Northwest Vietnam mountain discovery 5 Days

PRIVATE TOUR – TOUR CODE: CPK04

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A low-cost Vietnam mountain tour to Dien Bien Phu the former battlefield during Vietnam – French war 1954 combining with 1 night in Sin Ho plateau “the blooming flower” and 1 night in Sapa charming town. The 1st part of the tour uses local shared bus “Hai Van” with soft-sleepers and air-condition. and Sapa Express bus on the new highway Hanoi – Sapa, 1 tour guide supports throughout your tour. The tour is enjoyable and superior enough for small groups.

TRAVEL ROUTE: Hanoi – Bus to Dien Bien – Sin Ho – Lai Chau – Sapa – Bus to Hanoi

PRICE

OPTIONAL EXTRA SERVICES
You can book via VietnamCheapPackages or not

• On Day 1, for Hanoi – Dien Bien transfer, instead of local bus, you choose direct flight by Vietnam Airlines at a surcharge of 70 USD per person.
• On Day 5, if it’s Sunday, you can choose visiting Bac Ha market (120km from Sapa) instead. The surcharge is 30 USD per person only.

NORTHWEST VIETNAM MOUNTAIN TOUR ITINERARY

DAY 1 HANOI – OVERNIGHT BUS TO DIEN BIEN PHU CITY (no meals)

At 17:30, our tour guide meets you at your hotel in Hanoi, then private transfer to My Dinh bus station (10km from Hanoi Old quarter).

At 19:15, embark “Hai Van” express bus, which is the best local bus to Dien Bien. Our tour guide will go with you on the bus. Enjoy your night on the bus with private soft-sleepers, blanket, linen, reading light and air condition. The bus drives uphills through the hilltribal villages and town of Northwest Vietnam.

Overnight on the bus.

DAY 2 DIEN BIEN PHU (B)

At around 6am, you arrive at Dien Bien bus station. Take your luggages and disembark. Private transfer with our tour guide to the hotel. Enjoy breakfast and check-in the hotel.

Early check-in from 8am is arranged. Free morning at your leisure after a long night bus.

In the afternoon, you start the battlefield sightseeing. Visit Dien Bien Phu Museum (closed Mondays and Tuesdays), A1 Hill, Dien Bien Phu Cemetery, the bunker headquarters of French Commander Colonel Christian de Castries and the Memorial dedicated to French soldiers.

Overnight in Dien Bien Phu.

DAY 3 DIEN BIEN PHU – MUONG LAY – SIN HO (B,D)

Breakfast & check out the hotel at 9:00. Start your journey with your private driver and tour guide, following the National Road 12 to Sin Ho. This is the best part of the joruney with hundreds of hilltribal villages, terrace rice fields.You also pass through the Hydropower Plant of Son La, the South East Asia’s biggest electric plant. Enjoy the last 40kms uphills to Sin Ho plateau with a lot of photo chances. Lunch in Muong Lay town.

Arrive at Sin Ho town in the late afternoon. Check in Thanh Binh hotel and you can take s short walk to the town market nearby before dinner time.

Dinner and overnight in Sin Ho town.

DAY 4 SIN HO – LAI CHAU – SAPA (B,L)

Breakfast & check out the hotel at 9:00. Continue driving on the National Road 12 downhills to Lai Chau city. The road challenges all the most intrepid travellers. We stop at Lai Chau city for lunch, then afternoon driving 90km to Sapa town.

If time permits, you stop on the peak of O Quy Ho, the longest and highest pass of Vietnam. You can take photos of sunset down on Fansipan moutain peak, capturing the last sunlights in your lens.

Check in your hotel in Sapa in the late afternoon. Dinner by yourselves.

Overnight in Sapa.

DAY 5 LAO CHAI – TA VAN VILLAGE – BUS TO HANOI (B,L,D) or Bac Ha market instead on Sunday

After breakfast, you check out the hotel and can leave luggages in the hotel lobby. Private transfer to Muong Hoa valley, trekking from Lao Chai village of Black Hmong people to Ta Van village of Dzay people. The trekking route is 4km only among Muong Hoa valley with charming rice fields, streams and stil-houses. You can talk with local people and see them working on the fields during harvest time.

At around 12:00, lunch in Ta Van restaurant, an ideal spot facing rice fields.

Free afternoon to chat with local hosts, the tour guide before driving back to your hotel to take all luggages. In the last 1 hour, you walk around the Sapa center, visit Rock church and the town market. At 16:00, you take the Sapa Express bus to Hanoi. Arrive at Hanoi meeting point at around 21:00. You take a taxi by yourselves to your hotel. End of services.

INCLUSION

• Twin-sharing rooms in hotels in Dien Bien Phu, Sin Ho and Sapa
• Early check-in the hotel in Dien Bien Phu on Day 2
• Hai Van local bus tickets for Hanoi to Dien Bien transfer – soft sleepers
• Evening Sapa Express bus for Sapa to Hanoi transfer – soft clining seats
• 1 good English speaking guide throughout the tour
• Private car with experienced driver on Day 2, 3, 4, 5
• Meals as indicated: B = Breakfast ; L = Lunch ; D = Dinner
• All admission fees to indicated sites

EXCLUSION

• Visa approval letter and Visa stamping fee in Vietnam (45$ / each visa). You get stamp on your passport and pay directly to the Immigration staff at Ha Noi airport.
• International and domestic air tickets with airport tax
• Meals: lunch or dinner where not stated
• Gratuities, drinks, personal expenses and others.

HOTEL LIST

Centrally located hotels, or other similar hotels)

BEFORE TOUR

This tour is usually refered as “the Northwest loop” because it follows the National Road 6 and Road 12, which combines a half-circle shaping like “a loop”. Unlike other “the Northwest loop” tours, this is the 1st tour including local famous bus “Hai Van” for Hanoi – Dien Bien transfer. It’s also the 1st time Sin Ho plateau included as an overnight point in “the loop” program.Dien Bien or Dien Bien Phu ? Sometimes we receive this questions from clients. Actually, they’re the same. “Phu” means “citadel” and in ancient times, “citadel” means “city”. So you can call Dien Bien city or Dien Bien Phu.Him Lam hotel is the best 3-star hotel of Dien Bien city. It has 2 buildings and a group of riverside bungalows, 2 large restaurants, a swimming pool and some tennis courts. Dien Bien is a small city and Him Lam located on the entrance to the inner city.Thanh Binh is the only hotel of Sin Ho town. Fortunately, it’s out of monopoly rules so the service quality is acceptable. Location is an advantage – the hotel is just 5 minute walking from the town market. You can see the Red Dzao old women weaving the embroidery clothes on the pavements, which is a quaint picture of the montagnards.O Quy Ho pass is the longest mountain pass of Vietnam. It looks over Fansipan peak, the rooftop of Indochina. It’s a good spot to take panorama photos on sunny days.

DURING TOUR

Indeed, there’s no risk in the tour. Our tour guide will escort you from the 1st minute till the last steps of Day 6 morning. Apart from the best local bus Hanoi – Dien Bien, there’s our private car/van for the rest transfer, exclusively for you.Experience the best highlights of Northwest mountain range with lots of cultural and ethnic features.