) / walks and discovery (B,L,D) 230km ~ 5h drive without stops

After breakfast,
Meet at 08:00 AM for departure to the mountains through Lang Son and Cao Bang provinces. The road is superb, crossing beautiful landscapes.
A stop for visits and photos of a beautiful Bo Da pagoda where only Buddhist stupas are found

Lunch stop en route and arrival at Giuong village around 3:00 PM - a very poor village inhabited by Tay ethnic groups.
Visiting this magnificent authentic village is an opportunity for ethnic encounters and exchanges with locals.

Note, as it is important, that you will still be among the first foreign tourists to discover this site and immerse yourself in local life (this is an exceptional new discovery by our Agency, which we offer exclusively).

Living conditions are still very wild, it smells of animals…

Dinner and overnight at a homestay.

Note that this night, you will sleep in the poorest village of Tonkin, in a very simple stilt house, equipped with a small mattress, a sheet, a mosquito net and a fan, to show you a hard life in a corner of Vietnam, where you can smell the countryside everywhere, the smells of animals and especially the local noises coming from these animals. And this helps you to better understand the real local life and a good way to be close to the people.

The idea is to make a Solidarity Photo Trip where we will help the village to develop and eventually bring them a new European civilization for the future generation.

Phuc Hoa / rural activities and discovery (B,L,D)

Morning, very local Vietnamese breakfast (either before or after rural activities with villagers, we adapt to the day's conditions).

We follow the locals to do rural activities according to the season: (planting vegetables, or picking, or harvesting rice or corn or etc...) to help them or take photos yourself during the day's activities. Simple lunch at midday rest

Afternoon, we continue activities and then rest, discovery or photos in the village. Evening and dinner in the same village

Phuc Hoa - Ban Gioc Waterfall / visits and walks (B,L,D) 150km ~ 3h without stops

Morning, local Vietnamese breakfast at homestay.

En route to Ban Gioc waterfall (about 4 hours drive), a beautiful spot for photos where you can take photos all day for this site.
A discovery stop at Nguom Ngao cave and other ethnic villages along the road
Ideal site for photos and a refreshing nature break.

Dinner at a local restaurant and overnight in a Tay ethnic family Homestay in the Ban Gioc area

Note that all standard Vietnamese hotels (Guest House, 2* Hotel or even 3* hotels) are poorly equipped and very simple in comfort.

Mattresses are quite hard, not like in France, because they are equipped for tropical temperatures

Ban Gioc - Phia Thap / visits and walks (B,L,D) 80km ~ 1h30 without stops

Morning, Vietnamese breakfast at the restaurant next to the hotel, accompanied by Vietnamese coffee or green tea.

Early discovery of Ban Gioc waterfall for several different spots for beautiful photos.

Departure for Phia Thap village via beautiful mountainous landscapes with stops for visits and photos in ethnic villages: Khuoi Son for beautiful photos. Lunch at a local restaurant.

Discovery of Phia Thap village upon arrival. Dinner and overnight at homestay

Phia Thap / rural activities and discovery (B,L,D)

Morning, breakfast at homestay (either before or after rural activities with villagers, we adapt to the day's conditions).

We can change the program on site to go to the sugarloaf areas towards Ta Lung or Tra Linh for photos, depending on what you want and the day's temperature.

We follow the locals to do rural activities according to the farming season:

planting vegetables, or harvesting, or transplanting rice, or harvesting rice or corn or etc …

or learning to make incense sticks from leaves

or learning drilling in Phuc Sen village. Simple lunch

In the afternoon, we continue with activities and then rest or discover or take photos in the village. Dinner and overnight at the same house

Phia Thap - Black LoLo / visits and discovery - Dong Van (B,L,D) 210 km ~ 5h non-stop

Breakfast at the homestay, en route to Dong Van, a district in the far North of Vietnam via beautiful mountainous landscapes and beautiful passes.

A stop for visits and encounters at the Black Lo Lo ethnic village, well-known since the "En terre inconnue" report. Lunch en route

Continue the road to Dong Van via Meo Vac, a beautiful place, and then you will reach the most beautiful pass in Vietnam "Ma Pi Leng" with photo stops from the Summit

Arrival in Dong Van, direct transfer to the hotel for rest and then dinner and overnight in Dong Van.

Dong Van / Ethnic market, weekly fair, visits and walks (B,L,D)

Breakfast,
you follow the ethnic groups to Dong Van for a weekly market, a fair that takes place once a week, the Dong Van market only on Sundays. Lunch at a local restaurant

In the afternoon, a walk in the suburban village for photos and ethnic encounters. Dinner and overnight at the hotel

Dong Van / visits - Ha Giang / ethnic village on the outskirts of Ha Giang city - Thon Tha village (B,L,D) 150km ~ 3h non-stop

After lunch,
Meeting at 08:00 for the road to Ha Giang city with stops for visits and photos in ethnic villages:

Visit the Hmong King's Palace (Dinh Vua Meo), dating back nearly 100 years.

Visit Pho Bang village, which mainly houses members of the Hoa ethnic group, immigrants from China. Lunch at a local restaurant

Continue the road to Ha Giang passing through Quan Ba pass with a photo stop at the summit, allowing you to admire the town of Quan Ba with the famous Fairy Twin Mountains (Nui Co Tien).

At the exit of Quan Ba town, you will enter Thon Tha village on the outskirts of Ha Giang towards the end of the day. Dinner and overnight at homestay

Vehicle journey: 150 km

Thon Tha Village / walks – Hoang Su Phi / walks (B,L,D) 90km ~ 2h00 non-stop

After lunch at the homestay, a walk in the village for encounters and photos.

Possible to have sunrise if the weather permits.

En route to the Hoang Su Phi area where you will see magnificent terraced rice fields. Lunch at a local restaurant

Arrival at Nam Hong village, you take an hour (or more, it depends on what you want to do for photos) of walks in the villages for photos before arriving at Pan Hou resort, located in the middle of a village and next to a spring. Dinner and overnight at Pan Hou Resort

Hoang Su Phi / walks, discovery and photos on site (B,L,D)

After lunch,
Meeting at 08:00 for a day of photos on site following the beaten paths from Nam Hong village, you will walk towards the Red Zao village of Khau Loa along a path that winds between the terraced rice fields. You will stop under magnificent century-old tea trees before crossing the first bamboo forests.

Lunch at homestay or picnic depending on your time for photos.

You will take the time to appreciate this impressive landscape.

The Ban Le waterfall provides a refreshing stop before resuming the walk towards Nam Son village.

The vehicle awaits you and takes you back to the same hotel. Dinner and overnight at the same hotel

Hoang Su Phi - Hanoi  (B,L)  270km ~ 6h non-stop

After breakfast, a day of travel with many photo stops in ethnic villages. Lunch en route

Arrival in Ha Noi, direct transfer to the hotel for rest

Evening and dinner free and overnight in Hanoi

Hanoi / free – Departure (B)

Breakfast included,
Free day, and check out of your room around noon.
Meeting with the sole driver (without guide) at the hotel for transfer to the airport for the return flight