Highlights of Vietnam & Angkor Wat 13 Days/ 12 Nights

With 13 days from the North of Vietnam to Central you can have change to visit Hanoi which is the Capital of Vietnam. It’s the political, economic, cultural, commercial and touristic centre of the country, then moving to Halong is one of the new seven wonder in the world with more than one thousand islands.

Destinations

• Hanoi City, Halong Bay, Sapa Town
• Hue, Danang & Hoian
• Siem Reap - Angkor Wat

Highlights

• Traditional junk  on Halong Bay
• Visiting ethnic minority in Sapa
• Cooking class in Hoian
• Ancient ruins of Angkor Wat

Brief itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive Hanoi

Day 2: Hanoi City tour (B/L/-)

Day 3: Hanoi – Halong (B/L/D)

Day 4: Halong – Hanoi (B/L/-)

Day 5:  Lao Cai - Sapa (B/L/-)

Day 6:  Sapa – Lao Chai – Tavan –Lao Cai – O/n on the train (B/L/-)

Day 7: Hanoi – Hue (B/)

Day 8: Hue - Danang - Hoian (B/L/-)

Day 9: Hoian (B/L/-)

Day 10: Hoi An – Danang – Siemreap (B/D/-)  

Day 11: Siemreap (B/L/D)

Day 12: Siem reap (B/L/D)

Day 13: Siemreap departure (B/-/-)

Day 1: Arrive Hanoi

Welcomed by driver at Noi Bai Airport ( Ha noi ) and transfer to hotel. The rest of your time is at leisure before starting your trip the next day. Dinner will be arranged on your own to have your leisure time, overnight at hotel in Hanoi.

Day 2: Hanoi City tour (B/L/-)

Today, we have full-day tour of Vietnam’s capital city. You will visit the house on - stilts of Ho Chi Minh

 (this is where our uncle Ho spent the rest of his life ) and the One Pillar Pagoda ( it was constructed in 1049) and the Litterature Temple ( a habitual symbol of Hanoi ), the Museum of Ethnology. After lunch, pay a visit to the Hoan Kiem Lake with its Ngoc Son temple. Continue to visit the Old Quarter of Hanoi by cyclo.  Enjoy a kind of traditional Vietnamese stage-art: a Water Puppet Show in the evening, overnight at hotel in Hanoi.

Day 3: Hanoi – Halong (B/L/D)

Your guide with your driver will come to pick you up at your hotel about 8.00 am and take you to Halong bay. Enjoy the journey through the scenery of rice fields, water buffalo and daily village life of the Red River Delta. Arrive in Halong we will embark on the boat for a cruising amongst the stunning Halong bay. We visit the cave and explore countless ilsands rising out from the emerald water. We visit the beach and have opportunity to swim, diner and overnight on the junk boat.

Day 4: Halong – Hanoi (B/L/-)

7h00:     Have tea – breakfast.

8h00:     Visit Luon cave on small bamboo boat, and then cruise to pass so that tourists can have a look Man’s head island, Tortoise Island from the Junks.

9h00: Arrange luggage and check-out.

9h30: Set brunch (breakfast and lunch).

11h00: Arrival Halong wharf. Transfer to Hanoi arounf 16:00 pm. You are free to relax until around 18:00 pm transfer to station for night train to Sapa, overnight on train.

Day 5:  Lao Cai - Sapa (B/L/-)

Arrive at Lao Cai Station at 06.00. Sapa town is about 40 km from Lao Cai, arrival in Sapa and leave your luggage at the hotel. We will have breakfast and embark on a lovely walk to Cat Cat stream and waterfall, visit Cat Cat village of the Black H'Mong to explore their routine life, walk around the village to enjoy the scenery of forests and continue to Sinchai village where we enjoy folk music by local people. Return to Sapa, at leisure and overnight at hotel in Sapa.

Day 6:  Sapa – Lao Chai – Tavan –Lao Cai – O/n on the train (B/L/-)

After breakfast we will take a jeep along the valley to Rose Garden. From here we will trek into the verdant villages and rice field to Lao Chai and Tavan villages. Ta Van is the village in northern Vietnam inhabited by the colourfully-dressed Dzay ethnic minority. Opportunity to learn and see H’mong people working with natural weaving and dying .This village is supposed to be one of the most beautiful areas in these regions. Your car will pick you up at Tavan and take you back to Sapa Lunch, afternoon walk to Hamrong Mountain for a birth eye view to Moung Hoa valley and Fansipan Mountain, transfer to Lao Cai station for night train back to Hanoi at 21.15, overnight on soft sleeper train.

Day 7: Hanoi – Hue (B/)

Arrive in Hanoi about 6.00 am.  Transfer to the hotel for breakfast and shower. The rest of your time is at leisure until transfer to the airport for afternoon flight to Hue. Free at leisure, overnight at hotel in Hue.

Day 8: Hue - Danang - Hoian (B/L/-)

This morning, we will have a boat trip to on Perfume River to visit Thien Mu pagoda. Continuing our way to will visit the Tombs of Kings Tu Duc and Khai Dinh. After lunch, we depart by car for Danang via the scenic Hai Van Pass (or the Pass of Ocean Clouds). The road passes by vivid green fields of rice. Stop at Lang Co beach. Before arriving to Danang, you will visit the Non Nuoc beach (famous as the China beach). Upon arrival in Danang, transfer to Cham Museum where reserves the biggest collection on the history and culture of the Cham Pa Kingdom which ended at the 16th century to view some of the best-preserved statues, overnight at the hotel.

Day 9: Hoian (B/L/-)

We leave Hoian early in the morning and drive to Myson. Enjoy the peaceful beautiful scenery of Myson valley and mountain.  Visit the My Son sancturary, one of the most stunning sights in the Hoi An area. It is about 40 km from Hoi An. My Son was the site of the most important Cham intellectual and religious centre during the centuries when Tra Kieu( then known as Simhapura ) served as the political of Champa. Though some of the monuments were destroyed by the war or thieves, but what remains is still considerable. Many of the structures are overgrown with dense vegetation but you can get inside some of them, back to Hoian for lunch. Afternoon you will visit the ancient town and explore the old port town's narrow cobblestone streets. Pay a visit to historic sites including the traditional Chinese trading houses and the 400-year-old Japanese Covered Bridge, at leisure for shopping or enjoying the charming township of Hoian, overnight at hotel in Hoi An.

Day 10: Hoi An – Danang – Siemreap (B/D/-)

Free at leisure until transfer to airport for flight to Siem Reap. Pick up from the airport and transfer to the hotel check in. The same afternoon, drive to Choueng Kneas village, where you will take the boat to visit the way of life Cambodian poor people along with schools, restaurants, hospitals and much more floating on the great lake of Tonle Sap. Overnight at hotel in Siem Reap

Day 11: Siemreap (B/L/D)

Breakfast at the hotel - Breakfast at hotel, Heading out of town we make our way by traveling on a newly paved road to the intricately carved and well preserved temple of Banteay Srei. Along the way we make stopover at the Preah Dark village and we follow these with a visit the Banteay Samre Temple adorned with impressive relief’s depicting scenes of Vishunu as well as Krishna legends. Afternoon, we explore the jungle covered temple of Ta Prohm is an incredible sight. There are enormous fig trees and gigantic creepers which embrace themselves in the stone foundations of the structure giving the impression of man's creation being reclaimed by the powerful forces of nature. We also explore The grand circuit with Preah Khan, Kravan, Neak Pean, Krol Ko, Ta Som, East Mebon and Pre Rup Temples where we will view the sunset for the end of the day. Overnight at hotel in Siem Reap

Day 12: Siem reap (B/L/D)

An early bird special: Transfer to Angkor for sunrise earlier in the morning. Return for breakfast at the hotel. Continue your visit to the wondrous ancient ruins with the South Gate of Angkor Thom, which is famous for its series of colossal human faces carved in stone, the impressive Bayon Temple, the Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas, the Elephant Terrace, the Terrace of the Leper King and the largest as well as the most complete temple of Angkor Wat. This architectural masterpiece was constructed in the 12th century and covers an area of about 210 hectares. We stroll around this massive edifice, seeing the many galleries with Colums, libraries, pavilions, courtyards and ponds full of water reflecting the towering temple. Early evening, you will be taken by Tuk Tuk, a small open-sided taxi common in Cambodia, to cruise around the suburb of Siem Reap town and for a blessing ceremony by Buddhist monks for happiness, prosperity and safety for your journey

Day 13: Siemreap departure (B/-/-)

After breakfast, take a walk along the road in front of the King’s Residence to see the Main Shrine, where the local people usually worship, with its statue of Yeay Teap, Preah Ang Chek and Preah Ang Chorm. Buying jasmine and lotus flowers to worship is very important for the Cambodians. We continue to one of the city’s lively open markets, Psar Chars, also called the “Old Market”, surrounded by elegant French Colonial colonnades! Then continue to Wat Bo, a large, highly respected pagoda, founded in the 18th Century. Like the Silver Pagoda in Phnom Penh, the vihear of Wat Bo contains unique wall paintings of the Reamker that are said to be late 19th Century. Look for the daily-life market scenes such as an opium smoking Chinese merchant, the colonial era French officer at the market and the French soldiers attending a traditional dance performance. Also of interest is the large collection of Buddha statues located behind the main Buddha. Transfer to the airport for the flight departure

Accommodation:

Trip includes

• All accommodation on double/twin  basis with daily breakfast
• Meals as indicated (B = breakfast; L = Lunch; D = Diner). Special requirements (vegetarian, diet etc.) could be arranged upon request
• All transfers/ transport
• Tours with entrance fees, boat cruise, transfers and  English speaking during guided time
• Train ticket round trip: Hanoi – Laocai - Hanoi

Trip excludes

• International airfares & airport taxes
• Pre/post trip arrangement
• Visa and visa arrangement
• Travel insurance
• Meals not indicated
• Other personal expenses
• Tips and gratuities