Days of the Dragon
Northern Vietnam Festival Season

Northern Vietnam Festivals

Start your year celebrating with the hill tribes, in the Northern Vietnam festival season.

The beginning of the lunar year brings many exhilarating festivals to northern Vietnam. For travelers, this means a unique opportunity to experience the rich and vibrant cultures of the hill tribes as we enjoy the best Northern Vietnam Festivals. For photographers, it offers incredible images, and a chance to document the authentic celebrations and rituals of Vietnam’s ethnic minorities.

Highlights include the colorful Gao Tau festival, Dzao fire dancing and an up close experience of lunar new year festivities with the Dzao and Tay people. Our local friends help us to understand the traditions and significance of these Northern Vietnam festivals, and give us unique access to the people and their cultures. Along the way, we develop a photographic story on the diverse festivals and traditions of northern Vietnam. It all makes for an unforgettable journey at an incredibly photogenic time of 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.

Days of the Dragon

Northern Vietnam Festival Season

Book your seat now with a simple $500 deposit

Expectations

Immerse yourself in the cultures of the hill tribes of Sapa for the Northern Vietnam festival season. The new lunar year brings families and communities together as the ethnic minorities converge on the hill slopes of Sapa and Bac Ha. Surrounded by color and festivity, we’ll be in the thick of it, capturing the emotions of the villagers as they celebrate through song, dance and traditional games, passed down through the generations.

Itinerary

Day 1 – Hanoi arrival

Flights arrive at various times, with complimentary airport pick-up. In the evening, we have a welcome meal with our team, and a look ahead to the tour.

Day 2 – Hanoi - Sapa

We depart Hanoi in the morning, arriving at our accommodation in Sapa in time for lunch. On the way, we’ll have an introduction to our photographic itinerary and also some background on the tribal groups and festivals we’ll be visiting.

Day 3 – Gau Tao Festival

This is a big day for the Gau Tao festival, and we’ll spend it photographing the various traditional events and games. The hilly area becomes very crowded with colorful Hmong revelers, making for some incredible photos with the stunning background scenery.

Day 4 – Xuong Dong Festival + Bac Ha

Today we visit another tribal festival, called Xuong Dong. As well as great photo opps, we’ll be able to participate in some traditional games and activities. In the afternoon, we head for the town of Bac Ha, situated on a scenic plateau east of Sapa. The town is most famous for its Sunday tribal market, and it is surrounded by many villages inhabited by diverse ethnic minority groups. In the evening, we’ll enjoy a Red Dzao fire dancing performance in the town stadium.

Day 5 - Bac Ha

There will be various events in Bac Ha today, with sports and games both traditional and modern. If the weather’s fine, we’ll then head down to the River Chay valley for a longboat trip and visit to local villages. Otherwise, we may explore Bac Ha’s historic Hmong King’s Palace, with a focus on architectural photography.

Day 6 - Bac Ha

This morning, we have the Bac Ha Sunday market, a great chance to capture pictures of the many flower Hmong traders selling their wares, and also images of minority people catching up for a New Year chat and drink. We then head west again for more festivities near Sapa, stopping for some spectacular landscapes along the way.

Day 7 - Put Tong Dzao and Hat Giao Duyen festivals

Today we visit two vibrant, colorful festivals of the Dzao people in the hills around Sapa, Put Tong Dzao and Hat Giao Duyen. Events include fire dancing, processions and traditional singing. In the evening, we’ll have a shoot in Sapa town, capturing moody, misty images of nightlife around this colonial hill station.

Day 8 - Gau Tao Festival at Hoang Lien Village

We’ll spend the morning at another Gau Tao festival, this time in a remote village quite far out of Sapa. Afterwards, we’ll take some time exploring the area on foot, as walking the terraces and foothills allows us to encounter authentic imagery of daily hill-tribe life. We’ll also be able to capture incredible sunset images over the O Quy Ho Pass on our way back to Sapa.

Day 9 - Y Ty

This morning we head over to the stunning region of Y Ty, home to many beautiful views and remote tribal groups. We’ll take our time to photograph the lives and landscapes of this unforgettable area, and may also have a chance to document the manufacture of various fruits and teas grown in the area.

Day 10 - Roong Pooc and Xuong Dong

Our last day of festivities will be a big one, with Roong Pooc and Xuong Dong events occurring in villages near Sapa. A chance to finalize our photographic stories, freely exploring the festivals individually or in small groups. Before our final meal in Sapa, we’ll have a review of photos taken during the tour and a look at selection and editing.

Day 11 - Return to Hanoi

We head back to Hanoi this morning, arriving in the capital at lunch. Flights may depart this evening or the next day, with complimentary airport drop-off.

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.

Recommended Equipment

Digital Camera or Film Camera
Selections of lens
Cable release
Tripod
Memory cards
ND Graduated filters
Laptop/tablet
Storage device

Accommodation

Throughout the trip, we stay in quality 4 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.

The detailed list of accommodation for the tour is –

Hanoi – Hotel de l’Opera

Sapa – Chapa Ecolodge

Bac Ha – La Beaute de Bac Ha

Transportation

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.

Pricing and Dates

Year	Date	Price
2024	13th February	$TBC
2025	2nd February	$TBC
2026	21st February	$TBC

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 $TBC per person. On private tours, surcharges may apply to certain travel dates based upon international or local holidays, as well as local events and festivals. All prices and fares are quoted in U.S. dollars and are subject to change. See the terms and conditions for this trip for more information.

Early Bird Bookings

We offer an early bird discount of 5% if tour bookings are made at least 12 months in advance of departure.

Payment Process

We take an initial holding deposit of $500 per person, which is non-refundable. The remainder is due 3 months in advance of the departure date. We also confirm tour departure at this point, and people can go ahead and book flights.

Cancellation Policy

Tour cancellations incur a fee based on your time of notice before the tour commences.

The time frame and fees for cancellations are as follows –

90 to 61 days before departure is 25% of the trip price.
60 to 46 days before departure is 50% of the trip price.
45-0 days prior to departure is 100% of the trip price.

Group Size

We take a maximum number of 5 guests per tour leader. With larger groups we will split between 2 tour leaders

Departures

Tour departures will be confirmed 3 months in advance, and depend on a minimum number of guests. Guests should not book flights until they receive confirmation of the tour departure.

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.

What's included

Transfers upon arrival and departure
Hotel Pickup / Dropoff
Accommodation as indicated in the itinerary
All transportaion
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
(includes Hanoi Arrival pick up)
Trip cancellation insurance or any other travel insurance
Visas
Alcoholic beverages

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!