Tour Type:

Group Photography Tour

Tour Length:

Days

Departure Date:

February 13, 2026

Tour Price: (USD)

$ 3850

Days of the Dragon

Lunar New Year Photography Adventure

Start your year celebrating with the hill tribes during Northern Vietnam's festival season.

Join us for Days of the Dragon, a once-a-year photography journey into northern Vietnam during the most vibrant days of the Lunar New Year. From Hanoi’s festive streets to the highland villages of Lai Chau, this 11-day adventure offers rare access to Hmong New Year traditions at their most colourful and intimate. You’ll explore the Tet build-up along Hàng Mã Street, photograph artisans in the Quang Phu Cau incense village, ride the Chapa Express into the mountains, and spend your early days capturing life with Black Hmong families around Sapa—including the lively Muong Hum Sunday market.

Your journey continues in Sin Suoi Ho, where five immersive days place you at the heart of Hmong New Year celebrations. Document family preparations on New Year’s Eve, join first-footing visits, and photograph joyful village festivals filled with traditional games, costumes, and music. Encounters with herbalists, farmers, artisans, and children offer authentic stories at every turn, culminating in further cultural exploration at the San Thang market before returning to Hanoi by sleeper train. With expert photographic guidance throughout, Days of the Dragon is an unforgettable opportunity to build a meaningful visual narrative of Vietnam’s Lunar New Year.

This is a premium photographic adventure, and we’ll enjoy the best accommodation available in the region, from stylish bamboo eco-lodges to mountain resorts and restored H’mong forts. We’ll also taste the most delicious cuisine in a part of the world already renowned for its culinary excellence.

Our close connection to the people of Vietnam, local friendships and many years of experience give us unparalleled access to the authentic life of the locals and the area’s most stunning vistas. As working photographers, with many years of teaching experience, we provide you unique insights and knowledge about Vietnam and photographic storytelling.

Expectations

Photographers on this journey can expect deep immersion in Vietnam’s most visually rich season—the Lunar New Year. The tour begins in Hanoi, where the streets transform into a vibrant mosaic of colour, movement, and festive anticipation. From lantern-lit alleys to Tet markets overflowing with decorations and red envelopes, the city provides endless opportunities for dynamic street scenes, environmental portraits, and fast-paced documentary photography. Visits to places like Quang Phu Cau incense village add striking graphic compositions and vivid colours to your early portfolio.

In the northwest mountains, the photographic experience becomes more intimate and culturally grounded. You’ll spend time with Black Hmong families, gaining access to daily life around kitchen fires, weaving looms, and hillside farms. Tribal markets such as Muong Hum offer an energetic mix of traditional clothing, animated negotiations, and quiet human moments—ideal for capturing authentic portraits and layered storytelling scenes. The region’s winter atmosphere, with mist drifting through valleys and soft mountain light, adds a cinematic quality to both landscape and documentary work.

The heart of the journey unfolds in Sin Suoi Ho during the peak of Hmong New Year. Here, you’ll witness and photograph traditions rarely accessible to outsiders: New Year’s Eve rituals, first-footing visits, family preparations, and vibrant multi-day festivals filled with games, music, and dance. Because you stay within the community, you build relationships with residents, allowing for natural, unposed interactions and emotionally expressive images. Festival days showcase stunning traditional attire, playful celebrations, and a deep sense of cultural pride—an ideal environment for storytelling, portraiture, and action photography.

Throughout the tour, you’ll also enjoy spacious opportunities for landscape work, including golden-hour viewpoints, terraced valleys, mountain passes, and misty highland horizons. Evenings in markets, lively night scenes, waterfalls, and remote village gatherings round out a diverse and visually compelling photographic experience. With professional guidance on composition, approach, and creative technique, photographers can expect to return home with a well-rounded, meaningful body of work that captures the spirit, beauty, and humanity of Vietnam’s Lunar New Year.

Image Gallery

Guiding Team

Our photographers are no ordinary guides. We’re adventurers, teachers and assistants, as well as experienced shooters. We’re up at dawn to catch the best light, and always looking out for unexpected moments and details that make for great photography. Our guides are committed to making sure you enjoy exploring Vietnam through photography as much as we do. Your pictures and your experience are always the priority.

Tour Information

Recommended Equipment

Digital Camera
Drone
Selections of lens
Cable release
Tripod
Memory cards
CPL & ND Graduated filters
Laptop/tablet
Storage device

What's included

Transfers upon arrival and departure
Accommodation as indicated in the itinerary
All transportation
Meals as indicated in the itinerary
Daily activities and excursions as indicated in the itinerary
All gratuities
local guides and government permits

What's not included

Airfare to and from destination, as well as internal airfare where applicable
Trip cancellation insurance or any other travel insurance
Visas
Alcoholic beverages

Seasonality

This is a small private group tour with designated departure dates based on the northern Vietnam festival season. However we can tailor this tour or something similar to your required dates.

Reviews

We were delighted with our trip, We could not have asked for a more congenial and attentive guides, Duc and Nhan outdid themselves. Duc's ability to approach people and to get them to enjoy his company gave us an entry point for interacting with people. His profound respect for the ethnic minority peoples really impressed us and provided the means to engage with people on an equal footing. Nhan was an attentive and knowledgeable with a great sense of humor. We spent much of our trip smiling and laughing with the two of them. In Hanoi, Brett and Ling were great guides and instructors. Overall you have a great team who go the extra mile. The accommodations were great, the food fabulous and the car and driver were both superb. We had an exceptional time, see VIF again!

Tour FAQ and Information

How can I see the tour brochure?

Please contact us directly and request a Brochure for this tour.

How is the accommodation on tour?

Throughout the trip, we stay in quality 4-5 star hotels or the best mountain eco-lodges available locally. In some places there are shared bathroom facilities. There is a surcharge for single bookings. If you are open to sharing with someone outside your group, we will do our best to make sure your preferences are met.

Please contact us for more Information

What kind of transport will we have on tour?

Throughout the tour we travel by comfortable, air-conditioned 16 seat private minibus. There will be enough room in the vehicle to carry our maximum 5 guests, guide, driver, luggage and camera gear. Please however bring a maximum of 1 large suitcase, small daypack and/or camera bag.

How much of our time is spent traveling from place to place?

Our photo tours are specially designed to minimize time on the road and maximize photo exploration. Even on longer stretches, the journey is broken up with exciting photography stops. For exact travel times, please inquire.

What is included in the tour price?

Prices are per person based on double occupancy, and do not include international airfare to/from your destination or internal flights during the tour. Single supplement is available at request. Surcharges may apply to certain travel dates based on international or local holidays, as well as local events and festivals. All prices and fares are quoted in U.S. dollars and subject to change. See the terms and conditions for this trip for more information

Please contact us for more Information

Are there any discounts available?

Yes. We offer a 5% early bird discount on all featured tours if bookings are received 12 months in advance of departure.

We offer an extra 5% discount to returning guests.

What is the payment process?

We take an initial holding deposit of $500 per person, which is non-refundable, unless Vietnam in Focus calls off the trip.

The remainder is due at least 3 months in advance of the departure date. This is also our latest date to confirm tour departure at this point, and guests can go ahead and book flights.

In the event that we have our minimum number of guests booked in for the tour earlier than 3 months before departure, we will confirm the tour, and guests are free to book their flights.

What are your cancellation fees?

Your initial $500 reservation deposit is non-refundable, except in the event that Vietnam in Focus cancels the trip. The deposit can however be put towards a future trip with Vietnam in Focus.

If you cancel your booking with us, our cancellation policy includes the following fees and cut-off periods:

If canceling 90 to 61 days before departure, the guest is liable for 25% of the trip cost.

60 to 46 days before departure is 50% of the trip cost.

45-0 days prior to departure is 100% of the trip cost.

What is the maximum group size?

In order to ensure an authentic, personalized experience, we take a maximum number of 5 guests per one photographer tour leader. With larger groups, we will split between 2 photographer tour leaders.

Do I need insurance?

Yes, you do. You will be asked to sign a legally-binding liability disclaimer with your insurance details before tour departure.

Can my non-photographer partner and / or kids come along?

Absolutely, they are most welcome. There’s plenty to entertain non-photographers on our tours, as long as they don’t mind the rest of us getting up at the crack of dawn most days.

What should I bring?

Please see the What to Bring list included in each itinerary.

Should I book my flight to arrive one or two days before the tour starts?

It’s a good idea to do this, as you’ll have a chance to get over the jetlag and do a bit of exploring before the action begins. We can help you arrange accommodation and adventures.

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