Day 3: Hanoi / Mai Chau / Pu Luong

This morning, departure towards Mai Chau (160km, approximately 4 hours drive). The road to get there passes through some truly beautiful landscapes. Enjoy the landscapes and authentic scenes of life along this road dotted with rice fields and small villages. Around noon, we arrive at the Ban Nhot hamlet for lunch with locals. In the afternoon, we take a first hike (approximately 3 hours) inside the Pu Luong Reserve. You admire the rice fields. On the way, you can see many waterwheels, a traditional method of water collection and irrigation of several minority ethnic groups.
Dinner and night with the Thai ethnic group in the Ban Hang hamlet.

Day 4: Pu Luong

Breakfast at the locals’ home. Walk through the rice fields. Hike on the old Ho Chi Minh Trail towards the village of Pa Kha. Unlike the Sapa region, here you will not have the feeling that tourism is taking the place of agriculture. All the farmers work their land to cultivate, among other things, rice, bananas, corn, sugar cane and even cabbages.
NOTE: In the Pu Luong Reserve, there is only one rice growing season per year. Rice transplanting takes place in April-May. The rice fields take on a dark green color in June-July-August. In September, the rice fields start to turn golden everywhere. Between the end of September and October, it is the rice harvest.
With the development of sustainable tourism, the life of the Pu Luong Reserve continues its course. Lunch with the locals. Continue uphill on a small track of limestone rocks to the village of Kho Muong. Free time to rest or discover the village.
Dinner and overnight stay with locals in Kho Muong in a Thai house.

Day 5: Pu Luong / Ninh Binh

Walk through the magnificent valley, passing through small typical villages surrounded by rice terraces, each one as beautiful as the next. After 3 to 4 hours of walking in these sumptuous landscapes, arrival at the village of Pho Doan. In the afternoon, transfer to the Ninh Binh region (140km, approximately 3 hours drive). In this province, the Red River extends its last arms before the sea, in a surprising landscape of cliffs, limestone peaks and karst caves. This is why we like to give it the nickname “land Halong Bay”.

Day 6: Ninh Binh

Morning, departure towards the Province of Nam Dinh, the stronghold of Vietnamese Catholicism. This region is particularly marked by the Christian faith. The origin of this dynamism comes from the 117 martyrs of the 19th century who shed their blood without denying their faith. All were canonized by Pope John Paul II. Among them, there are 6 French people.

Day 7: Ninh Binh / Nam Dinh

Visit the Phat Diem Cathedral, architectural jewel of the Vietnamese Church. Phat Diem is a unique Vietnamese-style cathedral, all of its stone buildings are built on a swampy area. The main shrine appears like a Buddhist pagoda due to its Asian architectural style.

In the afternoon, we cross the Nam Dinh Province. We will head to Mr Van’s house, where we will sleep tonight. Accommodation at Mr.Van is part of our community tourism project. This project aims to introduce you to the cradle of Vietnamese culture, based on rice cultivation. Watered by the Red River, the fertile land offers us several agricultural activities. When you arrive, Mr Van, the head of the family, will show you the family chapel dedicated to the worship of ancestors as well as its 4,000 square meter bonsai garden. Bonsai plays a very widespread role in Vietnamese homes because its presence brings happiness and balance to the living space.

In the evening, you will help prepare dinner. This is an opportunity to discover regional specialties such as: Tôm Thuyền (sea cicadas), Nem Thính cuộn lá sung (pork bacon wrapped in a fig leaf). In an area where you never meet strangers, your presence will probably arouse the curiosity of neighbors and close family members. It is very likely that they will come and share the meal with you, a sign of collective hospitality.

Day 8: Nam Dinh / Hanoi

This morning you will take a bike ride in the surrounding countryside. Mrs. Hong, the mistress of the house, is a middle school geography teacher. She will be delighted to accompany you to a school to discover the Vietnamese education system. This is the time to blend into the crowd of students and understand the omnipresent influence of communism in national education. The walk continues through paths with bucolic charm. The path will take us to a dike where we can easily spot seafood sellers. In Vietnam, whenever there is a coastal area, there is a fish sauce workshop, the famous “nuoc mam”. Guided by Mr Van, we discover the process of making this sauce in a family business. The rest of the morning will be devoted to agricultural activities depending on the seasons: rice transplanting (March or June), rice harvesting (May or September), shrimp fishing (August-November), work in the salt pans (April-September ), tropical fruit harvest (all year round) or simply an introduction to the art of bonsai with Mr Van.
Lunch with the locals.
Return to Hanoi in the afternoon.

Day 9: Hanoi / Halong

Not to be missed during your trip to Vietnam, discover the marvelous Halong Bay. A shuttle will pick you up from the hotel. Enjoy the landscapes of rice fields as far as the eye can see where agricultural work is still carried out by hand or with the help of water buffaloes.

Then, you board a traditional junk boat for a cruise on Halong Bay until noon the next day. The grandiose landscapes of Halong Bay and its biological richness make it one of the most beautiful natural sites in the world, as evidenced by its inclusion as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994.

You are welcomed by a welcome cocktail then a lunch and welcome speech from the captain. During this cruise in the bay you pass by the Cirque des Merveilles, the Con Cho and Dinh Huong islands.

At the end of the afternoon, you have the opportunity to attend a cooking class. Meals and night aboard the junk in a private cabin.

Day 10: Halong / Hanoi

At daybreak, don’t miss the milky colors that are very emblematic of this exceptional place. You have the opportunity to attend an initiation to Tai Chi. You visit Thien Canh Son Cave which features cauliflower-shaped limestone formations, as well as stalactites and stalagmites. To access the three rooms you will have to climb more than a hundred steps.
Return to Hanoi. If time permits, possibility of visiting a cultured pearl workshop. It is a recent industry, introduced into Halong Bay by the Japanese at the end of the 1990s. In the evening, transfer directly to the hotel for your return flight.