Hanoi Ha Long Bay Cat Ba Ninh Binh and Sapa 8D7N

Arrive at Noi Bai International Airport. Complete customs and immigration, then meet your private guide and driver outside the arrivals hall. Transfer to your hotel in Hanoi, approximately 45 minutes. Check in and take some time to settle in.

Your guide takes you to the Hanoi Old Quarter for a walking tour and an introduction to the city's famous street food. Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight in Hanoi.

Breakfast at the hotel. Begin the city tour at the historic Ba Dinh Quarter. Visit Ba Dinh Square, where President Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam's independence on 2 September 1945, and see Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum from outside (closed on Mondays, Fridays, and throughout October and November). Continue to One Pillar Pagoda, an ancient Buddhist pagoda built in the 11th century during the reign of King Ly Thai Tong, its single-column design rising from a lotus pond.

Visit the Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first university, and the Museum of Ethnography (open Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday). Continue to The Huc Bridge, Ly Thai To Monument, and the shores of Hoan Kiem Lake. Free time to shop at Trang Tien Plaza or explore Dong Xuan Market in the Old Quarter. Optional massage or nail spa at your own expense.

Dinner at a local restaurant, or join a street food tour through the Old Quarter. Optional night tours available. Overnight in Hanoi.

Breakfast at the hotel before departing for Ninh Binh. Visit Bai Dinh Pagoda, the largest temple complex in Vietnam and home to the country's largest bronze Buddha statue. Explore the sweeping corridors and hilltop towers by tram, taking in the blend of spiritual heritage and mountain scenery.

Lunch at a local restaurant. Board a small traditional sampan for a river journey through Trang An, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Glide through vast limestone karst formations, past rice paddies, and through a series of natural cave tunnels on the waterway. Boat ticket included.

Dinner at a local restaurant. Return to Hanoi. Free time to enjoy the night market or join an optional night tour. Overnight in Hanoi.

Breakfast at the hotel and check out. Drive to the pier, then board a speedboat to Cat Ba Island. Brunch at a local restaurant on Cat Ba.

Check in to your hotel and relax. Free time to explore Cat Ba National Park at your own pace, including Quan Y Cave, Trung Trang Cave, Thien Long Cave, or a trek to the summit of Ngu Lam Peak, the highest point on Cat Ba Island. Optional trekking tour to the national park available for an additional 500,000 VND per person. Free time to swim at Tung Thu Beach.

Dinner at the hotel. Free evening to explore Cat Ba Town: stroll along the waterfront, enjoy a coffee, or visit the night market and central square. Overnight on Cat Ba Island.

Breakfast at the hotel. Board the boat and set out on a full-day cruise of Lan Ha Bay. Visit Cai Beo floating fishing village, one of the oldest and largest in Vietnam, with a history stretching back over 400 years. Kayak through the Sang Toi cave area or another location on the bay depending on tidal conditions. The boat continues to the most scenic and remote reaches of Lan Ha Bay. Seafood lunch served on board.

The boat moves to Van Boi Beach, the most beautiful stretch of coastline on Lan Ha Bay. Jump from the boat deck and swim ashore to the surrounding beaches. Afternoon tea served on the bay. In the event of bad weather or poor tides that prevent access to the beach, visitors will instead visit Viet Hai ancient village by electric car and enjoy a foot massage by fish. Return by car to Hanoi in the late afternoon.

Dinner at a local restaurant in Hanoi. Free time to explore the night market or join an optional night tour. Overnight in Hanoi.

Breakfast and check out. Depart Hanoi along the longest highway in Vietnam, traveling 250 km northwest to Sapa, the town the French once called the summer capital of Tonkin. Stop in Lao Cai to take photos at Milestone 102 at the Lao Cai International Border Gate with China.

Lunch at a local restaurant, then head to Sun World Fansipan Legend. Board the Muong Hoa luxury train, the most modern train in Vietnam, and ride through the Muong Hoa Valley with its sweeping terraced rice fields visible through transparent windows. At Hoang Lien Station, transfer to the Fansipan cable car, which holds two Guinness World Records, for the ascent up the mountain. Continue on the Do Quyen mountain train, whose winding track passes through a tunnel at the Great Buddha statue, to reach the summit area.

Hike to Thanh Van Dac Lo and Bich Van Zen Temple. Reach the summit of Fansipan at 3,143 meters, the highest peak in Indochina. Visit Tam Thanh Mau Temple and the Lower Pagoda, and take photos at the Fansipan flagpole. Train, cable car, and mountain train tickets are all included.

Dinner at a local restaurant in Sapa. Free time to explore the night market. Overnight in Sapa.

Breakfast at the hotel and check out. Begin the drive back toward Hanoi.

Lunch at a local restaurant along the route. Stop at Duong Lam Ancient Village, a traditional Vietnamese village celebrated for its well-preserved communal architecture, ancient homes, local temples, and peaceful rural landscape. Walk the lanes, meet local residents, and experience traditional farming life.

Dinner at a local restaurant in Hanoi. Free time to explore the Old Quarter or join an optional night tour. Overnight in Hanoi.

Breakfast at the hotel. Last chance for shopping in the Old Quarter or Trang Tien Plaza.

Lunch at a local restaurant. Transfer to Noi Bai International Airport for your departure flight back to Singapore.