Vietnam Trekking Map-Hanoi Hoabinh Maichau (6 Days)

The 6-day tour is arranged in north-western Vietnam taking you to Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa provinces. The tour begins with a car transfer from Hanoi to Hoa Binh, and then Mai Chau valley where you start trekking through local Thai hamlets and rice paddy fields. You spend the following day trekking through other Thai villages before arriving in Pu Luong Nature Reserve. There, you follow small hiking trail going along hill sides through Thai and Muong villages. Spending 5 nights at local home (homestay);  Eating local food and chatting with local Thai and Muong friendly villagers offers the opportunity to experience the real life. The 6-day trekking tour is customized for active, adventure travelers. There are about 6 hours trekking per days. This adventure holiday is only available during the dry season starting from October until April. Contact Lotussia Travel for more details.

Itinerary:

Day 1: Hanoi – Hoa Binh – Mai Chau

Pick up at your hotel to go to Mai Chau via Hoa Binh – one of the most beautiful mountainous places in the Northwest of Vietnam. Stop at Muong and Dzao village to discover the daily life and culture of these hill tribes. Have lunch in Hoa Binh Hotel. After lunch continue going to Mai chau by car. 13:00 arrive in Mai Chau. Chek in Thai’s house then walk around peaceful Thai villages in Mai Chau valley. You have a chance to see how Thai people weave colorful clothes, breed silk worm, grow rice. Overnight in house on stilts in Mai Chau.

Day 2: Mai Chau – Van Mai

Breakfast. start 4-hour trek to Van Mai. Lunch in Van Mai. Afternoon rafting in Suoi Sia stream to enjoy beautiful landscapes along the stream. Dinner and overnight in Thai village.

Day 3: Van Mai – Ban Hang – Pa Kha village

Breakfast. Transfer to Ban Hang ( 20 km). Start 4-hour trek to Eo Ken, Pa Ban, Pa Kha. Lunch in Pa Kha. Afternoon trek to Ban village to discover Muong minority’s life. Overnight in Pa Kha.

Day 4: Pa kha – Kho Muong – Hin village

Breakfast. Trek to Kho Muong village. This is a beautiful Muong ethnic village in the valley. Tourists will spend one hour to discover this village to find out local peoples’life. Then Continue treking to Pon, Nua village. Picnic lunch en route. Afternoon trek to Hin Village. Dinner and overnight in Hin village

Day 5: Hin village – Pho Doan Market – Mai Chau.

Breakfast. Trek through Trinh, Cao villages to get to Pho Doan Market. Visit the market. Lunch in Pho Doan.
Afternoon transfer To Mai Chau. In this place you will have variety of choice to buy typical souvenirs for your family and friends. In the evening following dinner is Thai Minority’s show and drink local wine. Overnight in Mai Chau.

Day 6: Mai Chau – Hoa Binh – HaNoi.
Breakfast. Transfer to Bai Sang. On the way visit Go Lao waterfall. One last hour trek to admire the view of Hoa Binh Reservoir. Get on the boat. Sailing on Hoa Binh reservoir. Lunch on board. Afternoon take 3-hour trek on the trail along Hoa Binh reservoir. You will be met up again with your vehicle and travel back to Hanoi. Trip ends.
Lotussia Travel is a Hanoi based tour operator offering a wide selection of trekking tours in all over Vietnam. The above trekking tour is only a sample we list on this site for your reference. That can be flexible, customizable and subject to weather conditions and other circumstances. We have lots of other itineraries we don’t put all here since there are some dishonest individuals have copied, without our agreement our contents and pasted on their site for commercial purpose. If you need further information or have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to contact us at any time. We look forward to seeing you soon in Vietnam!

Vietnam trek and homestay tour: Travel Hanoi Mai Chau Pu Luong Nature Reserve (9 days)

The 9-day trek to Mai Chau and Pu Luong Nature Reserve is customized for small groups and active, adventure travelers, those looking for a challenging, multi-day trek in the northern Vietnam. The adventure holiday begins with a car transfer from Hanoi to Mai Chau where you spend your first 4 days trekking through rice paddy fields and local Thai and H’mong hamlets. You are then transferred by car to Pu Luong nature reserve where you spend the other 5 day trekking through Thai and Muong villages. Spending all the nights at local home (homestay); eating local food and sharing the house with family at night offer a real life experience. This is a challenging trekking tour is only available during the dry season starting from October until April. Contact Lotussia Travel for more details.

Itinerary:

Day 1: Hanoi – Mai Chau. Start trekking Mai Chau village (trek to Hang Kia village).

7:00 a.m you will be met up with Lotussia Travel team at your hotel in Hanoi and transferred to Mai Chau. This scenic drive takes about three hours. En routes, you pass fields of tapioca and sugar cane as well as rice paddies. After lunch in a traditional stilt house of the Thai people in Poom Coom village, you will enjoy one hour drive to Xa Linh village where you will begin 3 hrs trek through beautiful villages, the gravel tracks and small paths used by the locals. Dinner and overnight at a local home in Hang Kia village.

Day 2: Continue trekking Mai Chau villages (Trek to Van village).

After breakfast, you will get well and truly off the beaten track as you trek through tropical rain forest, using the local tracks and passing through corn fields as we descend in to Mai Chau Valley. The trek takes around 5 hours and is quite steep in places. Lunch will be provided at the local stall at the foot of the valley. From here, you will continue trekking and going through several ethnic minority villages, long spread out fields decorated with water wheels to make your way to Van village by late afternoon. Dinner and overnight in a local stilt house (homestay).

Day 3: Continue trekking Mai Chau valley (Trek to Xam Khoe village)

Today you will trek through several Thai hamlets. You walk on the valley floor and are surrounded by rice paddies and beautiful scenery. Picnic lunch will be provided en route. You will arrive in Xam Khoe village in the afternoon. Cook, then enjoy the dinner with the host. Spend another night homestay.

Day 4: Hiking Mai Chau village (Hike back to Poom Coom village)

Trek back to Mai Chau valley and Poom Coom village. You hike through beautiful rice terraces, inhale peaceful atmosphere in the morning. You will arrive back Poom Coong village around noon. Lunch will be served in a local stilt house.

After lunch, free time for you to stroll around the village in the afternoon. Dinner and overnight in Poom Coom village.

Day 5: Trek Mai Chau onto Pu Luong Nature Reserve.

Leaving the Poom Coom village, you travel on the paved road to the Ma river. Get off the bus to unbeaten trek to Duom and Hang village for approximately 2.5 hrs through spectacular mountain scenery, rice paddies, water wheels, talk with lovely local people on the way. You will arrive in the homestay in the afternoon. Check into a local house for dinner and overnight.

Day 6: Continue hiking Pu Luong nature reserve (Hike to Eo Ken & Kho Muong villages)

It will be interesting for you to get up early and take part in their morning activities. Today you will be walking for a approximately 5 to 6 hour on a dirt road.The first hiking is hard with some steep climbs and yet more stream crossings, the next is really glorious with beautiful views of valley, rice terraces, rich rain forest. Picnic lunch on the way at Eo Ken village. Arrival in Hang village, the setting of the village is perhaps the most beautiful in Vietnam nestled between steep karst mountains and nice terraces in the afternoon. Spend our second night in a typical Thai stilt house in Kho Muong village.

Day 7: Continue trekking Pu Luong national park (Trek to Nua and Hin villages)

After breakfast, you will leave the homestay and continue trekking through the valley. There are some steep climbs and yet more stream crossings. Trek to an incredible cave, only recently discovered and now protected by the Forest rangers. The trekking becomes more remote yet one is never far from a villager tending fields, passing steep limestone mountain, rain forest inside the Pu Luong Nature Reserve to Nua village. Lunch will be provided en route. Relax from the heat of the day before continuing on to Hin – the village of Thai people in the afternoon. Have dinner and spend one more night at a local home.

Day 8: Continue trekking Pu Luong (Hike to Son village).

Leave Hin village, you will trek uphill. You will get in deeper inside the Pu luong Nature Reserve with wild and rich tropical forest. Lunch will be provided en route. After lunch, continue trekking through Ba beautiful village to Son village. Take a break and stretch your legs on the house on stilt of Thai people or strolling round this village and to be in contact with hospitable friendly local people here. Dinner and overnight in Son village.

Day 9: Trek to Ton village then drive back to Hanoi

Today you will have a nice and easier trek, just a bit up and down through rice paddies, jungle fever. After 2.5 hours we get to Ton village. You will be picked up by Lotussia Travel driver and transferred back to Hanoi.

Lotussia Travel is a Hanoi based tour operator offering a wide selection of trekking tours in all over Vietnam. The above trekking tour is only a sample we list on this site for your reference. That can be flexible, customizable and subject to weather conditions and other circumstances. We have lots of other itineraries which are only available upon request. If you need further information or have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to contact us at any time. We look forward to seeing you soon in Vietnam!

Mai chau trekking tour 2 days – 1 night

Mai chau trekking tour 2 days – 1 night

Mai Chau is a mountainous area of outstanding natural beauty, inhabited by a Thai and H’mong ethnic minority groups.This trip offers an easy trek combined with homestay in villages of Thai , where we have opportunities to observe the local lifestyle of these minority people.

DAY 1
7:30-8:00: our driver and guide come to pickup you at your hotel in the Old Quarter for going to Mai Chau.
10:00: have a short break in the middle of the way.
11:30-12:00: Scenic photo stop of Mai Chau valley/arrive in Mai Chau
12:15: Traditional lunch in local village (vegetarian available)
13:00-15:00: Bicycle ride with local tour guide, see farmers working in fields, locals weaving scarves and visit surrounding peaceful villages.
15:00-18:00: Free time for bicycling, walking, shopping
18:00: Visit Thai living museum for Traditional BBQ dinner
19:30: Watch Thai traditional dance in the stilt house. Enjoy Tradidional alcohol (ruou can) with the community

DAY 2
7:30-8:00: Wake up and eat breakfast
8:30-11:30: Hike to 1000 Step Cave and visit local market in Mai Chau village.
12:15 – 15:00: have lunch and free time to relax before getting on the van to Hanoi
18:30-19:00: Drop you off at your hotel

 More information :

Isolated Mai Chau is a 139km trip from Ha noi and 66km further on from Hoa Binh. Though it’s not far, the trip from Hoa Binh to here takes almost two hours by motorbike due to the mountainous terrain.

Mai Chau is in a valley just over the biggest hump, about 10km from the Song Da river and only 150 metres above sea level. The village presents an idyllic rural valley that could easily charm you into staying longer than intended. Nestled between two towering cliffs and surrounded by emerald green paddies, it is an enchanting sight as you wind down the cliff side.

In spring Mai Chau is a bright, almost parrot-green and by autumn this green transforms into golden hues as the rice approaches harvest. Taking the time to watch these transitions of colour seems like a perfectly useful way to spend your time while there.

Beware that whilst a beautiful time of year, Mai Chau can become unbearably hot in June / July with little respite from the heat as electricity doesn’t come on until the evening.

Those bemoaning the dearth of truly budget accommodation in Vietnam will be happy to learn that this is one place you can stay for a song. The star attraction here is a ‘homestay’ in a stilt house in one of the two ethnic White Thai villages, Ban Pom Coong and Ban Lac. While both are run by ethnic minority families who have lived on and worked the land for generations, this is hardly like trucking into a Karen village in  village in northern Thailand and  staying in the spare room of someone’s house.

The ‘bare bones’ accommodation is purpose-built to give tourists the ‘homestay’ experience, while the watchful eye of the government makes sure they have western toilets, ample bedding, and sometimes even satellite TVs in the common rooms.

Ban Lac is the more developed of the two villages, with more gift shops and a busier nightlife — what there is of it — but there’s little to differentiate the accommodation on offer. The lodgings are mostly traditional stilt houses with large communal rooms where you can sleep on a mat laid upon a squeaky, split bamboo floor, for just about the same cheap price everywhere. The sleeps are really a loss leader — they make the real money off the food you eat, and the curios and textiles you buy. Not to mention, the liquor you drink. A typical charge is 150,000 VND / person for dinner, breakfast, and a bed although some are a bit cheaper. You could save ‘small money’ by eating in town, but family-style Vietnamese cooking is generally far superior to restaurant fare, and you wouldn’t want to miss out on the nightly group meals.

Despite this tourist-driven set-up, and the regular influx of visitors, the villages remain a relatively peaceful retreat, and it’s heartening to see how the influx of tourist dollars hasn’t changed the essential character of the locals, which we gauge to be as warm and easy-going as you please.

As far as eating is concerned, all guesthouses in the villages offer food at quite reasonable prices and varying standards. If they don’t live up to your expectations there is little option other than to track back into town to try the local restaurants. Be warned though you will struggle to find anything of outstanding worth there.

HOA BINH – MAI CHAU 2 DAYS

HOA BINH – MAI CHAU 2 DAYS
Situated in a magnificent valley 150 km northwest of Hanoi, Mai Chau is home to the Thai minority people who live in remarkable wooden stilt house. The rolling hills with their beautiful rice terraces are ideal for walking. The verdant and rugged mountain scenery combined with the colourful local population makes this an unforgottable experience. The trip is combined with taking boat trip on Da river.
DAILY TOUR

Mai Chau VIet Nam

 Day 1 : Hanoi – Hoa Binh – Mai Chau  (L, D)
07h00: Depart 2 hours road trip along rolling hill to Hoa Binh province, stopping on some passes, offering travelers an birds’ eye view of the Halong like landscapes of several Muong villages.
After lunch, stroll around the hamlets nested in this valley, encounter the villagers weaving cloths by the loom or they are at work – tilling the fields, logging or herding buffalo.
Admire sunset, dinner and overnight as a local of Thai family in a traditional house on stilt.
In the evening, join the traditional dance music of local.

Day 2: Hoa Binh – Mai Chau – Hanoi (B, L)
After breakfast, enjoy sunrise, then have a breakfast, more walking to other villages – Poong Coong, Chieng Chau.
After lunch, taking an other road trip back Hanoi. 17h00 arrive. Tour ends.