Vietnam Laos Family Adventure Tour

Upon arrival at the airport, your family will be welcomed by Viet Prestige Travel’s tour guide and transferred to your hotel. After a short rest, we will visit the Royal Palace Museum, which hosts a range of interesting artifacts and the impressive stupa of Wat Visoun and the shrine of Wat Aham and Wat Mai. We then climb up to the top of Mount Phousi for an enjoyable exploration of the sacred, gilded stupa as well as a beautiful sunset view of the city and the Mekong River. From there, we explore the Night Market, where you can find a lovely selection of handmade textiles made by the hill tribe and local people surrounding Luang Prabang. Overnight in Luang Prabang

Today, we will enjoy a short-guided tour seeing the city’s oldest temples of Wat Sene and the magnificent Wat Xiengthong with its roofs sweeping low to the ground, which represents classical Laotian architecture. We will then embark on a cruise upstream on the Mekong River, which also gives us a breathtaking view of the tranquil countryside as well as exploring the mysterious Pak Ou Caves, two linked caves crammed with thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes left by devoted pilgrims. Along the way, we will stop at the village of Ban Xanghai, where the local rice wine is produced. On return, we take a short drive to another small village Ban Phanom, which is famous for its hand weaving. Overnight in Luang Prabang.

After breakfast your guide will meet you for the 45-minute drive to the Elephant Camp. You will descend a steep flight of steps to board a bamboo raft for the three-minute ride across the river. After disembarking, you will take a seven-minute walk up a rutted incline that will open onto a clearing, where you will find the camp’s five elephants, all of whom used to be employed as logging beasts and now spend their days giving rides to tourists. You will take a 45 minutes lumber atop your elephant ride through teak forests so thick the sun is blotted out, down a heart-clenching steep slope to the river, and up again, passing through clouds of flitting yellow and white butterflies. You are off to the Khouansi Waterfall for another 1hr drive. The beginning of the park holds two unusual attractions. what a fantastic family holiday! The first is a caged playground with ten Asiatic black bears that were discovered in the forest above and rescued from poachers. Just up the path from them is an even rarer sight a young Asian tiger, found as a sick and hairless cub that had already passed through several traders’ hands. Your hike up to the falls continues from here, the way marked by a succession of natural swimming pools, each a milky, inviting sapphire and each accompanied by a plashing waterfall. At the second pool, about a 10 minutes hike from the tiger’s cage, wiggle into your swimsuit in the changing stall and take a quick dip before moving one tier up, where two stepped pools are joined by a small waterfall. Another 10 minutes up is the real cascade, a glorious 200-foot-high churn of water frothing into a pool of cloudy opal. We return to town by late afternoon. Overnight in Luang Prabang.

After breakfast at hotel we then transfer to airport for take short flight to Hanoi, on arrival, you will be picked up and transfer to hotel for check in, then free at your leisure. Note: your hotel will be the heart of Hanoi Old Quarter where your family trip can enjoy shops, restaurants, coffee shop, and interesting local cultures.

The colonial capital city Hanoi is a unique Asian city with tree-lined boulevards, French colonial architecture, peaceful lakes and oriental pagodas and temples dating back a thousand years.

Your family will visit the Temple of Literature. In 1076, Vietnam’s first university Quoc Tu Giam, was established within a temple to educate Vietnam’s royalty, mandarins and members of the elite. The university functioned for an incredible 700 years and its gardens and well-preserved architecture offer a fascinating glimpse into Vietnam’s past.
Visit The One Pillar Pagoda, founded by King Ly Thai To in 1049. This structure is one of Vietnam’s most iconic temples. Close by is the Mausoleum of the historic father figure of modern Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, and the former president’s house on stilts where he lived from 1958 to 1969. His former home illustrates the modesty of this Vietnamese revolutionary.  (viewed from outside; closed Mon and Fri and from Oct-Nov)

Continue to picturesque West Lake and the sixth century Tran Quoc Buddhist Pagoda. From here transfer (or stroll along the lakeside) 700 meters to the nearby Taoist temple of Quan Thanh dedicated to Tran Vu, one of the principal deities in Taoism.
In the afternoon, visit the fascinating Ethnology Museum (closed Mondays), which is both a research centre and a public museum exhibiting the ethnic groups of Vietnam. As an alternative to the Ethnology Museum, visit the highly acclaimed Vietnam Women’s Museum (closed on Mondays).  The museum is located near Hoan Kiem Lake and offers wonderful insight into the lives of Vietnamese women.  Displays highlight Vietnam’s vast cultural diversity and educate on the significant role Vietnamese women play in Vietnamese society.  Learn historic and modern-day traditions centered around births, weddings, motherhood, spirituality and more.
At the end of the afternoon visit Hanoi’s Old Quarter also known as the ‘36 streets’. Take a walking tour through charming Hang Be Market and around Hoan Kiem Lake. This bustling area of narrow streets and alleys is home to literally thousands of small businesses and shopkeepers. It’s a great place to explore with plenty of photo opportunities all around you.
Finish the day with a Water Puppet show. This is a uniquely northern Vietnamese art form depicting scenes from rural life and episodes of national history.
Overnight in Hanoi.

Today you take a drive West toward Mai Chau with one stop in Hoa Binh City for refreshments and coffee. Continue driving toward Mai Chau valley, about another 1.5 hours away, stopping on the way to take in the spectacular scenery. Our hosts for this evening will be the White Thai minority people and you will stay in one of their traditional stilt houses. There, you will be toasted as honoured guests and will be able to sample some of their homemade rice wine! In sampling these people’s hospitality, we will discover a little more about their lives and culture following the evening meal. Tonight’s accommodation will probably be a little more rustic than your usual accommodations at home.

Following breakfast you begin a soft trek in this beautiful valley, going from one village to another and have a chance to get in touch with local villagers going about their daily business tilling the fields, logging or herding the buffalo. Driver will meet you at Khoe Village for transfer back to Lac Village for lunch. Afterwards you can stroll around the hamlets, before returning back to Hanoi.

Have breakfast at your hotel, then enjoy the beautiful drive to the Mekong Delta River.
07.45 Pick up at your hotel in Hanoi by shuttle bus.
12.00 Embark at Hon Gai International harbour.
13.00 Check-in, enjoy a welcoming drink and cruise briefing.
13.30 Have lunch while cruising in the magnificent Bai Tu Long Bay, admiring the fascinating rock formations in the bay.
15.00 Enjoy swimming in the crystal clear water.
15.40 Explore the secluded Thien Canh Son Cave.
16.45 Short cruise to Hon Co Island where you can relax on a white sandy beach, swim or kayak.
18.00 Back to the junk for relaxation.
19.00 Have dinner and stay overnight on board.

Overnight in Halong Bay.

07.30 Enjoy the bay’s morning landscape with a cup of tea or coffee. Have breakfast in the open air.
08.30 Visit Vung Vieng fishing village in a rustic rowing-boat, meet the local people and pass through the floating school and fish farms.
09.30 More leisure time for swimming in the middle of the bay.
10.00 Cruise back to the harbour while an a la carte lunch is served.
11.45 Disembark, transfer to Airport for short domestic flight to Hoi An, on arrival, your family will be picked and transfer to hotel for check in and free at your leisure.

Overnight in Hoi An.

Free for relax or explore the Hoi An’s countryside, go to Cua Dai Beach.

It is free to explore the Hoi An with your family. Four family’ll be able to explore the Hoi An Ancient Town visiting Chua Ong Pagoda, Chinese Assembly Halls, the 200- year old Tam Ky ancestral house, and the Japanese Bridge followed by a relax at a local pub, do some shopping or visit the local tailors who make quality clothes in a flash. Or you can take a boat trip to Cu Lao Cham, visit its fishing villages and do some snorkeling, enjoy Vietnamese seafood lunch in Cham jungle restaurant. Overnight in Hoi An.

Tra Que is a charming little village on the edge of Hoi An, the village is famous for its sweet scented & green vegetables that spice up on the daily meals of Hoi An people: Cao Lau and Quang noodles. Come here, you will have a chance to discover the art of cultivating and water plants, tasting and doing a cooking class with local dishes prepared by host.

Itinerary for one-day tour: Depart at your hotel at 9:00 am, you will ride by bicycle to Tra Que Vegetable Village, experience a day of living and working with the local farmers in this village. A tour of the organic vegetable and herb gardens can include some time working in the field if you like, or merely observing and learning about the system and the fresh ingredients. Upon returning to the house, we were all treated to an herbal foot massage followed by a session of cooking various local dishes such as : Tam Huu Spring Roll, Banh Xeo or the local pancake of the people from the middle region. Biking back to your hotel, ends of tour.

Overnight in Hoi An.

Breakfast at your hotel, free at your leisure until picked up for your departure flight. Thank you so much for traveling with Viet Prestige Travel.