grand tours

We pick you up from your Hanoi hotel or residence. An early start is essential to beat the peak of the rush hour traffic. We are soon out of Hanoi and and on our way.

Lunchtime! We stop in Bac Kan province where we find a local restaurant. There are many choices of food - everything from Tay to Kinh food available here! Lunch takes an hour, then we are back on the road to our destination.

We arrive in Ba Be National Park and go to the homestay of Hoang Nguyen in the village of Nam Mau. Our homestay has has a beautiful view of Ba Be Lake. We check in, do all the formal greetings and then unpack.

There are lots of things to do, we have the options of swimming or a walk around the village before supper. Swimming is the most popular.

The homestay prepares for us a delicious spread of food - Tay style. The family is very welcoming and the homestay very comfortable.

Breakfast is served! Usually crepes (French style pancakes) or local breakfast options (noodle soup, banh quan etc). Served with some fresh tea / coffee. Today is lake day!

To get to the boat station is a 2km trek. The path is flat and green lined with trees that the wild monkeys love. Monkeys are the easiest of the animals to see as they are a little noisy and quite visible. To see the rare birds you will need a good set of binoculars.

We arrive at the Pac Ngoi Boat Marina at the southern most part of Ba Be Lake. This boat trip is the long one listed on the activities. We take our little long boat across the lake to our first stop which will be a little trekking.

Arriving in Nam Mau at the start of the Nang River we trek the local area as it is a small valley with nice features such as rice fields and forests. There are locals to talk too as well. They are mostly ethnically Black Tay. We spend 1/2 hr here. Not long but the place is small but beautiful.

We travel further north east up the Nang River to Puong Cave. The cave has a river entrance so we arrive in style. The cave is 300m long and up to 50m high. There is a formal path inside making it easy to navigate. There is much to see inside the cave with some truly impressive features, worthy of many photos. There is only one boat access point so we take the path that returns us to the waiting boat.

Travelling back down the rive in the opposite direction to see our next location of Dau Dang Waterfalls. A little trekking is involved as the falls are 700m from the boat drop off point. The falls themselves are 30m wide and there are a few different places to view them from.

The falls make a perfect location for a lunch stop. The food here is local style with the added option having fresh fish caught in the lake and we mean really fresh.

Back on Ba Be Lake, we stop at Pe Lu (An Ma) island which is at the north east most part of the lake. There is a temple here to celebrate a creation legend of the lake. According to legend two kind villagers were saved by a fairy and their house turned into an island. We also have some time here to go swimming - highly recommended on hot days of which there are many.

Our final destination of the day is back to the place where we started at the south most point of the lake! Pac Ngoi Boat Marina. We get a beautiful skies in late afternoon and early evening as we travel across the lake. It truly gives it a different feel.

We trek the 2km back to the same homestay that we were staying at. The views of the early evening skies really set off the tone and make everything look dreamy. Photographers call this the golden hour.

Arriving at the homestay we have an hour to rest, freshen up or just explore. There is a sunset to see as well before supper in an hour.

Just like last time the menu options are on rotation as it depends on what is growing in the garden. Food is Vietnamese style and they are known for very good spring rolls - a favourite in Vietnamese cuisine.

Breakfast is served! Usually crepes (French style pancakes) or local breakfast options (noodle soup, banh quan etc). Served with some fresh tea / coffee. Today is lake day!

Trekking in the morning and afternoon along the paths that line the surrounding hills with lunch at midday. Call for more details.

Just like last time the menu options at the homestay are on rotation as it depends on what is growing in the garden. Food is Vietnamese style.

Breakfast is served! Crepes and local options are available along with some fresh tea / coffee.

We drive 6km to the Ghost Cave. The cave goes by many names and also has a mythical origin story. We have to walk a little from the roadside to the cave entrance some 300m up the mountain. Once inside we find the cave truly impressive. The caverns are large being 30-50m high in places as well as the route being 700m long. There are many specular formations all light up. To see it all takes about an 1.5 hr including the short trek.

Alas it is time to return to Hanoi our next stop is Cho Za for lunch

Our last meal all together on this tour. Food is Vietnamese style in a local restaurant. We talk about the exciting week we all had together and mention our favourite parts of the tour.

The last let of our journey will take us directly to Hanoi. There will rest stops if needed. Along the way we pass the mountains and tea plantations. Is is possible to stop by if you wish. The tea there is exceptionally fresh and makes for an interesting break.

Finally back in Hanoi, we drop you at your hotel or residence. We hope you had a memorable tour and a great time with us.