Vietnam, Laos & Thailand | Hanoi to Chiang Mai | Adult Only

Upon arrival at Noi Bai Airport, your driver and guide will meet you. Transfer you to your hotel. Check-in and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure.

About La Siesta Hotel Trendy

Many of this hotel’s rooms overlook the eclectic and artistic rooftop city skyline. All rooms are equipped with full amenities and comfortable beds, soft linens, and double-glazed windows, so you can enjoy an undisturbed night’s sleep oblivious to the city outside. They offer a buffet breakfast, free Wi-Fi, a restaurant, bar, and spa. Rooms include daily bottled water, AC, flat-screen TVs with cable, a safe, refrigerator, minibar, tea and coffee, and a hairdryer.

Meet your guide then head to Ngoc Son Temple, located in the midst of Hoan Kiem Lake. Visit a traditional, local coffee place, to try Vietnam’s local iced coffee. Then indulge in the delicious ‘bánh mì’ street food, a baguette sandwich filled with a variety of foods. Get deep into Hanoi’s Old Quarter and witness the French architecture, including a gothic building constructed in 1886. Explore Hoa Lo Prison (AKA ‘The Hanoi Hilton’), where Vietnamese, American, and French prisoners of war were kept. Witness ‘B-52 Lake’, where the wreckage of a U.S. B-52 bomber can be seen. Stop at a ‘Bún Chả’ restaurant to try Hanoi’s specialties. Wander through the Temple of Literature, which was built in 1076 to be a university (the nation’s first) for the royalty and members of the elite. Experience the surprisingly photogenic Hanoi railway tracks, which are sometimes located meters away from the front door of homes! Finish with evening beers at the typical and well-known Bia Hoi, where you will taste local draft beer and finish the day like a local.

* Along the tour, you will be trying different street specialties, so we recommend avoiding the hotel’s breakfast this day!

Transfer to Topas Ecolodge. Have lunch and check-in at the Ecolodge. In the afternoon, walk to the Red Dao village of Ban Moi. At the village, visit the local school and a local house to experience the friendly villagers’ daily life.

About Topas Ecolodge

Topas Ecolodge is a small lodge situated on a beautiful hilltop deep in the mountains of Hoang Lien National Park. The lodge is based on sustainable principles to ensure minimum impact on the surrounding environment. They employ people from nearby villages and use local products and goods to bring further economic benefit to the community. They also have their own wastewater facility to prevent polluting the area. Their 33 mountain bungalows are built as rustic chalet-style single-bedroom houses from local white granite. Each bungalow comes with a private balcony where you can enjoy the magnificent view of the towering peaks and endless valleys dotted with ethnic minority villages. There is a restaurant, lounge, pool, and spa. Rooms have AC, mosquito netting, a rain shower, a minibar, tea and coffee, and a hairdryer.

Transfer into Hoang Lien National Park to the trek starting point near Sin Chai village. The trails will soon lead you to the Red Dao village of Nam Nhiu, where you will meet the villagers, enjoy a cup of green tea in their house, and learn about their daily farming lives. After passing rice terraces, you will walk on a quiet road to arrive at the charming Nam Cang village. Your lunch is served at Nam Cang Riverside Lodge, with the jungle just behind and connected with the village by its own suspension bridge. You will explore the village and learn how the local villagers make writing paper with rice, silver jewelry, and colorful embroidery. You may also want to take a swim in the river, before meeting your vehicle for the journey back.

Transfer back to Noi Bai Airport for your flight to Luang Prabang. Welcome to Laos! Proceed into the arrival area and meet your private guide and transfer to your hotel. The rest of the day is free at leisure.

About Satri House

Set in the ancient city of Luang Prabang, your hotel is designed in a style inspired by Lao culture.

The 28 rooms and 3 suites are furnished with crafted wood furniture, oversized balconies, spacious bathrooms with rain shower and separate toilet room, and bathtubs in the suites. Facilities include a restaurant, garden bar, library, outdoor swimming pools, and spa. Rooms include personal safe, WIFI internet, hairdryer, individual air conditioning, and ceiling fan, and flat-screen TV available on request.

At dawn, monastery bells toll, and lines of golden-robed monks emerge to receive their morning alms from the townspeople – and from you (your guide will provide a prepared food basket to offer the monks). See various meats, vegetables, and spices the locals use at the Morning Market. Return to your hotel for breakfast. Transfer to the most popular of temples – Wat Xieng Thong, a 500-year-old temple that is the best example of the classic Luang Prabang style. Visit the National Museum, the former Royal Palace, to see relics from Laos’ royalist past. Phousi Mountain overlooks the museum, so we will climb the 328 steps to the top and be rewarded with remarkable views. Transfer to the Kuang Si Waterfall, where crystal water cascades into idyllic turquoise pools (bring a bathing suit if you would like to swim!). Visit the nearby Sunbear Refuge to learn more about the poaching of these endangered creatures.

Visit a local fresh market, to meet today’s chef and teacher, Mrs. Noy. After learning about local produce, board a boat to cross the Mekong River and meet the Noy family. Enjoy a simple private cooking lesson in the family’s home with local specialties. Continue by boat downstream to visit villages where famous river weed snacks, rice crackers, and other delicacies are produced. At the end of the day, while floating gently down the water, enjoy a Lao rice whiskey tasting while approaching Luang Prabang.

You will be picked up by a local tuk-tuk and head out to learn how rice is traditionally grown and produced. All the rice-growing steps are explained and demonstrated by local employees and you will take part in them, including plowing the paddy field with a buffalo! Conclude your tour with a tasting of rice accompanied by a traditional dipping sauce, rice crackers, and other local products made from the grain. After lunch, transfer to the Laos Buffalo Dairy to learn about milking, buffalo feeding (including bottle feeding calves), how the farm works with the local community, and more. Return to Luang Prabang.

Transfer to the pier for your two-day cruise on the Mekong River. Visit the Pak Ou caves where thousands of Buddha images are found. The second stop is at Ban, a Baw village where we will observe the process of making traditional rice alcohol. The boat arrives at Luang Say Lodge before sunset for a dinner served on the terrace overlooking the Mekong River.

About Luang Say Lodge

Luang Say Lodge is luxury teak and rosewood bungalow perched along the Mekong and backed by a mountainous jungle. It features 20 bungalows, each elegantly furnished in dark-toned wood and white fabrics and offering panoramic Mekong views on three sides. A central riverbank restaurant is reached by wooden walkways and offers organic food. The buffet dinners of traditional Lao food and continental breakfasts are served here. Most of their vegetables are grown organically in their own garden or the local villages, with no artificial fertilizers or insecticides. You can either eat together or at your own separate table. The Lodge has a fully-equipped bar serving soft drinks, Lao beer, and spirits for purchase. On days with guests exceeding 20 people, they include an ethnic minority dance performance by the lodge staff, local villagers, and school children. Rooms are equipped with mosquito nets, electric fans, and a large private bathroom with a hot shower and western-style toilet.

After a continental breakfast, the boat takes you to Houei Xay to observe rural life along the Mekong River at a Kamu village. On your arrival at Houay Xay, meet your driver for a transfer to the Thai border. Upon arrival in Thailand, our guide will be waiting for you to transfer you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free at your leisure.

About The Legend Boutique River Resort & Spa

Resting on the banks of the Mae Kok River, the Legend provides an authentic atmosphere with a blend of northern Thai architectural details, local artwork, and hand-plastered white walls. Offering 78 studios and villas, the rooms offer generous-sized beds, teakwood furnishings, and spacious open-air seating areas. The infinity pool is perfect for panoramic views. The restaurants serve Thai and international cuisine with creative touches. There is a pool, gym, reading room, internet computers, souvenir shop, beauty salon, available babysitting services, as well as two bottles of drinking water, and hotel-branded bathroom amenities in your room.

After a short safety briefing and bicycle fitting, cycle through small villages and rice fields, following the Lao River downstream. Visit the amazing white temple (Wat Rong Khun) and then lunch at a local restaurant. Finish cycling at Namtok Khun Kon Forest Park where you can enjoy playing in the Khun Kon waterfall, the highest and most scenic waterfall in Chiang Rai, 70 meters high.

Start your day with a scenic drive to the top of Doi Mae Salong, a mountainous area inhabited by several hill tribes, such as the Yao and Akha. Learn about the village of Mae Salong, which was originally a settlement of Chinese who fled the Chinese Revolution. Visit one of the villages of the Padaung tribes, who originate from Burma and whose women are ornamented by copper rings placed around their throats to push down their shoulders and give the impression that their necks are elongated. Continue your drive to Chiang Mai. Upon arrival check in to your room with the remainder of the day at your leisure.

About Tamarind Village

Tamarind Village is a boutique property nestled in the heart of historic Chiang Mai. Surrounded by ancient temples and shopping streets, it takes its name from the magnificent 200-year-old tamarind tree that shelters the hotel. Set around a series of garden courtyards, the 41 guest rooms and five suites reflect the rich ethnic diversity of northern Thailand by using fabrics and patterns drawn from various tribes of the region. Hotel facilities include a spa and all-day dining at their restaurant which features a variety of northern Thai, classic Thai, and international dishes. Guests can also dine poolside or enjoy in-room dining service. There is a gift shop, babysitting services, DVD player and DVD’s upon request, free Wi-Fi, and laundry services. All rooms feature modern, fully equipped bathrooms, safes, and tea-making facilities.

Reconvene with your guide for a walking tour of Chiang Mai. Visit a Christian church, built in 1968, then pass many beautiful old shop-houses as you follow Charoenrat Road. At Wat Ket, visit the fascinating temple museum. Cross the Ping River and enter Warorot Market with its colorful flowers, pungent spices, and friendly, bustling crowds. Visit a Chinese shrine in the Chinatown of Chiang Mai. Continue your walk to the Chinese Muslim area of Ban Haw to visit the mosque and perhaps enjoy a bowl of traditional khao soi in one of our favorite restaurants. You will then return to your hotel with the remainder of the day at your leisure.

Pick up from the hotel for your excursion to Doi Inthanon National Park, which boasts the greatest diversity of forest types and bird species found in any single park in the country. Experience the Mae Ya and Vatchirathan waterfalls and enjoy a picnic lunch. Visit the Royal Project of Baan Khun Galang and stop at two chedis erected in the honor of the King and Queen. Proceed to the top of Doi Inthanon, which is the highest mountain of Thailand (2776M) and covered with evergreen forest, to walk for a couple of hours through the well-preserved cloud forest. Return to Chiang Mai in the late afternoon.

Following another delicious breakfast, bid farewell to Thailand. Transfer to Chiang Mai International Airport for your onward flights.

*Trip itineraries are subject to change without notice due to road, weather, and other factors outside of our control, for the safety and enjoyment of our guests, as deemed necessary and appropriate by Austin Adventures.