This Vietnam Ethnic Colour Photo Tour 14 days takes you to Vietnam’s northern mountainous area, home to an array of colourful ethnic communities (Mong, Han, Dao, Giay, Tay, Lo Lo, Pu Peo, etc). The photographers will have opportunities to stay in local villages and visit lively tribal markets, while travelling through superb landscapes of mountains and forests.

Vietnam Ethnic Color Photo Tour

Combined with a full day in Hanoi and an overnight rail journey, this tour offers a wealth of insights into the contrasting lifestyles of Vietnam’s minorities and city dwellers. Lets take your camera and go! Vietnam Photo Tour – Vietnam Photography Tour – Photo Tour Vietnam – Photography Tour Vietnam.

Day 1, Wednesday: Arrival at Hanoi (D, GP)

Arriving at Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel. You’ll have time to relax after your journey before enjoying a performance of traditional Water Puppetry, an art form unique to northern Vietnam, and an endearing, light-hearted introduction to its rural culture. Later, you’ll have a ‘Welcome’ dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant in a restored French colonial building. You’ll spend the night in Hanoi.

Hanoi Photography Tours

Day 2, Thursday: Hanoi (B, L, G)

You’ll have the whole day to explore Vietnam’s capital city. Your guide will take you to the Temple of Literature, the first university in Vietnam dating back to the 11th century. You’ll then drive to the excellent Ethnology Museum for an overview of Vietnam’s 54 distinct ethnic groups in anticipation of your trip to the northern highlands, with lots of interesting information on their customs, arts and costumes. (According to time and your preference, you may instead visit the Vietnamese Women’s Museum to learn about Vietnamese Women heroes and daily life).

Hanoi Photo Tour

After lunch, explore the bustling Old Quarter and Dong Xuan Market, a magnet for visitors, it’s noisy and hectic, but definitely a ‘must-see’ attraction. The Old Quarter is a maze of shopping streets and restaurants with a hotchpotch of architecture – traditional tube houses, religious buildings, artisans’ workshops and cottages, colonial houses and modern concrete edifices. (Instead of Dong Xuan Market, you can choose to stroll around Hom Market, known as the fabric market in Hanoi). You will stay overnight in Hanoi.

Hanoi Photography Tours

Day 3, Friday: Hanoi/Ha Giang/Quan Ba/Nam Dam (B, L, D, G)

Today you will start early, as you’ll drive 320 km north from Hanoi to Ha Giang, the northernmost province of Vietnam. You’ll stop en route at Tuyen Quang to visit the remains of the 15th century Mac Dynasty Citadel and a market nearby. Arriving in Ha Giang, you will drive 45 km further to Nam Dam Village in Quan Ba District. Upon arrival, you can stroll around the town to get a sense of this Dao community. You will stay at a traditional Dao house with a private room.

Sapa Photography Tour

Drive total distance ~365 km. Time: ~ 9 hours. You should plan to start around 07:00 AM and arrive around 05:00 PM.

Day 4, Saturday: Nam Dam Village Hiking (B, L, D, G)

After breakfast, you will walk around Nam Dam Village. You will visit Deer Waterfall in a forested area, walking through a landscape dominated by paddy fields, steep hills and the famous karst formations of the Dong Van Geopark. After taking in the scene from a viewpoint overlooking a vast valley, you will visit the Karst Twin Towers and wander the picturesque paddy fields of Nam Dam basin. You will also walk along Nam Dan Lake and the Fairy Breast mountains to Tam Son, and then reward yourself with a delicious fruit juice.  You will stay at traditional Dao house with private room.

Photo Tours Vietnam

Nam Dam is a scenic village in quiet rural setting, and has been chosen for a community-based tourism development project by the international NGO Caritas Switzerland and the Vietnamese NGO Pan Nature. It is only 4 km from the Quan Ba district centre of Tam Son. The project is new and local people have only elementary training on tourism, but with the investment and support from the project, accommodation has been much improved to serve international visitors at mid-range standard. There is functioning toilet, shower, water and electric, but not an ensuite toilet. Having your own toiletries is advised.

Photography Tour Vietnam

Day 5, Sunday: Nam Dam/Quan Ba/Yen Minh/Dong Van (B, L, D, G)

You will get another early start today, to join local people flocking to the colourful Tam Son Sunday Market. You will then proceed to Yen Minh and further to Dong Van ethnic markets, which are all held only on Sundays, and gather the ethnic minority peoples such as Mong, Han, Dao, Giay and Tay, who live in the plateau border area.

Ha Giang Photography Tour

It is worth scheduling your visit to this area on Sunday so you can experience the different ethnic markets. The markets start very early and finish around noon or earlier. You will get going equally early to have enough time to see at least two colourful markets and compare. It’s a good place to see local products, experience the hustle and bustle of market activities, and meet the buyers and sellers. It’s a genuine introduction to the unadulterated local culture.

Photo Tours Vietnam

Lunch will be not booked in advance today, but will be provided depending on your interest and time spent in the markets. The rest of the day will be spent exploring some picturesque villages in the northern tip of Vietnam. The scenery is spectacular – a vast limestone mountain range and perpendicular walls of rock. There will be plenty of opportunities to take photos, but please be unobtrusive when photographing the local people – cameras and camcorders are rare in the area.  If time permits, you’ll stop by the infamous Vuong Palace, once the home of a high-ranking H’mong family during French colonial rule. The palace is something of an architectural fish out of water, and attracts visitors for its unusual combination of European and Chinese styles. From there you drive to Dong Van Town where your guide will show you its charming ‘Old Streets’ near the market. You’ll spend the night in Dong Van.

Vietnam Photography Tour

At this stage of the tour, you’ll be deep in the remote areas of the north where accommodation is very basic with few travellers (and even fewer foreigners!). From here until you arrive in Bac Me Town, you’ll be in your guide’s hands for food and somewhere to sleep. It’ll be a long way from five-star menus and facilities, but our local guides know the area intimately and will ensure that you have the best available.

By visiting these remote areas, you’ll witness first-hand the local people’s perpetual struggle to survive in the unforgiving environment. Living conditions are extremely harsh, and there is little arable land in the mountains. The people survive mainly on a diet of corn, one of the very few species capable of growing in the rocky soil. Despite the hardship and simple lifestyle, the local people are very friendly, welcoming and generous to visitors.

HA GIANG PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS

Day 6, Monday: Dong Van/Lung Cu/Meo Vac (B, L, D, G)

Today you will have a little time to relax in the morning with a late breakfast, and then head northeast to Lung Cu, the northernmost point of Vietnam. You can visit the Flag Tower of Lung Cu and stroll through the commune, where there are 9 villages of the Mong, Lo Lo, Tay and Pu Peo minorities.

HA GIANG PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS

The traditional dress of Lo Lo ethnic minority women has drawn great admiration for its creativity and rich colours. Over a light shirt, Lo Lo women wear brilliant waist-length, long-sleeved vests. The body of the vest is covered with bright block patterns arranged vertically on the front and back. Each block is made with up to 20 smaller triangular pieces of fabric. The sleeves are decorated with bands matching the colour scheme. To top off this ensemble, Lo Lo women wear colourfully embroidered headscarves which are further decorated with beads. At times they use two or even three headscarves at once, wrapped with painstaking care to highlight the colours and beaded decorations.

HA GIANG PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS

Later, a scenic route will take you to Ma Pi Leng Pass from where you can enjoy a panoramic view of the Nho Que River – with luck you might see one of the area’s stunning sunsets. Finally, after your busy day, you’ll arrive at Meo Vac in the late afternoon where you’ll spend the night.

HA GIANG PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR

Day 7, Tuesday: Meo Vac/Ha Giang (B, L, G)

After breakfast and a brief visit to Meo Vac local market, you’ll return to Yen Minh via a different scenic route. The breath-taking scenery makes today truly worthwhile – you’ll travel along rough roads and tortuous bends to Lung Phin, a small town about 14km from Meo Vac. You will stop at Lung Cam, a community tourism village in Sung La commune and the scenic home of Lo Lo, White Hmong and Hoa minority people.

HA GIANG PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS

Your lunch will be arranged in a local restaurant in Quan Ba Town. From there, you’ll travel back to Ha Giang, arriving in the afternoon. After checking into your accommodation, you might want to wander around the city.

Most mountain markets in Vietnam happen at weekends, but Lung Phin is an exception. Its calendar is based on the dates of 12 animal designations – Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare/Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep/Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. The market is held in a huddle of thatched huts on a hillside and takes place every Monkey and Tiger day. Local people tether their animals to sell at the corner of the market. If you can arrange your travel in time to co-ordinate with the market days, you’ll experience an untouched culture that has experienced very little change in the last millennium.

Photography Tours Vietnam

Day 8, Wednesday: Ha Giang/Bac Ha/Muong Khuong/Cao Son (B, L, G)

You will spend today driving along Lo River down to Viet Quang and onward to Bac Ha Town. The route will take you through mountain landscapes and striking scenery. After lunch in a local restaurant, you’ll continue to Muong Khuong, arriving in the late afternoon. You’ll then be taken to Cao Son Eco Lodge for overnight accommodation.

Photography Tours Ha Giang

Day 9, Thursday: Lung Khau Nhin Market/Sapa (B, L, G)

After breakfast, your guide and driver will take you to visit Lung Khau Nhin Market, frequented by Flower Hmong, Tu Di and Giay ethnic minority peoples. After exploring the market, you’ll have a chance to visit villages of the Black Dao and Pa Di ethnic people. Lunch will be served in a local restaurant in Muong Khuong or by picnic lunch. You’ll then drive to Lao Cai and continue your journey through the mountains to Sapa, a picturesque town perched on the mountainside opposite Mt. Fan Si Pan, Vietnam’s highest peak. After arrival, you’ll have time to relax and stroll around town, and you’ll spend the night in a Sapa hotel with good mountain views.

Ha Giang Photography Tour

Although it’s quite a long drive, the landscape is attractive and the ethnic markets are a fascinating experience. Unlike those in the tourist areas, the markets that we choose are not only for buying and selling, but are also places for ethnic minority people to meet and exchange news. There will be plenty of colour and authentic costumes, but very little to buy in the way of souvenirs – unless you have something to exchange for a water buffalo or a sack of fertiliser!

Sapa Photography Tours

Tu Di are one of two sub-groups of the Bo Y ethnic minority. The other group are settled in the Quan Ba District of Ha Giang Province.

The Tu Di women of Muong Khuong now wear black trousers and a shirt of black and blue material with a distinctive front panel, decorated with pieces of coloured material, patches of embroidery and silver chains: the shirt buttons under the right arm and has concentric rings of coloured material around the upper sleeves and cuffs.

Photography Tour Sapa

The Pa Di are a sub-ethnicity of the Tay exclusively settled in the Muong Khuong District of Lao Cai. They are instantly recognisable by their distinctive headgear which comprises a studded decorative headband enclosed in a stiff pyramid shaped black hat. The Pa Di women wear a black skirt, a black shirt which buttons under the right arm and a black apron. The shirt has a blue border and features blue and white rings on the lower sleeves and studded decorative patterns on the collar.

Photography Tour Vietnam

Day 10, Friday: Sapa/Ta Phin Village (B, L, D, G)

After breakfast at the hotel, you will drive to Ta Phin Village. Ta Phin is a picturesque thirty minute drive north of Sapa. Set in a valley with a towering mountain peak at one end, Ta Phin is home to approximately 1000 Red Dao, 1500 Black H’Mong and a handful of Kinh people. You’ll have lunch, dinner and stay the night in the traditional wooden home of a Red Dao family. The name of your hostess is May Kieu, and her husband is Lua. They have 2 children, aged 4 and 5. Lua’s mother lives with the family along with Lua’s grandmother known as “Coo” (grandmother in Dao). At age 86, Coo is the oldest person in the village and is always ready for a chat and a cuppa.

Sapa Photography Tour

The Red Dao embroidery style is truly unique and today the ladies of the house will teach you their embroidery techniques while sharing stories about their lives. The outfits of the Red Dao in the Sapa region are different from the Red Dao in other northern provinces. There are many local variations in clothing from village to village, but the common features are heavily embroidered trousers, a loose fitting black jacket with a richly embroidered collar and sleeves, along with an embroidered back panel.

Sapa Photo Tours

Some of the Red Dao in the area wear a plain red scarf with a white border decorated with silver coins, whilst others wear a large red turban decorated with silver beads and long red and yellow tassels. The women shave their eyebrows and shave back their hairline to display a larger area of forehead.  There will be plenty of opportunity today to wander through the valley and observe daily life among the Hmong and Dao people – depending on the season, it may also be possible to visit some Black Hmong families preparing and dyeing indigo hemp fabrics.

Sapa Ethnic Color Photo Tour

Day 11, Saturday: Sapa/Can Cau/Bac Ha (B, L, G)

From Ta Phin Village, you will drive back to Lao Cai, then continue to Can Cau Market. Not far from Bac Ha, the colourful Can Cau Market held on Saturdays is as large as Bac Ha Market but not as popular to visit, partly due to the distance and poor road conditions. People from other tribal groups such as Black Zao, Tay and Zay attend, but the colourful traditional costume of the Flower H’mong dominates this market, making for a beautiful sight. The market is also popular with Chinese traders. Afterwards, you’ll travel on to Bac Ha town for lunch.

Sapa Photo Tours

In the afternoon, you’ll walk to Ban Pho village of Nung and Flower H’mong, situated in a small valley. The villagers grow vegetables and fruit trees, especially plums. You’ll be able to visit a local house, where you might have chance to taste the celebrated local corn wine. You’ll spend the night in Bac Ha.

Sapa Ethnic Color Photo Tours

Day 12, Sunday: Bac Ha/Trung Do/boat trip to Chay River/Lao Cai (B, L, G)

Today you’ll follow the flow of the locals to the centre of Bac Ha’s huge market, resplendent in its colourful array of ethnic minorities such as the Flower H’mong, Phu La, Black Dao, Tay and Nung peoples who gather here to trade. After you have spent the morning exploring the market, your lunch will be served at a local restaurant.

Photography Tours Sapa

After lunch, you’ll be driven downhill for about half an hour, after which you’ll take a short walk to Trung Do Village, belonging to the Tay minority. Here you can visit a traditional Tay house, before boarding a boat to cruise upstream on the Chay River to enjoy the picturesque scenery of the river bank. Later, you will  cruise downstream to Bao Nhai Bridge, where your car will be waiting to transfer you to Lao Cai. You’ll have time to check in to a room and refresh yourself before boarding the sleeper train back to Hanoi in late evening.

Photo Tours Vietnam

Day 13, Monday: Hanoi (B, GP)

When you arrive at Hanoi railway station, your car will arrive to transfer you to your hotel to freshen up. The day will be free at your leisure to relax after a long northern trip. You’ll spend the night in Hanoi.

Vietnam Photo Tour

Day 14, Tuesday: Hanoi Departure (B, DP)

You’ll be free until your driver arrives to take you to Noi Bai Airport for your departure flight.

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Tour’s gallery

This Vietnam Heritage Photo Tour nine-day introduction to Vietnam’s rich heritage – natural and manufactured, art and artefact, majestic and vernacular to photographer who love Vietnam and want to discovery the beauty of its. It includes three cultural World Heritage sites and Ha Long Bay, Vietnam’s famous limestone seascape.

As you’ll be travelling tailor-made, you can transform this sample tour into your dream holiday. Just ask us to make any changes, and you’ll have a revised itinerary with 24 hours – no limit to the number of changes, and no charge for making the amendments! Vietnam Photo Tour – Vietnam Photo Tours – Vietnam Photography Tour – Vietnam Photography Tours – Photo Tour Vietnam – Photography Tour Vietnam.

Hue Photo Tour

Day 1: Arrival at Hanoi (D, GP)

Arriving at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel. You’ll have time to relax after your journey before having tickets for a performance of traditional Water Puppetry, an art form unique to northern Vietnam, and a good, light-hearted introduction to its rural culture. In the evening, you’ll have a ‘Welcome’ dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant in a restored French colonial building. You’ll spend the night in Hanoi.

Hanoi Photography Tours

Alternatively you will have dinner in a family restaurant situated in a small alley in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. The owner is a talented cook who will be preparing your food.

Day 2: Hanoi’s tangible and intangible heritage (B, L, G)

In the morning, you will enjoy visiting to the Ethnology Museum, the Fine Art Museum. Here you can understand about Vietnamese Ethnic Minorities group.

After lunch, you can tune yourself in with some traditional Vietnamese music. A local musician, Mr. Ba Pho, will guide you through his music studio displaying many rare and unique Vietnamese musical instruments. Ba Pho’s enthusiastic insight into the origins of these instruments is extraordinary: he’s also well-schooled in the geography and history of the Vietnamese ethnic minorities. The best way to experience his vast collection is by listening to them in concert. An exclusive hour-long performance by Ba Pho can be arranged for an extra fee.

Vietnam Photography Tours

Next, your guide can then show you the bustling Old Quarter. Apart from its maze of small streets, it’s an architectural pot-pourri – traditional tube houses, religious buildings, colonial houses, artisans’ dwellings and modern concrete constructions. Your overnight stay will be in Hanoi.

Day 3: Hanoi/Ha Long (B, L, D, G)

After an early breakfast, you’ll leave for Ha Long Bay, one of the most spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Areas and the world’s largest marine limestone ‘karst’ landscape. There you’ll board your boat, a wooden junk built from the model of the old Vietnamese court vessels with sails, a wide transom and rectangular superstructure, that will take you first to the busy World Heritage area and then to some of the less well-known grottoes and caves.

Vietnam Photo Tours

Weather permitting, you’ll be able to swim, fish, climb a hill (not a mountain!) for an overview of the Bay’s remarkable seascape, or venture into some of the sea level caves in a small sampan. All your meals will be provided on board, usually based on fresh seafood, and you’ll sleep in a twin cabin with an en suite toilet and shower.

Vietnam Photography Tour

For your two-day Ha Long excursion, you’ll board one of the best quality boats on the Bay, a wooden junk based on the model of the old Vietnamese court vessels with sails, a wide transom and rectangular superstructure. The boats vary in size, accommodating between ten and eighteen people, so you’re likely to be joining other travellers for the cruise.

Vietnam Photography tours

Your cabin will be about six metres square, and furnished with twin bunks, two fans, an air-conditioner, pillows, white cotton sheets, and an en suite toilet and shower. All your meals, usually based on fresh seafood, will be provided on board.

Day 4: Ha Long Bay / Hanoi (Brunch, G)

You’ll spend the morning cruising Ha Long Bay, followed by brunch, just before docking around noon and leaving for Hanoi. You should arrive in the late afternoon and spend the night in Hanoi.

Halong Bay Photography Tour

Day 5: Hanoi/Hue (B, DP in Hanoi, G in Hue)

You’ll have a free morning before we pick you up for a noon flight to Hue. When you arrive, you’ll be met by our guide and driven to visit the Imperial Citadel of Hue, the nearby Antiquity Museum and the local Dong Ba market. Your overnight stay will be in Hue.

Photo Tours Hue

Day 6: Hue (B, L, D, G)

After breakfast, you’ll be met by our guide to board a riverboat to take you upstream on the Perfume River to visit the tranquil Thien Mu Pagoda. In the afternoon, you’ll visit Emperor Tu Duc’s mausoleum and one of Hue’s ‘garden houses’. After returning to your hotel to freshen up, you’ll return to sit down for dinner in the pleasant surroundings and a comfortable atmosphere of another of the garden houses. You’ll spend the night in Hue.

Hue Photography Tour

Each Royal Tomb reflects the personality of the ruler. The tomb of Tu Duc, the ‘poet Emperor’, is set in an elegant garden with a magnificent lake and pavilion complex. The simplest of the actual tomb (a monument – he was buried elsewhere to thwart grave robbers) is at odds with the lavish opulence of his reign.

Photography Tour Hue

The garden houses are a unique feature of Hue. The houses are traditional, privately owned, and set in attractive formal gardens. Some have connections with the old Royal Imperial Court. Hue traditional architecture has long had close associations with the natural environment. The garden houses reflect this association. Each is highly individual – house and garden, people and scenery, plants, clouds and water co-exist and blend with each other in a harmonious context. The narrow streets and abundant flora give the garden house area a country village feeling.

Day 7: Hue/Danang/Hoi An (B, L, G)

In the morning, you’ll drive to Danang (the views from top of Hai Van Pass are excellent – you’ll be able to see Lang Co beach and the lagoon far below, and Danang spread out before you to the south).

Photography Tours Vietnam

Upon arriving in Danang, you’ll have a brief look at the remarkable Hindu statuary in the Cham Museum before leaving for Hoi An. After lunch, you’ll have a guided visit to the Ancient Town. Your overnight stay will be in Hoi An.

Day 8: Hoi An/My Son/Hoi An (B, G)

After breakfast, you’ll be driven to My Son Sanctuary, once the spiritual capital of the Cham Kingdom that dominated SE Asia for nearly a thousand years, and now a World Heritage Area. Its remarkable brick towers were badly bombed by the Americans, but are still impressive as is its remote valley setting. Your afternoon will be free to relax on the beach or wander around Hoi An. Your overnight stay will be in Hoi An or Danang.

Hoi An Photo Tours

Once, the My Son Sanctuary was the spiritual capital of the Cham Kingdom that dominated SE Asia for nearly a thousand years. Although My Son’s remarkable brick towers were badly bombed during the American war, they are still impressive, as is its remote valley setting in a quiet, richly forested area bisected by a clear stream. However, tree cover is not complete and the valley acts as a sun trap, so good sun protection is important.

Vietnam Photography Tours

Day 9: Hoi An/Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City Departure (B, GP)

You’ll be picked up in good time to board either the morning or afternoon flight to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City for your departure flight.

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Tour’s gallery

We at Photography Tour Vietnam Team are proud to introduce one of Asia leading Photographers Dave Hughes Vietnams best photo tour leader. He is that rare breed of guide his technical skills around his art are consummate. You will see some of his work here.

What makes Mr Hughes so special is his knowledge he has lived here for over 15 years and his people skills are outstanding so you can really get to know the man. He has an art for opening up any subject to photo… Some say he is all so funny not sure about that…lol. Please see below a selection of our tours Dave Hughes leads.

Day 1: Hanoi arrival (D, G)

We will start the day at the wholesale market on the edge of the city. This is a “major League” market where fruit and vegetables are bought and sold in bulk…a true delight for photographers.  We will then head for the old quarter where the narrow streets offer perfect soft light. Walking up through these streets we will eventually reach Hoan Kiem Lake where many of the locals come in the mornings to practice their Tai Chi, A walk around the lake will offer us some very unusual photo opportunities.

Hanoi Photo Tour

After breakfast we will then head off to the temple of literature. Built in 1060 and dedicated to Confucius, we will get a chance to mingle with the graduating students dressed in their finery, a truly colorful event.  You can then have an afternoon of free time to get to know this fabulous city. In the evening we will do some “low light” shots of Hoan Kiem Lake where the city lights reflect magically across the lake. Dinner will be in a fabulous restaurant overlooking this great center piece.

Hanoi Photography Tours

​Day 2: Hanoi/Halong Bay (B, L, D, G)

This morning we take a private bus to Halong City where we board our wonderful junk boat, at midday we set sail. You will meet your crew members and check into your luxury, on suite, cabins.

Lunch will be served on board after which the day’s activities begin. Our first stop will be Vung Vieng where a tender will take us to visit one of the largest fishing villages in Halong Bay.

Vietnam Photo Tours

We will get a chance to explore the lives of the villagers and then we will drop in to a pearl processing farm. Once back on board we will then move to the Hang Trong area for overnight anchor.

Photo Tour Halong Bay

Sunsets here can be hauntingly beautiful so make sure you have your tripods at hand. We will then get a chance to see a short cooking class before enjoying our Gala Dinner shortly after sunset.

Day 3: Halong Bay/Cat Ba Island (B, L, G)

Get up as early as you like, in fact, the earlier the better to catch the “ghost like” mist rising off the water with the old junks in the background. After breakfast we change boats to travel to the island of Cat Ba.

Vietnam Photography Tour

At Cat Ba Island, we check into a fabulous resort with private beach. Around 5pm we will go to the harbor to shoot sunset with many junk boats as our backdrop.

​Day 4:  Halong Bay/Hanoi (B, L, G)

After another wonderful sunrise shoot and a nice breakfast we will take to the water again and head back to Halong Harbor where we will enjoy lunch on board before driving back to Hanoi City.

​Day 5: Hanoi/Ninh Binh (B, L, G)

After an early morning shoot in the city we will hit the road and take the 3 hour journey to Ninh Binh. Ninh Bình is a province in northern Vietnam’s Red River Delta.

Tam Coc Photography Tours

In the province’s northwest, the vast Cúc Phương National Park is known for its green valleys , karst mountains and conservation centers.

Photography Tour Ninh Binh

It has hiking trails and caves, and is home to many rare species including langur monkeys and pangolins. In the northeast, its namesake capital city is a base for exploring nearby temples. After checking into our private bungalows we will spend the afternoon/early evening at Bich Dong pagoda where we will have traditionally dressed models to enhance our photo session.

Day 6: Ngo Dong River (B, L, G)

At first light we will take small boats, 2 people per boat, for a 3 hour trip down the Ngo Dong River. The excursion starts at the village of Van Lam and proceeds through scenic landscape dominated by beautiful rice fields. This trip will take us through 3 caves with the largest being 125m long and the ceiling just 2m above the water.

Tam Coc Photo Tour

The boats are rowed by local women, sometimes with their hands and sometimes with their feet. For breakfast we will go to a local noodle café and have the most delicious traditional soup.  In the afternoon we will take a motor powered boat and travel through a floating village where we will get a chance to mingle with the locals and even be invited into their homes. Sunset will be slightly further down river in a small fishing village.

Ninh Binh Photo Tours

Day 7: Ninh Binh/Mai Chau village (B, L, D, G)

The landscape around this area is spectacular and this morning we will be out there early to get some sunrise shots. After breakfast we will drive the 3 hours to Hoa Binh area where we will settle into the stunningly beautiful village of Mai Chau.

Photo Tours Mai Chau

Later we will do a walk through a “Thai” village and some magical rice paddies to see the locals living as if time stood still. A buffet dinner will be served in the gardens of the hotel after which we will have a photo shoot of a local “love dance”

​Day 8: HHmong markets

Today is a very special day. Only on Sunday of every week do all the Hmong people from the neighboring small villages adorn their best traditional outfits and attend this amazing local market in the hills. It truly is a sight to behold.

Photo Tours Mai Chau

We will spend a few hours here and also visit one of the small villages and drink tea with a local family in their home where Four generations live under one roof. After the market we will take a boat trip on a local lake where we hope to catch fish farmers at work. A local family will prepare lunch for us.

Mai Chau Photo Tours

Late afternoon we take a walk to the local brick factory and photograph the workers in very unusual conditions. A dinner dance of a different kind this evening.

​Day 9: Hanoi/Hoi An (B, D, G)

A sunrise shoot and a walk around the local village and then after breakfast we will take a Three hour drive to the airport where we will board a plane bound for Hoi An.

Hoi An Photography Tours

Hội An is a city on Vietnam’s central coast known for its well-preserved Ancient Town, cut through with canals. The former port city’s melting-pot history is reflected in its architecture, a mix of eras and styles from wooden Chinese shop houses and temples to colorful French colonial buildings, ornate Vietnamese tube houses and the iconic Japanese Covered Bridge with its pagoda.

Photo Tour Vietnam

At sunset we will photograph the river running through the old town.

​Day 10: Hoi An  (B, L, G)

We will do a very early morning walk around the Old City capturing the delights of this most charming place. As the sun licks the famous Japanese Bridge we will have beautiful models in place to give your photos that “something extra” and to help you practice some portrait shots. We will then venture around the delightful street market to get some great shots of this vibrant bustling daily event.

Hoi An Photo Tour

After breakfast in your riverside hotel we will visit a local fishing village where many fishing boats will be bringing in their catch. We will then take to the water in small round fishing boats and travel down river in a truly authentic style. Tonight we will round off our trip with a great dinner in a fabulous riverside restaurant.

Photography Tour Hoi An

​You can choose to fly back to Hanoi next day or stay on and relax in Hoi An.

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Tour’s gallery

After numerous requests to do so we are offering a new tour in Vietnam mainly focused on northern attractions. This fantastically beautiful area will give a mix of cultural, landscape and people photography. We will photograph life on the streets in the capital Hanoi, ethnic minorities in the markets set amongst the magnificent hills and rice terraces of the north east and the amazing seascapes of Halong Bay.

HANOI PHOTO TOURS

This tour will start with an exploration of old Hanoi where you will get the chance to photograph the bustling activity of the people at work and play. Street food is very much part of life in Hanoi and you will be invited to both photograph and taste the local street food and beverages. After Hanoi we head north, close to the Chinese border areas in a region where landscape photographers will find themselves in seventh heaven.

Hanoi Photo Tours

We will travel to an area where hill tribe villages play host to incredibly colourful markets with spectacular views amongst rice terraces and high mountains. On all Vietnam Photography tours we make a point of interacting with local people, so we have designed our itinerary to follow the local market circuit to encounter as many ethnic minorities as possible, often found in their traditional dress to make for great photographs. We – Vietnam Photography Tour finish the tour with a relaxing but spectacular exploration of Halong bay; the well-known UNESCO world heritage site.

Halong Bay Photo Tours

This North Vietnam Photography Tour is focused on improving an in-depth understanding of good travel photography. Vietnam Photography Tour Team is especially keen to promote three aspects of travel photography; technical competence, creative observation and ethical responsibility. Introductory workshops cover all three and although they don’t leave the novice out of their depth there’s usually enough in these workshops to keep the most seasoned practitioner interested.

Ha Giang Photo Tours

After the workshops most of the teaching is done on location. Constantly unearthing interesting scenarios, we will work alongside the group to help you understand particular technical challenges, give you artistic inspiration and most importantly, lead by example in approaching local people. This approach will both open doors and help you take better pictures. Time is also put aside to help develop your post-production skills so that you can ‘up the wow factor’ of your pictures and go home with a portfolio of the tour that anyone would be proud of. In fact many of our past participants have gone on to win awards or competitions.

Day 1: Hanoi (DP)

Welcome to Vietnam! Upon arrival to Hanoi Noi Bai Airport your driver and guide will meet you and they will transfer you to your hotel. Check-in and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure.

Morning and early afternoon photo workshops (Note – All those who have not done a Vietnam Photography Tours will be invited to arrive a day early / To ensure early morning attendance at Workshops.

Vietnam Photography Tours

At 15:30pm, we will visit the Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first university.  This is a rare example of particularly well-preserved Vietnamese architecture. Consisting of 5 courtyards it is a welcome retreat from the frenetic streets of Hanoi and will give you a gentle introduction to the city.

Photo Tours Hanoi

Later in the afternoon, we will visit Hanoi’s railway tracks. This is something very peculiar to this city as the railway tracks are sometimes located meters away from entrance door of houses thus offering some unique photographic opportunities! We will walk along the railway tracks and take some of the most beautiful pictures to be found in the city.

Our evening will finish with a visit to Dong Xuan Market, where you will be able to see the sellers and vendors in action and have many photo opportunities.

Day 2: Hanoi /Lao Cai/ Sapa (B/L/G)

This morning, your guide and driver will pick you up at 4am, and we will first visit Quang Ba Flower Market. This market opens from 12.00 (mid- night) and is open until 5.30 – 6am.  After visiting the market, we will continue to the West Lake, where we will see the locals performing their daily morning workouts. You will have the chance to photograph the local people starting their busy day by practicing Tai Chi, aerobics and all manner of exotic practices. Our next stop will be breakfast, where we will visit Don’s Bistro Tay Ho Restaurant (http://www.dons-bistro.com/) to get the view over the Lake.

Photo Tour Hanoi

Next, we will go to Huu Tiep Lake, better known as ‘B-52 lake’, where US B-52 bomber wreckage makes an interesting photographic challenge. We will walk in the surrounding areas and visit the local market: Chau Long Market.   If time allows, we will also visit Hoan Kiem Lake, enter to the Ngoc Son Temple, located in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake. At noon, we will get back to the hotel and you will have some free time to enjoy on your own.

Hanoi Photography Tours

In the afternoon, around 3pm, we will start heading to Lao Cai by private van. The trip takes only 5 hours via highway in very good conditions –

We will arrive to Lao Cai at 8:30pm. We will have dinner; check-in at the hotel and we recommend an early night’s sleep.

Day 3: Bac Ha Market/ Sapa ( B/L/D/G)

At 4am, we will meet and start driving to Coc Ly Market. We will prepare a breakfast box, so we can have breakfast later in the morning. Coc Ly market will be crowded with different ethnic minorities. Every Tuesday morning, minorities from surrounding villages such as the Flower H’mong, Black Dao and Tay gather to sell and buy their products.

Sapa Photography Tour

After visiting the market, we will start walking to Truong Do Village of Tay minority, where we will stop at Mr. Tu’s house for a local lunch. After lunch, we will take some time to relax and walk around.

In the afternoon we will drive to Bac Ha. In the evening we will visit Ban Pho village – a Flower H’Mong village.

Day 4: Sapa /Pan Hou Village (B/L/D/G)

Today, after breakfast, we will leave for Pan Hou. One the way, you will see the surrounding villages. Then, you will head towards Hoang Su Phi. Enjoy the photo opportunities afforded by rice terraces, formed hundreds of years ago by ethnic groups such as La Chi, Dao and Nung. Year by year, layer by layer, these imposing terraces we can see today have been built and local have never stopped working on them. Finally, you will stop at Pan Hou village in Thong Nguyen Commune where you will spend the night. Check-in and enjoy a few hours at your leisure.

Sapa Photography Tours

Around 4pm, we will meet again to take pictures of the sunset at the village. You might wish to enjoy a herbal bath at Pan Hou (at your cost).

Evening meal will be taken in the relaxing gardens of our Ecolodge.

Day 5:  Pan Hou Village (B/L/D/G)

In the morning after breakfast, at 8am, you have the option to join a walk beginning at Pan Hou Village to a Yao Village. We will walk through mountains and rice terrace fields and visit Man Ta Pa minorities along the way. Around midday, we will enjoy lunch at a local Thai House. Around 2pm, we start heading back to Pan Hou Village. The trekking lasts for 6 hours (organized by Pan Hou Village). We should be back before 4pm.

Ha Giang Photography Tour

If you do not want to do the long trek you can do a shorter one (2-3 hours) around the villages near Pan Hou resort with our own local guide Mr Carn by which time you will know very well.

Around 4pm we will drive to the terraced areas, tea plantations for evening pictures.

Day 6: Quan Ba (B/L/D/G)

After breakfast at Pan Hou village we start our journey to spectacular Quan Ba mountain pass (50km uphill drive). The trip takes around 4-5 hours including some stops en-route to visit villages of the Tay and Hmong as well as taking photo of the stunning landscapes. We will continue driving and upon arrival to Quan Ba Town, we will check-in at the guesthouse.

HA GIANG PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR

Late afternoon we will take a walk to explore local villages around Quan Ba area. Visit village of the Zao Ao Dai (Zao with long dress) who live in their most traditional way in a beautiful village at the foot of Quan Ba mountain range

At sunset we will return to the top of Quan Ba pass we spend time photographing the amazing  panorama, aptly named Heavens Gate, of Tam Son valley which is highlighted with green rice fields and colourful flower farms, especially the Twin Hills beautifully set amongst immense and walled-up limestone mountains.

Overnight at guest house in Quan Ba Town

Day 7: Dong Van (B/L/D/G)

After breakfast we will start heading to Dong Van. On our way, we will go through Yen Minh, enjoying the breathtaking scenery of the terraced fields, probably among the most beautiful of Vietnam.

HA GIANG PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS

We will continue driving uphill heading to Dong Van. This is a windy road while going on the way up and down steep mountains with many sharp bends but the amazingly spectacular scenery compensates. Prepare your camera ready to capture magnificent and beautiful landscapes en-route as well as to visit some highlights of the region including: The ancient town let of Pho Bang featured with clay walled, yin & yang roofed houses built centuries ago; Sung Muoi village with typical & traditional way of life of the Hmong peoples and historical relics of the Vuong Palace to learn about the past when the Vuong family ruled over the region and control opium production and trading before we drive about 20km to Dong Van town for lunch and check in hotel. Rest for couple of hours before we start our trek this afternoon.

HA GIANG PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS

In late afternoon, around 4pm we will take a short trek of around 2 hours trek to a nearby H’mong village we are familiar with. The rest of the evening will be at your leisure in Dong Van Town. Here you can enjoy the best coffee in the ancient market or enjoy a drink at a bar in the relaxed square.

Day 8: Dong Van (B/L/D/G)

This morning you will drive to Lung Cu to see the Lo Lo tribe as well as the breathtaking view along the way to Lung Cu near the border with China. We drive back to Dong Van town for lunch.

Ha Giang Photography Tour

In the afternoon, we will either drive to another nearby village for a short walk or take a short stroll to the local town market.

Day 9: Cao Bang (B/L/D/G)

After breakfast, say goodbye to Dong Van. We leave via the legendary Ma Pi Leng pass; considered one of the most beautiful panoramic viewpoints in Vietnam, the “King” of the Vietnam’s passes or Great Wall of Vietnam or the Pyramid of the Meo. At the top of Ma Pi Leng mount is the “Happiness” road, there has a stone stele recording the marks in the construction process. Next to the road is abyss; below is the Nho Que River, one of the most unique tectonic valleys in Vietnam.

After arriving in Meo Vac, you will visit a small village of the Lolo, an ethnic group with only about 4,700 peoples near the town. Continue your trip to Cao Bang, where you will stay overnight.

Day 10: Hanoi (B/L/G)

Wake up early and enjoy breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast, we will start driving back to Hanoi, stopping on the way to take pictures of local people or visit tea plantations in Thai Nguyen which is regarded as the best place in Vietnam for green tea.

Vietnam Photography Tours

Upon arrival to Hanoi, we will check-in at the hotel and the rest of the evening will be at your leisure.

Day 11: Ha Long Bay (B/L/D/G)

This morning, you will depart from your hotel to Ha Long Bay, one of the most spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Areas and the world’s largest marine limestone ‘karts’ landscape. On arrival you will board your boat, a wooden junk built modeling the old Vietnamese court vessels.

Vietnam Photo Tours

This typical boat, with sails, wide stern and a rectangular superstructure will take you to the World Heritage area, an open flat roof means you can enjoy 360 degree photo privileges. All meals will be provided on board.

Photo Tour Halong Bay

Day 12: Hanoi (B/L/D/G)

Enjoy the views of the bay and surrounding islands. Your cruise will continue around the bay while brunch is served. The vessel will cruise at a slow pace back to the harbor for disembarkation.

Vietnam Photography tours

Your driver will be waiting for you and you will travel to Hanoi arriving at around 6pm in good time for a farewell dinner.

Day 13: Hanoi (B/DP)

Today you will have the day free at your leisure until your driver and guide pick you up 3 hours before your departure time and transfer you to the airport for your flight back home. Vietnam Photo Tours – Vietnam Photo Tour – Photo Tour Vietnam – Photo Tours Vietnam

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Tour’s gallery

This Vietnam Photography tour has been designed for both amateur and professional photography enthusiasts. The northern region of Vietnam is particularly appropriate for this activity because the area encompasses a wide range of pictorial possibilities.

HANOI PHOTO TOURS

The itinerary includes the majestic peaks and colourful ethic minority people of the Northern Highlands, amazing Ha Long Bay, Hanoi in her dignity surrounded with the Red River Delta, ancient villages, terraced rice paddies: golden opportunities for striking pictures abound everywhere!

Vietnam Photo Tour

You’ll have a skilled guide to point you in the right direction: if you wish, we can arrange an English-speaking photographer to steer you to the little-known localities, best times for the light and so on.

The most pleasant weather for travelling is from September to December and April to June, but there are plenty more chances to snap of a lifetime despite inclement conditions. Vietnam Photography Tour – Vietnam Photo Tour – Photo Tour Vietnam – Photography Tour Vietnam

Day 1: Hanoi arrival (D, G)

Arriving at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel. You’ll have time to relax after your journey before a ‘Welcome’ dinner at a restaurant in a restored French colonial building.

Day 2: Hanoi Street Life (B, L, G)

You’ll have the whole day to survey Vietnam’s capital city potential for taking photos.  As dawn creeps across the horizon, Hanoi’s street food vendors begin to assemble their stands. Fresh Pho (beef noodle soup) is a dish handed down tradition, but there are many other examples of Hanoi cuisine. However, it’s the ethereal early mist, the flares of the cooking woks and the workers breakfasts that attracts the photographer.

Hanoi Photo Tour

Nearby, the morning markets under appeals. Villagers surrounding the city converge on the road beside the famous Long Bien Bridge to trade, mostly carrying their produce on their heads or wooden yokes. Fruit and vegetables, familiar and alien, lay in piles soon to be bartered. Further away, Quang Ba flower market is a riot of blooms and plants. Wholesalers bundle up handfuls of blossoms, both familiar and wildly exotic.

Hanoi Photo Tour

By now, Hanoi is slowly beginning to open her eyes. As the haze on the city’s many lakes burns off, a legion of Hanoians head for the parks and open spaces for their morning exercise: Tai Chi, gymnastics, aerobics, callisthenics and more. Vietnamese people like keeping fit.

A rumble in the stomach suggests a break for sustenance. A pavement café offers an opportunity to watch the locals heading to work. The traffic noise is incessant: a river of motor scooters, buses, cyclos’ (bicycle taxi) and just about any other means of travel.
Appetite sated, other photogenic possibilities appear in the form of the city’s architecture.

Hanoi Photo Tours

The Colonial and Old Quarters are a tourist honey-pot, but a knowledgeable guide will direct you to the influence and beauty. Elsewhere, other styles have moulded the city: pagodas and communal houses, extravagant temples, old merchants’ residences, ‘tube’ dwellings, social realism, modern shopping malls and more.

Photo Tour Hanoi

After lunch, a walk along the pavements opens Hanoi’s daily life. Street vendors, pavement businesses, tranquil Hoan Kiem Lake, boulevards and narrow alleys: all have stories to capture in pixels.

With evening approaching, a visit to Long Bien Bridge and the Red River will be the last visit today! Watching from the bridge, the river meanders across a patchwork of small islands as it makes its way to its massive delta. Small boats chug across the flats, barges wanders slowly two and fro, children play in the mud, fishermen fling their nets.

Photo Tours Hanoi

Finally, the sun begins to slip down and Hanoi becomes a silhouette. However, if you have enough stamina there’s plenty of pictures to be taken in the city’s night life.

Day 3: Hanoi/Duong Lam/Hanoi/Lao Cai (B, L, G)

Duong Lam is a community of six traditional villages some thirty miles (50km) from Hanoi, a patchwork of verdant fields, shady trees and small huddles of cottages and pagodas built of raw laterite blocks. Although there are many ancient villages dotted across the Red River delta, this commune is extraordinary for its longevity, unscathed regardless through centuries.

Hanoi Photography Tour

Very few tourists visit Duong Lam, but even less recognise the immense depth of the villagers lore handed down through time-worn custom and practice. Your guide will explain the significance: the traditional commune house, pagoda and cottages. As their meanings become clearer, enlightenment grows and the quality of photography develops from prosaic to sublime.

Hanoi Photography Tours

Lunch will be waiting in nearby Son Tay Town. After, and if time allows, a quick look at the ruins of Son Tay Citadel destroyed by the French in 1883 is a reminder of the almost continuous hundred years of warfare waged upon Vietnam. Next, you’ll head to Hanoi, stopping en-route to visit Van Phuc silk village.

Photography Tour Hanoi

After arriving in your hotel, you may consider a rest before freshening up and dinner. At 20.15, a car will arrive to take you to Hanoi railway station in time to board your berth on the 21.15 overnight sleeper to Lao Cai.

Day 4: Lao Cai/Sapa/Sa Seng/Hau Thao (B, L, G)

In the early dawn you’ll be met and driven up to Sapa, a small town perched on a mountainside opposite Mt. Fansipan, Vietnam’s highest peak. After checking into your hotel and breakfast, you’ll leave the town. Sapa is interesting but has been heavily commercialised thus limiting the options for good pictures, so you’ll guide will avoid the nearby villages with refuse, begging, poor quality souvenirs and other bad management.

Sapa Photography Tours

For photographers, natural attractions include the stark peaks, waterfalls, sweeping valleys, precipitous tracks and passes, birds (more than three hundred species including nearly fifty rare or endangered) as well as a remarkably wide range of flora ranging from low montaine forest to sub-alpine dwarf bamboo and stunted trees.

Human activity is equally interesting. The wide valleys in the highlands are often terraced: the produce is usually rice. Ingenious means of capturing water from the narrow waterfalls cascading to the valley floor enables irrigation. A variety of rudimentary but effective bridges and roads enable villagers to hike to Sapa to sell their goods: those further away head for weekly markets.

Photography Tour Sapa

The inhabitants of the area are diverse groups of ethnic minority communities: Black H’mong, Dzao, Red Dao and Flower H’mong make up the majority of the local population. Although most males no longer wear traditional costume, most females are adorned with rich ensembles, each wearing different time-honoured weaves and regalia. Depending upon your particulate interests, your guide will adjust your itinerary accordingly.

Sapa Photo Tours

Fifteen minutes after a short drive, you’ll hike up a long dirt trail to the Sa Seng arriving about an hour later. As with this village, and all other others on your way, you’ll find the inhabitants friendly and sociable, some even to the extent of inviting you enter their dwellings.
From there, the Ma Tra and Ta Phin villages offer a striking view of home of the Black H’mong people. Another twenty-minute and two villages unveil a panoramic view of Fansipan. After plenty of photo opportunities, you’ll stop for a picnic lunch in the church of another Black H’mong village.

Another two-hour walk through rice paddy fields and spectacular views, your vehicle will be waiting to return you to Sapa.

Approx: Grade 2 of 5/ 30 minute driving/1 hour for lunch/ 4 hour hiking.

Day 5: Sapa/Lao Cai/Muong Khuong/Cao Son (B, L, D, G)

After breakfast, and a scenic drive to Muong Khuong, you’ll dismount to hike towards the least-visited villages of the Flower H’mong via a footpath through a pine forest and terraced fields. Next will be a visit to a local market. From there, a drive will take you to check in to the Cao Son Lodge. After a late lunch, you’ll visit Ngai Phong Cho, another H’mong village.

Photo Tours Sapa

In the highlands, ethnic minority villagers walk or use rudimentary forms of transport (water buffalo are popular) to barter goods and produce, meet friends, and gain access to information. Many travel long distances. The varying ethnic groups mingle with other individuals or families despite their differing traditions and religions. The riot of colourful costumes and adornments make the weekly events a highlight for the locals: for photographers it’s a gold mine of opportunity!

Photography Tours Vietnam

The trips to ethnic minority markets must be on Tuesday (Coc Ly or Ban Cam market), Thursday (Lung Khau Nhin market), Saturday (Can Cau) or Sunday (Bac Ha, Muong Hum or Muong Khuong markets).

Day 6: Cao Son/Coc Ly/Bac Ha (B, L, G)

Today begins with a walk to the most secluded village in the area, Tin Thang. The local people still distill alcohol from corn and cure bacon in a time-honoured ritual. Passer-bys are offered their special corn cake: a tipple of corn ‘wine’ if you’re lucky. From there, your route passing by Sa Lung Cheng village and loops back to Cao Son Lodge for lunch.

Vietnam Photo Tours

In the afternoon, you’ll drive to Silaca, a Flower H’mong village, one of the oldest in the Cao Son area. The villager’s raiments, customs and traditions of daily life are unique. Perched high on a lush valley are the banks of the Chay River, offering a striking vista. From there, a brief drive will take you to the river and a boat cruise downstream to Bao Nhai where your vehicle will be waiting to drive you to Bac Ha and your overnight accommodation.

Day 7: Bac Ha/Hoang Su Phi/Pan Hou Village (Ha Giang) (B, L, D, G)

Sleepy Bac Ha town is close to the Chinese border. However, on Sundays the town centre erupts into the largest market in the highlands. About ten different ethnic minority groups as well plenty of Vietnamese people descend on the town in large numbers. If possible, we’ll try to manipulate your itinerary but, if it’s impossible, there are other things to see, do and capture good pictures.

Next, you’ll head towards Hoang Su Phi by car. The route will take you through mountainous landscapes and imposing scenery: good photo opportunities! By then, you should be ready for lunch at a local restaurant. From there, you’ll continue driving towards Pan Hou village where you’ll spent the night. If all goes well, you should arrive around late afternoon with time to visit some of the surrounding ethnic villages.

The Pan Hou Village is a well-built wooden ‘eco’ guest house consisting of fourteen rooms in five rectangular cabins designed in the stilt style of ethnic Dzao construction, a bath house and a spacious restaurant and lounge. Lighting and heating are supplied by solar power. There are also attractive gardens based upon local flora. All staff members are recruited from the local ethnic community.

Ha Giang Photography Tour

The main activities available are trekking from one to ten days: the large number of distinct ethnic minority villages and communities, notably Tay, Nung, long skirt Yaos and Man Ta Pan, in the area is ideal for the purpose. Apart from photography, other pursuits are visiting markets and bird watching. The Lodge also offers traditional healing: a ‘baleno house’ (traditional wood tub baths with fragrant herbs and remedies) is recommeded.

Day 8: Pan Hou village/Nam Hong/Phin Ho (B, L, D, G)

A morning trip will take you to Nam Hong village, home to the Red Dzao ethnic minority group. En-route, the path will take you past scenic valleys, views of faraway mountains and sinuous terraced rice fields. Your guide will prepare lunch for you in a local family.
You’ll notice the increasing grandeur of the panoramic views as you step further uphill. On the way, you’ll pass a Long Tunic Dzao village.

HA GIANG PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS

If possible, an hour or two of with the locals, their lifestyle and privations, may give you a clearer understanding of these remarkable ethnic minority people living in such remote areas. As the afternoon draws to a close you’ll arrive at the Phin Ho village, famous for its secular Shan tea plants. Here, a Red Dzao family will welcome you into their home for the night.

Day 9: Phin Ho/Pan Hou village/Ha Giang (B, L, D, G)

After an early breakfast, a soak in the Lodge’s bath house and a stroll around the garden should ease any aches and pains. Refreshed, you’ll be back on the trail with plenty to material to capture as even more impressive vistas around each crag.

Photography Tours Ha Giang

The downward walk is easier than the previous days trek even though it’s a four-hour journey. The scenery runs through giant bamboo forests, eventually breaking into the rice terrace fields and the valley bottom. A short break, then another hike to a Black Tay village alongside the stream and, around noon, Pan Hou village appears and lunch is ready.

HA GIANG PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS

The rest of the afternoon will be taken up with driving to Ha Giang via Tha village for photos before checking in at a local hotel in the city.
Ha Giang Province is about as far as you can get in the north without of colliding with China. It’s the most spectacular scenery in the country: limestone pinnacles, colossal granite outcrops, gaping valleys and luxuriant forests, sinuous terraces and, best of all, mostly pristine. Yet more: the province boasts the largest number of ethnic minority people, twenty-three distinct groups. These are the most untouched areas of Vietnam without doubt. For photography, it’s paradise!

Day 10: Ha Giang/Meo Vac (B, L, D, G)

Three small towns, Quan Ba, Yen Minh and Dong Van, are interesting, not so much their architecture but their stunning backdrop. After breakfast, you’ll set off to visit these small communities to capture the early light, the perpendicular walls of rock and the inhabitants of people living there. Be careful though: the people living in the area know little of cameras and camcorders. Please be unobtrusive as possible when photographing the local people.

The next visit is something of a curio: the royal palace of Vuong Chinh Duc, known as Vua Meo, King of the H’Mong. Today, his Palace lies empty, but they’re worth investigating the stone, wood and terracotta, 64 room building.

Born in 1865, Vua Meo amassed a wide empire across the Northern Highlands and reigned until his death in 1947. Every room of the two-story palace, his official residence of Vua Meo, three official wives and their children were embellished all the rooms with carvings of dragons, phoenixes and bats, symbols of royalty and prosperity.

HA GIANG PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS

To the H’mong and some other ethnic minority people he was a hero. To the Vietnamese he was regarded as infamous by siding with the French Colonialists. Eventually, the government granted the Vuong Palace national cultural heritage status in 1993 and turned the building into a tourist attraction.

After lunch, a scenic route will take you to the Ma Pi Leng Pass. Once again, a panoramic view is assured: the Nho Que River is one of the best. Cross your fingers and you might even see one of the sensational northeast sunsets: make sure your camera is well charged. Finally, after a busy day, you’ll arrive at Meo Vac in the late afternoon where you’ll spend the night.

HA GIANG PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR

It’s worth arranging this tour to start on a suitable day in order to visit the fascinating Quan Ba and Yen Minh market. They take place on Sunday and are frequented by members of the H’mong ethnic minority groups in Quan Ba and Yen Minh. It’s a good place to meet the buyers and sellers of the local products and to get involved with the hustle and bustle of the market activities. It’s an interesting introduction to the local culture.

At this stage of the tour, you’ll be deep in the remote areas of the north where the accommodation is very basic with very few travellers (and hardly any foreigners!). From here until you arrive in Bac Me town, your guide’s will provide food and somewhere to sleep. It’ll be a long way from five-star menus and facilities, but our local guides know the area intimately and will ensure that you have the best available accommodation.

HA GIANG PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS

By visiting these remote areas, you’ll have direct interaction with the local people’s perpetual struggle to survive in the unforgiving environment. Living conditions are extremely harsh, and there is hardly any arable land in the mountains. The people survive mainly on a diet of corn, one of the very few species capable of growing in the rocky soil. Despite the hardship and simple lifestyle, the local people are very friendly, welcoming and generous to any visitors.

Day 11: Meo Vac/Bao Lac/Ba Be (B, L, D, G)

After breakfast and a brief visit to Meo Vac local market, you’ll be driven to Ba Be National Park passing by Bao Lac. You’ll stop en route for photos and have lunch in a small town.

Vietnam Photo Tours

You’ll arrive with time for a sunset stroll in the crisp forest air before dinner. You’ll spend the night in Ba Be National Park’s Guesthouse.

Day 12: Ba Be (B, L, D, G)

You’ll have a full day to visit the park: there’s a lot to see! The park has an almost ethereal ambiance in the early morning as the fine mist shivers slightly on an otherwise mirror surface. Next will be the dawn chorus followed by a motor launch to take you down the river through Puong Cave.

Vietnam Photography Tour

After lunch, you’ll reach the main lake, the Fairy Pond, set in dense forest with many birds, and Widow’s Island. It’s a pleasant opportunity to relax as the boat glides through the unruffled water. In the late afternoon, you’ll disembark at a Tay ethnic minority village for dinner and spend the night in a ‘stilt’ house in Ba Be National Park.

Day 13: Ba Be/Ha Long (B, L, G)

After breakfast, you’ll leave for Ha Long Bay, one of the most spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Areas and the world’s largest marine limestone ‘karst’ landscape. There you’ll board a private wooden junk to take you through Bai Tu Long Bay area. You’ll dock to visit one of the less visited caves in the Bay. From there, you’ll then continue your cruise toward Cong Do area for swimming or kayaking though a hidden lagoon. The route is designed to avoid the busy areas and includes a very quiet location for your overnight stay.

Halong Bay Photo Tour

For your two-day Ha Long excursion, you’ll board the Red Dragon Junk, one of the best wooden boats on the Bay. It’s based on the model of the old Chinese court vessels with three barge sails, a wide transom and a rectangular superstructure. The boat has five cabins, accommodating for up to ten people, so you’re likely to be joining other travellers for the cruise.

Halong Bay Photography Tours

The cabins are air-conditioned and have windows overlooking the bay. The floor area of each cabin is about 10 m2. The cabins are furnished with two twin beds or a double queen size bed. The interior panelling, floor and furniture are made of hard wood. The cabin has a wardrobe, pillows, white cotton sheets, and an en-suite toilet and a shower with a good selection of high-quality toiletries. All meals, usually based on fresh seafood, will be provided on board. Kayaking is available and included in the price.

Photo Tour Halong Bay

Day 14: Ha Long/Hanoi (B, L, DP)

You’ll wake in the fresh air of the bay with a swim or you can relax on the sundeck. After breakfast, you’ll continue your cruise to visit a fishing village where you’ll have an opportunity to explore the village and the hidden lagoon in a rustic rowing boat. The route will ends at a Pearl Farm where you can see the whole process of making high quality pearl.

Vietnam Photo Tours

You’ll then cruise back to dock around noon whereupon you’ll be picked up to return to Hanoi. After arriving at your hotel in the mid-afternoon, the remainder of the day will be your own. Your overnight accommodation will be in Hanoi.

Photo Tours Halong Bay

Day 15: Hanoi Departure (B, DP)

After breakfast, you’ll be free until your driver arrives to take you to Noi Bai airport for your departure flight.

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Tour’s gallery