DAY 1: HANOI – CAT BA NATIONAL PARK – VIET HAI VILLAGE
You will be collected from your hotel in Hanoi’s old quarter at 08:00 to begin the drive to Dinh Vu Harbour. You will then take a 45-minute high-speed boat to Cat Ba Island. After that, you will go to Cat Ba town for lunch. In the afternoon, you will trek to Viet Hai Village through Cat Ba National Park enjoying bird watching, and sightseeing in the pristine forest and at Frog Lake. Along the way, you will have the chance to see native cats, squirrels, spotted deer, snakes, thousands of butterflies, and if you’re lucky, a Cat Ba Langur. You will have dinner and stay overnight in a bungalow in Viet Hai Village.
DAY 2: VIET HAI VILLAGE – LAN HA BAY – CAT BA ISLAND
Breakfast will be served at 07:30 followed by a walk to the top of Marine Hill which offers panoramic views of Ha Long Bay and Lan Ha Bay. On returning to Viet Hai Village, you can try a fish massage or take some time to relax before cycling to Viet Hai Harbour. From here you will board the boat to explore the beauty of Lan Ha Bay. Lunch on board followed by kayaking around Hang Luon Cave, and if it is hot, the boat will take you to some beautiful wild beaches where you can enjoy swimming and snorkeling. Back to Cat Ba town for dinner and overnight in a bungalow.
DAY 3: CAT BA ISLAND – NINH BINH – CUC PHUONG NATIONAL PARK
Depart early from Cat Ba town at 7:00 AM, morning drive overland to Ninh Binh province follow by a lunch in street restaurant in Ninh Binh. We will then take 2 hour boat rowing at Tam Coc. This area is considered as “Halong Bay on land” featured with karst formations. It is very beautiful scenery along the row with vertical sides of Limestone Mountains. Then, you can cycle for an hour on quiet roads through villages, rice fields, rivers and rocky outcrops from Tam Coc to Bich Dong. Get back to your van and head for Cuc Phuong National Park at 5:00 PM. Arrive at the park, check in and dinner. Overnight at the national park’s guest-house.
DAY 4: CUC PHUONG NATIONAL PARK – HANOI
After breakfast, Start your day with 30-minute drive into the center of the park for 3-hour trek to admire the amazing thousand-year-old trees in this oldest national park of Vietnam, On the way driving out, stop to visit a cave of pre-historic man which lies at the side of a limestone mountain. Learn how they lived here thousand years ago. Lunch at the park’s restaurant. Followed with a short walk to visit the national park’s primate rescue center and turtle center. Here the park’s guide will give you a good introduction of Vietnamese rare langurs and monkeys, some of them are unique and only found in Vietnam plus with their breeding program. Back to van for a return drive to Hanoi. Arrive in Hanoi about 5:30 PM.
