Women only tours to Vietnam
| country: | Vietnam |
| departures: | 2010: 3 Apr |
| price: | From £2100 (18 days) excluding flights. Price includes accommodation, entry to cultural sites, transfers, domestic flights and guide services |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Women only tours to Vietnam
On this women only tour we cover all the highlights of Vietnam:
- Meeting the fascinating and diverse highland peoples of northern Vietnam
- Visiting villages and markets in northern Vietnam
- Taking a day hike into Sapa Valley with the option of an overnight stay in a highland village
- Cruising stunning Halong Bay visiting floating villages and secluded beaches from our live-aboard ‘junk'
- A morning sea kayaking Halong Bay's tranquil waters exploring caves and lagoons
- Exploring Hanoi's fascinating 'Old Quarter'; visiting Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum; watching the intriguing art form of water puppetry
- Moto-tour of Hue's historic pagodas and palaces
- Soaking up the ambience in the World Heritage town of Hoi An – historic buildings, silks and textiles, artisans
- Vietnamese cuisine – half day cooking course in Hoi An
- Markets and museums in Saigon
- Morning excursion to the infamous Cu Chi tunnels
- Fascinating Mekong Delta day trip
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Hanoi. Our Vietnam experience begins in Hanoi's fascinating 'Old Quarter'. On arrival, you'll check into our hotel and have free time to freshen up and rest, or wander down to Hoan Kiem lake for coffee, patisseries and people watching on the lake front. We'll enjoy a delicious dinner together at one of Hanoi's contemporary French-inspired cafes, before hotel for a refreshing night's sleep. |
| Day 2: | Hanoi. Hanoi is a beguiling and vibrant city steeped in history, with a wonderful fusion of French colonial and Vietnamese architecture and cuisine. We take the day to visit the city's key sights such as Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum, the Museum of ethnography and the tranquil Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first university. There'll also be time to explore the colorful streets of the Old Quarter, where streets are named for the products they sell and everything imaginable is being bought and sold. We'll have an insightful meal at an NGO restaurant which trains and looks after 'street kids', giving them skills to pursue careers in the hospitality and tourism industries. This evening we enjoy the centuries old tradition of water puppetry, before taking an overnight train journey north, to Lao Cai. |
| Day 3: | Lao Cai Sapa. From Lao Cai we travel up into the hills to the lofty town of Sapa. Once a resort for French colonialists escaping Hanoi's summer heat, Sapa is now a centre for highland people to trade their goods, and is the best place in Vietnam to see many of the different ethnic minorities. Within moments of stepping from our bus you are sure to be 'adopted' by one of the delightful Black Hmong girls, who will enthusiastically wander around town with you showing you the weekend market and local sites. If you feel like stretching your legs we'll walk down valley, past terraced rice fields to a village nestled on the valley floor, which is home to many of the Hmong girls. |
| Days 4-5: | Sapa. We head down the valley by foot or bike through highland villages and mountainous rice terraced terrain, with the option of an overnight village-stay, which gives a unique insight into their ancient subsistence lifestyle. The highland women are adept embroiders and this is a great place to pick up wonderful handmade cotton textiles. Returning to Sapa, the balcony café of our guesthouse has the most spectacular views in town and is a fantastic place to dine and soak up the rural tranquility and lush environs. On our final evening we return by train to Hanoi. |
| Day 6-8: | Halong Bay. After an early morning arrival and breakfast in Hanoi we board our private bus for the interesting trip to Halong City. From here, we embark on our live-aboard Vietnamese 'junk' to explore spectacular Halong Bay. Studded with 1500 limestone islands rising sheer from the sea, its reputation as one of the natural wonders of the world, is well deserved and the bay has World Heritage status. We encounter caves, hidden lagoons and floating villages. We can swim, sea kayak, relax on secluded beaches and have plenty of time to unwind. Our skipper guides us through the maze of twisting passages, and the wonderful crew serves us bountiful seafood feasts. We return to Hanoi at the end of Day 8. |
| Days 9-10: | Hue. We take a short midday flight from Hanoi to Hue. Situated on the banks of the Perfume River and celebrated by Vietnamese poets for its romantic air and beauty, Hue was home to the Royal Dynasty until 1945. On our first afternoon we'll explore the city and local market by cyclo. The next day we take a wonderful tour of Hue's countryside, chauffeured on motos, visiting emperors' tombs, Buddhist pagodas and historic sites. One evening we enjoy a delicious gourmet buffet and cultural performance at the famed Saigon Morin. You will have time to relax by the hotel's pool or enjoy a cocktail on its rooftop bar |
| Day 11: | Hue - Hoi An. We travel the scenic coastal road by private bus to our favourite Vietnamese town, Hoi An. En route we stop for a short walk up Marble Mountain to see caves and temples embedded in the rock. We arrive in Hoi An in time for an early dinner at one of the town's excellent restaurants. |
| Days 12-13: | Hoi An. Hoi An was an important trading port from the 17th-19th centuries. Wandering the streets, you really feel embraced by history. The town now has UN World Heritage status and its profusion of old houses, quiet streets and covered bridge are being preserved and restored. These days Hoi An is renowned for its diverse architectural heritage, masterful tailors, abundant silks and superb cuisine. Hoi An is also the ultimate place to have affordable clothes made to order. There's a gorgeous beach nearby and people-watching on the riverfront, cool drink in hand, is hard to beat. We get a real taste for the local culture with a great half-day cooking course in Vietnamese cuisine. We take a day trip to My Son to explore the ancient temple ruins of the Cham kingdom – the most significant Cham site in Vietnam. While in Hoi An you will have some free time to relax at the beach, shop for a new outfit (or new wardrobe!) and dine at your choice of the town's riverside cafés. |
| Day 14: | Hoi An Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) . A short early morning flight south takes us to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), a city of stunning contrasts. We hail cyclos and zigzag our way to the War Remnants Museum, a sobering memorial to the Vietnam War, and then lighten up with a stroll around the unusual Presidential Palace and Ben Thanh - the central market and a great place to stock up on fine roasted coffee from the highlands. |
| Days 15-16: | The Mekong Delta. Vietnams rice bowl, is one of largest deltas world. You?ll experience fertile abundance beauty as explore by bicycle boat, visiting small farms workshops on islands among its branching water ways tributaries. We enjoy simple night, close people nature in comfortable and rustic homestay. After a morning visit floating markets we return to Saigon for the afternoon. |
| Day 17: | Saigon, Cu Chi daytrip. Today you have the choice of visiting the infamous Cu Chi Tunnels. These comprise over 250kms of tunnels where Viet Cong forces built pseudo-cities underground, enabling them to infiltrate and control large areas around Saigon virtually undetected. You'll be able to experience, first hand, the claustrophobic existence. On our return you'll have free time to explore the lively district around our hotel and dine at your choice of restaurants. Alternatively, you may like to spend the day in Saigon and enjoy some great food, colourful street markets, a relaxing massage at the Blind Institute, and endless shopping options. |
| Day 18: | Farewell Vietnam. Our journey concludes today and we are sure you will depart with a special affection for this intriguing country. Transfer to the airport and flight home. |
women only tours
Our company specializes in holidays exclusively for women over 25. If you have no-one to to travel with, well, now you do! You get to travel with a group of like-minded women in a safe, supportive and fun atmosphere – no male-female dynamics, no being the third wheel, and no single supplements! It’s a chance to relax, enjoy your holiday and be yourself. Our trips are small-group, mid-range and all-inclusive. We travel in small groups to have more interaction with the locals, we partake in great little adventures, and being just women, you get to do things that women enjoy – like indulging in a local spa, learning to cook local food, and of course, retail therapy! Short and sweet: women-only trips are great fun!
how this holiday makes a difference
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Community
All of our present staff come from a variety of backgrounds which lend themselves to sustainability of our planet: we have worked in National Parks, for Greepeace and for volunteer organisations. Needless to say, conservation and preservation comes naturally to us, from our office to across the globe! We whole-heartedly support locally and family owned businesses (in turn supporting the community), with our choice of accommodation (boutique family-run hotels), transport and activities. All accommodation is locally owned, and we only support locally owned restaurants/shops/ transport etc. Where appropriate, we provided constructive feedback to our accommodation, to support their transition towards sustainability. Many already implement their own initiatives through training, employing and supporting the local community. Environment Our trip supports numerous social and environmental development initiatives throughout Vietnam - we choose to dine at superb vocational training restaurants supporting street kids, visit fair trade hand-craft cooperatives (and buy up large!), and spend time at an orphanage in Central Vietnam, assisting with work they've prioritised. We visit Halong Bay, a UNESCO world heritage park - national park fees support the conservation of the marine and terrestrial environment. Similarly, in Hoi An, also a UNESCO world heritage site, fees paid to visit historic homes enable their preservation and restoration. Our local leaders are trained in sustainable travel ethics. We provide clients with indepth information about responsible travel in their pre-departure dossier. On trip, our leader initiates discussion and reflection on issues related to development, fair trade and conservation. All travellers receive a Responsible Tourism Code as part of their pre-travel dossier. Our group size is limited to 12 travellers in a group to ensure everyone has a very intimate and personalised experience of the countries and communities we visit. |
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. |
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