North Vietnam & Laos Adventure – 13 Days

After breakfast, leave Hanoi for the drive of about two and a half hours to the coast.

Step aboard your junk around midday and settle in over a seafood lunch as the boat sails out among the islands.

Cruise past some of the bay’s best-known islets, among them Dinh Huong and Ga Choi, and step inside one of its great caves, such as Thien Cung, Dau Go or Sung Sot. Later, drop anchor at a sheltered cove with a white-sand beach and cool off in the warm water of the Gulf of Tonkin.

Dinner is served on board, and the night is spent on the water, with only the gentle rocking of the boat for company.

Rise early for tai chi on the top deck, or simply watch the sun come up over the islands with a cup of coffee or tea. Then explore the nearby islands by rowing boat.

Back on board, enjoy brunch and relax on the sundeck as the junk cruises slowly back to the harbour past more of the bay’s extraordinary rock formations.

Your driver meets you at the dock for the drive back to Hanoi. If you would like to see more of the city, a three-hour tour of Hanoi’s main landmarks can be added this afternoon.

Your driver and guide meet you in the hotel lobby for the drive west, past villages and pagodas scattered across the countryside. Along the way, stop to meet a Muong community, then pause at Thung Khe Pass for your first sweeping view down into the Mai Chau Valley.

Lunch is served in Mai Chau.

Set off on foot along the Song Ma River, away from the usual tourist trail, following paths through terraced rice paddies and small villages where you meet the White Thai people who have farmed this valley for generations.

Spend the night in a Thai village, sharing dinner with your host family, followed by a lively performance of local music and dance.

Share a simple breakfast with your hosts and say goodbye. Drive up onto the Moc Chau Plateau, one of Vietnam’s finest tea-growing regions, stopping at an orchard, a tea farm and villages of the Hmong, Thai, Muong and Dao peoples along the way.

Arrive in Son La, about 200 kilometres from Mai Chau, for a late lunch.

Continue along winding mountain roads to Pha Din Pass, whose name is said to mean the place where heaven meets earth. Once a vital supply route in the First Indochina War, it is one of the most dramatic passes in the north, with views over endless ridges. Arrive in Dien Bien Phu and check in to your hotel.

Dinner is included, and the rest of the evening is yours to relax.

Begin at the local market, where Thai women in traditional dress sell the produce of the valley.

Drive about 30 minutes out of town to Muong Phang, where the campaign headquarters lies hidden in the forest. Here you can see the bunkers and huts from which General Vo Nguyen Giap and Hoang Van Thai directed the battle.

Back in town, visit the Dien Bien Phu Museum, opened in 1984 for the 30th anniversary of the victory, then climb A1 Hill, the most fiercely contested French stronghold, and see the bunker of the French commander, General de Castries.

Relax by the hotel pool or stroll around town at leisure.

After breakfast, drive south through the peaceful Muong Thanh Valley to the Tay Trang border gate, where your Lao guide and driver are waiting on the other side.

Continue through the remote far north of Laos to Muang Khua, a small border town on the banks of the Nam Ou River, and stop for lunch along the way.

Drive on to Nong Khiaw, a rustic riverside town squeezed between some of the most spectacular limestone mountains in northern Laos.

Take a gentle walk around the village to enjoy the views of the river and mountains, or visit the small temple complex in the centre of town.

Drive for about two hours along the Nam Ou River to the Pak Ou Caves, where thousands of golden Buddha statues fill the nooks and ledges of a limestone cliff above the water.

Cruise down the Mekong to Ban Xang Hai, a village known for its homemade lao lao rice whisky and lao hai rice wine, and see how both are made. Continue down the river to Luang Prabang and check in to your hotel.

Stroll through the town’s quiet streets as the sun sets over the river, then browse the night market, where ethnic minority traders lay out textiles, silver and crafts under rows of lights.

Begin at the Royal Palace Museum, once home to the kings of Laos. Continue to Wat Xieng Thong, with its sweeping, layered roofs, a classic example of Lao temple architecture, then see the great stupa of Wat Visoun and the shrines of Wat Aham and Wat Mai.

Spend the rest of the day relaxing in one of the town’s charming cafes or strolling along the riverbank.

Set off from Luang Prabang on the road to Xieng Khuang, winding through rainforest and over mountain ranges, with stops for photos and visits to hill tribe villages along the way.

Stop for lunch on the road.

Arrive in Phonsavan after about seven hours of driving, check in and relax.

Start at Phonsavan’s busy central market, then visit the MAG exhibition, which explains the work of clearing unexploded bombs left from the war. Head out to Site 1 of the Plain of Jars, where hundreds of huge stone jars lie scattered across the grassy plateau, then to the forested Site 2.

Take a short, scenic walk to Site 3, passing through the Thai Dam and Lao Loum villages.

Visit Muang Khoun, the old provincial capital, and the Hmong and Thai Dam villages nearby.

Fly from Phonsavan to Vientiane, where your driver and guide meet you for the transfer to your hotel in the centre.

After a short rest, explore the city’s main sights. Begin at Wat Si Saket, Vientiane’s oldest temple, whose walls hold more than 2,000 Buddha images in ceramic, silver and gold. Continue to Haw Pha Kaew, the royal temple that once housed the Emerald Buddha, and Pha That Luang, the golden stupa that is the national symbol of Laos. Finish at Patuxai, Vientiane’s own Arc de Triomphe.

Enjoy breakfast and a last morning at leisure, perhaps with a coffee by the Mekong.

At the agreed time, your driver takes you to Wattay International Airport for your flight home.