Highlights

• Enjoy fantastic aerial views
• Enjoy a welcome drink and traditional Vietnamese lunch in a local village
• Family-friendly
• All-inclusive tour
• Perfect introduction for first-time visitors

Overview

This exclusive tour takes visitors from the hectic city of Hanoi, complete with stately French colonial buildings and a bustling Old Quarter, to the natural wonderland that is Ba Be Lake and then onto Ban GIOC waterfall, the world’s 4th largest border waterfall after Niagara, Iguacu and Victoria. You will also be able to interact with the ethnic Tay minority in small villages and explore the Nang River by boat.

Day 1: Hanoi – Lang Son – Cao Bang (Lunch, Dinner)

7.30 – 8:00 You will be picked up from your hotel in Hanoi for a drive along highways, stopping to visit the Museum of the Cultures of Vietnam’s Ethnic Groups in Thai Nguyen City where you can begin to understand the various ethnic groups, their agricultural tools, handicrafts and traditional costumes worn for worship.

There we will stop for lunch before heading north to Cao Bang, through scatterings of villages and rice paddies. You will get the chance to stop at a village known for its tobacco production (depending on the time of the season). This less-traveled road offers you the opportunity to enjoy the unspoiled views in peace. In the evening you will have dinner and stay overnight in a traditional homestay of a Nung’s family in Quang Uyen.

Day 2: Quang Uyen – Ban Gioc Waterfall – Ba Be Lake (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

After breakfast, you will set off to the district of Trung Khanh, close to Vietnam’s northern border with China. Here you will be introduced to the Nung people in a small village famous for the production of farming tools. Like the Tays, the Nungs largely live by farming the terraced rice paddies that you will see all around as you journey through to Ban Gioc Waterfall, the majestic falls that form the border between Vietnam and China.

There will be time to enjoy the view and soak up the sublime atmosphere of Vietnam’s most beautiful waterfall before making your way to the “Tiger Cave” known for its wonderful limestone formations. You will then return to Cao Bang town and going down the “snake pass” to Ba Be Lake, tonight you will stay overnight in a traditional house of a Tay ethnic family. At the homestay, you can relax and unwind from the day and enjoy a meal of home-cooked local food.

Day 3: Ba Be Lake – Hanoi (Breakfast, Lunch)

You can relax onboard, do some wildlife spotting or if you need to cool off, you can jump into the cool, clean waters for a refreshing swim. As you float on Ba Be Lake, you can see the scenery of the surrounding karsts, with patches of wild vegetation and inhabited by all sorts of interesting animals.

We will take a boat ride along the Nang River, with time to explore the stunning Ba Be Lake and the caves of Phuong Grotto, where you can explore the stalactites and stalagmites as well as looking out for the bat colony that is at least a thousand strong. You will depart for the journey back Hanoi, a drive approximately 150 miles (230 kilometers).
We will stop at a tea plantation before returning to your hotel in the city of Hanoi.

Inclusions:

• 2 night’s accommodation
• Meals as per itinerary
• Entrance fees
• National Park fees
• Hotel pickup and drop-off
• Transport by air-conditioned minivan

Exclusions:

• Drinks
• Gratuities (optional)

For more luxury accommodation in bungalow or hotel, please contact