Northern Vietnam & the Tonkinese Alps

This new itinerary permits exploration of Vietnam’s stunning northern region with transportation by rail, land and sea. A train journey from Hanoi to Sapa in Lao Cai province combines with an overnight stay in Ha Long Bay on board a traditional junk.

Sapa, close to the Chinese border, is an incredibly picturesque village nestled in the Hoang Lien Son mountain range, known locally as "the Tonkinese Alps", and was built by the French who endorsed the medicinal properties of the region’s fresh mountain air. Trekking to the hill tribe villages is via rice terraces and lush vegetation and a visit to the Bac Ha Sunday market where the colourful Flower Hmong people sell their wares is an experience not to be missed. Arriving in Vietnam from China in the 17th century, the Hmong Tribes include the Black, Flower and Red Hmong, named after their distinctive dress. Tribal organisation is by means of clans and Hmong villages perched on mountain slopes often house up to four generations of the same clan.

The Vietnamese capital Hanoi is a city of contrasts, where traditional Chinese influences combine with French colonial architecture. The city personifies historic Vietnam, in the numerous temples and monuments and the narrow streets of the Old Quarter whose traders have specialised in local silk, jewelry and handcrafts for centuries.

Ha Long Bay, meaning the “Bay of the Descending Dragon”, is home to almost 2000 limestone islands and islets, each topped with dense jungle vegetation and rising spectacularly from the ocean. Although only two of the islands are permanently inhabited, many are hollow with enormous caves and grottoes, others have unspoilt beaches and some support entire floating villages of fisherman. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994, Ha Long’s ethereal beauty has survived the ravages of history.