Adventures around Mai Chau

Upon arrival at the Hanoi International Airport, we will make our own way to our hotel. In the late afternoon, around 4:30 PM, we will meet our guide in the hotel lobby for a walk around the Sword Lake. During the walk, we will stop to visit the beautiful Ngoc Son Temple, located on an island in the middle of the lake and accessible via a picturesque red wooden bridge. The evening will be enhanced by a welcome dinner at a local restaurant, where we can enjoy the delights of Vietnamese cuisine.

In the morning, we will head towards the traditional village of Tho Ha, where we will have the opportunity to better understand rural life in Vietnam. Upon our arrival, we will take a short ferry ride to cross the Cau River and reach Tho Ha village. We will explore the village and the traditional Communal House, being amazed by the ancient architecture of the village, where some houses still retain the original structure from the late 1800s. We will be welcomed by a local family and will be able to observe and learn about the creation and drying of rice paper. Then, we will interact with the family through a small performance of Quan Ho folk songs, an expression of the spirit, philosophy, and local identity of the communities in Bac Ninh province. After bidding farewell to the family, we will continue our journey. We will then return to Hanoi to visit the Temple of Literature (Van Mieu), once the site of Vietnam's first university, founded in 1070 by Emperor Ly Thanh Tong, with 82 of the original 116 steles still displaying the names of the doctoral examination winners. Next, we will take a walk in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, starting from the Lake of the Restored Sword and passing through Hang Hanh, the famous coffee street, where we will try egg coffee, an iconic Hanoi beverage developed by a former employee of the Sofitel Legend Metropol hotel. This secret recipe is now available in many cafes in Hanoi, but the original remains the best place to taste it. Finally, we head towards the Catholic Church. We will walk through these quiet alleys, observing the daily life of the city, and finally take a break enjoying a cup of coffee in one of the local shops.

Oggi lasceremo l'energica Hanoi per dirigerci verso la tranquilla area montuosa di Mai Chau. Durante il viaggio, la strada si inerpicherà gradualmente, portandoci in un affascinante paesaggio di montagna a media altitudine. Una volta arrivati a Mai Chau, ci verrà offerto un pranzo di benvenuto preparato da una famiglia locale in una tradizionale casa Thai su palafitte, offrendoci un'opportunità unica per immergerci nella cultura e nella vita quotidiana del posto. Nel pomeriggio, faremo una breve camminata fino al villaggio di Na Cut ai piedi della montagna. Questo sarà un momento perfetto per osservare uno spaccato autentico della vita locale in questa regione, dove sono preservate antiche tradizioni. Di notte, soggiorneremo nella grande sala principale di una casa locale. Per il nostro comfort, la casa sarà fornita di letti (materassi, lenzuola, cuscini, zanzariere, ventilatori).

We will depart for the village of Cum, from where we will start our hike towards Mai Hich. Nestled in the heart of Northern Vietnam, we will be surrounded by mid-altitude mountainous landscapes and green valleys dotted with rice paddies. Once we arrive at Mai Hich, we will have lunch with a Thai ethnic family, having the opportunity to taste their hospitality and traditional cuisine. In the afternoon, we will continue our walk for another two hours, crossing the wild beauty of the Mai Chau valley. This path will take us through small wooden stilt villages, rice fields, and cornfields, all immersed in an atmosphere of serenity and peace.

We will depart from Mai Chau towards the "land-based Halong Bay", traveling along a road that will allow us to admire picturesque landscapes. We will arrive at noon in a village, where we will have lunch in a local house to taste the traditional cuisine of the area. In the early afternoon, we will start a pleasant bicycle tour through the villages to explore the area and get to know its inhabitants. This bike ride will offer us a fascinating view of the daily activities and local traditions. Later, having reached the Van Long Nature Reserve, we will board a small rowboat for a peaceful journey among flooded rice fields, rocky peaks, winding channels, and lush vegetation, in a relaxing and evocative atmosphere. After this unique experience, we will reach our hotel.

In the morning, we will depart for Halong, where we will arrive around noon. Once there, we will embark on a cruise in the extraordinary Halong Bay. This bay, famous worldwide, is one of the most enchanting landscapes of Vietnam, with its towering vegetation-covered islets rising from the crystalline waters. Halong Bay consists of about 1900 islands and islets characterized by rocky peaks, many of which are uninhabited and unexplored, offering a marine landscape of rare beauty, recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994. During the cruise, we will be served lunch and dinner, with a selection of exquisite fresh seafood caught in the bay. At the end of the day, we will have the opportunity to participate in a night fishing session on the boat, a unique experience to conclude the day.

Early in the morning, as we wake up depending on the season, we will have the opportunity to enjoy the sunrise over the aquamarine waters of Halong Bay. The cruise will continue to sail through the bay, allowing us to further admire its spectacular scenery, until the time of our disembarkation at the end of the morning. After disembarking, we will return to Hanoi and head to the Noi Bai Airport to catch our return flight. It will be a journey that takes us back through the Vietnamese landscapes, thus closing a chapter full of experiences and natural beauty.