Northern & Central Vietnam Discovery

Depart Nairobi aboard Qatar Airways or Emirates, connecting into Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport. Upon arrival, a private luxury transfer escorts you into the city — past French colonial buildings, lakeside boulevards, and the first scooter-filled streets that announce Hanoi's extraordinary energy. Check into the Peridot Grand Luxury Boutique Hotel and rest before a luxury Vietnamese welcome dinner overlooking Hoan Kiem Lake. As evening deepens, a guided walk through the lantern-lit Old Quarter reveals the soul of northern Vietnam — street food stalls, coffee houses, rooftop bars, and the kind of street life that happens nowhere else on earth.

A guided day through Hanoi's most iconic sites — the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and its surrounding lakes and gardens, the Temple of Literature (Vietnam's first university, founded in 1070), Tran Quoc Pagoda on its peninsula in West Lake, and the elegant French colonial quarter. After lunch, a visit to the Oasis Café — one of Hanoi's most celebrated hidden cafés, famous for its tropical architecture, artistic interiors, and calm luxury atmosphere that feels entirely removed from the city outside its walls. The evening brings a traditional water puppet performance followed by dinner at one of Hanoi's luxury rooftop restaurants overlooking the city skyline and the shimmer of Hoan Kiem Lake below.

Depart Hanoi by private luxury vehicle for the journey north toward Ha Giang — one of Vietnam's most remote and visually dramatic provinces, rarely visited by mainstream travellers. The drive itself is an experience: rice terraces appearing between limestone peaks, ethnic minority villages clinging to hillsides, waterfalls threading through jungle, and roads that seem to have been drawn by hand around impossible terrain. Arrive and check into P'apiu Resort Ha Giang — an exclusive mountain retreat with panoramic views across the valleys of northern Vietnam. Dinner at the resort as the highland air cools and the stars emerge above the mountains.

Today is the Ha Giang Loop — considered by travellers who have been everywhere to be one of the most spectacular day journeys in Southeast Asia. The road winds along cliff edges above deep gorges, through Hmong and Dao villages where the traditional way of life continues unchanged, across the Dong Van Karst Plateau (a UNESCO Global Geopark of ancient limestone formations), and over Ma Pi Leng Pass — a mountain ridge above the Nho Que River where the view drops hundreds of metres straight down into a river the colour of jade. Photography stops are frequent. The scale is unlike anything in lowland Vietnam. Return to the resort for dinner as the light fails over the northern highlands.

Travel toward Cao Bang Province and the extraordinary Ban Gioc Waterfalls — among the largest and most spectacular waterfalls on the Asian continent, cascading through emerald landscapes beside the Vietnam-China border. The approach by bamboo raft across the river, the mist rising from the falls ahead, and the limestone cliffs framing the water creates one of the most memorable scenes in northern Vietnam. After the waterfalls, explore Nguom Ngao Cave nearby — a limestone cave system of extraordinary stalactites and formations. Return to Saigon Ban Gioc Resort for dinner, the sound of the river audible from every room.

Travel south toward Ninh Binh — a province of limestone karsts, winding rivers, flooded rice paddies, and ancient temples that has earned the nickname "Ha Long Bay on land." The landscape is extraordinary: limestone towers rising directly from rice fields, rivers threading through cave systems, and ancient temples clinging to cliff faces. A luxury sampan boat ride through the Trang An Landscape Complex — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — drifts through cave after cave, emerging each time into different vistas of karst and water. At Hang Mua viewpoint, 500 steps lead to a hilltop where the entire valley spreads below. Check into Tam Coc Garden Resort for dinner.

Transfer to Ha Long Bay and board the Indochine Premium Cruise — a vessel designed for guests who want Ha Long Bay as it should be experienced: from the water, slowly, with time to absorb it. Ha Long Bay's 1,969 islands and islets rise from the Gulf of Tonkin in formations that took 500 million years to create. As the vessel moves between them, kayaks are lowered into the water for exploration of hidden lagoons and sea caves. At sunset, cocktails are served on the upper deck as the light turns the limestone gold. Gourmet seafood dinner follows on board. Overnight at anchor, the bay completely silent except for the occasional call of a seabird.

After a final morning breakfast on the bay, disembark and transfer to the airport for a domestic flight to Da Nang in central Vietnam. Check into TIA Wellness Resort on Da Nang's beachfront, then head immediately for Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge — perhaps the most photographed site in modern Vietnam. Two giant stone hands, each five metres wide, appear to hold the bridge above the mist-covered mountain canopy. The cable car ride to reach it is itself spectacular. Return to the resort for dinner on the beach, the South China Sea a few steps away.

Transfer to Hoi An — a UNESCO World Heritage town where the sixteenth century has been remarkably preserved and the pace of life is entirely different from Vietnam's cities. The morning brings a coconut basket boat ride through the Thu Bon River's coconut palm forests — circular bamboo vessels that spin and drift through narrow waterways while local guides demonstrate traditional fishing techniques. The afternoon is given to the Ancient Town itself: lantern-making workshops in the streets, tailor shops measuring for custom-made garments within hours, riverside cafés, and the Japanese Covered Bridge. As evening falls, the streets transform — paper lanterns in every colour are lit, the river fills with floating candles, and a lantern boat cruise carries you along the Thu Bon as Hoi An becomes its most beautiful version of itself.

A final breakfast at the resort. The morning is yours — one last walk through the Ancient Town, one last coffee by the river. Private transfers escort you to Da Nang International Airport for your connecting international flights back to Nairobi. Your Finders & Keepers Safaris Vietnam journey concludes with ten days of landscapes, culture, and luxury that span the full breadth of the country's north and centre.