Diving & mountain biking in Vietnam
| country: | Vietnam |
| location: | North Vietnam, South Vietnam |
| trip type: | Moderate mountain biking holidays |
| departures: | We offer a complete tailormade service and this suggested sample itinerary can be tailormade to suit your requirements |
| price: | From US $1892 (14 days) excluding flights, based on twin share accommodation in mid range hotels |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
Highlights - adventure travel off the beaten track, mountain biking, kayaking, colourful ethnic culture, natural scenery, remote ethnic markets, homestays in stilt houses, boat cruises, scuba diving.
The first part of this tour is based in the North, where you'll visit Hanoi, Ha Long Bay and Sapa. From there, you travel to Nha Trang to a small, secluded beach resort for diving and a beach holiday. The active elements of the tour include biking, kayaking and scuba diving. Where necessary, you'll have an experienced professional guide, and interact with Vietnamese people in cities and towns, and ethnic minority communities in Sapa.
If you wish, the tour can easily be extended to include trekking, more time in Ho Chi Minh City, or anything else that interests you.
The first part of this tour is based in the North, where you'll visit Hanoi, Ha Long Bay and Sapa. From there, you travel to Nha Trang to a small, secluded beach resort for diving and a beach holiday. The active elements of the tour include biking, kayaking and scuba diving. Where necessary, you'll have an experienced professional guide, and interact with Vietnamese people in cities and towns, and ethnic minority communities in Sapa.
If you wish, the tour can easily be extended to include trekking, more time in Ho Chi Minh City, or anything else that interests you.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Ha Noi arrival (Dinner (D)) Arriving at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, you'll be met and driven to your hotel. You'll have time to relax after your journey before a welcome dinner at a good restaurant in an old colonial building. The evening is free – if you're not too tired, you'll be able to wander around Hanoi's famous Hoan Kiem Lake, enjoy a Vietnamese coffee in an open air café and feel the atmosphere of Vietnam's remarkable capital city. Your overnight stay will be in Ha Noi |
| Day 2: | Motor biking in Hanoi (Breakfast (B), Lunch (L), Guide (G)) Visits to the sights of Hanoi from the back of a motorbike: Van Mieu (the Temple of Literature - the first university in Vietnam dating back to the 11th century), and the centre of Ha Noi, including the Hoan Kiem Lake, the Ngoc Son temple and the bustling Old Quarter with its eclectic mix of architectural styles - traditional 'tube' houses, religious buildings, colonial houses, vernacular dwellings and modern concrete edifices. In the afternoon, you'll visit the homes and studios of traditional artists or, alternatively, modern abstract painters and sculptors. Your overnight stay will be in Ha Noi. |
| Day 3: | Kayaking in Ha Long (B, L, D, G) A morning drive will take you to one of the most spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Areas. Ha Long Bay is the world's largest marine 'karst' landscape, and Vietnam's premier natural attraction. Around noon, you'll board a traditional-style junk that will take you beyond the busy tourist area to some of the less well-known grottoes and caves. You'll be able to paddle to the rocky islands and explore sea-level caves in a kayak. The silence, broken only by the lapping of the water and the cries of sea birds, is a truly memorable experience. Time and tide permitting, there will also be opportunities for swimming, fishing, and climbing hills (not mountains!) for views of the bay. All meals will be provided on board and your accommodation will be on the boat in twin rooms with an en-suite toilet and shower. Your overnight stay will be on Ha Long Bay |
| Day 4: | Kayaking in Ha Long (B, L, D, G) You'll cruise and kayak to some of Ha Long Bay's little-visited islands, followed by lunch on board. The boat will dock around noon after which you'll return to Ha Noi. After dinner, and an opportunity for a shower and freshen-up, you'll be driven to Hanoi Station to board the overnight sleeper train to Sapa. Your overnight stay will be on the train. |
| Day 5: | Sapa ethnic market (B, L, G) You'll be met at Lao Cai station and be taken by jeep to an ethnic market. After a picnic lunch, you'll return to Lao Cai and continue your journey into the mountains to Sapa, a small town perched on the mountainside opposite Mt. Fan Si Pan, Vietnam's highest peak. You'll arrive in Sapa in the late afternoon, with time to relax before dinner. Your overnight stay will be in Sapa |
| Day 6: | Cycling in Sapa (B, L, D, G) A 2½hr morning drive will take you to Nam Cang village (Dao ethnic group). From there, you’ll cycle to Nam Than village (H’mong ethnic group), set in a scenic valley. Your lunch will be prepared by our experienced guide. Afterwards, a longer cycle ride of about two hours will take you to Sin Chai village. There, you’ll have dinner and sleep overnight in a ‘stilt’ house. Your overnight stay will be in a local homestay |
| Day 7: | Sapa - to Ha Noi (B, L, G) Another two-hour cycle ride gets you to Ban Ho village, a refreshing splash-around in a clear mountain spring, and a welcome stream-side picnic lunch. In the afternoon, you'll be picked up to return to Sapa and, later in the evening, to Lao Cai station by jeep to catch the overnight train to Ha Noi. |
| Day 8: | Free day in Ha Noi (B, G) After you arrive in Ha Noi in the early morning, you'll be met and driven to your hotel. The rest of the day is free. Your overnight stay will be in Ha Noi. |
| Day 9: | Ha Noi to Nha Trang (B, L, G) After breakfast, you'll fly to Nha Trang, be greeted by a Haivenu representative and be driven to your hotel. After checking-in, you'll board a boat to cruise upstream on the Cai River, visiting rural areas engaged in a variety of cottage industries. After lunch, you can relax in the sensual pleasure of a mud bath at a hot spring. Your overnight stay will be in Nha Trang. |
| Day 10: | Snorkelling in Nha Trang (B, L, G) This is one of the rare occasions that we involve out guests in commercial 'touristy' activities, because this one is great fun. A whole-day Nha Trang boat cruise is something of an institution on the Vietnam tourist trail, and takes you to Mun Island for snorkelling and around the bay to visit some of the other islands. There'll be a seafood and fruit lunch on board, followed by homespun entertainment and a bottomless 'floating wine bar'. Of course, if you don't fancy a jolly 'party' atmosphere with a group of strangers, we can arrange a private boat tour for you instead. Your overnight stay will be in Nha Trang. |
| Day 11: | Nha Trang to Whale Island (B, L, D) In the morning, you'll be picked up to drive to the Van Phong Gulf and a speedboat to cross to Whale Island. It's a 'get-away-from it all' hideaway about 80km north of Nha Trang. The only building on an isolated island, the Whale Island resort is designed to be unobtrusive and ecologically-friendly. It's small and basic but exclusive and comfortable – and therefore comparatively expensive, but all meals, transfers to the island and a motorboat for snorkelling are all included. You can dive at Whale Island – the coral is considered better than in Nha Trang. If you want to dive, you'll have a review dive in the afternoon. Your overnight stay will be at the Whale Island resort. |
| Day 12-13: | Diving off Whale Island (B, L, D each day) You'll have time for two days of diving with Whale Island's Five Star PADI Diving Centre. The cost of diving is not included: you can choose a package to suit you and pay locally, or if you prefer, we can book on your behalf. If you don't want to dive, there's swimming, snorkelling, fishing, sailing to nearby deserted sandy beaches, wandering around the island, and relaxing on the sun-loungers. Your overnight stay will be in the Whale Island resort. |
| Day 14: | Whale Island to Ho Chi Minh City (B) The Whale Island staff will take care of your transfer from the resort to Nha Trang airport. From there you'll fly to Ho Chi Minh City for your transfer or departure flight from Tan Son Nhat airport. |
travellers' tales
The highlights were surely in the North. The trip to Sapa and the mountain bike tour was magnificent, though we underestimated how cold it can be in the mountains in December especially during the night time. (more)
how this holiday makes a difference
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We have built strong links with local communities, craftspeople and artisans. We offer visitors an opportunity to meet them, thereby valuing their activities and thus helping towards their survival. For example, by spending the night in a Dao ethnic minority hamlet, you'll be supporting one of our local partner communities in Sapa.
Wherever possible, we contract local indigenous suppliers and assist them to improve the quality of their services. By booking this tour, you'll be helping us to support Vietnamese service providers, artists and performers, small businesses, boat owners and other poor people in communities throughout Vietnam. We use local freelance guides with wide experience and knowledge of cultural traditions and an ability to interpret the cultural heritage of the people in the places visited. For this tour, you'll have two or three different guides from various provinces of Vietnam. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |