Vietnam off the beaten track holiday
Highlights
Hanoi | Cycling around West Lake | Temple of Literature | Red River Delta | Stay in Mu Cang Chai Eco Lodge | Trekking in the countryside | Meet local minority tribes | Sapa | Stay in Topas Eco Lodge | Ha Giang | Dong Van minority market | Drive the Ma Pi Leng Pass | Meo Vac cattle market | Evening vespa tour of Hanoi |Description of Vietnam off the beaten track holiday
Designed to venture off the well-travelled tourist path, our Vietnam trip is ideal for those wanting to discover a side to the country that most visitors haven't even heard about. We’ve thrown in a few key sites such as Hanoi's Temple of Literature and the Paradise Cave for good measure, as let’s face it they’re ‘key’ for a reason, however this isn’t a fly and flop holiday for the masses: it’s about exploring and experiencing local life and for many, the real Vietnam is to be found in the north.An area of outstanding natural beauty where tourism is yet to impact and traditions hold strong, this itinerary follows an incredible route into the more remote mountainous regions of the north such as Mu Cang Chai and Ha Giang, whilst including some of the more well-known northern highlights such as Sapa, Ninh Binh and the Paradise Caves. The highlight for many being the opportunity to interact with traditional hill tribes, whose way of life hasn’t changed for centuries.
WHAT MAKES THIS TRIP SPECIAL?
* Experience the elegance of Hanoi’s Hoàn Kiem Lake at sunrise.
* Learn about the unique customs and rituals of the Pa Then minority near the lesser visited Ha Giang.
* Walk, boat and discover the freshwater lake and peaks of Ba Be National Park.
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.comDeparture information
Responsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your holiday will help support conservation and local people.
Throughout the trip we have included a number of home-stays and Eco lodges to ensure our footprint is as light as possible. Home-stays allow our clients to immerse themselves in local practices and gain a better understanding on the impacts of the modern world in these traditional homes. The Eco lodges recycle almost all their waste, boats are run on recharged batteries from clean hydro power and day trips are based locally to avoid unnecessary travel. This itinerary takes in Ba Be National Park and Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park. Both offer stunning scenery and are a sanctuary to thousands of flora & fauna. We work closely with local travel partners in both of these national parks. The local guides know the region well and are able to offer in-depth information on the national park, the wildlife and local communities; as well as first-hand knowledge on the challenges faced in terms of preservation of their local environment.
The Impacts of this Trip
We are of the staunch opinion that minorities aren’t tourist attractions. All our holidays that take place in and around minority communities are set up with the locals’ best interests at heart and we work with partners who do everything possible to ensure that the entire community benefits from our visits. This unusual Vietnamese trip visits a number of small villages where tourism is only starting to impact communities and we want to ensure this is a positive experience, either in the form of overnighting in a homestay, purchasing produce from the local market or utilising local guides and transportation.
We actively choose local guides and drivers, and work only with local travel partners. We insist that any travel partners we work with adhere to our responsible travel policies, and ideally put responsible tourism at the heart of everything they do. We work collaboratively with them to ensure an ongoing exchange of information, so we can all continue to improve our work around responsible tourism.
Throughout the trip we have included a number of home-stays and Eco lodges to ensure our footprint is as light as possible. Home-stays allow our clients to immerse themselves in local practices and gain a better understanding on the impacts of the modern world in these traditional homes. The Eco lodges recycle almost all their waste, boats are run on recharged batteries from clean hydro power and day trips are based locally to avoid unnecessary travel. This itinerary takes in Ba Be National Park and Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park. Both offer stunning scenery and are a sanctuary to thousands of flora & fauna. We work closely with local travel partners in both of these national parks. The local guides know the region well and are able to offer in-depth information on the national park, the wildlife and local communities; as well as first-hand knowledge on the challenges faced in terms of preservation of their local environment.
The Impacts of this Trip
We are of the staunch opinion that minorities aren’t tourist attractions. All our holidays that take place in and around minority communities are set up with the locals’ best interests at heart and we work with partners who do everything possible to ensure that the entire community benefits from our visits. This unusual Vietnamese trip visits a number of small villages where tourism is only starting to impact communities and we want to ensure this is a positive experience, either in the form of overnighting in a homestay, purchasing produce from the local market or utilising local guides and transportation.
We actively choose local guides and drivers, and work only with local travel partners. We insist that any travel partners we work with adhere to our responsible travel policies, and ideally put responsible tourism at the heart of everything they do. We work collaboratively with them to ensure an ongoing exchange of information, so we can all continue to improve our work around responsible tourism.
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