Vietnam Hiking: Contrasts between Ha Giang and Cat Ba

Hanoi arrival - Walks/Rest (D)

Upon arrival at Hanoi airport, you are welcomed by our guide, then direct transfer to the city center for the first visits of Vietnam's millennial capital.

Depending on your arrival time, you will visit different sites or stroll through Hanoi's Old Quarter to experience the daily life of the locals and take photos of the lively life in the Old Quarter.

Transfer and check-in at the hotel. Free time for rest or personal exploration of the area around your hotel.

Welcome dinner and overnight in Hanoi.

Hanoi – City tour (B/L/D)

After breakfast, day of visits and walks in Hanoi:
We begin the guided tours of the capital with the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex which dominates Ba Dinh Square, and his stilt house to better understand the life of a great man whose life was very modest.

The One Pillar Pagoda is famous for its original construction linked to an 11th-century legend.

Then visit the Temple of Literature dedicated to Confucius and his disciples, Vietnam's first university, which bears witness to Vietnam's feudal education.

In the afternoon, let's visit the Museum of Ethnology, the largest and most comprehensive museum of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups. A cyclo-pousse tour in the Old Quarter and its small shopping streets will allow us to discover the main points of interest of the Vietnamese capital.

At the end of the day, let's visit the Jade Temple in the middle of the Lake of the Restored Sword; the giant turtle in this temple tells us the legend of the lake born in the 15th century.

In the evening, water puppet show, a typical Vietnamese art form.

Dinner in a local restaurant and overnight at the hotel.

Hanoi – Pan Hou (B/L/D) – 6-hour drive

The French-speaking guide and driver will pick you up at the hotel around 8:00 AM and then you will drive towards Pan Hou (6-hour transfer).
En route, you will have the opportunity to visit the local market and enjoy stops for photos.

Upon arrival in Ha Giang territory, you will head towards Pan Hou and then prepare for the trek.

Overnight at Pan Hou Lodge.

Pan Hou – Thong Nguyen – Nam Hong (B/L/D) ~ 5 hours of walking

Breakfast at the hotel and departure for Thong Nguyen, for a trek to the village of Nam Hong. This first day of walking is a warm-up...

On the way, you will meet the first Red Zaos and Long-tunic Zaos who live on the surrounding heights; they always wear their traditional clothes.
The secluded valleys of North Tonkin that you will cross have seen successive populations of diverse origins settle there: Chinese, Tibeto-Burmese, Thai Kadai. In the afternoon, you will reach the Hamlet where you will spend the first night.

Dinner and overnight at a local's house.

Nam Hong – Nam Son (B/L/D) ~ 5 - 6 hours of walking

From Nam Hong, you will walk towards the Red Zao village of Khau Loa along a path that winds between terraced rice fields. You will stop under magnificent century-old tea trees before crossing the first bamboo forests.
You will take the time to appreciate this impressive landscape.

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

Dinner and overnight at a local's house.

Nam Son – Ho San (B/L/D) ~ 5 hours of walking

In the morning, trek towards the village of Ho San. You will meet a new ethnic minority, the Nungs, with whom you will stop for the night.

You are warmly welcomed by Lee's family in a large and beautiful stilt house.

Dinner and overnight at a local's house.

Ho San – Chien Thang (B/L/D) ~ 4h-5h of walking

Today, you will hike above a breathtaking landscape of rice fields, carved into the mountain of this high region. You will meet Nungs on the road, balancing on the mountain slopes, cultivating the land with their families to plant cassava or corn.

At the end of the day, you will arrive in the beautiful Red Zao village of Chien Thang to spend the night.

Dinner and overnight at a local's house.

Chien Thang – Trung Thanh (B/L/D) ~ 6 hours of walking

In the morning, you will make a great ascent of the Quan Ba pass. You will cross a high-altitude forest with tree ferns, ficus, and wild orchids that find the ideal climate and humidity to grow. At the pass, you will reach the highest point of your trek.

In the early afternoon, you will find a landscape of terraced rice fields on the northwest slope of the Massif.

Dinner and overnight at a local's house.

Trung Thanh – Dan Dien (B/L/D) ~ 5 hours of walking

The Trung Thanh region offers you a magnificent landscape. Intoxicated by these colors and smells, you will begin a descent between rice fields and small high-altitude forests to reach Dan Dien. You will be able to admire the beautiful erytreas with flamboyant red flowers whose roots are said to have the particularity of giving birth to springs.

Dinner and overnight at a local's house.

Dan Dien – Coc Pai – Hoang Su Phi – Pan Hou (B/L)

Departure in the morning towards the village of Coc Pai to meet the Hmongs fleuris, the Latchis and the Nungs who go to the Sunday market to exchange, buy essential goods or simply meet up.
After the small confidential market of Coc Pai, you will drive to the largest market in the region: from sugar loaves to incense sticks, from spices to Chinese pharmacopoeia, let your senses guide you!

Return to Pan Hou Lodge hotel for a relaxing evening

Pan Hou – Hai Phong (B/L) ~ 1-2 h walk

After breakfast, a day of travel on the road towards Hai Phong, a 7-hour journey.

Lunch on the way.

Stops for taking photos are planned. Arrival in Hai Phong at the end of the day.
You can enjoy the evening to freely discover the city.

Overnight at the hotel.

Hai Phong – Cat Ba (B/L) ~ 3 h walk

In the morning, around 9:20 am, you will take the speedboat to Cat Ba island (one hour).
Arrival in Cat Ba, junk cruise in Cat Ba Bay towards the entrance of the national park of the same name.
Free late afternoon dedicated to visiting the village before reaching your bungalow near the beach.

Overnight at a local's house.

Cat Ba – Ha Long (B/L/D)

You will embark on a private junk for a unique cruise in Lan Ha Bay, much less frequented and more authentic than the classic Halong Bay.
You will navigate through the maze of channels formed by the hundreds of sugar loaves present in the bay.
You will make a stop in a floating village then take the time to kayak in this unique environment. At the end of the day, you will board another junk where you will spend the night.

Overnight on board the Junk.

Ha Long Bay – Ha Noi (B/L) ~ 1-2 h walk

In the morning, you continue the cruise among the spectacular shapes of the limestone rocks. According to legend, the numerous islets are in fact the sinuosities of a dragon's body emerging from the water.

Disembarkation at Sung Sot cave where you will enjoy the white sand beach. In the late morning you will return to dry land in Halong.
Meet your driver and then hit the road for the return to Hanoi.

Overnight at the hotel