Bite sized North Vietnam

The capital of North Vietnam, Hanoi, sits on the banks of the Song Hong, otherwise known as the Red River. It's a beautiful and lively city with over one million inhabitants. Colonial French influences can be seen everywhere and many people continue to refer to Hanoi as the Paris of the Orient. You'll find elegant embassies, sparkling lakes, wide boulevards and, of course, the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh. It has an undeniably European atmosphere, especially in springtime when the trees lining the boulevards are covered with pink blossom.

However, there are also many wonderful experiences to be found just beyond the city perimeters. Our Vietnam day trips will give you the opportunity to explore some interesting areas surrounding Hanoi. You can paddle through rice paddies, soak up floating village culture, visit several pagodas, explore Cuc Phuong National Park and, if you're lucky, spot monkeys.

Vietnam Day Trip 1: Rowing through rice

Duration	1 day Departs daily from Hanoi	Accommodation	n/a
Price	£38 per person - based on 2 people sharing	Included	All transport mentioned below, english speaking guide, lunch.
Transport	Minibus	Excluded	Entrance fees

This Vietnam day trip begins with a visit to the village of Hoa Lu, the capital of Vietnam during the 10th century. King Dinh chose this spot as capital for its strategic location and today there are two temples dedicated to the King and his successor Le (the King Dinh and King Le Temples). These were built in the 11th century but destroyed in the wars that have ravaged Vietnam over the years. The temples were reconstructed in the 17th century, and still retain their original features. On the top of a mountain nearby stands the grave of King Dinh. It’s worth the climb for the spectacular view over the surrounding countryside from the summit. At the end of the morning you'll take a short drive to Tam Coc, where your lunch will be waiting for you.

Once you reach Tam Coc, also known as Ninh Binh, you'll be rowing through rice! A row boat will take you through the area also known as inland Halong Bay. Since this area was once a landlocked sea, you'll also find towering limestone rocks shooting straight up into the skies from the rice paddies below. A very narrow boating lane will take you through submerged rice paddies and along the way you'll see fishermen in action and you'll see the locals peddling their boats with their feet. You'll visit three hidden caves during this boat ride and eventually you'll reach a pagoda at the top of a mountain. At around 5:00 pm your Vietnam day trip will end and you'll be back in Hanoi.

Vietnam Day Trip 2: Perfume Pagoda

Duration	1 day Daily departure from Hanoi	Accommodation	n/a
Price	£34 per person - based on 2 people sharing	Included	All transport as mentioned below, English speaking guide, lunch.
Transport	Minibus	Excluded	Entrance fees

This Vietnam day trip will begin at around 7:30 am when you'll be picked up by an air-conditioned minibus and head out for the one to two hour drive to the Perfume Pagoda. After the drive, you'll travel further by rowing boat on the Yen River, the only route to the hidden pagoda. Your boat ride will take you past rice paddies and temples and you'll see local farmers ploughing their land. You'll dock at a small harbour and continue the rest of the journey to the pagoda on foot. It should take perhaps another 1½ hours (uphill) to reach the pagoda. The view on your way to the pagoda is breathtaking. The majestic Perfume Pagoda stands in a huge cave at the top of the mountain with commanding views of the landscape below. The altars are secluded among the amazing stalactites and stalagmites. The Pagoda is regarded as the centre of Buddhism in the north and it is impossible not to feel the spiritual atmosphere of the caves. The temple is also accessible by gondola; however we considered the hike to be an unforgettable, intense experience with the pagoda as your reward at the end of the road.

The Perfume Pagoda has been a sanctuary for 3000 years. Every spring, a Perfume Pagoda Festival is held and thousands of pilgrims flock to the incredible caves. The festival lasts for three months, January through March. Many writers and poets have also been attracted to this region, drawn by both its spectacular landscape and its religious significance. They have written of the spiritual ambience that engulfs the Pagoda and the enlightening atmosphere of the festival. After walking back down the hillside, you'll be able to enjoy a Vietnamese lunch at the foot of the hill. In the afternoon you'll get a chance to visit the Thien Tru Pagoda, dubbed 'The pagoda that leads to heaven'. Tired but happy, you'll hop on a boat to Ben Huc where a bus will be waiting to take you back to Hanoi and your Vietnam day trip will come to an end.

Vietnam Day Trip 3: Towering trees and apes

Duration	1 day Departs daily from Hanoi	Accommodation	n/a
Price	£63 per person - based on 2 people sharing	Included	All transport mentioned below, English speaking guide, lunch.
Transport	Minibus	Excluded	Entrance fees

This Vietnam day trip will begin early in the morning and you will head out of Hanoi for Cuc Phuong National Park. The tropical forest here was discovered in 1960 and, soon afterwards, was given national park status, becoming Vietnam’s first national park. Cuc Phuong lies approximately 100km south of Hanoi and is home to a diversity of tree, plant, animal, and bird species. There are also numerous caves in the region, inhabited by around forty species of bats.

You'll also visit the 'Old Man’s Cave', in which stone tools and objects made by prehistoric man have been discovered. Unfortunately the park is continuously threatened by poachers and illegal chopping down of trees. The original inhabitants of the park, the Muong, were given new homes mostly at the edge of the forest.

Vietnam day trips - Cuc Phuong National Park

After your visit to the caves, you'll take a short 5km hike to the oldest tree in the region, roughly 1000 years old. You'll follow this trek with a tasty picnic lunch in the overgrown forest. In the afternoon, you will visit the amazing Endangered Primate Rescue Centre. At the centre, a group of dedicated biologists care for various (often endangered) indigenous primates, such as gibbons, loris and langurs. Many of these apes have been found in people's homes, while some have been intercepted during illegal transport to other countries, where they are worth a lot of money for their uses in native medicine. At the Centre, the rescued apes are nursed back to health, studied, and encouraged to breed in order to keep their species alive. They stay until they can be reintroduced into their normal environment.

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