Day 1: Hanoi arrival – Free and easy – night in Hanoi

Hoan Kiem Lake – The Heart of Hanoi

Vietnam Authentic Travel welcomes you to Hanoi, Vietnam’s bustling colonial capital.

Get picked up at the airport for 40 minutes drive to your hotel in the city center for check-in (Early check-in subjects to availability)

You will be free and easy to explore Hanoi on your own.

Hanoi is a capital of thousand years of civilization with ancient relics, peaceful life. If you have been traveling to Hanoi, you can certainly not forget the typical atmosphere here, with Sword Lake, West Lake, cafes, small streets and street vendors. The people are elegant and civilized. Hanoi is not only famous for its beautiful landscapes and delicious foods, the Hanoi people also have their own distinctive characters, which are charm, elegance and sophistication in every speech and gesture. That is why you should Travel Hanoi at least once in your lifetime

Night at hotel in Hanoi

Day 2: Hanoi – Ninh Binh day tour – night in Hanoi

Option 1: Hoa Lu – Tam Coc – Bich Dong

Boat tour in Tam Coc

Around 8:00 meet our tour guide at our hotel lobby and start 02 hours road trip down to Ninh Binh province. Around 10:30am, you will arrive at Hoa Lu Ancient Capital.

In Hoa Lu, there are now 2 temples have been built on the ground of the old royal palace, one is dedicated to King Dinh Tien Hoang, the other is to King Le Dai Hanh. This visit offers a chance to know more about part of feudal dynasties in Vietnamese history, as well as the old feudal architecture of Vietnam Temples.

11:30 Leave Hoa Lu to Tam Coc at around 12:00pm.

Have lunch in Tam Coc in a local restaurant.

13:30 You will take a 5 minute-walk to the boat station and start the 2hour-boat trip to visit Tam Coc (you will sit on a sampan boat with local rower). Known as “Halong Bay on land”, Tam Coc are three limestone caves stretching along Ngo Dong river. The boat trip is a nice journey along the river with peaceful scenery of limestone mountains, rice paddy and the site of some temples along the way from Hang Ca (first cave) to Hang Hai (second cave) and Hang Ba (third cave).

Continue with short bicycle ride in Tam Coc area to discover the life of local ,this is a best area for bikers who like to experience new lands with peaceful scenery, ride to Bich Dong pagoda nearby and climb up the mountain to have a wonderful perspective view.

16:00 Leave Tam Coc and drive back to Hanoi.

You will arrive back to your hotel at around 18:30.

Option 2: Trang An – Bai Dinh Pagoda

Boat tour in Trang An

8h00: Get picked up by guide and car at hotel for 2 hours road trip via High Way 1 to Ninh Binh, this journey goes through Red River Delta with lush rice fields and villages and towns.

10h00: Arriving Trang An- Eco Tourism In 2 hours boat trip you will be surprised by the beauty of this landscape that seems as Halong Bay on land. The bamboo boat will take you through many amazing caves. Besides that, tourists have chance to visit King Kong Island. Kong: Skull Island is a US blockbuster filmed in 2016 with many scenes in Vietnam landscapes such as: Trang An, Van Long natural reserve, Tam Coc, Bich Dong (Ninh Binh), Halong bay (Quang Ninh) and Phong Nha (Quang Binh). Kong: Skull Island has become the record king of the Vietnam box office as it has beaten all previous records to become the highest grossing movie of all time.

12h15: Enjoy lunch at local restaurant with many traditional local foods

13h15: Visiting Bai Dinh Pagoda– the biggest pagoda in South-East Asia. Bai Dinh Pagoda Spiritual and Cultural Complex is a complex of Buddhist temple on Dinh Mountain in Gia Vien District, Ninh Binh province. The compound consists of the original old pagoda and newly created larger pagoda. It is considered the largest complex of Buddhist pagoda in Viet Nam and has become a popular site for Buddhist pilgrimages from across Viet Nam.

15h30: Says good bye Ninh Binh and go back Hanoi

17h30-18h00: Finish your unforgettable trip at your hotel in Hanoi

Night at hotel in Hanoi

Day 3: Hanoi – Halong Bay cruise – night on boat

Enjoy luxury night on cruise

After breakfast at the hotel, your guide and driver will pick you up around 8.00 am and transfer to Ha Long Bay, this four hours drive will take you through the Red River Delta, with lots of countryside on the way so you can see and smell rural life in Vietnam.

Plenty of chance to take photos of Vietnamese farmers, working with water buffalo and cows on the vast green paddy field. At half way, we will have a visit to a handicraft workshop with fine clothes and embroidered paintings.

Welcome drink – receive cruise briefing, safety instructions and check in. Start cruising and explore Halong Bay – one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.

Enjoy lunch with Vietnamese dishes served while cruising through the bay, passing the most beautiful and quiet areas, such as Incense Burner, Dog Stone Islet, Fighting Cock, …

Explore the Surprising Cave – Sung Sot Cave – the most beautiful cave in Ha long Bay. It is one of the widest grottoes in Ha Long Bay with thousands of stalactites and stalagmites.

Visiting the beautiful Ti Top beach for swimming, Ti Top Beach is especially famous for its fresh atmosphere, clean water, and smooth white sand that create a great ambiance for tourists to relax or passengers can take steps to reach on the top of Ti Top Mountain to have a whole panorama view of Halong Bay.

Back to the boat, you will be able to join a cooking class or a sunset cocktail party before dinner time. The evening is free at your leisure or you can join a squid fishing trip with the crew.

Spend the night on cruise 

Day 4: Halong bay cruise – Hanoi – night in Hanoi

Amazing limestone cave at Halong

The day starts early onboard with Tai Chi session on the sundeck. Tai chi also called Tai chi chuan, combines deep breathing and relaxation with slow and gentle movements. Coffee, tea and pastries for breakfast are served in the dining room with morning view of bay’s landscape.

Continue your cruise pass through the Bay, passing Ba Hang fishing village, Dog Islet, and here you can go for kayaking around the floating village to explore the local life.

Sitting on the upper deck we can enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the rocky islands rising from the crystal-clear water of the Bay.

Have a brunch while cruising back to the Tuan Chau Wharf. Relaxing on the sundeck or in the dining room enjoying the bay scenery while approaching the wharf.

Disembark to Tuan Chau Wharf. Say goodbye to the crew.

Arrive back to your hotel in Hanoi around 16h30

Night at hotel in Hanoi

Day 5: Hanoi free and departure

Shopping in the Old Quarter

Today is your last day in Hanoi, we will arrange free time you to stroll around the Hanoi Old Quarter and Dong Xuan Market. Take this chance to experience our beautiful capital city and buy some small souvenirs for your family and friends.

Shopping in Hanoi is first class, a cornucopia of local and international goods that fulfill any shopaholic’s wildest dreams. At a more relaxed pace than the fevered browsing in Saigon and other Asian metropolises, shopping in Hanoi allows you take your time to find the perfect piece to bring home. The clothing scene is limited, especially for foreign sizes, but specialty outlets cater to silk lovers, fashionistas and casual browsers alike.

For those who wish to blend in with the locals, try a custom tailored ao dai, an elegant tunic that leaves just enough to the imagination. For all your shopping needs in Hanoi, head first to the Old Quarter, a maze of colonial streets that houses every product under the sun. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, you’re sure to find something better!

3 hours before your departure flight, you will be picked up for transfer to Noi Bai International Airport for your flight back home or other country.