Northwest Vietnam 7 days 6 nights

Your driver and guide will pick you up at your hotel in Hanoi in the morning before taking you along highway No. 6 to Mai Chau; a small town nestled in the midst of a lust valley surrounded by emerald-green rice fields.

Along the way you can relax and enjoy the views of the amazingly scenic landscape, littered with pagodas and rural villages. We’ll stop for a quick visit to a Muong tribal community, before continuing on through Thung Khe Pass, where you’ll get to enjoy the most spectacular views of Mai Chau Valley.

After lunch in Mai Chau, it’s time to get off the tourist track, and start our trek along the Song Ma River. As you walk, you’ll be constantly surrounded by rice terraces and small villages, letting you truly discover the natural beauty of the valley, and also giving you the chance to experience the culture of the White Thai people, who live in the region.

You’ll stop in one of these Thai villages for a home-cooked meal with a local family and an overnight stay in their home. There will also be live dance and music performances for you to enjoy in the evening.

After a simple breakfast with your host family, we will drive you to the village of Son La.

En route we’ll make several stops at various villages inhabited by H’mong, Thai, Muong and Dzao people, as well as an orchard and tea plantation on the Moc Chau Plateau, famous as the powerhouse of Vietnamese tea production. The total drive to Son La from Mai Chau will be about 200 kilometres, and we’ll arrive just in time for a late lunch.

After lunch and some rest, we continue along the winding mountain roads through North Vietnam’s stunning countryside, with the clear standout in terms of picturesque scenery being Pha Din Pass, famous for the role it played during the 1st Indochina War.

This charming but intimidating road lies at an elevation of 1300 metres, with no shortage of breath-taking views of the valleys below. According to local legend, the name “Pha Din” means “The Connection between Heaven and Earth”, and it’s easy to see how it gained this name when you see it for yourself.

On arrival in Dien Bien Phu, you will check-in to your hotel and spend the rest of the day at your leisure.

Nestled in a heart shaped basin near the border with Laos, Dien Bien Phu is the famous historical battleground where the climactic battle of the 1st Indochina War took place, finally dislodging the French colonial occupation.

We’ll have an early start to the day by first visiting a local market, where you can meet charming people from nearby Thai tribes, dressed in their traditional costumes, as they shop for necessary supplies.

Next up is a visit to the Dien Bien Phu Museum to learn more about the history and culture of the area, before heading over to Dien Bien Phu Cemetery where we’ll participate in a minute’s silence in honour of the national heroes who gave their lives for the victory achieved here.

Other sights we’ll visit on this day includes General De Castries’ Bunker, the Old Muong Thanh Bridge and the serene Nam Rom River. After all this, we’ll have a quick rest and lunch and then proceed with our drive to Lai Chau along bumpy countryside roads, passing a number of ethnic villages belonging to the Kho Mu (Xa), Huoi Chan and Bung Giant peoples.

Continuing along these scenic roads, we’ll eventually reach Phong Tho, where we’ll cross the fascinating Chinese-built Hang Tom suspension bridge, which hangs over the confluence of the Da and Ma rivers.

From here, the road weaves its way northwards through the picturesque and steadily more spectacular Na River Valley, past more ethnic villages of White Thai, Kho Mu and later Red and White H’mong minorities.

When you arrive in Phong Tho you will be free to spend rest of the day exploring the village by bicycle.

On the fourth morning you will leave Phong Tho for Sapa.

The road is a bit bumpy at times, but the rough route rewards you with magnificent scenery, including yawning valleys, winding rivers and towering mountains; truly any photographers’ dream. The drive will take you up Tram Som, Vietnam’s highest mountain pass, where you’ll get some amazing views of Fansipan Peak, known as the “roof of Indochina” as it’s the tallest mountain found anywhere in Vietnam, Laos or Cambodia.

The final stops en-route to Sapa will be Heaven’s Gate and the Silver Waterfall, before arriving at your destination in the afternoon. Sapa is nestled in a sweeping valley near the Chinese border, and is Northwest Vietnam’s foremost travel destination.

Built in 1922 as a French colonial hill station, this quaint town is now a trekker’s paradise, offering hiking routes through terraced rice fields and enchanting hill tribe villages. Enjoy a free afternoon to explore the colourful town on your own before your dinner and overnight stay in Sapa.

This day is entirely dedicated to trekking through Sapa’s breath-taking countryside.

After breakfast at the hotel, we set out on our adventure by heading down Muong Hoa Valley, which is one of Vietnam’s most stunningly beautiful trekking routes. We’ll walk through pine forests, past endless rice terraces and enjoy a picnic lunge along the shore of the river. Once we’ve eaten, we continue on until we reach a small village inhabited by the Zay tribe.

Rounding out our trekking day, we continue to Ta Van Bridge, where our driver will be waiting to drive you back to Sapa for an evening at your leisure.

Today you are free to discover Sapa town in any way you see fit.

After an early breakfast at the hotel, you leave Sapa for the long and beautiful drive back to Hanoi.

Enjoy many stops en route to savour the beautiful countryside as the landscape changes from arching mountains to the flat plains of the Red River Delta, and eventually the bustling metropolis of Hanoi.

You will arrive back in Hanoi in the late afternoon, where we’ll you off at your hotel.