Enjoy “Come back to Thang Long” tours
Update: Feb 15, 2009
Pilgrim tours remain an attractive choice for tourists in the first lunar month after Tet to pray for good luck and happiness for the New Year. Ben Thanh Tourist is offering two “Come back to Thang Long” tours to give tourists a chance to indulge in nature and sanctuaries.

The five-day-and-four-night tour will begin in Hanoi with visits to the Temple of Literature, Hoan Kiem and Truc Bach lakes, Ngoc Son, Quan Thanh temples, Rua (Turtle) Tower, My Dinh National Stadium and new urban areas.

On the second day the tour departs for Ninh Binh, 93km south of Hanoi, with a stop at temples of the King Dinh and the King Le in Hoa Lu Citadel, the first capital of Vietnam in the 10th century. On arrival the tourists will enjoy a relaxing boat trip on Tam Coc to contemplate its splendid sceneries. The limestone formations are often compared with Guilin – China, or to the limestone islets of Halong Bay, hence the nickname “Halong Bay on land” or “Dry Halong Bay.”

Another spectacular sight is Trang An tourist site and the country’s largest pagoda, Bai Dinh, which is famous for its size and splendor. The pagoda is also renowned for its great works of Tam The Temple and Dharma Temple whose area is up to 1,000m² and one Great Buddha Sakyamuni statue which is 16m in height and 1,000 tons in weight. Another astonishing point of the pagoda is a collection of 500 Arhat statues on the hill in the right of Dharma Temple.

The third day of the trip will include visits to Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen Monastery and a cable car to ancient tower garden, Hoa Yen and Dong pagodas, as well as the magnificent Halong Bay for a panoramic view of Cai Lan Port and a visit to Hon Gai Commune and Tuan Chau Island.

In addition to Halong Bay, the landscape of Quang Ninh Province is home to Sung Sot Cave with numerous stalactites and stalagmites in the shapes of birds and other animals, Bai Tu Long Bay, Ga Choi Islet, and Cho Da Islet, where tourists can enjoy swimming and sunbathing at Titop Beach, known for its quiet and airy atmosphere, clean and clear waters and its alluring landscape.

During the daytime, while going from island to island, passengers can sit in the ship’s bow or climb on the roof to get a good view of the passing landscape.

When night falls, the bay’s atmosphere becomes even more romantic as a cool breeze comes up when the sun sets and the waves can be heard crashing on the shore.

The last day of the tour is reserved for shopping in Dong Xuan Market and traditional craft villages in Hanoi for souvenirs and specialties for friends and families, as well as for a visit to Uncle Ho’s Mausoleum, Ho Chi Minh’s Museum, Uncle’s Wooden House On Stilts and the One-Pillar Pagoda.

The tour price is VND6.735 million for Vietnamese person and VND6.985 for a foreign tourist.

The second tour, which will last four days and three nights, will take tourists to many of the attractive destinations in Hanoi and Quang Ninh as outlined above.

The tour price is VND6.335 million for a Vietnamese tourist and VND6.535 million for a foreign tourist.
SGT