Morning
Following breakfast, head to the hotel lobby to meet our tour guide, who will be waiting to take you to some of the most popular religious sites in Hanoi:
The Temple of Literature is our first destination. Founded in the Ly Dynasty, Temple of Literature is Vietnam's first national university dedicated to the study of Confucius, the philosopher from China.
Next, we go to the famous temple One Pillar Pagoda, which is situated in the same neighborhood as The Temples of Literature - Ba Dinh. With the shape representing the national flower - lotus, the temple implied a significant expansion in Buddhism inside Vietnam.
The President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum which is located in Ba Dinh Square - the most political area in Hanoi (the site is viewed from outside - closed on Monday and Friday, and from June to August).
We continued our sightseeing trip closer to West Lake to admire the historic Buhhist architecture of the oldest temple in Hanoi, the Tran Quoc Pagoda which lay just beside the southeast shore.
Afternoon
Depart from Hanoi and embark on a comfortable bus ride to Sapa, a picturesque mountain town in northern Vietnam. The journey takes approximately 6 hours, following a scenic route through rolling hills, lush valleys, and remote ethnic villages.
Upon arrival in Sapa, you will be taken to your hotel for check-in. After settling into your room, take some time to relax and soak in the fresh mountain air. If you wish, you can stroll around the town to explore its charming streets and local markets.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel in Sapa
TIẾNG VIỆT
by Trustpilot
We visited Ho Chi Minh City, Mekong Delta, Hoi An, Hue, Halong Bay and Hanoi, took part in many interesting activities, and tried a lot of good food.
I cant recommend the company...More
We visited Ho Chi Minh City, Mekong Delta, Hoi An, Hue, Halong Bay and Hanoi, took part in many interesting activities, and tried a lot of good food.
I cant recommend the company and Hang Moon enough. Thank you guys a lot.
After the trip, we have planned our next trip to Vietnam and will be using Hang Moon for her professionalism and knowledge.
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Negative reviews: Thought hard about this one but we can honestly say there were no negatives
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Sapa's rice terraces were...More
Sapa's rice terraces were breathtaking, and our trek with a local family was unforgettable. The hotel was small but cozy. The guide in Sapa was so talkative.
Ninh Binh felt like a fairytale with its limestone karsts and river landscapes—cycling through Tam Coc was a highlight. The boat tour was a wonderful retreat experience for us.
Halong Bay was pure magic on our overnight cruise, kayaking through emerald waters and exploring hidden caves. We liked the kayak activities.
Hoi An charmed us with its lantern-lit streets and also incredible food like Cao Lau and Dumplings.
In Hue, we explored ancient citadels and royal tombs, the food in Hue is same same as Hoi An.
Ho Chi Minh City was vibrant and bustling—markets and museums kept us captivated. Most of the attractions in Ho Chi Minh was in French architecture.
The Mekong Delta is fun and vibrant. We tried a lot of fruits and fruit candies. The floating market is so unique.
Finally, Phu Quoc was the perfect beach escape with white sandy shores and clear turquoise waters. The hotel with ocean-view is so breathtaking.
Throughout, our guides were knowledgeable and friendly, making the trip truly memorable. This tour is a must for anyone wanting an immersive Vietnamese adventure!
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It was a quite packed trip but at the last days, we have free days at the beach.
There were some highlights like trekking in SaPa, cruising in Halong, boat tour in Can Tho.
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I thank you and Mai, along with your company have made my time in Vietnam a life changing experience. I will always recommend Bestrate Travel to all my friends and insist they contact you Vana for...More
I thank you and Mai, along with your company have made my time in Vietnam a life changing experience. I will always recommend Bestrate Travel to all my friends and insist they contact you Vana for any travel to and in your incredible country. I will be returning in September of this year for an extended stay and will consult you for everything pertaining to that trip. I am unable to describe the appreciation I have for the trouble you took in my assistance. Just wait for the glowing review I will write for your company online. I will not close by saying goodbye, but will talk with you soon, my dear new friend! Thanks
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I just wanted to show my appreciation for your putting together such a great vacation package, everything went so smoothly and organized. Yes, I would love to return...More
I just wanted to show my appreciation for your putting together such a great vacation package, everything went so smoothly and organized. Yes, I would love to return to Vietnam again. Perhaps you can suggest new places to visit in your country.
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I chose Bestrate Travel mainly because of Mai Linh, and I am so glad I did. We just returned from a completely customized 3-week vacation in Vietnam, starting from HCMC and working our way up North before flying back to Phu Quoc. The trip included 2 sleeper trains, 3 domestic flights, 1 overnight cruise in Halong Bay, small group tours with transfers/pickups, and 21 nights of top-notch accommodations in 9 cities. It was amazing and unforgettable.
I also want to give a special thank you to Xuyen, the Bestrate Travel operator who played an important role in organizing our epic trip. I highly recommend booking with Bestrate Travel, especially with these two awesome ladies. They will save you time and money while providing an incredible travel experience.
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Too many train trips in our plan but that was our own fault. Hotel in Saigon evidently not aware that we would arrive off the night train at 4.30 am and did not arrange a room immediately,...More
Too many train trips in our plan but that was our own fault. Hotel in Saigon evidently not aware that we would arrive off the night train at 4.30 am and did not arrange a room immediately, however upgraded on our return from Mekong
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Nga trang- good tour guide. Hotel good location.
Hoi an- Favourite place, hotel accommodation was amazing. Again tour guide very knowledgeable especially of food culture and on the surrounding area.
Hanoi- hotel is good location and breakfast ok. Tour guide was very organised and lovely person.
Sapa- Night train was excellent as we have private cabin so thank you for this! The Eco limousine was excellent on the way home.
Halong bay- We really enjoyed the cruise in Mekong so it hard hard to compare. To be honest we found that the drive out there was not worth it. We didn't realise it was take so noThere were far to many tourists however this is not your fault! The cruise organisation was good and lots of food.
On the whole amazing trip with Hoi an being the the highlight. Transport pick up and communication was 10/10 so thank you. The location of hotel was always great! Only low night was Sapa transport issues but other than that amazing!
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Jenny Huyen, who organized...More
Jenny Huyen, who organized the entire trip online, contact me usually to customize our trip through sending email
Our tour guides were fantastic, and we were waited for wherever we went.
I want to thank Bestrate Travel for organizing this wonderful vacation for us at such a low cost!!!
Thank you once again to Jenny and Ms Moon, who also supported and advised us in planning our vacation.
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The transportation and lodging were both of a good standard. Every...More
The transportation and lodging were both of a good standard. Every member of staff I interacted with was upbeat and pleasant.
Bestrate Vietnam has great prices and comes strongly recommended from me.
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It was a pleasant place to relax from the heat of Hanoi, and our luggage were secure while we showered and rested while we waited...More
It was a pleasant place to relax from the heat of Hanoi, and our luggage were secure while we showered and rested while we waited for the night train, which was a reasonable price.
Because Nobi had everything taken care of, we did not miss any connecting cars, trains, or flights. Thank you very much, Bestrate Travel!
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Hotel Gondola is very well located. Our second night at hotel our room on level 8 was much better as we have been given deluxe room, much...More
Hotel Gondola is very well located. Our second night at hotel our room on level 8 was much better as we have been given deluxe room, much bigger and bathroom was decent size.
Lunch at VietDeli restaurant Hanoi was very nice, tasty and enjoyable. Service was excellent.
Hotel Sapa Paradise View was very pleasent and the location was perfect. Staff there have been very friendly and very approachable. Room was specious, clean and nice. We did like fruit basket in our room as welcoming gesture. Obviously they treat guests with respect.
Breakfast in hotel was very nice with choice of varieties.
Pelican Glory both in Halong Bay was good. Accommodation and lunch and dinner very nice too.
Our older guide (sorry I can't remember his name, maybe Tam?) was experienced and knowledgeable. His English was good.
Our hotel Muong Thanh Luxury Nhat Le Hotel was excellent. Our room was on 10 th floor. Room was spacious and bright. Bathroom was very nice too. Breakfast was excellent with lots of varieties.
accommodation on 7 th floor was very nice. Clean, specious room and bathroom. Welcoming drink and fruit on arrival. Staff extremely friendly and willing to help. We had a very pleasant stay in this hotel. All positives are about their hospitality.
Tour guide, young girl Hang was excellent, very friendly, knowledgeable, good and caring.
Lunch at Elegant Restaurant was very nice and tasty.
Hoi An bicycle tour with 30 years old guide Hoean was inspiration. He did take us to Cam Than tour through village. He was excellent guide.
Our room at Hotel Belle Maison was clean, specious and with balcony.
Smooth and easy transfer from Airport to our hotel Sanuva.
Our tour guide Ms Hang was prompt and arrived on time (but driver was late on both days over 35 -40 minutes, apparently due to traffic). Ms Hang was pleasent as guide and to travel with.
"Room was clean and did serve purpose. Breakfast was nice. On our third night, last day of our trip we had room on seventh floor. Room was much brighter.
Staff have been friendly.
Day trip to Mekong River and home stay was ok. We enjoyed learning about Vietnamese people and culture. We found people from village friendly. Our accommodation was very basic. We have enjoyed meals specialy fruit at Rustic Homestay....Less
Cycling tour of one hour didn't last more then 35-40 minutes. It was very unpleasant and tight to have two people in one seat.
Minivan was waiting for us on train station. We had to wait for 45 minutes to go to Sapa. Driver apparently was looking for some other passengers.
I think it would be much easier to have dinner at same hotel where travellers stayed. Wheater in Sapa was unpredictable and having dinner when you are wet after rain or going back to your hotel it's not much fun. We didn't mind walking to the Panorama hotel from our hotel in night or morning but when is raining it's not realy convenient. Breakfast in Paradise Hotel was just ok, very average same was with dinner.
There was a small accident with one person from our group when motorcycle picked him up when we were passing. We have been surprised that our guide didn't stop or he didn't even know what happened!?
On our second day we have not done full tour. Wheater wasn't the best and we have been told that we can't do the full tour as bus will be waiting for us at 3 pm. This didn't happen and we were stIll waiting for our bus after 4 pm.
I found our guide pleasent but somehow not enough caring.
Bus to Halong Bay was on time, but from Halong Bay to Hanoi was late 1 hour.
Unfortunately internet was breaking non stop and rather not working in our room.(Muong Thanh Luxury Nhat Le Hotel )
Driver with no English skills has been driving us to Hoi An. His driving skills have been good but we had some issues with him. He didn't speak any English. We had to pay taxi to drive us from the Thanh Binh Riverside Hotel to the right hotel Belle Maison Handana Hotel as our driver has gone already.
Unfortunately it was just above restaurant and opposite of renovation going on the house near by. Noisey from kids, restaurant, pool, bar, renovation on the house nearby ruined the nice feeling.
In Ho Chi Minh City, driver was late on both days over 35 -40 minutes, apparently due to traffic
Our room at first two nights, one 3 Rd level in Sanouva Hotel Saigon was small, dark. No views, just a wall in front of windows. Hotel has a big issue with breakfast area. There are just few tables, so it's crowded and busy.
We so enjoyed our trip to Vietnam and cannot thank you enough for all your attention. We thought the itinerary offered a great variety and gave us a good insight into life in Vietnam. The accommodation was very good; the only small criticism would be that the hotels in Dalat (although a lovely hotel), was quite a long walk from the town, as was the hotel in Hoi An, but it wasn't really a problem for us as we are happy to walk. The cruise on Halong Bay was lovely; I would love to do it again and spend 2 nights there as, only having 1 night found it a bit rushed to do the excursions offered on board, and still have time to enjoy being on the boat (but that is just a comment, not a criticism).
Overall, it was a truly wonderful experience and we were so impressed that everything ran so smoothly. We hope to visit Vietnam again some time, and would especially like to return to Hanoi; we loved the city and would like to visit Sapa again and also go to Mai Chau next time, but would want to time our visit so as to see the rice fields when they are green, before the harvest, (which we were told was in October), but believe there are 2 growing seasons, so wonder when the second harvest would be - perhaps you could let us know.
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Have absolutely no reservations and would recommend you to anyone wishing to make bookings through your company.
Everything was so...More
Have absolutely no reservations and would recommend you to anyone wishing to make bookings through your company.
Everything was so very well arranged and we had no problems until the last evening, our Farewell Dinner. Our driver picked us up from our hotel and drove us to the boats but then the troubles began - first she said there was no booking and then she sent us to Boat Nr. 3, where we were told that they didn't have our name on the list, so back to the booking office where she again told us there was no booking it was only after a tour guide from some other firm intervened and made enquiries that it was discovered that we were booked in for the Sunday and not the Saturday, Alls well that ends well they rearranged the booking and we finally, after 45 minutes, were allowed on board...Less