Your Typical Itinerary
Week One
Here is an example schedule for your orientation week:
Monday: You will start the day in Hanoi where you will visit the Literature temple in the morning before having lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon you will move to Nam Dinh, which is approximately 3 hours by car from Hanoi.
Upon arrival, there will be a briefing about the programme and a detailed explanation about the week’s activities. In the afternoon or evening, you will venture out to see the local facilities and the surrounding area. This will be followed by a welcome party, which is put on for you by the local people and will include traditional folk music.
Tuesday: You will start the morning with introduction sessions into the Vietnamese culture, dos and don’ts in the society and group discussions. You will also have your first Vietnamese lesson. In the afternoon you will go on a bicycle tour to visit the local villages. On this tour you will visit churches, a fishing port and we drop by a bird watching garden.
In the late afternoon, you can help with English teaching for local children, youth or play sport (football and badminton, etc) with the locals. You will generally have the opportunity to also participate in these activities each afternoon of the next three days.
Wednesday: In the morning, you will have Vietnamese lessons; this is followed by a bicycle trip to visit projects at local Schools and Kindergartens. Here you will spend a lot of time interacting with the children and helping them rebuild badly conditioned buildings. You will then visit a rice field and see the farmers doing their work (if you wish you can help them with the harvesting).
Thursday: In the morning you will start with an interactive Vietnamese cooking class, which will be in the form of a game. You will need to prepare the right words/sentences for going out and buying your ingredients from the local market. You will learn how to cook a typical Vietnamese meal along with our coordinator. In the afternoon there will be an intro into Vietnamese and language lessons.
Friday: Today you will start community work, which will mainly focus on renovating kindergartens. In the evening you will spend time inter-acting with the local community.
Saturday: Today you will go to Nam Dinh city, which is a 60 km journey from our village by bus. You will use bicycles to get to the bus station then park the bikes there. When you return to the station you take the bikes back. After dinner we will have a quick evaluation of your experiences.
Sunday: Free day.
Week Two
In week two you learn all about Vietnamese culture in a fun way!
Here is an example of a schedule similar to one you will have:
Monday: In the morning or afternoon, depending on the tide, there will be a local boat tour where you will go out to sea and visit fishermen while they are working. You can help them with their activities and visit their huts at the middle of the sea. We will then help with community work to renovate kindergartens.
In the late afternoon, you will be able to help with English teaching for local children, youth or play sport (football and badminton, etc) with the locals. In the evening you will spend time interacting with the locals.
Tuesday: Today you will visit the Keo temple (15km away). This is a popular place for Buddhism with the locals and it is also the location of the house and hometown of Truong Chinh, an ex-president of Vietnam.
In the late afternoon, you can join English teaching for local children, youth or play sport (football and badminton, etc) with the locals. You will also have the opportunity to participate in these activities each afternoon in this week.
Wednesday: You will have free time in the morning, however you can still help with community work to renovate the kindergartens if you wish.
Thursday: After breakfast, you will go to visit a bonsai garden where you will spend all day trying to make your own bonsai with the help of professional bonsai makers. You will then have lunch with the workers before going back to your bonsai in the afternoon.
Friday: You will help with community work to renovate kindergartens, before you visit a marine national park where there are more than 100 kinds of wild birds.
Saturday: You will start the day with brunch at 10am and the rest of the day will be free.
Sunday: A day free to do as you wish. In the evening you will pack before leaving for Sapa by overnight train if you are doing the trekking option, or staying in Nam Dinh if you are doing the volunteer week.
Week Three – Volunteering Week or Trekking Week
Option A
You will have opportunities to help the local community. The biggest area in need is education.
You will be placed into a local school or education camp where you will have the opportunity to give positive input into the lives of the Vietnamese children. Mostly volunteers will be placed in small groups and will be assisting local teachers, but you may be asked to do some teaching on your own.
You do not require previous experience, the most important thing is to be enthusiastic and prepared to get involved and make learning fun!
The aim of this project is to motivate children in rural areas to learn English. It can be helpful to bring some materials to help you assist with teaching. For example, books, games and toys etc. It’s a nice idea to donate these to the school once you have left. More information will be given to you about this during your first week. Games and songs are great ideas – we can help you with lots of ideas!
You will be transported to the school each morning or will be given advice on the best and easiest way to get there and back. You will be teaching for about 4-6 hours per day, with a long break for lunch.
Remember to dress & behave appropriately. The students will look up to you and will attempt to copy your fashion and actions. Ladies, you need to make sure you don’t expose too much skin. Polo shirts/T-shirts, trousers & long skirts are all fine. Also the smarter you dress the more respect you will receive in the classroom.
Option B
Trekking Week includes an overnight stay with the Hmong hill tribes. Here is an example of a schedule similar to one you will have:
Monday: Arrive at the station in Lao Cai. After checking into the hotel and having breakfast you will have time to relax in the town of Sapa. After lunch you will walk to Catcat village, home of the Black Hmong hill-tribe.
Tuesday: You will spend the day trekking. After breakfast you will be trekking to the Lao Chai Village of Black Hmong, and in the afternoon to the Ta Van village of the Zay hill-tribe. Later you will prepare and eat dinner with your host family, with whom you will stay overnight.
Wednesday: After having breakfast with you host family you will take a walk around the village and experience the daily life of the Hill-tribe people. After this you will trek to a waterfall where you will have lunch. After lunch you will return to your homestay.
Thursday: Breakfast and Trekking, before travelling back to Sapa. Your afternoon is free for you to take some well-deserved rest before dinner in the evening.
Friday: You will need to pack your belongings today as after lunch you will travel back to Lao Cai train station to catch the evening train to Nam Dinh.
Saturday: A day free to do as you wish.
Sunday: A day free to do as you wish. In the evening you will be packing for Beach Week.
Week Four – A well-deserved holiday at the Cat Ba and Ti Top Islands
Spend five nights by the beach on beautiful Cat Ba Island in Ha Long Bay. There is plenty to do here and you will have time to relax, swim, read, party & explore the island.
Example beach week itinerary
On Monday, you will journey to Ha Long City having lunch en route. The following morning you will have time to relax in the city. You will then take a boat ride to visit caves before arriving in Cat Ba Town. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will provide you with the opportunity to trek in the National park, swim, snorkel, relax, read or enjoy sunbathing. On Saturday you will depart for Hanoi.
At the end of the fourth week you will be taken back to Hanoi for your onward travel. If you are doing an extended programme, you will return to the volunteer accommodation to begin your volunteer placement.
Please note that itineraries are flexible and will not necessarily be as stated above!
