If you’re looking for an outdoor active school trips with hiking, trekking in the mountainous area, dinner and homestay with the local minority people, cruising and kayaking in the bay, then you should consider this 7-day tour. Not only this, there will be plenty of chance in helping the local people such as: Painting the wall for local schools, book collecting for village’s library, teaching English for local children, collecting garbage in the sea...
General Information
Duration: 7 Days/6 Nights
Start/End: Hanoi/Hanoi
Tour Route: Hanoi – Bat Trang Ceramic Village – Sapa – Ethnic Village – Halong Bay – Hanoi
Tour Customizable: Absolutely! (Tell us your specific requirements in the inquiry form)
Brief Itinerary
Day 1: Hanoi arrival (D)
Day 2: Bat Trang Ceramic Village & Hanoi City Tour – Overnight Train to Sapa (B, L, D)
Day 3: Lao Cai – Sapa – Y Linh Ho – Ta Van – Community Service (B, L, D)
Day 4: Ta Van – Giang Ta Chai – Su Pan – Sapa – Overnight train to Hanoi (B,L, D)
Day 5: Hanoi – Halong Bay – Team Building – Overnight on boat (B, L, D)
Day 6: Halong Kayaking – Hanoi (B, L, D)
Day 7: Hanoi departure (B)
Full Itinerary
Day 1: Hanoi arrival (D)
On arrival at Noi Bai International Airport, students and teachers will be welcomed and transferred to the hotel. After a short rest, we enjoy a 1-hour cyclo tour of the French inspired "old quarter". We will then sit down to enjoy a performance of the city’s famous Water Puppets. After the show, we will have welcome dinner at a fine local restaurant in town. The rest of the day will be free to visit Dong Xuan Night Market. Overnight in Hanoi.
Day 2: Bat Trang Ceramic Village & Hanoi City Tour – Overnight Train to Sapa (B, L, D)
Pick up at our hotel, we will take a 15-Km drive to the outskirt of Hanoi in the East to visit Bat Trang Ceramic Village, which is located on the left bank of Hong River. This ceramic village was dated back from 15th century and soon became one of the most famous ceramic and pottery villages in the North of Vietnam.
On arrival at the village, we will visit Bat Trang Communal House, which was built under Le Du Tong King's period, from 1719 to 1720. We then visit the ancient house and ceramic workshops of artist Tran Van Do, To Thanh Son and Vu Duc Thang. Here, students will have chance to try their hands in making their own ceramic products, something for the beginners such as cup, bowl or flower vases. We finish our trip with a visit to the French ancient building since 1920s. Before returning to Hanoi city centre, we have 30 minutes to hang around the shopping centre.
Back to Hanoi at around noon, we will have lunch in a good local restaurant. After that, we will visit the Temple of Literature, which originally built as a temple to Confucius. We then visit the Museum of Ethnology, which is widely acknowledged as the best in the country and has an extensive display dedicated to Vietnam's 54 Ethnic minority peoples. After dinner, we will be driven to the Railway Station to board the overnight train to Sapa. Overnight on the train.
Day 3: Lao Cai – Sapa – Y Linh Ho – Ta Van – Community Service (B, L, D)
On arrival at Lao Cai Railway Station in the early morning, we will be driven to Sapa for breakfast in a local restaurant. We will then sneak through the market, and leave the busy town behind. After a couple of minutes, we will follow a road the spectacular scenery while walking along a narrow river. We eventually arrive in Y Linh Ho village of Black Hmong minority, where we can take a rest while lunch is served nearby the river.
We then head to Muong Hoa valley. We will pass through Lao Chai village of Black Hmong minority and then Ta Van village of Giay minority by following a very popular trekking route. We will spend the night in local house of Giay minority.
In the afternoon, we will divide into different groups and start our community services like: panting the walls for local school, garbage collecting in the school yard. We will also have visit a local school and have some fun activities with the local children such as: playing football, badminton...
Return to our homestay in the late afternoon, we will roll in the kitchen and help the owner to cook dinner for the whole group.
After dinner, we will have a Bonfire in the village and enjoy our relax time or we can teach English for the local children. Overnight in Ta Van village.
Approx: 3 – 4 hours walking/ 1-hour lunch
Day 4: Ta Van – Giang Ta Chai – Su Pan – Sapa – Overnight train to Hanoi (B,L, D)
Once we get energy for our last day trek by having a delicious breakfast, we leave for Giang Ta Chai village of Red Dao minority. We will trek through bamboo forest, which belongs to Hoang Lien National Park. On the way, we will pass by a waterfall where we will have time to take a rest and enjoy the surroundings. We will find a nice place to enjoy lunch.
After lunch, we continue toward Su Pan, a small village located by the road. Here we start our journey back to Sapa by car. We will have time to wonder around the lively town of Sapa before our car takes us to Lao Cai Railway Station to board the overnight train to Hanoi. Overnight accommodation on the train.
Approx: 1-hour driving/ 3 hours walking/ 1-hour lunch
Day 5: Hanoi – Halong Bay – Team Building – Overnight on boat (B, L, D)
On arrival in Hanoi in the early morning, we will be driven to a day-use hotel for breakfast and refresh. After that, we will be driven to the World Heritage Site of Halong Bay, which was noted as one of ‘The New 7 Wonders of Nature’ in 2011.
On arrival in Halong, we will embark on our overnight cruise followed by a short cruise briefing. We will then savor a delectable lunch while our cruise sails among the limestone islands. In the mid-afternoon, we will stop at Titop Beach or Soi Sim beach for our team building on the beach with 2-3 games like beach volleyball, football, mouse & cat game... We will then have some community services on the beach like garbage collecting and then have free time for swimming in the sea until late afternoon before going back to our cruise for shower and dinner. Overnight onboard in Halong Bay.
Day 6: Halong Kayaking – Hanoi (B, L, D)
Wake up early in the morning and start your day with Tai Chi exercises or a photo hunt before having breakfast. After that, we will kayak among the hidden areas of the bay, around the Luon Cave for around 45 minutes or 1 hour. After that, we will return to the boat, freshen up and check out of your cabin. Continue your cruise exploring the Bay, passing Ba Hang fishing village, Dog Islet, and more. While heading back to the habor, watch the cooking demonstration before enjoying a traditional Vietnamese lunch. We will disembark at round noon and find your car is waiting and take you back to Hanoi. Dinner and overnight in Hanoi.
Day 7: Hanoi – Free time for Shopping & Departure (B)
After breakfast at hotel, we will be free for shopping in the old quarter ranges from markets through to designer boutique stores to amazing contemporary art galleries until our car arrives to take us to the airport in good time to board our departure flight. Trip ends.
Hotel List:
Location | Hotels & Ratings (please click to open hotel website links) | Room Type |
Hanoi | Skylark Hotel *** | Superior room |
Sapa | Homestay | Local standard |
Halong Bay | V’Spirit Cruise *** | Charter cruise |
