Discover North Vietnam and Laos

Option 1: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday – (Hanoi City Tour – Ethnology Museum)
07:40 – 8:30 Meet your tour guide at your suggested places around Hanoi Old Quarter.
– Start the trip with Tran Quoc pagoda, a Buddhist relic and national heritage lying on the West Lake.
– Visit Ho Chi Minh’s complex, the final resting place of Viet Nam’s greatest father; his house-on-stil and One pillar pagoda – modeled after a lotus flower, a symbol of Hanoi.
– Arrive Ethnology museum to learn about cultures of 54 ethnic groups living in Vietnam.
13:00 Have a rest and enjoy lunch in a local restaurant in Hanoi Old Quarter.
– Visit Temples of Literature constructed in 1070 – dedicated to Confucius, sages and talented scholars. It is the most famous temple in Hanoi, also functioning as Vietnam’s first university.
– Leave for a legendary Hoan Kiem lake and Ngoc Son Temple dedicated to a former general commander Tran Hung Dao for his struggle against Mongolians.
16:00 Arrive back in your hotel. Tour ends.

Option 2: Monday, Wednesday, Friday (Ha Noi City – Bat Trang Ceramics Village)
Bat Trang was known as a famous ceramic producing village formed in 14th century. The village is located near by the Red River which is close to Hanoi city. Bat Trang became the center of ceramic making because of the rich deposition of white clay. Whether you’re a browsing amateur art lover or a researching art historian, this tour will give you a comprehensive overview of 700 years of Vietnamese ceramic masterpieces.
07:45 – 08:30 Meet your tour guide at your suggested places around Hanoi Old Quarter.
– Start the trip with Tran Quoc pagoda, a Buddhist relic and national heritage lying on the West Lake.
– Visit Ho Chi Minh complex, the final resting place of Viet Nam’s greatest father; his house-on-stilt and One pillar pagoda – modeled after a lotus flower, a symbol of Hanoi.
– Visit Temple of Literature constructed in 1070 dedicating to Confucius, sages and scholars. It was also the first university of Viet Nam once.
12:30 Relax and have lunch at a local restaurant in Hanoi Old Quarter.
– Explore daily life of traditional ceramics village of Bat Trang. Visit showrooms and see how they model the products.
– Arrive legendary Hoan Kiem lake. Visit Ngoc Son Temple dedicated to Tran Hung Dao – General Commander for his struggle against Mongolians.

Optional: Cyclo Ride and Water Puppet Show

Morning, our tour guide and driver pick you up at the hotel to go to Pu Luong Nature Reserve. Short break in Luong Son (Outside of Hanoi). We stop at the local market of the Muong Ethnic Minority; enjoy the beautiful scenery of Thung Khe Pass (One of the 10 most beautiful passes in Vietnam).

At noon, we will arrive in Pu Luong Reserve nature. Check in and have lunch.

Afternoon, we start trekking trip in Pu Luong. Following the small road through the terrace rice and sugar cane fields, cross the Hanging Bridges to visit other remote rural villages of Thai Ethnic. Stop at the giant waterwheels, ducks farm to learn about the agriculture before getting on the Bamboo Raft for a relaxing cruise on Cham stream (cruise depending on weather conditions).

Transfer back to the hotel. Overnight in Pu Luong.

Have breakfast in the hotel. Enjoying the breathtaking view from the lodge. And then, trek following the small roads through the terrace rice fields and cross the stream to visit remote rural villages of Black Thai Minorities to learn about the local people in Pu Luong. Explore Doi Cave (Bat cave) of Kho Muong village, this is the largest cave in Pu Luong. (Depending on the weather condition)
Back to the hotel and check out.

Have lunch and transfer to Moc Chau plateau – Son La province. Upon arrival, check in hotel and free at leisure.

After breakfast, we transfer to admire picturesque Tea Fills in Moc Chau, visit a tea factory where you can see the procedure to have excellent Vietnam tea. Taste the tea or take part in a step of making tea.

And then, transfer to Dien Bien Phu. Stop and have short break at Pha Din pass – one of the big 4 mountain pass in Vietnam. Arrive in Dien Bien Phu small city, check in hotel and relax.

Early in the morning, we drive for an hour from Dien Bien Phu to the Vietnam–Laos border. After completing the formalities on the Vietnamese side, welcome by our Laos tour guide and then take a two hour ride down the mountain towards the Nam Ou River.

On reaching the small town of Muang Khua, we board a boat and stream down the Nam Ou River to Nong Kiaw. The river trip gives us a unique perspective on life in Laos, and especially on the life of those communities inhabiting the river banks and living off the river. For them, it is the main source of water for all purposes, a place for the cattle to drink, and, of course, a rich source of all kinds of fish. We may see children washing in the river, fishermen laying their nets, and traders in their small boats paddling from one village to the other, offering their goods for sale to the locals. Overnight in Nong Khiaw.

Free at leisure until to transfer to Luang Prabang. On the road to Luang Prabang we’ll take an excursion to visit the famous Buddha caves of Pak Ou and the Whiskey Village, Ban Xiang Hai.

Wake up early before dawn (around 5:00 am) to catch up with traditional alms giving ceremony. The unique and must-see activities in Laos.

In the early hours of the morning each day, as the sun is rising, the local Buddhist monks pad softly around the streets barefoot in single file, accepting gifts from the locals. All around the town, locals kneel down on the street, offering the monks gifts of rice, fresh fruit and sweets to contribute to their one meal of the day.

Transfer back to hotel for breakfast. Firstly, we explore local culture through the nearby morning market very popular for fresh vegetable, fish from the Mekong River, medicinal plant and other curiosity. And then, we visit Royal Palace, National Museum.

After lunch, we start to visit other famous sites in Luang Prabang including Wat Visoun (known as the ‘Watermelon Stupa’ on account of its spherical shape), Wat Mai and Wat Xieng Thong, which epitomizes all the elegance and grace of the city’s architecture.

The last point is Phousi mountain to enjoy sunset view before transfer back to hotel.

After breakfast, meet our guide at hotel lobby and transfer to Elephant Camp. When arrival, welcome greeting from camp manager and learn short story about elephants. Enjoy the impressive experience of elephant ride on the howdah (elephant seat) or on your elephant’s neck.

Have a short relax by walking around and playing with elephants before enjoy buffet lunch in Elephant Camp.

After lunch by your own expense, we take one hour journey by private car (~30 km) to beautiful Kuang Si Waterfall. Enjoy landscape and swimming on natural and clean small lakes there before back to Luang Prabang center.

After breakfast, we depart to Vang Vieng – the beautiful riverside town. Take around 4 hours en route before arrival in Vang Vieng. Have a lunch and short relax.

Afternoon is for kayaking tour and sunset view on Nam Song river. Transfer to the kayaking start point and do kayak downstream with support from local guide. This is also the best time to view sunset on the river.

After breakfast we make our way over the mountains to Xieng Khouang, the province which is best-known for having been heavily bombed during Indochina War. But, of course, it is also famous for the historic Plain of Jars. The journey takes about 8 hours and we can make some stops at villages to observe the rural life of local people, including ethnic minorities such as the Hmong people. Arrival in Phonsavanh, the capital of Xieng Khouang province, and check into your hotel.

After breakfast at hotel we drive over the plains to visit one of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage – the Plain of Jars site 1 before continuing to drive to the Plain of Jars 2. Here we have time to find out more about the still unclear history of the stone Jars here which dated back to about 2000 years ago. In the afternoon, we drive about 1 hour to visit Muang Khoun, the old capital of Xieng Khouang where we will see some ruins left over from the war.

Free at leisure until to transfer to the airport to take flight to Vientiane. Upon arrival in Vientiane, welcome by our tour guide and transfer to the hotel.

Today highlight is Evening Tour and Sunset Vientiane Foodie. Spend an evening exploring the Vientiane Night Market on this culinary excursion. After a convenient hotel pickup, experience this bustling open-air market on the banks of the Mekong River with a knowledgeable local guide. Get an insider’s view on the best food spots, enjoy an authentic complimentary dinner, and kick back with a cold Beer Lao.

After breakfast, meet our guide at the hotel lobby and start Vientiane discovery. Firstly, we transfer to visit Buddha Park – famous for being home to more than 200 religious statues, including a huge 40-meter Reclining Buddha image. And then, we visit Pha That Luang with its golden stupa – sympol of Laos.

After lunch time at local restaurant. we continue our trip to Wat Si Saket – which features remarkable frescoes and more than 6,000 Buddha images. Then steps to Wat Ho Phra Keo and Presidential Palace. After next stops at Wat Si Muang and That Dam – an old stupa whose gold covering was stolen by the Thai army during their 1828 invasion, we stop at the last site: Patuxai Victory Monument.

Day at leisure until to transfer to the airport to take your departure flight.