Day 1: Hanoi – Lang Son – Cao Bang
Around 8am, the HTS tour guide will pick you up from the hotel for your North- East Adventure Tour 5days 4nights, leaving Hanoi for a three-hour drive to Lang Son City on the A1 National Highway. On arrival to this city you will visit the local market, before continuing along the spectacular mountain roads to Cao Bang. The journey is filled with mind boggling views of lush valleys, village hamlets, distant mountains, and on reaching Cao Bang, a small town on the Chinese border, and take stroll to see and meet the colorfully dressed mountain tribes of this area.
Meals: Lunch, Dinner.
Accommodation: Hotel in Cao Bang.
Day 2: Cao Bang – Ban Gioc Waterfall
After breakfast you will explore the unspoiled nature that surrounds Cao Bang as you drive along the Chinese border to the impressive Ban Gioc Waterfall. Set amid picturesque scenery, Ban Gioc is one of the Vietnams largest waterfalls and you may enjoy some relaxation or take a swim in its emerald waters. You will then return to Cao Bang late afternoon to explore more of this quaint town.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.
Accommodation: Hotel in Cao Bang.
Day 3: Cao Bang – Pac Po Cave – Ba Be Lake
After breakfast this morning you will depart for a drive towards the Chinese border to see the historical cave where President Ho Chi Minh lived and worked on his return to Vietnam in early of 1940s. Along the way we stop and visit the exotic local market to mingle with the hill tribes as they barter their wares. You’ll return to Cao Bang midday and, after lunch, drive to Ba Be National Park in the afternoon. On arrival, you will meet up and become acquainted with a family of the Tay tribe, who will become your hosts and tonight you will stay in their traditional long house in the Tay village.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.
Accommodation: Homestay in Ba Be.
Day 4: Ba Be Lake – Dau Dang Waterfall
This morning you will take a 3 boat cruise that offers spectacular views of Ba Be Lake and the surrounding mountains. Take a short trek to the Dau Dang Waterfall before visiting some villages of the Tay and Zao minority people, enjoying a picnic lunch along the way, amidst the wonderful scenery.
On your return you enjoy dinner then and stay overnight in the village of the Tay tribe.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.
Accommodation: Homestay in Ba Be.
Day 5: Ba Be lake – Bac Can – Hanoi
After breakfast, visit Cho Ra market before beginning your return journey to Hanoi, stopping for sightseeing, lunch and photography opportunities along the way. Arrive back in Hanoi late in the afternoon where your North- East Adventure Tour 5days 4nights ends, back at your hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Accommodation: N/A.
HTS Tour organised a private vehicle trip with guide for our journey and did a very good job of it. We set out to Cao Bang close to the Chinese border, past some scenery that can only be described as out of this world. We saw every shade of green in the lush valleys and mountains we crossed. We holed up in Cao Bang for the night and in the morning followed the border to the massive waterfalls at Ban Gioc, where we looked around and swam in the pools of the falls, then took the road back to our Cao Bang hotel. The following morning we visited the cave-home that H C Minh used to live in, interacted with some tribal people, then passed back through Cao Bang on our way to Ba Be National Park and our home-stay with a Tay ethnic family. We enjoyed a delightful cruise, on different boats, enjoyed a picnic lunch, and took heaps of photos of this really stunning place. We spent another night with our home-stay hosts, then the following morning we began our journey back to Hanoi, stopping several times for breaks in ethnic villages and for lunch. It was a wonderful way to discover the North –East of Vietnam, and we recommend it to everyone.