DAY 1: ARRIVAL IN HANOI

Meals: Not available

Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi

Upon arrival at Noi Bai airport, you are welcomed and greeted by Custom Asia Travel tour guide and taken to your hotel by private transfer. The rest of the day will be free to relax or explore at your own leisure. Overnight in Hanoi

DAY 2: HANOI CITY TOUR

Meals: Breakfast/ Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi

This day tour to learn about the capital city of VIetnam occupies your whole day with featured sites, including Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, his house-on-stilts, One Pillar Pagoda, Temple of Literature - Vietnam’s first university for the morning. Your lunch today is served at a restaurant in town with local tastes. In the afternoon, the tour continues with a visit to one of the following museums (you can pick the one you like): the Ethnology Museum, Army Museum, National Fine Arts Museum, Hanoi Hilton prison or Vietnam Women Museum). Followed by a short walk or a cyclo ride in the Old Quarter. End the day tour with a traditional Water Puppet show. Spend your second night in Hanoi.

DAY 3: HANOI - NINH BINH

Meals: Breakfast/ Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi

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Depart from your hotel in Hanoi early in the morning, the drive to Ninh Binh province takes you about 2,5 hours through the fertile land of the Red River Delta.

Arriving at Tam Coc boat dock, you will take a 2-hour sampan boat ride on a little river. This area is considered as “Inland Halong Bay” featured with karst formations. It is very beautiful scenery along the row as you will have a chance to view the sheer Limestone Mountains and rice paddy-fields at the sides. The local rowers will take you gently through three beautiful limestone tunnel-like caves with hundreds of stalactites above your heads. On your way back, get off the boat at Thanh station where you will embark on a short walk through the rice field and give a quick visit to a peaceful temple of Thai Vi. Walk back to the center for a Vietnamese lunch at a restaurant.

In the afternoon, you will jump on a bike for a stunning ride along the back roads through the beautiful scenery of towering karsts on the ground of ponds, rice paddies and rural villages in the area.

On the bike, you are able to have as many stops as you want to take photographs. One of the stops is Bich Dong Pagoda. The pagoda is an important religious place for the locals in the region. It comprises three structures: Ha (Low), Trung (Middle), and Thuong (Upper) pagodas in ascending order at the side of a rocky mountain. We will take a slow hike up to visit the three structures. Besides learning about the local belief, you will get a beautiful view when you reach the highest one. Thence, pedal back to where you started to end the ride.

About 3:30 PM, get back on your private vehicle and return to Hanoi.

DAY 4: HANOI - SAPA

Meals: Breakfast/ Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Sapa

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This morning, you will depart Hanoi in the early morning (about 7.30 AM). Traveling to Sapa is on the HW Noi Bai – Lao Cai. This is the longest highway in Vietnam. The scenic drive from the Red River Delta, through the midland to Lao Cai province, will be a good start for your forthcoming destination. Arriving in Sapa by noon. Have lunch at a restaurant in town and check in to the hotel for a short rest and refresh. The rest of the afternoon is spent on a short trek to Taphin Valley of the Black H’mong and the Red Yao minorities. The trek is just 3.5 km through the rice terraced fields but it will offer you a beautiful view.

(The alternative accommodation can be at a local homestay at the end of your trek.)

DAY 5: SAPA - HANOI

Meals: Breakfast/ Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Phnom Penh

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This morning, after your breakfast, we will embark on a soft trek to visit Muong Hoa Valley. The trek offers you a great scenery over the large valley which is decorated by amazing rice terraces and dotted by many villages of the Black H'mong ethnic group. Along the trek, the tour guide will help you learning about the daily life of the locals while admire the beauty of the landscape. Back to Sapa for lunch before your long drive back to Hanoi. Arrive in Hanoi in the early evening.

Included Meals: Breakfast/ Lunch

Hotel in Hanoi

DAY 6: HANOI – CAT BA ISLAND – HALONG BAY

Meals: Breakfast/ Lunch/ Dinner

Accommodation: Overnight on boat

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As usual, breakfast is served at your hotel.

The morning transfer from Hanoi takes you to the coast. Upon arrival at Ben Binh port, Haiphong city, get aboard a public speed boat to Cat Ba Island. The ride is 1 hour approximately. Take a short rest at a café in Cat Ba town while waiting to embark on your private boat which starts around 12:00 PM.

Once you are aboard, enjoy the welcome drink before checking into your lovely cabins. The cruise starts with a smooth move through a floating fishing village.

Lunch is served while you are gently winding through the beautiful landscape of Lan Ha.

After lunch, you will arrive at Vung Kiem Lam area where you will get off the boat for padding your kayaks through tunnel-like caves and discover the hidden lakes and swimming off your kayak. In this area, if you are lucky enough, you may witness some monkeys or other types, called Cat Ba langur (primate species).

Get back on your boat and carry on the cruise to Cha Bau area. This is a remote corner of the World Heritage.

Get the anchor dropped as you are spending the night here.

Take more swim off the boat or just relax on the open deck while waiting for your fresh dinner.

DAY 7: HALONG BAY – LAN HA BAY

Meals: Breakfast/ Lunch/ Dinner

Accommodation: Overnight on boat

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Wake up early for the sunrise and fresh air from the top deck if you wish otherwise you are able to remain on the bed until breakfast time (around 8:00 AM).

After breakfast, continue on your cruising discovery of Halong Bay (From Rang Dua area to Ngon Tay Islet.)

Turning backward to Lan Ha Bay for the rest of the morning. The boat will stop by Ba Trai Dao beaches for you to take a swim before lunch.

In the afternoon, transfer to Viet Hai dock where you will embark on a scenic cycling ride into a part of the national park, visit Viet Hai village, the only community allowed to remain in the park’s protected area. View the daily of the villagers and get some local interactions with the assistance of your guide if there is a chance.

Ride back to the boat and head to the night place in Lan Ha Bay. More swimming time available if you wish.

DAY 8: CAT BA ISLAND – HANOI

Meals: Breakfast/ Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi

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This morning, after breakfast. The junk will be meandering in between the sheer cliffs toward Monkey Island whose beach is sandy and ideal for the last swim. Here, the guide will hike you up to a viewpoint on a mountain. From there, you can get a beautiful bird-view from the high. Get back on the boat and get ready for the brunch. Check out of your cabin (10:00 AM) on the way back to Beo Wharf.

11:30: Disembarkation at Ben Beo Wharf.

The afternoon hydrofoil ride takes you back to the mainland for the return road trip to Hanoi. Check back into your Hanoi hotel on arrival.

DAY 9: HANOI –SIEM REAP

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel in Siem Reap

Breakfast at the hotel as usual. This morning is free at leisure before transferring to the airport for the flight to Siem Reap.

Upon arrival at Siem Reap, you will be greeted and welcomed by our local guide and driver. Check-in and take it easy for the rest of your day.

DAY 10: SIEM REAP (LOCAL LIFE & TONLE SAP LAKE)

Meals: Breakfast/ Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Siem Reap

Drive to the edge of the Tonle Sap Lake and embark on a cruise to Kompong Phluk, an isolated Khmer community of three villages built on wooden stilts. The community has about 3,000 inhabitants who farm fish and vegetables on floating platforms.

During your visit, your boat will take you through mangrove forests, a unique ecosystem that survives on flooded soil for months. Mangroves are also hosts for a variety of wildlife; keep an eye out for birds and especially the crab-eating macaques!

Please Note: Due to low water levels during the dry season, the boat trip is only possible from June to March.

Continue your drive to a small village called Chansar.  Stop just outside the village and hop aboard an ox cart for a fun ride through the fields and to the home of a Khmer family who specializes in making brooms.  Enjoy a simple Khmer lunch followed by more activities or just spend time chatting with the locals. Funds from your tour go directly to the community to improve the lives of the people. On the way back to Siem Reap, stop at a Buddhist temple to receive a blessing from the monks.

DAY 11: SIEM REAP VISIT

Meals: Breakfast/ Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Siem Reap

Start your day of discovery with a visit to Angkor Thom from its South Gate. The first thing that amazes you are the statues of the gods of the good and evil line the entrance. Your next stop is Bayon, known for the hundreds of smiling faces that grace its towers. The bas reliefs are quite impressive and tell stories of daily life and the great battles that were fought between the Khmers and ancient Thais. Move on to Phimeanakas, shaped a bit like a pyramid with two ponds in the rear. The ponds were once used for religious rituals but today serve as swimming pools for Khmer kids. Walk to the top of the temple for impressive views of the Angkor complex.

See the rows of trunks that form the wall of the Terrace of the Elephants, a platform from which King Jayavarman surveyed his army. Close by is the Terrace of Leper Kings, which includes a statue depicting Yana, the Hindu god of death.

Then it’s a short drive to one of the most loved temples of all - Ta Prohm. This small crumbling temple is held together by giant tree roots giving it a magical feel.

Return to Siem Reap for lunch and to escape the hot sun. Later in the afternoon explore magnificent Angkor Wat, the world’s largest religious monument. This visually spectacular temple is a massive three-tiered pyramid, rising 65 meters from the ground and crowned by five lotus towers. It’s the national symbol of Cambodia and proudly appears on the country’s flag.

DAY 12: DEPARTURE FROM SIEM REAP

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Not available

Free at leisure or doing some last shopping if you have time before getting picked up and transferred to the airport for your onward flight.