THE TRIP

Arrival

Welcome to IMPACT Vietnam! You will be met and greeted by the IMPACT Vietnam team at the airport, before heading off with your new friends to check into your accommodation.

That evening you will enjoy a welcome meal and a trip to the famous Ta Hien beer Street, the perfect way to meet your new friends and immerse yourself in Vietnamese street culture.

Old Quarter city walking and cyclo tour

Today let’s explore Hanoi like a Local by walking and a cyclo tour.

To start the trip, we enjoy a city walking tour through some of Hanoi’s 36 Streets otherwise known as the Old Quarter. Since its creation the streets are named following their craftsman products, such as Sugar street, Mattress street, Silver Street, Silk Street etc… so you can see thousands of traditional craftsman shopkeepers scattered along the streets. Spend the rest of the day visiting some of the cities main sites.

Mai Chau village!

Arrive in Lac Village, Mai Chau, you will be staying in a homestay–a traditional stilt house of Thai ethnic minority people. Enjoy some free time to relax after the journey.

For meals, you will then have the chance to taste some local specialities in the traditional stilt houses of Thai people.

Lac village is situated in a picturesque valley of peach orchards. There, you can walk along gravel tracks and small paths used by the locals to visit handicraft products shops or try some fishing at the local pond view to the rice field.

Visiting rural villages teaching English and staying in local Pagoda/school: Meals: L, D

You will be given the extraordinarily unique opportunity to help teach in local pagodas run by monks and sometimes at the local school as well. You will teach communication English, run fun games and activities with the kids. You will even have the chance to meet the monks and be taught Buddhism and Taoism. You will get an immersive opportunity to really integrate with the locals and get the true experience of a new culture that will be a true once in a lifetime experience.
After the class people can enjoy several additional activities, i.e. biking around the local village, try sugar cane juice at local shops or learn to make Vietnamese fresh spring rolls with locals!

Heading back to Hanoi on the afternoon of day 7 to get into the train station for an overnight train to Sapa.

Trekking in Sapa

Sapa is a beautiful rural area in the north-west of the country, it’s rolling landscape composed of terraced-fields cultivated for crops are famous world-wide. Here you will be trekking through the preserved nature trails in the mountains – definitely bring a camera! On the last day you will also have the chance to get a cable car through clouds to the highest peak of the region (Indochina) called Fansipan.

Late afternoon come back to town for the night train back to Hanoi.

Ha Long Bay

Arrive early in Hanoi at 5:30am and it’s the perfect time to see a totally different side of this thousand plus years-old city! Observe and even join some morning disco class, aerobic, taichi or even the weird laughing yoga around the Hoan Kiem lake.

Around 7:30am, a bus will pick you up at your place and drive you to Ha Long Bay (An UNESCO World Heritage Site) to spend three days and two nights exploring this fantastic area. This globally-popular location, where mountains shoot up from out of the sea is a must see. You will explore caves, enjoy swimming and kayaking as well as cycling on one of the little islands in the water. You will spend two days sleeping on your boat waking up to the beautiful views that surround you.

Final Day of Impact Vietnam

This is your final day at Impact Vietnam and we will be arranging a drop off at the international airport for you to get your flights home or to your next destination.