Scenic Northern Journey
Overview
Day 1: Hanoi – Arrival – Drive to Mai Chau
Day 2: Mai Chau – Ninh Binh – Trang An Complex – Hoa Lu Temples
Day 3: Ninh Binh – Nam Dinh National Park – Local Homestay
Day 4: Hanoi – Transfer to Ha Long Bay/ Bai Tu Long Bay
Day 5: Halong – Yen Duc Village – Hanoi
Day 6: Hanoi City Tour
Day 7: Hanoi City - Departure
Customizable itinerary
Arrival at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport, collect your luggage process through custom. Your private tour guide and driver from Asia Pioneer will be waiting for you outside the baggage claim/ custom area to transfer you in a private vehicle to Mai Chau through a spectacular mountain range. This is an authentic hill tribe region and a fantastic base for treks, local markets, and villages. Arrive after mid-day, we will check into the hotel and free for lunch.
Later in the afternoon, we will explore the surrounding villages on foot, meeting local people and learning about their lives raising crops and livestock. Tonight we will enjoy a welcome dinner cooked and served by the local family. You can join a local traditional dance show performed by the White Thai people (optional). Enjoy the traditional Thai massage to help you unwind and relieve any aches and pains during the whole traveling.
Overnight in Mai Chau
Meals: (Welcome dinner) – Halal Food Available Upon Request

08:00
After breakfast, we will depart Mai Chau and wind our way for 4 hours to Ninh Binh where we take an amazing rowing boat to visit Trang An Ecotourism area. Trang An Eco-Tourism complex is a home of 600 kinds of flora and over 200 kinds of fauna that many of them in the Red book of Vietnam. It is also a gathering of 31 valleys, 48 cross-water caves and we will visit 3 to 6 of them.
12:00
Arrival Ninh Binh, we will head to a local restaurant for lunch.
13:00
After lunch, we will embark on the rowing boat, we can enjoy the fresh air, clean and clear water with underwater grass. Experience ourselves the feeling and emotion when we are on the water caves.
16:00
Return to the Wharf and transfer to visit Hoa Lu ancient Capital city of Vietnam between 968 & 980AD. Here we will visit the ancient temples of King Dinh and King Le.
17:00
Finish the day tour and drive to the hotel to check in.
Overnight in Ninh Binh
Meals: (Breakfast/Lunch/_) – Halal Food Available Upon Request

We will depart Ninh Binh in the morning and drive for 03 hours to Nam Dinh Province, 150 km south-west of Hanoi in the coastal zone of the Red River Delta. On the way, we will stop to visit the Ancient Co Le Pagoda dating back to the 10th century. This is one of the biggest and nicest pagodas in North Vietnam. Besides its special architecture, Co Le pagoda has the largest bell in Vietnam.
We will then continue on to Nam National Park, formally known as a Nature Reserve of the area and later became Vietnam’s first Ramsar site, for the conservation of wetlands.
We’ll embark on a boat trip to discover the wetland. After a one-hour boat trip through the National Park, we arrive at a Clam Hut where we will be served a delicious seafood lunch. We can rest and relax in the Hut for a while before transferring back to the mainland. From here we will be picked up and driven to a local homestay where we will spend the night with our host family.
Alternatively, if you are not keen on the homestay we can always replace it by the hotel in the City without any surcharge.
Overnight in Nam Dinh
Meals: (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner) – Halal Food Available Upon Request

Morning
08:00
After breakfast, your guide and driver will collect you from the hotel and drive you 4 hours (140km) to Halong City and port. As Halong Bay is so popular, there is usually a crowd of boats at the docks -please be reassured that the cruise itself will be scenic and relaxing.
12.00 – 12.30 approx
Arriving Tuan Chau marina. Welcome aboard the cruise. Refresh with our welcome drink. Meet the captain, crew in the cruise briefing.
Check into your cabin. Time to refresh and unwind.
Set sail as lunch is served.
Join us for a typical local lunch in the dining room or at the outdoor dining area. Mingle yourself in the stunning views of the Bay and it’s dramatic limestone islets as we sail through the calm emerald waters heading to Maze cave.
Afternoon
Arrive at Amazing cave (hang SửngSốt), explore the cave and find out how the cave was named Amazing.
Reach to the peak point of the cave for a breathtaking panoramic view of the bay.
Back to the boat, our cruise will take you to a stunning tranquilizing isolated lagoon for swimming or just simply relaxing on the boat with our spa service and mingle in the picturesque seascape.
Heading back toward the sleeping area.
Early evening
Summit on the sundeck watching the sunset, enjoy our pre-dinner local wine appetizer. It’s an ideal time to make acquaintance with new friends, sharing your traveling experience or simply watching the sunset.
An authentic Vietnamese menu will be served.
After dinner, reward yourself with a large selection of cocktails at our bar, or take for you one of our onboard activities: book reading, games, movies, and squid fishing, etc.
Overnight on board
Meals: (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner) – Halal Food Available Upon Request

06.30
For the early risers, join us for a Tai Chi session on the sundeck. Tai chi helps focus the mind and condition the body, joining Tai Chi session to full charge your energy for the day.
07.00 – 08.00
Local breakfast is served.
08.00
Our guide will brief you information and the highlights of this fascinating floating village and its local community.
Take your option either exploring the village yourself on a kayak or comfortably capture the daily life of the fishermen on bamboo boat rowed by the locals.
09.00
Check out the cabins, at your leisure while our cruise taking you to pass by other beautiful highlights in the bay.
10.00
You will join our short class of Cooking demonstration, how to make spring rolls before an early lunch is served.
Ready to get off the boat.
11.45 – 12.00
Disembark the boat, your guide and driver will bring you back to Hanoi. On the way back we stop to visit the charming Yen Duc Village, a typical authentic Northern village. Here we will attend a traditional water puppet show performed by the local artists. While watching the show, we will enjoy plenty of local snacks.
17:00
Get back to our hotel in Hanoi. Have a rest before the exciting evening food adventure and nightlife experience.
18:00
Your private guide will collect you at the hotel and take you out for the evening food tour.
We will wander past street stalls and quiet residential lanes where we can observe local life that has changed little since Hanoi was founded over 1000 years ago. This will bring us lots of sights and sounds of the evening in Hanoi.
During our walk we will have plenty of opportunity to interact with the locals and sample various street food such as Banh Cuon (Vietnamese Steam Rice Rolls), Banh My (Vietnamese baguettes), Nom Du Du (papaya Salad with beef), Bun Cha (grilled pork with vermicelli) and especially the amazing Egg Coffe. You will also venture down a small alley to join in the local tradition of feasting on fresh fruit served in a cup and smothered with crushed iced – this specialty is one not to be missed!
Overnight in Hanoi
Meals: (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner) – Halal Food Available Upon Request


08:00
After breakfast, your adventure tour in Vietnam will begin as your private tour guide picks you up and takes you on a full-day city tour of Hanoi, famed for its tree-lined boulevards, French colonial architecture, and a thousand years of history. Below are the recommended sites, but of course, your guide will be happy to modify the list based on your preferences.
Visits:
– Thang Long Citadel (the most recent UNESCO World Heritage Site of Vietnam), built in the 11th century by the Ly Viet Dynasty, marking the independence of the Dai Viet (former Vietnam)
– Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the Presidential Palace
– One Pillar Pagoda, one of the most iconic temples in Vietnam
– Temple of Literature (a Confucius temple considered the first National University of Vietnam)
Lunch will be served at KOTO (Know One Teach One), sponsored by an NGO (a non-governmental organization) for the disadvantaged children of Hanoi. The staff is former street children being trained in culinary and hospitality skills.
After lunch, return your hotel for some rest before strolling along the iconic HoanKiem lake and the most exciting shopping part of the Old Quarter including Hang Gai– Hang Bong – NhaTho street, the best place to pick up some high quality, fashionable silk items, lacquerware, embroidered goods, and ethnic-minority crafts; Hang Dau (Shoes street), where hundreds of shoe-sellers lining. Most of the footwear consists of brand names made at Vietnamese factories that have been rejected as seconds, making them a great purchase with usually only a small imperfection. There are also plenty of fake North Face, Samsonite bags where Hang Dau Street meets Lo Su.
15.00 – 15.30
Be picked up by the private car for a 20-minute drive to Japanese retail giant AEON Shopping Mall. Here you can spend 1 – 2 hours at the huge Japanese food court, shopping for local brand clothes (Canifa, The Blue, etc.) at a remarkably good price, as well as households and other stuff. Get back to the hotel at about 18.00. Maybe have a shower or rest before relaxing your whole body with the Vietnamese traditional massage 90’ at the SF Spa center (check review)
Note: the city tour program is flexible. Our guide would be more than happy to adjust the tour itinerary at your needs. You can skip one site or add another if you so wish.
Overnight in Hanoi
Meals: (Breakfast/Lunch/_) – Halal Food Available Upon Request

Today will be on your own leisure. Breakfast will still be included and check out will be at mid-day.
Depending on your departure time a private driver will collect you from the hotel and transfer you back to the airport for your departure flight.
Meals: (Breakfast/_/_) – Halal Food Available Upon Request
Useful Information
This tour is built upon our firsthand knowledge & experience, offering you the best choices available. The price of this trip varies depending on the number of people in your party, dates of departure, and availability of ground services. Please click on REQUEST A FREE QUOTE (above) and supply the required information, enabling us to send you your personalized quote within 24 hours!
Note: Amendments CAN be made to this tour to suite your requirements.
What’s Included?
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- Accommodation with daily breakfast at selected hotels
- Private Vehicles and Drivers
- Private English Speaking Guides (Other languages if available, upon request)
- Meals as mentioned in the itinerary (B= Breakfast, L= Lunch, D= Dinner)
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- All domestic flights
- Airport Taxes and Fuel charges
- Entrance fees for all mentioned sights visited
- Service Charge & Government Taxes
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What’s Not Included?
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- Your International Flights Vietnam and Cambodia entry Visa Fees (contact us for further information)
- Personal Expenses (such as laundry, telephone, drinks, etc.)
- Any bank fees or charges at your end
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- Meals other than those mentioned in the itinerary
- Personal Travel Insurance
- Tips for guides and drivers
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Free service. No credit card required
Reviews on Our Service
We are committed to giving our customers unforgettable experiences in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and beyond, not just something staged for tourists. Read reviews written by our customers about their experiences in Indochina after they have returned home. These include the ratings and comments on attractions, guides, activities, hotels and food.
Vietnam Luxury Vacation Review: Sightseeing, Culture, 12-Day Travel
Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Sightseeing, Rice Fields, Boat Rides, 18-Day Trip
We started searching for our tour for Vietnam / Cambodia back in October 2022 to start the tour in the first week of January 2023. We selected this travel agency, and contact name provided to us was Elly. She was extraordinary with her communication with us. Excellent English speaking language capability & excellent in communication on Whats app and email communication. We went back & forth few times to arrange the tour we wanted. She was very accommodating in arranging our schedule. We requested automobile tour for both countries, just for two of us.
We requested SUV FOR OUR COMFORT AND WE GOT IT!
We requested to get the high end hotel in each city and she gave us choices and not only that but send videos of each hotel for each City and then waited for us to decide which hotel we select. All the Hotels turned out to be one of the best we would expect to be. M/s Elly, personally came to visit with us on the evening of our first day tour. Very respectful and asked if she could do anything for us.I had requested before in our communication, if she would arrange for power converter for us, since my camera chargers are all in 110. So brought two power converters for us! Something, not everyone will do this kind of service. So all the kiddos to her!
as to the drivers in each city were very courteous, very professional and very careful in how and where they have to do driving.
our Guides in each city were so friendly, courteous and knowledgeable in where ever we visited. How ever wish two guides in Hue An and Ho Chi Minh City spoke English more clearly.
We only wish we had one extra day in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, , however, there is so much to see in the world! Perhaps next time will visit Vietnam.
As to Cambodia, same thing to express about site seeing and our Guide and drivers. Guides and drivers really made our travel thro’ the countries where we do not speak that language, made it so comfortable and enjoyable.
Outstanding!
Hi Lam…hope you don’t mind me contacting you directly. My wife Barb & I (Paul) have just arrived home after completing a great tour of Vietnam which was organised through your company Asia Pioneer Travel.
We want to tell you personally how impressed were were with the level of service that we received…it was amazing and the best that we have experienced anywhere. After we made initial contact with you, you handed us over to Chloe to arrange the trip which she did in very quick time and the amount of detail that she went to was fantastic. From the moment that we walked out of Hanoi airport on arrival to see our guide waiting, we knew that we were in for a great trip. The drivers & guides were fantastic and Chloe was in contact by email constantly making sure that everything was going to plan & that we were happy. At one stage we need to vary the itinerary by extending accommodation & changing air tickets and Chloe did that without any fuss or bother.
We also met some wonderful Vietnamese people along the way and Ive got to say that they are our kind of people, very generous & friendly.
Enough of my ramblings, thanks for a great visit to Vietnam, and a special thank you to Chloe for looking after us in such a terrific manner…she is a very special caring lady.
Kind regards & I hope that we have the opportunity to use Asia Pioneer Travel again….Paul & Barb Little from Newcastle Australia
Superbly organised and very flexible
We travelled to Vietnam for two weeks, booking the whole trip through Lizzie at Asia Pioneer, including hotels, excursions, trips, guides and internal flights. Lizzie was so helpful and flexible, accommodating changes to our schedule until the last minute, especially as we missed our connecting flight in Dubai and arrived a day later than planned (our fault). Nothing was too much trouble, including getting my wallet back to me after I left it in the car taking us to the airport.
We started in Hanoi in the North and worked our way south to Ho Chi Minh city (Saigon), taking in Ha Long with its amazing sea stacks and sleeping on a boat, then to Sa Pa on the overnight sleeper train from Hanoi, with its wonderful countryside and rice terraces. Afterwards, we went to Hoi An for three days of relaxation. Hoi An probably my favourite place and three days are enough to cover it. Then onto Hue, the original capital, my least favourite place and then finally on to HMC, which was a real contrast to the North.
The 3-star hotels that Lizzie picked were very good and comfortable, and the guides were very knowledgeable. I would definitely use Asia Pioneer again for future Asia trips.