Vietnam Voluntourism Tour
We've wanted to add the fascinating country of Vietnam to our list of itineraries for a long time now.
FINALLY... Nikki went to check things out for us in November... and hasn't stopped talking about it since... Now everyone in the office wants to go... Hopefully we can entice you too!
The itinerary which follows is an example of what we can offer but more alternatives will be added in the coming weeks so if this isn't quite what you're looking for, please do contact us to discuss.
SAMPLE ITINERARY
Explore the bustling city of Hanoi with its enchanting architecture, great shopping and crazy traffic system!
Visit the International Friendship Village for Vietnamese veterans and Orange Agent victims
Village homestay in Ban Ho, an ethnic minority community set in the stunning mountain scenery of northern Vietnam
Various volunteering activities depending on what is required at the time but likely to include some English teaching, painting classrooms at the local school, assisting in the construction of a water tank and tree-planting
Overnight cruise on a luxury wooden junk through the breathtakingly beautiful Halong Bay with time for swimming, kayaking, exploring local caves and visiting a floating fishing village
Homestay in Hien Hao fishing village on Cat Ba Island
Day 1 – Arrival in Hanoi
Arriving at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel. You’ll have time to relax after your journey before enjoying a Welcome Dinner at a restaurant in a restored French colonial building. In the evening, you’ll have tickets for a performance of traditional Water Puppetry, an art form unique to northern Vietnam, and a good, light-hearted introduction to its rural culture. You’ll spend the night in Hanoi.
Day 2 - Hanoi
A full day tour of Hanoi will take in Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, the National Army Museum, and the smaller Women’s Museum with its fascinating documentation and depiction of the role of the ‘long haired army – the female combatants and sympathisers during the wars.
After a fleeting visit to Hoa Lo Prison (the famous ‘Hanoi Hilton’, now a small museum), you’ll drop in to one of Hanoi’s large indoor markets, cruise around Hoan Kiem Lake and the leafy boulevards of the Colonial Quarter with its eclectic architectural mixture of French colonial style, social realism (mostly public buildings - designed or influenced by the USSR) and recent Vietnamese styles. In the evening, a cyclo ride through Hanoi’s vibrant ‘Old Quarter’ a bewildering jumble of pagodas and communal houses with many Chinese features, merchants’ residences, ‘tube’ dwellings, modern buildings and artisans’ dwellings. You’ll spend the night in Hanoi.
Day 3 - Hanoi/Lao Cai
In the morning, you’ll call in the excellent Ethnology Museum for an overview of Vietnam’s 54 distinct ethnic groups in anticipation of your trip to Sapa. After lunch, you’ll drive to visit the International Friendship Village for Vietnamese veterans and Orange Agent victims. In the late afternoon, you’ll return to Hanoi for freshen-up and dinner before boarding the 10.00 pm overnight sleeper train to Lao Cai.
The Friendship Village, a US /Vietnam joint venture, is a remarkable place. At any one time, around 40 veterans and 100 children are provided with health care, treatment, training and other assistance over periods ranging from a few months to several years. Visitors are welcome – it’s a truly uplifting experience!
You’ll find the Village provides not only a wealth of insights into the war, but also plenty of tangible evidence of’ the staff members’ dedication to making life better for the inmates while rebuilding their dignity and self confidence. In keeping with our company’s commitment to responsible tourism, Go Differently helps to support the Friendship Village financially and by publicising its work.
Day 4 - Try the Tay ethnic minority’s lifestyle in Sa Pa
You’ll arrive in the early morning, when you’ll be met and taken up into the mountains by jeep to Sapa, a small town perched on the mountainside opposite Mt. Fan Si Pan, Vietnam’s highest peak. After breakfast at your hotel and a drive along a scenic valley to Ban Ho, a Tay ethnic minority village, you’ll meet some of the members of the trekking management board and check-in to the stilt-house where you’ll spend the night. For the rest of the morning, you’ll be able to help with the owner’s domestic tasks and thus find out about the Tay lifestyle.
After lunch, you’ll hike to the Nave waterfall (for swimming if weather permits).
In the evening, you’ll join some of the locals in the village’s communal house to listen to folk songs and watch the traditional dancing of Tay and Red Dzao people to music played on the community’s vernacular musical instruments.
Day 5 - Sapa
A 6km walk along a route developed by local residents takes you through bamboo thickets along the mountainside to Jumping Fish waterfall.
After lunch, you’ll be able to join in some traditional sports such as archery, one-legged racing, and tug-of-war, visit another H’mong ethnic minority village and plant a tree as a contribution to the re-forestation of the area.
In the evening, you’ll probably find the householder will be eager to learn some simple English sentences from you!
Day 6 - Sapa
After breakfast, you’ll help the local to build a water tank and teach English for the children in the village. You’ll spend the night in a local stilt-house in Sa Pa.
Day 7 - Sa Pa
After breakfast, you’ll plant a tree to contribute to the re-forestation of the area, help with painting the local school, or whatever else needs to be done. After lunch, you’ll return to Sapa to spend the evening and overnight in this fascinating mountain town.
Day 8 - Sa Pa/Lao Cai/Hanoi
Spend the day exploring Sapa before heading back to Lao Cai in the late afternoon. Enjoy dinner in a local restaurant before catching the overnight sleeper train back to Hanoi.
Day 9 - Hanoi/Ha Long kayaking
After breakfast, you’ll leave for Ha Long Bay, one of the most spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Areas and the world’s largest marine limestone ‘karst’ landscape. There you’ll board a private wooden junk that takes you through Bai Tu Long Bay area. You’ll then continue your cruise to the bay’s most deserted areas with opportunities to swim at quiet sandy beaches. The route is designed to avoid the busy areas and includes a very quiet location for your overnight stay.
For your three-day Ha Long excursion, you'll board either the Prince Junk or Red Dragon Junk which are two of the best wooden boats on the Bay. They’re based on the model of the old Chinese court vessels with three barge sails, a wide transom and rectangular superstructure. The former has only two cabins and the latter has five cabins, so you'll cruise on private boat depending on the number of participants.
All the cabins are air-conditioned and have windows overlooking the bay. The floor areas of the cabins are about 10 m2. The cabins are furnished with two twin beds or a double queen size bed. The interior panelling, floor and furniture are of hard wood. Each cabin has a wardrobe, pillows, white cotton sheets, and an en-suite toilet and shower with a good selection of high-quality toiletries. All meals, usually based on fresh seafood, will be provided on board. Kayaking is available and included in the price.
Day 10 - Ha Long
After breakfast, you’ll continue your cruise to visit a fishing village where you’ll have an opportunity explore the village and hidden lagoons in a kayak. After BBQ lunch on a wild sandy beach, your time will be your own to relax or continue exploring the bay by kayak. You’ll stay overnight in a very quiet location of the Bay.
Day 11 - Ha Long - Hien Hao
You’ll wake in fresh air of the bay with a swim or relax on the sundeck. After breakfast, you’ll cruise to a private sandy beach for swimming (if weather permitting) and enjoy cool drink on the beach. Alternatively, you’ll dock to visit one of the most famous caves in the Bay.
After lunch, you’ll be transferred to a smaller wooden boat to ferry you to Gia Luan Jetty where a local driver will be waiting to take you to Hien Hao village to ‘check-in’ at a local family’s house. In the afternoon, your guide will show you around the village to meet a local family that makes handicrafts. You’ll also meet the chairman of the ‘Bee Club’. After a chat over a cup of green tea, the remainder of the day will be your own. Your dinner will be prepared by the owner of the local family where you’ll spend the night.
Hien Hao is a small community with a total population of 400 people located about 20km away from Cat Ba Town, 4km away from Cat Ba National Park’s Head Quarter. The village has been funded by British based Fauna and Flora International (FFI) to establish community based tourism. Local families were selected to join the project. The heads of chosen families were sent to Sapa, a popular destination of community based tourism, to be trained to receive and serve customers. Furthermore, the villagers were trained by a chef from a restaurant in Hanoi to prepare appropriate food. We inspected the village recently and are confident that the hospitality of the local people will impress you.
Day 12 – Hien Hao (Cat Ba Island) - Haiphong - Hanoi
If you don’t mind rising early, a walk to the beach where the locals catch fish is a fascinating insight into the local lifestyle. You might consider learning how to do and try your luck yourself – the fishermen will welcome you. After breakfast, your guide will take you to a small valley where a local guide will identify the local plants, vegetables of different kinds and Vietnamese herbs. If you’re interested in another ‘up-close’ activity, you might try your gardening skills working in the fields or in the villagers’ gardens. After lunch, a local bus will take you to the jetty to board a speedboat to Hai Phong. Upon your arrival, your driver will be awaiting to return you to Hanoi for overnight stay.
Day 13 – Hanoi
Full day free to explore this fascinating city on your own. The Old Quarter where each street specialises in a different range of products – silk, metalwork, pottery, coffee etc. is a particularly interesting place to explore and perhaps spend your last few Vietnamese Dong on some souvenirs of this very special trip.
In the evening we’ll enjoy a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.
Day 14 – Trip Ends
Breakfast together, and perhaps a final cup of delicious Vietnamese coffee, before you head back to the airport for your journey home.
Our price includes:
Breakfast and accommodation sharing in a twin room or home-stay.
Pick-ups and transfers by private air-conditioned vehicle as specified in the itinerary above (please note: pick-ups will be either by a guide and driver or, where a guide is not necessary, a driver - all unaccompanied drivers will be briefed in advance, and will carry a mobile phone to ensure smooth transfer arrangements)
Boat cruises as programme. For Ha Long Bay, you’ll cruise on a high quality wooden boat with comfortable accommodation, good facilities and an experienced crew. The boat will be fully licensed and comply with current safety regulations.
Hydrofoil ticket from Cat Ba to Hai Phong
Kayak rental during the cruise
Travel by appropriate, private, air-conditioned and vehicle with an experienced, safe driver.
The services of experienced English-speaking guides
Where necessary, entry fees for all visits as mentioned in the programme.
Lunches and dinners, as specified, in the best local restaurants, picnics where suitable restaurants are not available.
VAT and other taxes
Our price does not include:
International flight tickets and airport tax.
Visas
Dinners, except as specified above.
Drinks, gratuities and personal expenses.
Insurance.
Tips for guides and drivers
Telephone: + 44 (0) 1799 521950
Email: info@godifferently.com Website: http://www.godifferently.com
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