DAY 1: HANOI BACKSTREET BY VINTAGE JEEP

08:00-08:30: Pick up at cruise passenger station.

Your guide will be holding the welcome sign saying ‘Travel Authentic Asia and your name on it’‘Hanoi Backstreet & Halong Bay Cruise ½ Day’. 

Quickly depart for Hanoi - the heart of the Vietnamese nation, transfer takes 2.5 hrs. (using the new highway Halong - Hanoi).

11:00 Arrival in Hanoi. Wandering around the Old Quarter, discovering several Vietnamese handcrafts & shopping.
12:30: Meet your Back-street guide and start your thrilling backstreet adventure!

Part 1: Explore the parts-unknown of Hanoi  

• Riding through the maze of zigzagging backstreets and narrow alleyways & markets.
• Diving into the rivers of motorbikes and the Hanoi street symphony.
• Traveling with all your senses heightened: Watching, Hearing, Touching, Tasting, Smelling…
• Experiencing the GOOD, the BAD and the WEIRD of the city as it is what it is.
• Experiencing different slides of life behind the scene, the hidden part of the iceberg, the parts unknown.
• Meeting people where they live, work, learn and pray.
• Building personal connections and culture exchanges.

Part 2: Hanoi Classical Romance & City’s Highlights

• Riding through the chronology of time in Hanoi from the thousands-year-old parts to the modern parts of the city.
• Cruising around the enchanting French Colonial Quarter, vibrant Hanoi Old Quarter.
• Passing by the must-see highlights of Hanoi such as Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, Presidential palace, Ba Dinh Square, Temple of Literature, Tran Quoc Temple, West Lake, Truc Bach Lake, Hoan Kiem Lake, Opera House, Saint Joseph Cathedral and train tracks.
• Crossing and watching the sunset on the historical and legendary Long Bien Bridge.

Parts 3: Hanoi Food Culture Experiences

• Savoring 7 AUTHENTIC Vietnamese dishes and Hanoi delicacies.
• Unique egg coffee, local moonshine, green tea, local beer…
• All food and drinks are healthy, organic and authentic.

17:00: Return to the cruise.
19:30: Drop off at the port and see you tomorrow!

DAY 2: HALONG BAY CRUISE HALF DAY (5 HRS. - NO LUNCH)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

08:00: Pick up at cruise passenger station.
Transfer (20 minutes) to the sightseeing pier on Tuan Chau Island to board a private half-day junk for a 4-hour cruise on the emerald green waters of Halong Bay.
After some time of cruising on the bay, we quickly get away from most of the other tourists to be alone in the middle of nature among the thousands of spectacular limestone islands and pass floating village for taking pictures.
The cruise includes a short hike up to an island for a visit to a limestone cave (Thien Cung or Heavenly Palace cave) with many beautiful stalactites and stalagmites and cruising by a fishing village where you can see how lives on the water and their making living there are.

Get on a rowing boat to visit Ba Hang Cave to enjoy the marvelous scenery here, boating is an activity you cannot ignore as your hands are free to take photos and admire the scenery.
We will start the cruise back to Halong City where your vehicle will be waiting for you to take you back to the cruise.

12:30: Drop off at your cruise.

 

Thank you! And see you again!