NOTE: The ENCOUNTER trip is only offered once every few years, during January-February. January '25 we're on!

ENCOUNTER 2025 – January 4th-24th (8 travelers max): A custom-curated trip leaning toward culture and arts. Longtime Vietnam traveler Dan has designed the perfect itinerary from experience he’s gleaned after traveling there nearly 50 times since 2001. Dan’s travelers stay in upscale hotels, eat delicious food, see exquisite scenery and move around at a pace that allows for thoughtful absorption of all the wonderment that’s on offer without wearing you out. Vietnam is one of THOSE places that’s just got to be experienced - then it will surely be loved.

“Going to Vietnam the first time was life-changing for sure; maybe because it was all so new and different to my life before and the world I grew up in. The food, culture, landscape and smell; they’re all inseparable. It just seemed like another planet; a delicious one that sort of sucked me in and never let go.” - Anthony Bourdain

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS: This 3-week, custom-curated itinerary has travelers visiting the capitol city of Hanoi, the nearby picturesque hill tribe area of Sapa, the natural wonders of hidden gem Tam Coc, a 5 day side trip to Cambodia's Siem Reap City to see Angkor Wat to be...frankly...wowed beyond belief. We'll end the trip with a night in DaNang to see a giant dragon spit fire (not joking) and a few relaxing days in everyone's favorite town on this route: the historic UNESCO Heritage town of Hoi An. Built in to the itinerary are several opportunities to meet the locals and engage with them as they live their daily lives – a specialty offered on all of Dan’s trips. We'll be in jungles, rice fields, mountain trails, bustling marketplaces and some sweet beaches at a time of year when the temperatures are not oppressive like some other months of the year.

• Navigate the maze-like spaghetti that is Hanoi’s French Quarter streets.
• Visit Hanoi’s fabulous Women’s Museum.
• Sit at a street stall and eat one of the best soups you've ever had.
• Be well supplied with amazing photo opportunities.
• Visit ancient Temple of Literature to be awed.
• Meet all sorts of interesting locals & travelers along the way.
• Walk around Hoan Kiem lake and visit it’s Ngoc Son Temple.
• Attend a traditional water puppet show in Hanoi - unique to the city's lore.
• Tour Vietnam’s excellent National Fine Arts Museum, have a coffee in their courtyard.
• Stroll around Sapa’s ancient cobbled streets, chat it up with the cute and clever street kids.
• Meet a native tribesperson and traverse steeply-stepped rice fields to visit their village, have lunch there.
• Get those calves and feet loosened up with a foot massage any time of day.
• Light incense for a lost someone you love on the top of the Bich Dong Pagoda’s winding steps.
• Cycle through valleys next to limestone cliffs on little trails skirting rice fields while waving to farmers, lots of waving.
• Enjoy a huge family-style cooked meal with many local dishes, including goat, which is farmed locally in the Tam Coc area.
• Leisurely pedal your bicycle along winding paths through a fern-grotto cemetery valley then enjoy the bamboo-jungle coffee oasis/restaurant at the valley's end.
• Visit the ancient town of Hoi An, a hands-down favorite for travelers.
• Visit a facility that breeds silkworms and harvests their silk. They’re even weaving silk onsite, see their looms.
• Stroll the Hoi An riverbank at sunset, view the fishing boats coming in while the silk lanterns come alive.
• Learn how to make silk lanterns, the local historical craft that's famous worldwide.
• Go with locals to karaoke.
• Tour a landmine museum (optional).
• Visit a butterfly sanctuary (optional).
• Go for a bicycle ride through the jungly-countryside.
• Learn to bargain like a pro at the many markets and street-stalls.
• Hike the ruins of the various Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia's Siem Reap town.
• Attend a sack-breakfast sunrise at the Angkor Wat Temple from the west grounds facing east.
• Have live fish nibble your feet
• Order made-to-measure clothing delivered in a couple days (a Hoi An favorite).
• Attend a silk-lantern making class and make a lantern
• Enjoy a home-cooked meal in a local friend's home

OPTIONAL ARRIVAL DAY: Some travelers enjoy arriving a day early to shake off the flight. This is optional. If you'd like to do so, feel reassured that Dan will already be in Hanoi and will still fetch you from the Airport and get you to the hotel, either by picking you up himself or arranging a private driver through the hotel. If you'd like to arrive a day early, please let Dan know if you'd like him to arrange a room in the same hotel (recommended) that the group will be staying in and he'll book you in on the earlier date. Extra days hotel may be purchased on the website under “Hotel Extra Night(s).”

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JAN 2
DAY -1 - Airport INTL arrival, If you are arriving two days early, let Dan know if you'd like to have him make arrangements at the same hotel as the group (recommended).

JAN 3
DAY 0 - Airport INTL arrival, greeted by Dan, board transport to hotel. Optional arrival day before the official start day of the trip. If you'd like to arrive early and stay in the same hotel as the group, would you like Dan to book your room that first night (recommended)?

JAN 4
DAY 1 – HANOI
• Airport arrival, greeted by Dan, board transport to hotel.
• Check in at hotel, relax, orient yourself to neighborhood.
• Enjoy a spa visit after your long flight.
• Consider a streetside haircut or shave, highly recommended!
• Circumnavigate Hoan Keim Lake and visit it’s Ngoc Son Temple.
• Gather for happy hour & discuss evening activity options.
• Consider joining Dan for “adventure food night,” if you dare. Snails are cool.
• Street food, dine-in, noodle-haus options abound, dinner out on the town.
• Enjoy the lively nightlife in Hanoi’s French Quarter.

JAN 5
DAY 2 - HANOI
• Rise early and enjoy coffee/soup stall pho with Dan (optional).
• Buffet at the hotel
• Visit the National Women's Museum.
• Visit Hoa Lo Prison (aka “Hanoi Hilton”) to learn about Hanoi's past conflicts.
• Sip coffee at a chic café and observe the activity on the street.
• Walk Hanoi's shopping district, grab an ice cream or an egg coffee (you read that right).
• Explore the streets and amazement that is Hanoi.
• Taxi back to hotel for a siesta, or...
• Take an authentic cyclo ride around town or even just back to the hotel (before they disappear).
• Local street food dinner at bia hoi joint – “Welcome Banquet” on Dan!
• Enjoy the lively nightlife in Hanoi’s French Quarter.

JAN 6
DAY 3 - HANOI
• Rise early and enjoy coffee/soup stall pho with Dan (optional).
• Consider joining the women at the lake doing their group exercises in the early AM – you'll be welcomed if you try, it's a blast.
• Breakfast buffet at the hotel.
• Visit the fabulous Temple of Literature - where you'll surely get your selfie on.
• Explore the National Fine Arts Museum, where the building itself is a work of art.
• Sip coffee at a chic café and observe the activity on the street.
• Lunch on N. Vietnam’s famous dish: bun cha – Dan knows of a terrific place.
• Siesta at hotel
• Walk the Old Quarter streets and learn about the history of local trade at the fabulous Guild Streets.
• Visit the pop-up Tet-supply streets and...frankly...jump in and be part of the chaos!
• Spa visit...pamper yourself!
• Enjoy the lively nightlife in Hanoi’s Old Quarter area.
• Dinner: family-style banquet - Vietnamese or Indian?
• Stroll the Night Bazaar in the Old Quarter.
• Check out the social-life traffic jam that is “Beer Corner” for dinner (and a beer!).
• Sleep well, traveler.

JAN 7
DAY 4 - HANOI
• Rise early and enjoy coffee/soup stall pho with Dan (optional).
• Breakfast buffet at the hotel
• St. Josephs Cathedral and/or Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (optional)
• FREE TIME (shop the market stalls/coffee and ponder/spa time/walk around lake/take your camera for a stroll)
• Lunch on the street in the neighborhood
• Lake stroll before Happy Hour for group photo
• Riverside Restaurant for dinner
• Attend Hanoi’s famous Water Puppet Theater for a show!
• Night cap at Leo's?
• Pack those bags for early departure in the morning.
• Sleep well, traveler.

JAN 8
DAY 5 – HANOI > VIP LIMO > SAPA
• Rise early to eat pho with Dan on the street and sip coffee at the corner café (optional).
• Buffet breakfast at the hotel.
• Board our transport to Sapa (about 4-5 hours with stops). Lunch en-route.
• Arrive in Sapa, check in and freshen up before heading out to Cat Cat Village.
• Attend a traditional music and dance performance by local tribespeople.
• Meet local tribespeople and chat them up.
• Explore Cat Cat Village and it's indigo-dye products and artisans.
• Enjoy the misty atmosphere and scenic amazement that is Sapa.
• Dinner out on the town.
• Sample “hot wine,” a popular local beverage.
• Night Cap?, Dan suggests the local Reggae Bar a few blocks from the hotel

JAN 9
DAY 6 – SAPA
• Rise early to join Dan for coffee out on the street (optional).
• Buffet breakfast at the hotel.
• Walk to town and meet out local trekking guides for the day.
• Rent a traditional tribal costume and pose for photos (optional).
• Peruse the local indigo-dyed hemp wares, being woven in front of your very eyes. Shake the hand that made it, then take it home.
• Lunch in a local village.
• Grab a taxi back to the hotel.
• Grab a leg massage to sooth those sore trekking muscles.
• Stroll the French-influenced architecture and streets of Old Sapa.
• Dinner: local BBQ comfort food.
• Night cap?, funky disco skybar anyone?, it's a block away from BBQ joint.

JAN 10
DAY 7 – SAPA > VIP SLEEPER BUS > TAM COC
• Rise early to join Dan for coffee out on the street (optional).
• Visit Sapa’s famous 100 yr old church dedicated to St. Jean and St. Luc
• Visit the Sapa Museum to gain a better understanding of the local tribal communities and their history.
• Lunch
• Seista at hotel.
• Pack up for our transport to TamCoc
• VIP Sleeper Bus transport to Tam Coc.
• Dinner at the rest stop (better than it sounds).
• Overnight slumber in your private VIP sleeper bus cabin (just about as good as it sounds).

JAN 11
DAY 8 – TAM COC
• Arrive in Tam Coc from overnight VIP Sleeper Bus ride.
• Unload stuff at hotel, freshen up.
• Breakfast down the street at a local comfort-food restaurant
• Enjoy a quick paddle-boat ride through some cool caves?, yes please!
• Hang out at the hotel's pool.
• Lunch at any of town's terrific eateries.
• Siesta at hotel
• Bicycle ride in to cemetery fern grotto?, yes please!
• Cycle to Bich Dong Pagoda for a visit.
• Optional jungle detour on return cycling trip to town
• Jungle coffee shop visit?
• Pink Throne foot massage before dinner?
• Local food for dinner at fabulous Father's Cooking Restaurant.
• Explore the night life in small but lively Tam Coc Town.

JAN 12
DAY 9 – TAM COC
• Rise early to join Dan for coffee out on the street (optional).
• Breakfast buffet at the hotel.
• Walk with (before 7am) Dan through the lively morning market – bring your camera!
• Visit Hoa Lu Temple or Mua Caves – half or full day optional activity with local guide.
• See local goats climbing vertical limestone cliffs, see flocks of ducks in the colorful rice paddies. Then…
• Dine on goat or duck for dinner at a local restaurant! Or, Indian food night or wood-fired pizza!
• Meet some rugged Western backpackers at a funky pub in town.
• Enjoy the quiet countryside as you slumber the night away.

JAN 13
DAY 10 – TAM COC
• Rise early to join Dan for coffee out on the street (optional).
• Breakfast buffet at hotel
• FREE DAY! Local guide tours (Trang An or Bai Dinh day trips)/read by the pool/bike ride/stroll.
• Lunch around town.
• Siesta at hotel.
• Local restaurant group dinner (with “happy water”)
• Sleep well traveler!

JAN 14
DAY 11 – TAM COC > HANOI > FLY > SIEM REAP
• Rise early to join Dan for coffee out on the street (optional).
• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Pack for Cambodia, head out for taxi ride to airport
• Lunch at the airport (better than it sounds).
• Fly to Siem Reap, check in to hotel, rest up.
• Have a swim/happy hour/dinner in town/restful sleep.

JAN 15
DAY 12 – SIEM REAP
• Breakfast at hotel.
• Temple day 1 by tuk tuk, be prepared to have jaw dropped.
• Lunch out and about
• Explore the neighborhood, its markets, shops & people.
• Khmer food for dinner at a local bustling eatery.
• Night cap?, try “Pub Street!”
• Sleep well in the Land of Angkor

JAN 16
DAY 13 – SIEM REAP
• Early morning sunrise at Angkor Wat (breakfast “to go” from hotel)
• Temple day 2
• Lunch out and about
• Afternoon siesta at hotel/swim/relax
• Stroll the Night Market and buy a souvenir
• Have your feet nibbled by hungry fish (it's a thing...)
• Night cap?, try “Pub Street!”

JAN 17
DAY 14 – SIEM REAP
• Breakfast at hotel.• Temple day 3• Buy lunch on the street, eat it on a riverside bench.
• Consider visiting a local butterfly museum, there’s also a landmine museum.
• Korean BBQ night?
• Happy Hour in the neighborhood.
• Sleep well traveler.

JAN 18
DAY 15 – SIEM REAP
• Breakfast at hotel.
• FREE DAY! Local guide tours: Stilt Village? Elephant Sanctuary?
• Read by the pool/shop the steet market/hit the spa/relax.
• Local eatery lunch
• Siesta at hotel
• Happy Hour in neighborhood
• Sleep well, traveler.

JAN 19
DAY 16 – SIEM REAP > DANANG
• Breakfast at hotel.
• Liesure morning, enjoy.
• Lunch near hotel.
• Transport to airport.
• 3pm flight to DaNang
• Arrive DaNang, tranport to hotel
• Freshen up, head out to explore the neighborhood
• Happy Hour and dinner at Bamboo II Restaurant, a local expat joint
• See a giant steel dragon spit fire, really!
• Cruise the night market, buy an ice cream.
• Sleep well, traveler

JAN 20
DAY 17 – DANANG > HOI AN
• Early AM coffee with Dan out on the steet? (optional)
• Breakfast at hotel.
• Liesure morning, enjoy.
• Visit the Khmer Museum to learn about the area's past
• troll the esplanade by the river, get some Tet selfies.
• Visit the “DaNang Aquarium” to see some slippery and slithery critters.
• Drop by the beach to dip our toes in the sea.
• Lunch at a fabulous Taiwanese Taco joint, it's a thing...
• Transport by taxi to Hoi An
• Check in hotel, freshen up.
• Visit the tailors to get your custom-clothing orders going asap (optional).
• Dinner riverside
• Night Cap?, Woop Woop bar?
• Sleep well, traveler

JAN 21
DAY 18 – HOI AN
• Rise early to join Dan for coffee out on the street (optional).
• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Allow Dan to show you some active artisan workshops: metalwork, ceramic, silk & needle work.
• See silkworms make silk that’s then woven on a loom and dyed right there before your eyes.
• Eat lunch like the locals – Dan knows all the best spots.
• Utilize your historic old-town-entrance ticket and visit the town’s heritage sights and ancient buildings.
• Leather craft class anyone? (optional)
• Enjoy a meal in a local home with a Vietnamese family.
• Karoake anyone?
• Sleep well, traveler

JAN 22
DAY 19 – HOI AN
• Buffet breakfast at the hotel, or…rise early and eat street food with Dan.
• Rise early and join Dan at the Morning Fish Market (bring your camera).
• Have coffee with new friends and experience getting to know them.
• Hit the beach, it’s a 10 min taxi ride away. Dan knows the best spots.
• Lunch then siesta.
• Jump on a bicycle and cruise the mangrove trail through the countryside – Dan knows some fabulous routes.
• Lantern making class (optional - included activity!)
• Happy hour with friends at the river.
• Bale Well banh xeo BBQ family style. Come hungry.
• Enjoy the Hoi An nightlife.

JAN 23
DAY 20 – HOI AN
• Buffet breakfast at the hotel …rise early and eat street food with Dan.
• FREE DAY! Marble Mountain, My Son Sanctuary, cooking class, cycling tour, photo tour, beach,…
• Cruise around with Dan, get your errands & to-do items handled, acquire those souvenirs.
• Kick back at your favorite local café for a cup and a ponder your travels.
• Lunch
• Visit Pottery Village? (optional - included activity!)
• Comfort food night/non-Asian food – Pick between Indian/Italian/Mexican, Dan vouches for each.
• Enjoy your last evening in Hoi An.

JAN 24
DAY 21 – HOI AN
• Buffet breakfast at the hotel, or… rise early and eat street food with Dan.
• Kick back at your favorite local café for a cup and a ponder your travels.
• Pack those bags.
• Hotel check-out noon.
• Transport to Da Nang airport for departure to home.

TRIP COST: $3700 per person or $6850 per couple (in shared room).

INCLUDED:
• Small group experience with no more than 8 travelers (up to 10 for “special trip”)..
• Dan will travel with you as companion, consultant & concierge.
• 20 nights mid > upper range hotel (not including laundry, room service, mini-bar, etc.)
• Group travel insurance with MAJOR MEDICAL and emergency EVACUATION coverage.
• Hanoi Water Puppet Theater tickets
• All group ground transportation.
• 2 inter-Asia flights > includes = 23 kg checked baggage and 7 kg carry-on.
• Hanoi Art Museum admission.
• National Women’s Museum admission.
• Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum admission.
• Hoa Lo Prison admission.
• Hoi An Heritage entrance ticket, good for 5 visits to historical locations around town.
• All full breakfasts provided by the hotels.
• 1 pre-arranged 30-day multi-entry visa for a US citizen to enter Vietnam.
• Welcome group dinner in Hanoi on Dan.
• Dinner in local friend’s home cooked by his mother…really.
• Loan of an iPhone smartphone pre-loaded with local cell service + your own personal phone number while in Vietnam (make phone calls and send text messages), contacts, maps, currency converter, our itinerary/calendar & some handy apps like “translator.”
• Unlimited pre-trip email & phone support with Dan to help travelers prepare over the months leading up to departure.
• Arrival and departure transport to/from Hanoi/DaNang/Hoi An.

NOT INCLUDED:
• International airfare to Hanoi(HAN) and home from Da Nang City (DAD), or, round trip to Hanoi (HAN) and a domestic flight from Da Nang (DAD back to HAN at the end of the trip to catch your international leg home).
• Drinks
• Meals (except breakfasts and 2 dinners + 2 lunches)
• Laundry services.
• Hotel bar or mini-bar charges.
• Taxi trips outside of main itinerary activities.
• Excursions outside of main itinerary offerings.
• Tips: gratuities for guides & drivers.

ACCOMMODATION:
• Based on Dan’s travel philosophy that emphasizes establishing an “oasis of calm” at the end of each day, we’ll be spending a large portion of the overall trip budget on convenient & comfortable upper-range hotels with all the amenities you’ll need to feel safe & well pampered. Most hotels will have pools & gyms, all have nice lobbies, bars, security, 24/7 attendants. Receptionists speak English. All hotels have been vetted by Dan and come highly recommended.

FLIGHTS:
• Our trip consists of two short international flights between Vietnam and Cambodia, which is included with your trip cost. Air travel is booked on Vietnam Airlines or Cambodia Angkor Air, world-recognized and reputable airlines with an excellent safety records. You are allowed 7 kilos of carry-on (15 lbs) and 23 kilos of checked baggage (50 lbs). Please let Dan know in advance if you plan on needing an upgrade on your checked baggage allowance. (PRO TIP: both airlines are “Skyteam” airlines, so if you have a mileage plan with Delta, let Dan know when booking and he'll make sure you get those miles).

DEPOSIT:
• Please secure your trip with a 1/3 down payment, thank you. For your convenience, this 1/3 deposit is called “Trip Deposit” on the website, once you click that you may select ENCOUNTER as the trip, that's the 21-day trip including Cambodia. Visa/MC/Discover, Google Pay, Venmo, PayPal, checks, money orders accepted.

• Payments may be made on this site or via Paypal (to GSideas@gmail(dot)com), or by check/money order to our mailing address: Sure Flaneur Travel, P.O. Box 777, Port Townsend, WA 98368, USA. Venmo, Google Pay are also available methods, please inquire. You may also phone in a visa/mc/discover number to our secure voicemail number (206-713-567(eight)) and leave your 16 digit number, expiration and 3 digit code. Phoned-in payments will appear as "Groussman Studios LLC," whereas payments through this site will appear as "Sure Flaneur Travel" on your statement.

BOOKING TERMS:
• At least 1/3 of the trip cost is required when booking - this deposit will hold your space - please try and pay the rest prior to 45 days before departure, thank you. Once a deposit is received, you then risk 33% of the overall trip cost if you cancel. If you cancel within 30 days before a trip starts, you forfeit 50%, within 15 days 100%.

• Payments may be made on this site or via Paypal (to GSideas@gmail(dot)com), or by check/money order to our mailing address: Sure Flaneur Travel, P.O. Box 777, Port Townsend, WA 98368, USA. Venmo, Google Pay are also available methods, please inquire. You may also phone in a visa/mc/discover number to our secure voicemail number (206-713-567(eight)) and leave your 16 digit number, expiration and 3 digit code. Phoned-in payments will appear as "Groussman Studios LLC," whereas payments through this site will appear as "Sure Flaneur Travel" on your statement.