Our knowledge was based on our friends that had made a positive experience with Amo Travel so that we could confirm. Patience, availability combined with professionalism are the qualities that we have been able to verify during the preparation of the trip and during our trip. We was very satisfied … Thank you!!!
Group of : Family of Mr Ronchini (10 people)
Travel Date: 18/9/2014 – 7/10/2014
Here is the review on TripAdvisor!
DETAILED ITINERARY
Day 1: Depart from Italia
Day 2: Hanoi Arrival – Museum of ethnology – Street food tour (B/L/-)
Upon your arrival, your guide and driver would be ready to welcome you right at the arrival lounge of Noi Bai international airport. Your guide would debrief for you about the whole trip itinerary, and eager to respond to all of your wonderings.
For the rest of the day, you will visit Museum of ethnology. After that you return to your hotel to check-in and relax before taking part in tour: Food on Food
You would have the full day to explore the charm of Vietnam’s capital.
Morning:
9 am: Your guide and driver would wait for you at the lounge of the hotel.
You would be taken to highlight sites of Hanoi: the Presidential Palace (formerly Palace of the Governor-General of French Indochina), Ho Chi Minh house-on-stilt, One-Pillar Pagoda. You may also have chance to visit Vietnam’s very first university dated back in the 11th century. It is well-known in Vietnam for a combination of Confucian sanctuary and academy clearly proved by stone tablets which you may see.
Afternoon:
After having lunch at a nice restaurant, upon your request, we would plan to visit Hanoi History Museum or the Museum of Ethnology – the space just for you to spot past events and turning points of Vietnam people along with the identity of 54 recognized ethnic groups of this S-shaped country.
Following by the Old Quarter Walking tour, you would have time at Café Giang for some bitter sweet coffee, enjoying the local life at the oldest home-made coffee brand in Hanoi.
The day ended up with a Water Puppet Show which had been maintained there in Vietnam for around 1000 years.
Day 4: Hanoi – Ninh Binh – Phat Diem – Thung Nham (B/L/-)
Breakfast at your hotel and depart for Ninh Binh. You will visit the largest Stone Church in the Red River delta. Come back Tam Coc to visit Hang Mua. You have lunch at the local restaurant and continue to visit Thung Nham by bicycle.
Return to Tam Coc and the rest of the day off. Overnight at the hotel.
Day 5 : Ninh Binh – Kenh Ga – Hoa Lu – Mai Chau – Mai Hich (B/L/D)
Depart for Hoa Lu, the ancient capital of Vietnam in 41 years under the regein of Dinh and Le dynasties. Continue trip to Kenh Ga to make boat trip in 2 hours.
Stop for lunch on the way then depart for Mai Chau, one of the tipical sighseeing place in the middle of the way to Dien Bien Phu. You could visit villages of black Thai peoples where you are welcome and overnight in their still house.
You could also observe their daily lives and lunch served directly on the ground floor. Musical performance and popular dances with rice-wine (ruou Can) tasting in a jar with bamboo straw, specialties of the region (optional for a group of more than 10 people).
Overnight in traditional still houses on Mai Hich (basic and comfort).
Day 6: Mai Hich – Mai Chau – Hoa Binh – Hanoi (B/L/-)
Breakfast at the locals.
You can take a walk in Mai Hich village or go on a bicycle and pedal 12km through the lush landscape and endless paddles.
You can also make a typical turn on the traditional bamboo barge along the Xia source. Pause for lunch and continue visiting the villages Poom Cong and Lac.
Departure for Hoa Binh with a road dominated by terraced rice paddocks. Admire the hills covered with plantations, rice paddies and limestone rocks. Visit of a Muong minority village palace, which has maintained its customs and traditions. The Muong tribe is the only one who always uses bronze drums invented three thousand years ago. The Muong still live under a matriarchal regime, grow rice on rice paddies and practice hunting. Return to Hanoi at about 5 pm. Free dinner and accommodation in hotels in Hanoi.
Day 7: Hanoi – Ha Long Bay (B/L/D)
07.45 Pick up at your hotel in Hanoi by shuttle bus.
12.00 Embark at Hon Gai International harbour.
13.00 Check-in, enjoy a welcoming drink and cruise briefing.
13.30 Have lunch while cruising in the magnificent Bai Tu Long Bay, admiring the fascinating rock formations in the bay.
15.00 Cruise to Cap La.
16.30 Enjoy paddling around Cap La and Tra San by kayak.
17.45 Back to junk for swimmingor relaxation.
19.00 Have dinner and stay overnight on board.
Day 8: Ha Long Bay – Cap La – Cong Dam – Thien Canh Son (B/L/D)
07.30 Enjoy the bay’s morning landscape with a cup of tea or coffee. Have breakfast in the open air.
08.30 Cruise to Cong Dam while appreciating the rock formations of Halong Bay.
09:00 Kayak through hidden lagoons and Cong Damgeological park.
11.30 Sunbathe, relax or swim at Tra Gioi Beach.
12.30 BBQ lunch followed by relaxation on this deserted beach.
14:30 Visit Cong Dam Fishing Village by a rustic rowing boat, meat the local peopleand pass through the lagoons.
16.00 Cruise back to Cong Do for swimming or kayaking.
19.00 Have dinner and stay overnight on board.
Day 9: Ha Long Bay – Cong Do – Thien Canh Son – Hon Gai Harbor – Hanoi – Train to Sapa (B/L/-)
07.30 Enjoy the fresh air and gentle breezes of the bay in the morning while having breakfast on board.
08.30 Visit Thien Canh Son Cave followed by swimming.
10.30 Cruise towards the harbour while an a la carte lunch is served.
11.45 Disembark. Farewell.
15.45 Arrive in Hanoi. End of trip
Day 10: Lao Cai – Can Cau Market – Bac Ha (B/L/D)
Upon early arrival in Lao Cai station, you are picked up and transferred to Can Cau Market. Can Cau Market: Located at 110km from Sapa, Can Cau mountain town is well-known by travelers with the most colorful market of the hill tribes in the North of Vietnam.
Lunch is at Mr.Sa Home in Bac Ha. Take a rest and nap if possible.
02:00: we go for a light trek to visit Ban Pho, the village is home to flower H’mong minority. We are invited to enter several local houses to have some green tea, corn wine, listen to the host talking about their family, talk to them…
Note: Amo Vietnam will guide you to Mr.Ho, the most wel-known artisan in Pho village, but it is subject to the availability of his health.
Day 11 : Bac Ha – Ta Phin – Sapa Trekking (B/L/-)
Breakfast at your hotel and you will visit Bac Ha Market, at 10 transfer to Sapa. Check-in hotel and have lunch.
after lunch time your guide and driver would pick-up you at 14h30 to Ma Tra village for a short trek around 3,5 km. Continue the tour to Ta Phin where Red Zao peoples made their settlement a few hundred years ago. Overnight at your hotel
Note: Red Zao make wonderful hand-made clothing and craft but they try their best to sell the stuff…. So to avoid any problem, ask the advice from your guide and it is not compulsory to buy from all sellers.
Day 12: Lao Cai – Sapa Trekking – Train to Hanoi (B/L/-)
Breakfast at your hotel.
This is a big day for you, get ready with free memory card, waking up early then heading down to Muong Hoa Valley. Along the road stop to take pictures at Y Linh Ho village then keep moving to Lao Chai where you will start your trek. We have a special photograph road researched for you where you could meet H’Mong people and Zay peoples in Ta Van village.
Back to the town for lunch and relax. Get ready at 15h00 for the beautiful pictures along the main road of Muong Hoa Valley.
Return to Sapa and have lunch. Free at leisure until transfer to the station to catch your train to Hanoi.
Day 13: Hanoi – Flight to Hue – Hue visit (B/-/D)
Your train will arrive in Hanoi at the early morning. You will have a room to take a rest at a hotel in front of the station. Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer to airport for your flight to Hue. Upon your arrival, your guide and driver would meet you at Phu Bai airport in Hue and take you to the hotel for check-in
Check in hotel.
You will visit Dong Ba Market. Overnight at your hotel
Day 14 : Hue visit (B/L/-)
Breakfast at your hotel.Your guide and driver pick you up and transfer you to the wharf for your boat ride on the Perfume River. During the boat trip, you will stop to visit the iconic Thien Mu Pagoda, a symbol of Hue – the oldest ancient architectural structures for religious worship. Then you go to visit the Imperial Citadel of Hue with the Purple Forbidden City – once the Emperor’s private residence. You will be having lunch at a local restaurant.
The Hue Citadel is situated on the Northern bank of the Perfume River. It covers an area 500 ha and has a system of three circles of ramparts: Kinh Thanh Hue (Hue Capital Citadel), Hoang Thanh (Royal Citadel) and Tu Cam Thanh (Forbidden Citadel). The Hue royal complex has been officially recognized by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
You may continue to visit a tomb monument of King Tu Duc which is located in a very special area. More than just a tomb visiting, it’s the great chance to learn more about Nguyen King and the landscape is spectacular. Back to hotel, dinner is on your own.
Day 15 : Hue – My Son – Hoi An (B/L/-)
Breakfast at your hotel. Our driver and tour guide will pick you up at your hotel in Hoi An, then we will start our tour to My Son Holly Land. My Son is located in the heart of valley – surrounded by mountain ranges that are natural boundaries with the Duy Phu village, Duy Xuyen district, Quang Nam province. It is about 45 Km a way from Hoi An in the West. Thanks to the letters in the letters in the oldest steles of the 4th century by which was excavated at My Son that King Bhadresvara had built a temple for offering to the Gold Siva Bhadresvara. It was in wood and completely destroyed by ifre in the 6th century. In earlier 7th century, King Sambhuvarman rebuilt the temple of bricks and aggregates. Since then, more than 70 similar temples had been built up to the 13th century.
Let our guide show you the natural beauty of the surroundings, you willl be inspired by My Son which called “The Angkor Wat of Vietnam”some local delicacies. Back to Hoian in the afternoon. On in Hoian. Overnight at your hotel.
Day 16: Hoi An visit – Flight to Saigon (B/L/-)
Breakfast at your hotel. Hoi An comes to your mind as the charming historic city known to early Western merchants, one of the major trading centers of Southeast Asia in the 16th century. Hoi An has a distinctive Chinese atmosphere with low, tiled-roof houses and narrow streets; the original structure of some of these streets is still virtually intact. Many of the houses were constructed of rare timbers and decorated with lacquer panels engraved with Chinese characters and pillars carved with ornamental designs
In the afternoon. transfer to airport to your flight to Saigon. Upon your arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport, your driver and private guide will be ready to welcome you to our “non-sleeping city” . Check-in hotel. Overnight at your hotel.
Day 17: Saigon – Tay Ninh – Cu Chi Tunnels – Saigon (B/L/-)
After breakfast, depart Saigon for Cu Chi Tunnels. Upon arrival visit the underground. This network of tunnels, which stretched for over 200km, became legendary during the 1960s. The Cu Chi tunnels played a vital part in the U.S.-Vietnam War in that they allowed the Viet Cong to control a large rural area only 30 to 40 km from Saigon. At its height, the tunnel system stretched from Saigon to the Cambodian border. The network, parts of which were several levels deep, included innumerable trap doors, specifically constructed living areas, storage facilities, weapons factories, field hospitals, command center and kitchens. Today the remaining bloody tunnels have become a major tourist attraction giving the visitor a unique experience and feel of what underground life during the war. Overnight at your hotel.
Day 18: Saigon – Mekong Delta (B/L/-)
08:00 You have breakfast at hotel before departing for Vinh Long in Mekong River with a stop for coffee break at Mekong Rest Stop. On arrival in Cai Be Town, board motorized boat to visit local corn/ rice pop making family. Continue by boat to go pass & visit Cai Be floating market. The cruise will later take us through tiny winding canals for a close up view of Mekong lively river life. We will have many photo opportunities of the fish traps and fruit gardens along the canals. Lunch is at bonsai garden with with elephant ear fish, Mekong specialty and opportunity to sample local wine. Overnight at your hotel.
Day 19: Can Tho –Cai Rang Floating market – Saigon (B/L/-)
Breakfast at your hotel. Depart your hotel to Cai Be Floating Market, upon arrival, you are welcomed by local tour-guide and embark your private boat to discover the beauty of Cai Be floating market with local people being selling, buying, exchanging goods from their boats. Then continue trip to visit local cottages where you could learn how local peoples make Coconut Candy and products made from Coconut Trees, Pop-corm, Pop Rice, distilling local banana rice wine, visit orchard garden and discover the daily activities of the local people. Return to Saigon. Overnight at your hotel.
Day 20: Saigon visit – Saigon departure (B/L/-)
Breakfast at your hotel. This is the perfect timing for you to explore our city tour. You would visit the former Presidential Palace, which is now preserved as a museum, including the underground communications bunkers, headquarters for the Saigon Government during the American (Vietnam) War. Following that, you continue with Notre Dame, an impressive neo-Romanesque cathedral in the centre of city, the ‘wedding cake’ styled Hotel D’ville and Dong Khoi streets, formerly the center of haute couture in Saigon when it was known as Rue Catinat.
Lunch at local restaurant and return to hotel. Free at leisure until transfer to the airport for departure flight.