Vietnam North & Central for Family

Xin Chao and welcome to Vietnam! Upon arrival to Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport, your Topas guide will welcome you to the capital before heading straight to your hotel in the heart of the city. The day is yours to spend at your leisure to discover Hanoi on your own, perhaps wandering the streets and alleys of the iconic Old Quarter and enjoying the evening promenade around Hoan Kiem Lake. You can of course speak to your guide for some tips for what to do.


Distance and Activities: 45’ drive

8.30am: After breakfast at your hotel, you will be picked up and transferred to Bat Trang Ceramics Village. This half-day Bat Trang Ceramic Village tour takes you to the most famous and long-established pottery village in Vietnam for hundred years old. You will have the chance to see the pottery making and even can try your hands on for your own products.
Upon arrival at the village, you will visit Bat Trang communal house, which was built under Le Du Tong King's period, from 1719 to 1720 and an ancient French building, which was built in 1920s and the workshop of Ceramic artist Tran Van Do or To Thanh Son. If you wish, you can try your hands in making your own ceramic products, of course, with instruction and assistance from the artist. After that, you will return to the city center and have free afternoon until the next activities in the evening.

5pm: you are picked up again for Sunset & Night tour on Jeep (Group tour).
If you even spent 10 years living in Hanoi, you would still be surprised at the amount of hidden gems the city houses within its narrow streets. Gilded temples, quiet lake-side pagodas, and romantic French Villas clamor for space on Hanoi’s narrow streets, while wide-tree boulevards lead to impressive historical attractions and dreamy lakes. More special to experience on Vintage Jeep.

Explore the parts-unknown of Hanoi
• Riding through the maze of zigzagging backstreet and narrow alleyways & markets
• Diving into the rivers of motorbikes and Hanoi Street symphony.
• Travelling with all your senses: Watching, Hearing, Touching, Tasting, Smelling…
• Experiencing the GOOD, the BAD and the WEIRD of the city as it is what it is.
• Experiencing different slides of life behind the scenes, the hidden part of the iceberg.
• Meeting people where they live, work, learn and pray.

Hanoi Classical Romance & City’s highlights
• Riding through the chronology of time in Hanoi from the thousand’s year-old parts to the modern parts of the city.
• Cruising around the enchanting French Colonial Quarter, vibrant Hanoi Old Quater.
• Passing by the must-see highlights of Hanoi such as Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, Presidential palace, Ba Dinh square, Temple of literature, Tran Quoc temple, West Lake, Truc Bach lake, Hoan Kiem lake, Opera House, Saint Joseph Cathedral and train tracks.
• Crossing and watching the sunset on the historical and legendary Long Bien bridge.

Hanoi Food Culture Experiences
• Savoring 7 food wonders of Hanoi
• Healthy, organic, and authentic Hanoi food
• Unique egg coffee, green tea, sugar cane juice, puddings and fresh local beer (Bia Hoi)

You will be dropped back to your hotel at about 9.30pm. Have a good night!


Distance and Activities: Morning Bat Trang Village, 4.5 hours tour by jeep

You'll be picked up early by the Topas Mountain Express and start the five-hour-and-a-half journey to Topas Ecolodge.
2pm: The afternoon can be spent visiting the Red Dao minority village. Lech Dao village is located in the hilly mountains of Thanh Kim Commune, inhabited by Red Dao people. This half-day walk offers you a chance to meet local people, visit their homes, and learn about Red Dao culture. Enjoy the magnificent view of Rice Valley and take some great pictures of the landscape.
The walk commences from Topas Ecolodge on a quiet road with a great view of the rice terrace below. You then take a slight ascent to Lech village. You will visit a local house, meet the friendly Red Dao hosts, and experience their daily way of life. The Red Dao women got their hair and eyebrows shaved like their ancestors and wear very colorful customs. They are famous for beautiful handmade embroidery and basket weaving. Later you may visit the village’s school and learn about education and the school system in the Northern Mountains of Vietnam. On the way back to Topas Ecolodge, you will walk on small trails passing rice terraces and crossing a suspension bridge. Your guide will explain the interesting cultivating culture of the local farmers.

Distance and activities: 5.5-hour drive, village tour
Grade: easy/ 2.5-3 hours walking/6.7km

Enjoy a great breakfast and prepare for today´s walk. At 8:30 AM, you will commence the excursion with a transfer deeper into Hoang Lien National Park to the trek starting point near Sin Chai village. You are now “off the beaten track” enjoying beautiful views of high mountains, waterfalls and deep valleys. The trails will soon lead you to the Red Dao village of Nam Nhiu, here you will meet the villagers, visit their houses, and learn about their daily way of life. Leaving the village behind, you will turn into a small dirt trail and soon be inspired by the marvelous view of the rice valley dotted with bamboo huts, which are used by local farmers as overnight lodges on harvesting days. Passing the rice terraces and a river you will walk on a quiet road for a while before arriving Nam Cang village. Your lunch is served at local restaurant.

Nam Cang village locates in the most remote area of Sapa. The Red Dao women wear some of the most colorful and diverse costumes of all Vietnam’s ethnic groups. Herbal bath, local medicine and embroidery are some of the things that the Red Dao are very skilled at. Accompanied by your guide, you will explore the village and learn how the local villagers make writing paper, jewelry and embroidery.

At 14:15, you will have a transfer back to Topas Ecolodge. Here you may want to book a traditional Red Dao herbal bath at the lodge’s spa.

Distance and activities: 7.1km hike, 2 hours driving
Grade: Moderate/ 3-3.5 hours walking

The day is yours to spend at your leisure until a mid-afternoon departure for Hanoi via the Topas Mountain Express. Simply enjoy the lodge grounds and views, take a dip in the mountain infinity pools, or talk to us if you'd like to take another trek into the surrounding mountains. The lodge spa is also available, alongside a selection of restaurants with local and international options.
Depart from the Ecolodge at 14:15, refreshed and rejuvenated from your time spent in nature.


Distance and activities: 5-hour drive, leisure time, trekking (optional)

9 am: you will be picked up at your hotel and transferred to Halong for overnight on a cruise boat in Bai Tu Long Bay.
12:15: Arriving at Sunworld International Harbor, Bai Chay Ward, Ha Long City. Transfer to Tonkin Cruise Boat by tender (5 -10 minutes). Enjoy a welcome drink, safety briefing then check in to your cabin.
1 pm: Cruising through Bai Tu Long Bay & having lunch with Set Menu. Kayaking to explore some lagoons, Swimming, and Relaxing at the Beach in Cap La. Relax and enjoy the sunset party with Happy Hour (from 5h30pm- 7h30pm) while the boat is cruising to Cong Dong-Cong Do area to anchor for overnight.
7 pm: Having BBQ dinner (on the sundeck if conditions permit otherwise in the restaurant). Free evening to join some activities of board games or squid fishing, play guitar, watch movies or karaoke (advance request), or taste the variety of drinks at our luxury sky bar (chargeable) with wines, cocktails, brandy, juices…

Distance and Activities: 3-hour drive

06:30am: Wake up early in the morning for Taichi exercise.
7am: Enjoy a light breakfast then visit Vung Vieng Fishing Village by bamboo boat to discover the daily life of the fisher communities.
Back to the main boat, relaxing, packing up
09:3am: Checking-out and relaxing on the sundeck then enjoy the last scenery of the Ha Long Bay over lunch when the boat cruises back to shore.
11:45am: Disembark and relax in our cafe lounge then transfer directly to the airport in Hanoi to take a short flight to Danang.
Upon arrival in Danang, transfer to your hotel in Hoi An for check in. The rest of the day is free at your leisure.


Distance and Activities: 4.5-hour drive, 1h20’ flight

Discover the history and signature flavors of central Vietnam in this 5-hour walking and cooking tour around Hoi An. Strolling down the narrow paths will bring you back to the heyday of a Hoi An trading port and explore local products in small markets. This is as thrilling as you join hands to accomplish Vietnamese dishes with a charismatic, fluent chef in the intimacy of the home-based cooking school.
8 am: Following a pick-up from your hotel, we join the chef and go to a local market and marvel at the seasonal fruits, noodles, herbs, vegetables, meat, and fish on display. Interact with the vendors and get some tips on how to bargain. Buy the ingredients for the dish you selected in advance.

After collecting all the necessary ingredients, head to the cooking school where the chef teaches and guides you through the steps of making your dish. There will be plenty of hands-on participation!

In Tra Que village, try your hand at fertilizing the plots, preparing the soil, planting the herbs, and watering and hoeing the vegetable beds. You'll even get to pick some delicious greens! And of course, you'll have the opportunity to cook a variety of healthy Vietnamese specialties.

Finally, just relax and enjoy the lunch we made. We will leave the cooking class with a detailed recipe and skills that totally impress your friends and family at home.

Cycle back to the Old Town for Hoi An folding lantern-making class: Handmade Paper - Experience Traditional Arts.
You will experience traditional Vietnamese arts with Ha, one of the Reaching Out workshop’s paperwork artisans, by making a foldable Hoi An lantern. In this class, guests have the opportunity to turn their creative ideas into a functional work of art! We teach guests how to create gorgeous, one-of-a-kind lanterns that fold flat and that they can take home with them.
The tour finishes after about 2 hours and you will take your bike back to your hotel. The evening is free at leisure.

Distance and Activities: 5-hour cooking class and 2-hour lantern making – about 8km cycling

Hoi An is one of Vietnam’s most charming towns, with beautiful old streets decorated with hanging lanterns. Enjoy the day, getting to know the restaurants, cafes, and tailors situated on the banks of the Thu Bon River. We suggest popping by the Reaching Out Teahouse, a lovely old-fashioned house providing work for the hard of hearing, serving delicious tea and homemade snacks.

Distance and activities: Free at Leisure

The day is at leisure until your transfer to Danang International Airport for your departure flight. End of services.

Distance and Activities: 45′ drive