www.odysseytreks.com Phone: 1-855-888-8735 Email: info@odysseytreks.com
WHY TRAVEL WITH US Adventure travel trips specifically geared for working professionals from the same city. Odyssey Treks provides authentic cultural trips involving travel to remote, exotic areas with elements of physical participation and exploration of a new experience with optional volunteering opportunities. The great thing is everyone on the trip will be from the same city where you can share, relive, and get together back home after the trip. What we want to create with this company is a community for you in your city where you can meet new friends, create meaningful relationships and have life time memories of unforgettable trips and journeys. We’ve met some truly remarkable people, shared some amazing experiences and have had some fantastic relationships through all our years of travel. The problem is all those people are scattered throughout the world. There’s amazing people, incredible friendships and wonderful relationships ready to be made right in your own city. Why not connect with them through travel and develop something meaningful and lasting. All of our tours will incorporate our trip essence. This trip essence includes adventure, culture and volunteering opportunities. As well we promise to follow our guiding principles and core values on all of our trips.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES QUALITY Our accommodations, local guides, pre-departure service and suppliers are constantly monitored and consistently evaluated to ensure we uphold the standard of excellence. We will always ask for traveler suggestions, requirements and any safety concerns you may have for all our trips to make this the most memorable experience possible. FLEXIBILITY All of our tours offer optional activities throughout with plenty of free time to do your own thing. Of course we want you to do as many activities as possible with the group but we also understand that having time on your own is important as well. Our small groups can venture beyond the well-worn tourist paths and experience a destination’s less publicized but equally rewarding attractions. Our itineraries are creative and responsive and make the perfect one or two week vacation so you can take full of advantage. SMALL GROUPS Limiting our groups to no more than 16 participants plus one Odyssey Treks Tour Leader means we can maximize cultural immersion while minimizing environmental disruption. As food always plays an important role in the local cultural experience, we make a www.odysseytreks.com Phone: 1-855-888-8735 Email: info@odysseytreks.com
point of avoiding large hotel buffets in favour of smaller, local restaurants.
VALUE Since we design, develop and work with local partners in each country no one is more familiar with the intricacies of our product than ourselves. When you book with us, you take advantage of this first-hand knowledge and an extensive network of worldwide contacts; you’ll be in good hands with Odyssey Treks.
What Odyssey Treks does is make everything easy for you from the moment you land in the country to the time you get back on that plane to go home. There’s no need to do hours and hours of planning. Let us take out all the stresses of traveling so you can enjoy your time away. Remember it’s a vacation for you. We’re going to make sure you have a fantastic time! If something were to go wrong going we will be there to help you, support you and make sure whatever challenges there are you won’t be alone. We’ve found our travel experiences sometimes things can go wrong unfortunately- that’s the nature of traveling in foreign countries.
Our CORE VALUES Develop Friendships and Community Create Happiness Responsibility Provide Opportunities Explore and Challenge We hope you choose to travel with a purpose and to travel with us! Here’s a quote from the Dalai Lama- his words I truly believe in. “We’ve lost something along the way. Our society focuses on material things and for some reason people measure others by what they have instead who they are. I wish everyone happiness and finding it can be difficult. The happiest people I’ve met are those in villages that have nothing. It’s remarkable seeing these happy kids. For them they have family, friends and an imagination.” Ryan- Owner Odyssey Treks www.odysseytreks.com Phone: 1-855-888-8735 Email: info@odysseytreks.com
TOUR ITINERARY Day 1: Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City Fly to Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM In Ho Chi Minh City, after clearing immigration and customs, you’ll be welcomed by our guide and transferred to your hotel. Formerly known as Saigon, today’s Ho Chi Minh City is the bustling and vibrant economic centre of the South. Over the past few centuries, Saigon was called the “Pearl of the Far East” and was an important trading centre for Chinese, Japanese and Western merchants who travelled along the Saigon River. Settle in and enjoy the evening at your leisure. Overnight at Tan Hai Long Hotel (Deluxe Room) – Saigon http://tanhailonghotel.com.vn/tanhailonghotel-spa/
Day 2: Vietnam Cooking Class & Cu Chi tunnels Meals Provided: B After breakfast; we will tour the most popular market in Ho Chi Minh City – the spectacular Ben Thanh market. During the market visit we will describe the classic Vietnamese produce from fruits and vegetables, to meats and seafood. You will learn how to recognize the different Vietnamese ingredients and be guided in their application. After visiting the Market we will transfer to the Vietnam Cookery Centre for a private cooking class: Menu: Lotus stem salad with pork and shrimps, Sour fish soup with vegetable, Caramel fish in clay pot, Steamed rice with pandan leaf. Dessert: The dessert will be prepared and offered by the chef- sweet mung bean soup (or another dessert item). 12:00 pm Enjoy lunch which will be your own creation.
www.odysseytreks.com Phone: 1-855-888-8735 Email: info@odysseytreks.com
Photo credit: Ibontxo / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA
This afternoon enjoy a scenic drive through the countryside as people work on their rice paddies and thatched hut villages scattered along the way. Visit a local village making rice paper, a well known product used to make the delicious spring rolls. Arriving at the Cu Chi Tunnels to explore part of the 151-mile underground network that zigzagged from the southern tip of the Ho Chi Minh Trail near Cambodia to the Saigon River. Cu Chi is a must for anyone interested in understanding a vital aspect of guerrilla warfare fought by the Vietnamese against both the French and the Americans. These criss-crossing tunnels were built in the late 1940s by local resistance fighters looking for a place to hide their weapons from the French. Discover secret trapdoors, field hospitals, command posts, underground kitchens, living areas and meeting rooms. Overnight at Tan Hai Long Hotel (Deluxe Room) – Saigon
www.odysseytreks.com Phone: 1-855-888-8735 Email: info@odysseytreks.com
Day 3: Ho Chi Minh City- Volunteering Meals Provided: B Today free at leisure to explore Ho Chi Minh City on own or you can volunteer. Overnight at Tan Hai Long Hotel (Deluxe Room) – Saigon
Day 4: Ho Chi Minh City / Mui Ne Meals Provided: B After breakfast, we travel passing lush rice fields, salt ponds and dragon fruit plantations. En route visit the 13th century Po Klong Jarai Cham Towers at Phan Rang, perched high on a rocky hill surrounded by prickly pear cacti. More photo stops will be made at the fishing harbour of Phan Thiet and at the vast sand dunes at Cape Mui Ne, which have inspired numerous photographers for many years. Spend the rest of the day at leisure. Overnight at Pandanus Resort (Superior Room) – Mui Ne. http://www.pandanusresort.com/
Day 5: Mui Ne Meals Provided: B Enjoy the day at leisure or join one of the wonderful optional activities in and around Mui Ne. (Sandboarding, Kitesurfing, Hiking, Dune Buggies)
www.odysseytreks.com Phone: 1-855-888-8735 Email: info@odysseytreks.com
Photo credit: marfis75 / Foter / CC BY-SA
Overnight at Pandanus Resort (Superior Room) – Mui Ne.
Day 6: Mui Ne / Hanoi Meals Provided: B After morning leisure, continue your journey to Ho Chi Minh City (driving time approx 4 hours) and transfer to Ho Chi Minh Airport for fligh to Hanoi. Once we have arrive in Hanoi you will be picked up by our guide and transferred to your hotel. As the actual and cultural capital of Vietnam, Hanoi is both energetic and genteel. Ochre-colored colonial-style buildings and treelined avenues, showing the influence of the West. However the city was built here in 1010 by King Ly Thai To because the location’s feng shui was auspicious. Settle in and enjoy the evening at your leisure. Overnight at Skylark (Deluxe Room) – Hanoi www.odysseytreks.com Phone: 1-855-888-8735 Email: info@odysseytreks.com
http://skylarkhotel.com.vn/
Day 7: Hanoi / Lao Cai Meals Provided: B Morning, you'll head out with your guide and it begins with a visit to Ba Dinh Square to see Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, the museum to his life and the simple cottage where he lived and worked, along with his "house on stilts" and his final resting place; and take in Hanoi's famous One-Pillar Pagoda, constructed in 1049 to resemble a lotus blossom. Continue to the Temple of Literature, which dates back to 1070 and is dedicated to the cult of Confucius and visit the Museum of Ethnology, where we'll learn about the fascinating cultural diversity of this ancient land. Next will visit a classical Vietnamese temple dedicated to the cult of Confucius, and gain insights into the Vietnamese style of lacquerware and silk painting at the Fine Arts Museum.
This afternoon drive through Colonial Hanoi, seeing the Opera House and other local sights. Go inside infamous Hoa Lo Prison (“Hanoi Hilton”), where Senator John McCain and Douglas “Pete” Wilson were once imprisoned, and continue to the National History Museum of Vietnam. Take a cyclo ride through Hanoi’s Old Quarter, a network of narrow alleys and shop houses also known as “The 36 Streets.” This is a wonderful place to watch the local life, and peruse items from fabrics to crafts to exotic medicines. Enjoy a traditional Vietnamese water puppet performance, a uniquely North Vietnamese art form celebrating rural life and folklore for over 1,000 years, this evening.
After dinner around 8:00pm will transfer to Hanoi train station. Overnight train trip to Lao Cai in shared sleeping compartments (sharing with other passengers in 2 lower & 2 upper berths per compartment). Train departs at approximately 9:15 pm. Overnight on TRAIN.
Day 8: Lao Cai / Sapa / Lao Chai / Tavan / Sapa Meals Provided: B/L www.odysseytreks.com Phone: 1-855-888-8735 Email: info@odysseytreks.com
Photo credit: United Nations Photo / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND
Early morning (approximately 6:30am) arrival at Lao Cai, the border town to Yunnan, China. The journey starts with a 38 km drive on winding roads up the mountains to Sapa, located approx. 1,500 m above sea level. On clear days you can see the highest mountain of Vietnam, the Fansipan. After breakfast at the hotel, drive from Sapa town down to Lao Chai village. Views of the Muong Hoa Valley and magnificent surroundings of mountains and rice terrace fields can be seen from this road. Along the road, people from many ethnic minority groups (H’mong, Zay, and Red Dao) are likely to be met, and there are stalls along the way that serve tea, fruits and sweets. Soon after turning off the main road and taking a local path, we will arrive in the Black H’mong village of Lao Chai, where you will experience the daily life of the villagers. Continue walking from Lao Chai to Ta Van village, where the Zay hill tribes live. Here we will take a break and enjoy a delicious lunch prepared by your local guide in a local house. After lunch, continue walking to the meeting point for your transfer back to Sapa town. The rest of the day is at www.odysseytreks.com Phone: 1-855-888-8735 Email: info@odysseytreks.com
leisure. Discover Sapa town on your own, its bustling market, the colourful dresses of the ethnic people, tea and coffee shops as well as the local life in this mountain town. Overnight at Chau Long Hotel (Deluxe Room) – Sapa http://www.chaulonghotel.com/en/home.htm
Day 9: Sapa / Ma Tra / Ta Phin / Lao Cai - Night Train To Hanoi Meals Provided: B/L
Photo credit: kristupa / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND
www.odysseytreks.com Phone: 1-855-888-8735 Email: info@odysseytreks.com
Enjoy a full day of trekking. Visit Suoi Ho village with tea plantations and cardamom gardens. Follow the buffalo trails to visit the hospitable villages of the Black Hmong minority people in Ma Tra. After passing a school and scenic views en route, a picnic lunch will be served. After lunch, continue trekking to Ta Phin village where you will meet Red Dao people who are famous for their weaving skills. Proceed to the meeting point and transfer back to Sapa. After a short rest (time permitting), transfer to Lao Cai railway station where you will board the overnight train to Hanoi at around 8:15 pm (shared sleeping compartments, sharing with other passengers in 2 lower & 2 upper berths per compartment). Overnight on TRAIN.
Day 10: Hanoi / Halong Bay
www.odysseytreks.com Phone: 1-855-888-8735 Email: info@odysseytreks.com
Meals Provided: B/L/D Early morning arrival in Hanoi at approximately 6:00am. Transfer to hotel for breakfast. After breakfast enjoy our journey to Halong Bay (approximately 3 hours) to board an overnight cruise on Halong Bay. Halong means, “Where the dragon descends into the sea” and legend has it that the 3,000 islands rising from the clear waters of Halong Bay were created by a great dragon who formed the visible rock outcrops with its flailing tail. 12:00pm Embark at Hon Gai International harbour. 1.00pm Check-in, enjoy a welcoming drink and cruise briefing. Have lunch while cruising in the magnificent Bai Tu Long Bay, admiring the fascinating rock formations in the bay. This afternoon Cruise to Cap La. Enjoy paddling around Cap La and Tra San by kayak. Back to the ship for swimming or relaxation. Have dinner and stay overnight on board. Overnight on Prince Junk (Deluxe Cabin) – Halong Bay http://www.indochina-junk.com/?page_id=2014
Day 11: Cap La / Cong Dam / Cong Do Meals Provided: B/L/D Enjoy the bay’s morning landscape with a cup of tea or coffee. Have breakfast in the open air. This morning Cruise to Cong Dam while appreciating the rock formations of Halong Bay. Kayak through hidden lagoons and Cong Damgeological park. Sunbathe, relax or swim at Tra Gioi Beach. BBQ lunch followed by relaxation on the deserted beach. In the afternoon will visit Cong Dam Fishing Village by a rustic rowing boat, meat the local people and pass through the lagoons. Cruise back to Cong Do for swimming or kayaking. Have dinner and stay overnight on board. Overnight on Prince Junk (Deluxe Cabin) – Halong Bay
Day 12: Cong Do / Thien Canh Son / Hanoi Meals Provided: B www.odysseytreks.com Phone: 1-855-888-8735 Email: info@odysseytreks.com
Enjoy the fresh air and gentle breezes of the bay in the morning while having breakfast on board. After breakfast visit Thien Canh Son Cave followed by swimming. Cruise towards the harbour while an a la carte lunch is served. 11:45am Disembark. Our guide and driver will be waiting for you at the pier and drive you back to your hotel in Hanoi. Settle in and enjoy a farewell dinner with everyone. Overnight at Skylark (Deluxe Room) – Hanoi http://skylarkhotel.com.vn/
Day 13: Depart Hanoi for Ho Chi Minh Meals Provided: B Transfer to the Hanoi airport in time for your flight to Ho Chi Minh then your next destination. We wish you a safe and pleasant journey.
TRIP ROUTE MAP
www.odysseytreks.com Phone: 1-855-888-8735 Email: info@odysseytreks.com
PRICING $2199USD WITH MY OWN ROOM ADD $450USD 2014 DEPARTURE CITIES AND DATES Please check dates and departure cities on our website
PHYSICAL CONDITIONING RATING: 2.5 out of 5 THIS TOUR IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. GOOD PHYSICAL CONDITIONING IS NECESSARY Cultural Rating: 3 out of 5
Accommodations 3 star comfort hotels, guesthouses, bungalows
Meals Included All daily buffet breakfasts at hotels are included. All meals included as indicated as in program: B: breakfast, L: lunch & D: dinner Meal Budget: Allow USD15-50 for meals and drinks (including bottled water) not included.
What’s Included Hotel accommodation base in double/twin rooms (best 3 stars nice boutique hotels). Pick-ups and transfers by private air-conditioned vehicle as specified in the itinerary above. Travel by private, air-conditioned vehicle with an experienced, safe driver. Private sightseeing with local, English-speaking guides as indicated in the itinerary. www.odysseytreks.com Phone: 1-855-888-8735 Email: info@odysseytreks.com
Meals included as indicated as in program: B: breakfast, L: lunch & D: dinner. Domestic flight tickets: Ho Chi Minh City – Hanoi on Economy Class. Domestic flight tickets: Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City on Economy Class. Entry fees for all visits as mentioned in the programmed. Volunteering Opportunities Boat cruise as specified in the programmed. VAT and all taxes and service charge. Cool drinking water on board.
What’s Not Included International flights, airport/departure taxes, visas, pre or post tour accommodation, optional tours sightseeing or activities during free time, transfers outside of the tour program, tips and items of a personal nature, laundry and any alcohol purchased or consumed. Some places that we visit charge additional fees if you are entering with a camera or camcorder - your city guide will advise on these and they can be paid for locally. Any travel vaccinations that are required. Travel Medical Insurance (this is mandatory and must be shown to our tour leader before trip begins) If you need travel insurance please go to our website and get a free quote
www.odysseytreks.com Phone: 1-855-888-8735 Email: info@odysseytreks.com