Welcome to Hanoi, Our Impress Travel Team will be awaiting you at Noi Bai Airport, with our easy-to-recognize “Impressers” welcome sign. Then we will start our first day as follows:

• HA NOI ARRIVAL: On arrival in Hanoi, our guide will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel for check-in.
• LUNCHTIME: Free time. Have your light lunch or simply relax around your hotel then Hanoi city tour to visit:

• TEMPLE OF LITERATURE: This is the most important Temple of Confucius in Ancient Vietnam. The temple hosts the “Imperial Academy", Vietnam’s first national university. The temple was built in 1070 at the time of Emperor Ly Thanh Tong.

  VIETNAM MUSEUM OF ETHNOLOGY: This museum is very specialized & the most interesting in Hanoi with many different things relating to the 54 Vietnamese ethnic groups.
  HOAN KIEM LAKE AND NGOC SON TEMPLE: Here is the last destination on our city tour. We will walk around the lake and visit Ngoc Son temple before taking a Cyclo Tour.
  TAKE A HOUR ON CYCLO: To ride around the old quarter, and experience life in the busy & narrow streets of the old quarter from a CYCLO.
  WATCHING WATER PUPPET SHOW: This show offers the “unique” water puppet program which is Vietnam’s extremely attractive spiritual show and one of a kind.
  Stay overnight in Hanoi

This day takes 3.5 hours driving from Hanoi to Halong, then for DISCOVERING THE WONDER OF HALONG FOR 2 DAYS as below activities:

• HANOI TRANSFER TO HALONG: 08h00 – 08h30 Pick up at the hotel and start the scenic, 3.5-hour drive to Halong Bay. Enjoy the landscape of the Red River Delta countryside and have a short break on the way. 
• HALONG BAY ARRIVAL: 12h30 – 13h00 Embark on Cruise followed by a short cruise briefing 
• CRUISING TO EXPLORE HALONG BAY: 13h30 – 15h30 Savor a delectable lunch as Cruises among the limestone islands. Explore the amazing SUNG SOT CAVE – the most beautiful cave in Halong Bay. 
• SUNSET TIME ON CRUISE: 16h30 return to Cruise. Continue cruising to the quiet area while enjoying the beautiful seascape on the way. COOKING CLASS AND SUNSET PARTY ON SUNDECK.
• NIGHT TIME: 19h00 – Have dinner is served, socialize with other guests, take part in board games, fish for squid, or just laze around and overnight on board.

Good morning Halong: Following a half-day of cruising and activities to explore more about this natural wonder of the world, we will return to Hanoi:

• MORNING TIME: Start your day with TAI CHI EXERCISES or a photo hunt then have breakfast on board while the boat starts cruising to the NATURAL PRESERVATION ZONE.
• KAYAKING: To explore around the area or visit a floating house and learn about the daily life of the local fishermen who live there.
• CHECK OUT TIME: Return to the boat. Freshen up and check out of your cabin.
• CRUISE TO DISCOVER MORE OF HALONG BAY: Keep on cruising then head back to the harbor and explore the Bay, passing BA HANG FISHING VILLAGE, DOG ISLET, and more.
• LUNCH ON BOARD: Return to the harbor, watch the fruit carving demonstration before enjoying a traditional Vietnamese lunch.
• DISEMBARK CRUISE AND HEAD FOR HANOI: You will take the shuttle bus from Halong to Hanoi, then check in hotel.
• Hanoi discovery at night and overnight in Hanoi.

• Enjoy breakfast at hotel in Hanoi then departure to Northwest of Vietnam. 
• Driving up following along highway 6 to Mai Chau
• Upon arrival in Lac Village in Mai Chau, then have lunch
• In afternoon easy trekking to discover Mai Chau Valley – Home of Thai people and Song Ma River’s bank area, by trekking following the buffalo trail via the rice field from the villages to villages of Thai people,
• Return to Lac Village then have dinner,
• Enjoy Thai people’s traditional performance
• Overnight in the Thai’s house on stilt.
• Distance from Hanoi to Mai Chau: 160 km or 100 miles.

• Start the day with a simple breakfast with your host family. Farewell to your host of homestay drive to Son La.
• Let’s stop en route to visit villages of various tribes including the Hmong, Thai, Muong, and Dzao and orchard, tea farm in Moc Chau plateau – Vietnam’s premier tea-growing region, before reach Son La (200km from Mai Chau) for a late lunch.
• In the afternoon, continue along winding mountain roads through North Vietnam’s stunning countryside. The most picturesque scenery here is Pha Din Pass, well known as a historical site during the 1st Indochina War ended in 1954, and a charming and dangerous pass at an elevation of 1,300m with a breathtaking view. According to local legend, “Pha Din” means the connection between Heaven and Earth.
• On arrival, check-in at your hotel and spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

Accommodation: Hotel in Dien Bien Phu.

• Nestled in a heart-shaped basin near the border with Laos, lies Dien Bien Phu. The famous historical battleground, where the Vietnamese successfully defeated the French, marking the end of French colonial occupation. 
• Start the day early with a visit to the local market where you will meet charming Thai tribes in their traditional costume purchasing their farm products.
• The next is the military base and historical site of the First Indochina War. Drive 30 minutes out of the city to the base of the Command of Dien Bien Phu Campaign (Muong Phang), located in a primitive forest in Muong Phang commune to the commanding bunker of General Commander-in-chief Vo Nguyen Giap and Hoang Van Thai.
• Get back to the town and visit Dien Bien Phu Museum, built-in 1984 on the occasion of the year 30th after Dien Bien Phu Victory before visiting A1 Hill – the most important camp of the French and Bunker of the French General De Castries.
• After lunch, drive along the peaceful Muong Thanh Valley to the Tay Trang border gate to Laos where your Laotian tour guide and driver await you.
• Crossing the border, continue through one of Laos’ most remote regions to Muang Khua, a one-horse border town located on the banks of the Nam Ou River. Arrive in Muang Khua in the late afternoon and check in at the hotel. Enjoy some free time to relax, then take a brief walking tour around the town to visit the local market and nearby pagoda.

Meals: Breakfast.

Accommodation: Hotel in Muang Khua.

Note: At Tay Trang border gate, the immigration normally closes during lunch break (12.00 – 13.30).

• You don’t want to miss the early morning Binthabat ceremony. Hundreds of monks will leave their pagodas and make a slow procession through the town, starting at 5:45 AM and lasting for about an hour. You can easily find them in front of your hotel.
• Return to the hotel for breakfast and then start a nice journey passing picturesque scenery along the Nam Ou River – Laos’s longest inland river.
• Enjoy the beautiful mountainous setting on a 6-hour drive heading to Luang Prabang. Stop for a lunch on your own (of simple local cuisine at Muang Ngoy).
• Then continue a drive to Pak Ou where you will take the boat cruise with a stop at the confluence of the Nam Ou and Mekong rivers to visit the Pak Ou caves – a pantheon of gold Buddha statues tucked into the nooks of the limestone cliffs. It is then only a short distance from the caves to the village of Ban Xang Hai. Stop here to learn about LauLao (Laos whisky) and LauHai (Laos wine).
• On arrival, check-in at the hotel then take an evening stroll through the quaint streets and enjoy the sunset over the river and surrounding lush countryside.
• The evening highlight includes a visit to the local night market in the city center, where ethnic minority people come together to buy and sell their wares.

Meals: Breakfast.

Accommodation: Hotel in Luang Prabang.

• Situated where the Nam Khan River meets the Mekong, lies the fabled city of Luang Prabang – the former capital of Laos and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With its lantern-lit streets, lined with a mix of faded colonial mansions and sparkling mosaic temples, this city is known to enchant its visitors.
• Have breakfast at the hotel then enjoy a half-day tour through Luang Prabang. Begin with a visit to the Royal Palace Museum, then head to the magnificent Wat Xiengthong – representative of classic Laotian architecture, before seeing the impressive stupa of Wat Visoun and the shrines of Wat Aham and Wat Mai.
• Spend the rest of the day at your leisure, relax in one of the city’s many quirky cafés or stroll along the beautiful riverbank.

Meals: Breakfast.

Accommodation: Hotel in Luang Prabang.

• • • Today drive from Luang Prabang to Xieng Khuang, passing through Laos’ pristine countryside.
    • This is over 7 hours journey with spectacular views of Laos’ rain forests and mountain ranges. Along the way, you will stop for photo opportunities and visit various hill tribe villages.
    • On arrival, check in at your hotel and relax.

  Meals: Breakfast & Lunch.

  Accommodation: Hotel in Phonsavan.

• • Start the day with a trip to Phonsavan’s bustling central market.
  • Visit the MAG (de-mining organization) exhibition before heading out to see the great stone wonders of Xieng Khuang, the Plain of Jars.
  • First, you will explore Site 1 where hundreds of large stone jars lie scattered about the enchanting plateau.
  • Next, is the forested area of site 2 and a short scenic trek to Site 3, passing through the Thai Dam and Laos Leum village. Enjoy an afternoon tour of the old capital Muang Khoun and nearby villages of the Hmong and Thai Dam peoples.

  Meals: Breakfast.

  Accommodation: Hotel in Phonsavan.

• • Today you take a short in-country flight from Phonsavan to Vientiane. Your driver and guide will meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel in the city center.
  • After a short rest, set out on a sightseeing tour of Laos’ eccentric capital, visit all the city’s key attractions. Start the tour with a stop at Vientiane’s oldest temple, Wat Si Saket, filled with over 2,000 ceramic, gold, and silver Buddha images.
  • Next, we visit Haw Pha Kaew – the Royal Temple that once housed the famous Emerald Buddha, before continuing to Laos’ most significant national monument: Pha That Luang.
  • Conclude your tour at Patuxai, known as Vientiane’s own Arc de Triumph.

  Meals: Breakfast.

  Accommodation: Hotel in Vientiane.

• Have breakfast at the hotel and then enjoy a free morning at your leisure before driving to the airport to catch your departure flight home.
• Meals: Breakfast.
• Accommodation: N/A.