Hanoi Ninh Binh and Sapa 6D5N

Arrive at Noi Bai International Airport. Complete customs and meet your private guide and driver. Transfer to your hotel in Hanoi (approximately 45 minutes) and check in. Free time to settle in before the evening.

Your guide takes you to the Hanoi Old Quarter for a walking tour and a taste of the city's most famous local dishes. Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight in Hanoi.

Breakfast at the hotel. Drive to Ninh Binh. Visit Bai Dinh Pagoda, a vast temple complex famous for housing the largest bronze Buddha statue in Vietnam. Explore the sweeping grounds filled with ancient towers and serene courtyards. Tram transport around the complex is included. Lunch at a local restaurant.

Board a small sampan for a cruise along the Trang An river, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Glide through dramatic karst limestone caves, past emerald rice paddies and towering limestone peaks reflected in the still water. Boat ticket included.

Return to Hanoi (about 2 to 2.5 hours). Dinner at a local restaurant. Free evening to explore the night market. Overnight in Hanoi.

Breakfast at the hotel. Check out and depart for Sapa along Vietnam's longest highway, covering 250 km of highland scenery. On the approach to Lao Cai, stop at Kilometre Marker 102 to visit and photograph the Lao Cai International Border Gate. Continue up into the mountains to Sapa, the hill town the French once called the summer capital of Tonkin. Lunch at a local restaurant.

Visit Cat Cat Village, about 2 to 3 km from Sapa town. The village is home to the Black H'Mong people and sits among terraced rice fields, waterfalls and mountain scenery. Browse traditional handicrafts and watch cultural performances by the villagers. Then transfer back to the hotel to check in. Overnight in Sapa.

Breakfast at the hotel. Head to Sun World Fansipan Legend. Board the Muong Hoa luxury train, the most modern mountain train in Vietnam, and enjoy panoramic views of the Muong Hoa Valley through its wide transparent windows. At Hoang Lien Station, board the Fansipan cable car, which holds two Guinness World Records, for the ascent toward the summit. Continue on the Do Quyen mountain train, whose winding track passes through a tunnel near the Great Buddha statue.

Hike up to Thanh Van Dac Lo and Bich Van Zen Temple before reaching the summit of Fansipan. Visit Tam Thanh Mau Temple and the Lower Pagoda, and take photos at the Fansipan flagpole. Train tickets, cable car, and mountain train are all included.

Buffet lunch at Fansipan. In the afternoon, visit Silver Waterfall (Thac Bac), which tumbles down the mountainside just outside Sapa town.

Dinner at a local restaurant. Free time to explore Sapa's night market. Overnight in Sapa.

Breakfast at the hotel. Check out and drive straight back to Hanoi. Lunch at a local restaurant in the city.

Stroll around Hoan Kiem Lake and cross the red Huc Bridge to Ngoc Son Temple. Watch a traditional water puppet show, then enjoy a coffee on Hanoi's Train Street.

Free evening to explore the Old Quarter. Overnight in Hanoi.

Breakfast at the hotel. Check out. Free time until your scheduled departure. Transfer to Noi Bai International Airport for your flight home.