Explore the story of Vietnam on a journey shaped by private invitations, personal stories, and genuine insight. Led by your handpicked Signature Guide, travel from Hanoi’s historic heart into high mountain communities, where artisans, distillers, and hosts share knowledge rarely opened to outsiders. Walk ancient courtyards after hours, forage forest botanicals, trace textile languages, and gather around family hearths.
Venture to the very heart of each destination on our Signature Collection, where every journey is shaped by our unrivalled local connections and insider expertise. Step beyond the ordinary with private invitations, rare encounters, and experiences few will ever share. So when someone says, “I’ve been there,” you’ll simply smile, knowing you’ve experienced it differently.
Signature Experiences:
Unlock Vietnam’s first university after hours, exploring the Temple of Literature with a leading historian
Forage wild botanicals with Vietnam’s craft gin pioneer, learning H’Mong fermentation and distillation inside a mountain home
Join Lu female artisans to practise indigo dyeing and hand-spinning, sustaining ancestral textile traditions in Lao Chai
Signature Day: Experience our distinctive Signature Day, choosing between optional activities such as a cooking immersion, H’Mong textile workshop or a mountain hike on the Sky Road.
Signature Stay: Unwind at Topas Ecolodge with private stone bungalows overlooking terraced mountain valleys, part of this trip’s refined accommodation portfolio
Signature Guide: Let your handpicked Signature Guide lead you to the country’s soul — sharing their home, heritage, and heart
Activity Areas
Culture
New Cultural Holidays
Region & Country & City
Asia: Hanoi, Vietnam
Included in the Price
Elegant, hand-picked hotels and a Signature Stay in Topas Ecolodge, a refined mountain retreat focused on sustainability - All breakfasts, four lunches, and five dinners, featuring restaurants that capture the authentic cuisine of Vietnam - Your preferred Signature Day experience, selected and prebooked ahead of travel - Named Signature Guide with outstanding knowledge and guest satisfaction - Complimentary transfers on arrival and departure, plus comfortable transport throughout - Gratuities for local support staff so every detail of your journey feels effortless
Not Included In The Price
Request a single room if required, purchase travel insurance and arrange any visas and vaccinations.
Map
Itinerary
Day 1 Settle into the rhythm of Hanoi | Welcome reception at the celebrated Vien Dining restaurant
Our journey begins in Hanoi, where tradition shapes daily life. Complimentary arrival transfers ensure a seamless arrival as you settle into your hotel overlooking Hoan Kiem Lake.
Those arriving early can join an optional excursion, stepping into a private Old Quarter townhouse to meet a descendant of Nguyen Mai Hanh, guardian of Hanoi’s silk flower tradition. In a hands-on session, learn how simple fabric is transformed into lifelike blooms, shaping and colouring your own silk petals to create a keepsake that carries this fading craft forward (available to prebook on request).
As evening falls, gather for our welcome reception at Hanoi's Michelin-recognised Vien Dining, where innovative chefs reinterpret Vietnam's rich culinary heritage through a refined tasting experience showcasing the country's finest seasonal ingredients.
Day 2 Move through old Hanoi | Unlock the Temple of Literature after hours
Begin on foot through the Old Quarter as morning life unfolds along historic guild streets. Pause for local snacks before stepping into the calm of a lesser-known temple courtyard.
After free time for lunch, we walk to Giang Café for a private egg coffee masterclass hosted by the founder’s descendants in the establishment in which it was created, revealing the origins of this iconic drink.
This evening, dine at KOTO, a pioneering social enterprise, where meals are prepared by at-risk youths. Each dish directly supports their education, turning a culinary experience into a direct catalyst for social change.
Signature Experience: Unlock the gates of Vietnam’s first university, the Temple of Literature. In this after-hours visit, we walk the courtyards with leading historian, Professor Nguyen Quang Ngoc, whose scholarly insight reveals hidden details of this 1,000-year-old Confucian sanctuary that are lost to the daytime crowds.
Day 3 Travel from lowlands to highlands | Meet a Tày changemaker and hear the music of the mountains
Journey north to Hop Thanh commune and meet a young Tay entrepreneur helping to shape the future of community-based tourism. Through personal stories and insights into sustainable farming, discover how local traditions, ethnic identity, and digital storytelling are working together to preserve culture and create new opportunities for rural communities.
Continue onward toward the mountains, arriving at Topas Ecolodge, our Signature Stay, set high in the Hoang Lien Son range. The afternoon is yours to settle into this elevated retreat, where sweeping valleys stretch below your private terrace.
As dusk approaches, experience a private Khen panpipe performance, music central to H’Mong spiritual life, believed to bridge earthly and ancestral worlds. Conclude the evening for dinner at the lodge’s 360° Grill.
Day 4 Enter the Hoang Lien Son | Forage botanicals with a master distiller
Signature Experience: Follow Daniel Nguyen, pioneer of Vietnam’s craft spirits, into the remote village of Seo My Ty. Hand-forage wild botanicals alongside him, learning how altitude, soil, and season shape the character of his award-winning drinks. The immersion deepens inside a H’Mong elder’s home, where you take part in traditional fermentation and distillation methods rooted in daily mountain life. This is a rare entry into a closed lineage of knowledge, shared through practice rather than performance. A private family-cooked lunch follows, paired with a curated tasting of Daniel’s aged reserve, each sip reflecting years of patience and landscape.
This evening, dine in privacy at Topas Ecolodge, either beneath open stars or within a secluded restaurant space, preserving the valley’s quiet rhythm.
Day 5 Cross mountain passes | Learn indigo and hand-spinning with Lu artisans
Signature Experience: Depart Sapa via the O Quy Ho Pass, stopping in Lao Chai village for an intimate introduction to the Lu people’s textile traditions. Join female artisans in indigo dyeing and hand-spinning cotton, supporting a women-led effort to preserve embroidery and silver-adorned design languages passed through generations.
Continue onward for lunch inside a Thai family’s stilt house, sharing a private home-cooked meal that offers a quiet window into valley life.
We end the day arriving into Mu Cang Chai, surrounded by fresh mountain air, terraced hillsides, and the enduring traditions of one of northern Vietnam’s most untouched regions.
Day 6 Signature Day | Connect through culinary heritage, textiles or mountain trails
Today is your Signature Day, where you can select an authentic, curated experience to connect deeply with Vietnamese culture. You could:
Master ethnic culinary traditions, collecting forest ingredients before wood-smoking buffalo and blending Cham Cheo inside a family hearth (9am-1pm)
Decode H’Mong textile language, tracing ancestral symbols onto hemp using wax and indigo techniques then have a moment for a short blessing ceremony with the village’s elder (2pm-6pm)
Hike the Sky Road to Nam Kim village, walking along ridgeline trails and peaceful rural paths before savouring a mountaintop picnic overlooking cascading rice terraces (8am-3pm)
This evening, regroup for a charcoal grilled dinner where open flame, herbs and shared plates define the region’s cuisine.
Day 7 Taste ancient mountain tea | Return to Hanoi in style
Begin the morning among centuries-old Shan Tuyết tea trees, learning how their leaves are cultivated in Vietnam’s northern highlands. A guided tasting ceremony reveals the tea’s history and distinctive flavour, shaped by altitude, cool air, and careful handcraft.
Continue towards Hanoi, pausing for lunch in a local family home and one final experience of rural hospitality.
This evening, gather at LABRI for a beautifully considered farewell dinner, where French technique meets the flavours of Asia. Raise a glass to the people, landscapes, and shared moments that have shaped your journey.
Day 8 Say a fond farewell to Vietnam or extend your stay
Your final morning is left unhurried. Depending on your flight time, enjoy a relaxed breakfast, a final Vietnamese coffee, or a gentle stroll nearby before your complimentary transfer to the airport.
This chapter may have come to an end, but Vietnam’s story continues – woven through memory, craft, and the relationships shaped along the way.
Alternatively, open a new chapter of discovery by speaking to your Signature Collection travel expert about extending your stay.
Day 9 Say a fond farewell to Vietnam or extend your stay
Your final morning is left unhurried. Depending on your flight time, enjoy a relaxed breakfast, a final Vietnamese coffee, or a gentle stroll nearby before your complimentary transfer to the airport.
Those with more time may join an optional cultural visit with Bui Quy Phong, Hoi An’s last traditional paper mask artisan. In a quiet temple setting, observe his intricate process before creating your own ceremonial mask, carrying forward a theatrical art form now rarely practised (available to prebook on request).
This chapter may have come to an end, but Vietnam’s story continues – woven through memory, craft, and the relationships shaped along the way.
Alternatively, open a new chapter of discovery by speaking to your Signature Collection travel expert about extending your stay.
