Man Nguyen Private Vietnam Tour Packages – Private Hanoi and Ha Long Bay (5D4N)
My 100% customised Private Tour Packages are ideal if you are a group planning to visit Vietnam for 5D4N (5 Days 4 Nights).Located in the central area of the Red River Delta, Hanoi has been the capital of reunified Vietnam since 1976. Originally Thăng Long from 1010AD, in 1831 the city was renamed Hà Nội (‘inside the rivers’) by Emperor Minh Mang.
Having endured Chinese, Japanese and French occupation, as well as the chaos of the Vietnam War, our capital now offers a fascinating historic and cultural heritage for you to explore with us.
Today, Hanoi is the commercial, cultural, and educational centre of Northern Vietnam. It is at the same time ancient & modern, chaotic & peaceful. Our 5D4N private package includes all the popular attractions PLUS a snapshot of real Hanoi and its surrounds.
Day 1
We ‘meet & greet’ at Nội Bài International Airport arrivals lounge and transfer you the 35km to your Hanoi hotel for check-in. We head out again in the evening for our Hanoi City Food Tour when most of the street vendors open for business (food included). We visit the most popular street stalls and hidden alleyways of the ’36 Streets’ that make up the Old Quarter, showing you where, and what, our locals love to eat!
Day 2
Today is our Full-Day Hanoi City Tour. We visit: The mausoleum of our revered ‘Uncle Ho’ (Ho Chi Minh) and the unique ‘One Pillar Pagoda’,The Temple of Literature designed in 1070AD as Vietnam’s first university, The Hanoi ‘Hilton’, Trấn Quốc Pagodaon West Lake and ‘Temple of the Jade Mountain’ located right on Hoàn Kiếm Lake.We include an authentic Vietnamese lunch and iconic ‘cyclo’ ride by Hoàn Kiếm Lakeside!
Late afternoon we return you to your hotel.
Day 3
We drive the express way to Haiphong city and UNESCO listed Ha Long Bay. Here you board a traditional Vietnamese Junk for your overnight luxury cruise! Lunch is included on arrival. We cruise the stunningly beautiful but less touristy Lan Ha bay area of Ha Long, which offers you the opportunity to swim, kayak and explore caves by traditional sampan. Or just watch the world go by with a cocktail.
You dine onboard tonight while enjoying a Vietnamese music performance (included).
Day 4
Your mini-cruise continues after breakfast on-board. This morning you can visit local fishing families or enjoy a Vietnamese cooking demonstration by the ship’s chefs before a fantastic buffet lunch. Saying goodbye to new friends and the ship’s crew, we make our way back to Hanoi where we return you to your hotel.
Day 5
Hotel Pick-Up and Transfer to Nội Bài International Airport for your onwards flight.
Trang An & Bai Dinh (Ninh Binh) One-Night Extension
Extending your stay by a night allows us to drive to the southern edge of our Red River Delta and the ‘Trang An Landscape Complex‘, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.
Trang An is a spectacular landscape of limestone karst peaks, rivers, steep valleys, small traditional villages and rice paddy fields tended by subsistence farmers. Astonishing caves dot the landscape, and archaeological exploration has shown human activity here for over 30,000 years!
Indeed, Hoa Lu the ancient capital of Viet Nam was established here in the 10th century.
Your day starts with a visit to the modern Bái Đính Temple Spiritual and Cultural Complex, a complex of Buddhist temples on Bai Dinh Mountain. There are amazing landscape views from the top of the 100m Pagoda tower (reached by elevator). A lunch of Ninh Binh specialities is included today.
Dramatic Trang An is best viewed by a rowing boat tour. Passing tranquil paddy fields, steep sided valleys and exploring the various caves through which the river passes. An experience not to be missed and forever remembered!
Late afternoon we return to your Hanoi hotel.
Sapa & Fansipan Mountain Two-Night Extension
Sapa is a town in the Hoàng Liên Son Mountains of northwestern Vietnam established by the French as a hill station in 1922. It’s beautiful mountain scenery, terraced rice fields and colourful local tribal people make it a popular stop on many of our guest’s itineraries.
We take the overnight train from Hanoi with an evening transfer to Hanoi railway station for your overnight Fansipan sleeper service* (or similar) to Lao Cai . The line from Hanoi to Lao Cai (the halt for Sapa) was opened in 1910 as part of the metre-gauge Vietnam to Kunming railway.
On day one you will be met by your guide on arrival at Lao Cai station for the short drive to your Sapa hotel for early check-in, freshen up and breakfast. Leaving your hotel at 8:30AM we take the elegant funicular train through the terraced rice fields of the Muong Hoa Valley to Mt. Fansipan cable car station. From here we ride the record-breaking cable car almost to the summit of the legendary ‘Roof of Indochina’! You are free to make the final summit by 600 steps or the short extra funicular – your choice.
We retrace our steps to Sapa town for your authentic Sapa lunch and a visit to the local’s market in town. You will be returned to your hotel during the afternoon.
Day 2 of the fifth day
We pick-up at your hotel after breakfast and check-out. We make our short picturesque drive to Thac Bac (Silver) Waterfall. From its steel arched bridge you enjoy impressive views of the 200-meter high waterfall as the silver water gushes down from the Ham Rong mountain peak. Facing away from Silver Waterfall, you catch extensive views of the nearby mountains and the world-renowned rice terraces of Sapa.
Leaving Thac Bac we visit Cat Cat, an ethnic village of our H’Mong people. Formed in the mid-1800s, it still preserves important traditional ethnic crafts today. A very pretty location, Cat Cat can be touristy at times, but we think it’s worth some of your time before you will enjoy another Sapa lunch.
After lunch you make the road transfer by private limousine to your Hanoi hotel and evening check-in.
* NOTE: Overnight rail travel in Vietnam
The ‘Fansipan‘ and other private services to Sapa are mostly badged DSVN (Vietnam Railways) sleeper carriages attached to a regular train. The Hanoi – Sapa line is narrow gauge so levels of comfort may not meet western expectations. The VIP sleepers we use have air-conditioning, fresh clean bedding, bottled mineral water and western-style toilets. But please remember, this IS Vietnam and we ask our guests to treat this as a genuine Vietnamese ‘experience’. Most enjoy the journey when not expecting 5-star luxury!