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VIETNAM BIRD WATCHING
(18 days / 17 nights)
Ho Chi Minh City - Cat Tien - Da Lat - Bach Ma- Xuan Thuy - Cuc Phuong - Hanoi

TOUR PRICE: From US$ 755/pax

INCLUSION:
- All transfers and transportation in private air-conditioned vehicle with driver
- 17 nights hotel accommodation in twin sharing room
- Breakfasts
- Tour guide
- Entrance fees to indicated sights
- Boat trip in Cat Tien, Da Lat, Xuan Thuy

EXCLUSION:
- International and domestic flights
- Single room
- Drinks
- Other meals
- Visa to Vietnam
- Optional activities.

HOTELS TO BE USED:

CITY	FIRST CLASS	SUPERIOR	DELUXE
HO CHI MINH CITY	Elios	Kim Do Royal	Majestic
CAT TIEN	Guest House	Guest House	Guest House
DA LAT	Golf 3	Novotel Da Lat	Sofitel Da Lat
BACH MA	Guest House	Guest House	Guest House
HANOI	Star View	Sunway	Melia
XUAN THUY	Guest House	Guest House	Guest House
CUC PHUONG	Guest House	Guest House	Guest House

ITINERARY:

Day 1: Arrive in Ho Chi Minh City
Arrive in Ho Chi Minh city and transfer for hotel check - in. The rest of the day is free at leisure.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh city.

Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City - Cat Tien (B)
Drive to Cat Tien National Park, the biggest and most primitive national park in Vietnam with more than 50 kinds of rare animals named in the Red Book of the world, some ramain only in Vietnam (170km from Ho Chi Minh City). The road passes through large areas of rubber plantations before branching off to the National Park. An incredible diversity of birds and mammals live in the forest and wetland habitats of Cat Tien, including an estimated 230 species of birds. Endangered birds that can be found here include Germains Peacock-Pheasant, Woodpeckers, Green Peafowl White-shouldered Ibis, White-winged Duck and the very elusive Orange-necked Partridge. Mammals that can sometimes be seen include wild boar, Samba Deer, the rare Black-shanked Duoc Langur, Yellow-cheeked and Crested Gibbon. The afternoon is free for birding along the road or trails.
Overnight in Cat Tien.

Day 3: Cat Tien (B)
A full day of birding along the road and forest trails of Cat Tien. A jeep can be hired at the park headquarters to visit areas further afield such as Bird Lake or Crocodile Lake where you will find Muntjac, Siamese Fireback, Black-shanked Douc Langurs, Yellow-cheeked Crested Gibbons, Germain’s Peacock Pheasants, Bar-bellied and Blue-rumped Pittas, Banded Broadbill , Orange-breasted Trogon. If lucky you can find a flying lizard and you will watched as it ‘flew’ from tree to tree, and then sat expanding its coloured neck flap. Bay, Rufous, Black-and-Buff and Heart-spotted woodpecker, Black-naped Maonarchs, Common Ioras, and Grey-faced and Striped Tit Babblers. A Green Vine Snake, Puff-throated Bulbuls and Puff-throated Babblers, Scaly-breasted Partridges, Pig-tailed Macaques, Emerald Dove.
Overnight in Cat Tien.

Day 4: Cat Tien (B)
Another full day to enjoy the rich bird life of Cat Tien. Species to look out for include Black-naped Orioles and a Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo. Spotted Dove, White-crested Laughingthrushes, Brown Shrike, with Streak-eared Bulbuls, Stonechats, and Thick-billed Pigeons. Zitting and Bright-headed Cisticolas, Osprey and Grey-headed Fish Eagles, Woolly-necked Stork. Green Peafowl, Wood Sandpipers, Green Sandpipers, Greenshank, Little Ringed Plovers, and Black-winged Stilts. Snipe, Common and Pied Kingfishers, Rufescent Prinia.
Back towards the HQ we explore a patch of Acacia forest where you can see Dollarbird, Crow-billed Drongo, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird whilst Oriental Honey Buzzard, Pallas’ Squirrels. Lesser Adjutants, Great Iora, Golden-fronted Leafbird, and White-rumped Shama. Black-crested and Streak-necked Bulbuls, Danaids, Crows. Lemon Pansy, Ashy Minivet.
Along the Heavens Rapids Road. Some species such as Asian Barred Owlet, Great Mormon, Striped Tit Babblers, Blue-winged Leafbirds, Black-crested Bulbuls, and Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrikes. Rufous-bellied Eagle, Asian Fairy Bluebird, and Bronzed and Greater Racket-tailed Drongos, Black-shanked Douc Langurs, Scaly-breasted Partridge, Great Hornbill, Pale-headed Woodpecker, and Bar-bellied Pitta. As we arrive back at the HQ at dusk Great-eared Nightjars were active around the buildings
Overnight in Cat Tien.

Day 5: Cat Tien - Da Lat (B)
A final morning of birding along the trails or perhaps the headquarters road where Green-eared, Blue-eared, Lineated, and if you are lucky, Red-vented Barbet, can often be seen perched high up in the roadside trees. Check out of the park guest house and meet up with the driver before leaving for the 150km drive to Da Lat. It is a scenic drive through tea and coffee plantations to the cooler climes of the former colonial hill station. Transfer to hotel on arrival in Da Lat.
Overnight in Da Lat.

Day 6: Da Lat (B)
A full day of birding at Mount Lang Bian where the evergreen forests are home to many interesting species including some endemics. Key species to be found at Mount Lang Bian include Silver Pheasant, Indochinese Cuckooshrike, Eurasian Jay, Yellow-billed Nuthatch, Mugimaki Flycatcher, Cutia and Red Crossbill. This is also the place to see two of Vietnam’s sought after endemics, the Collared Laughingthrush and the Vietnamese Greenfinch.
Overnight in Da Lat.

Day 7: Da Lat (B)
Tuyen Lam Lake, only 3km from the centre of town, is Da Lat’s other hotspot for birders. Take a boat-ride to far side of the lake where a track leads through the pines to areas of remnant tropical evergreen forest. The rare and endemic Grey-crowned Crocias was re-discovered in 1994 after not being seen for nearly 60 years. Other interesting species possible here include Slender-billed Oriole, Maroon Oriole, Rufous-backed Sibia, Black-hooded and White-cheeked Laughingthrush.
Overnight in Da Lat.

Day 8: Da Lat (B)
The Ta Nung Valley, around 15km from Da Lat, holds a few pockets of remnant evergreen forest where many of the Da Lat specialities can still be found including Grey-crowned Crocias, Black-hooded and White-cheeked Laughiingthrush, Grey-headed Parrotbill, Blue-winged Minla and Black-throated Sunbird.
Overnight in Da Lat.

Day 9: Da Lat - Ho Chi Minh City (B)
Transfer by road the 300km back to Ho Chi Minh City . On arrival in Ho Chi Minh City transfer to hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure in Ho Chi Minh City .
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City .

Day 10: Ho Chi Minh City - Hue - Bach Ma (B)
An early transfer to the airport to catch the flight to Hue in central . On arrival at Hue Airport follows the coast for 45km south down Highway One before turning inland on the road that leads to Bach Ma National Park, 20km away. On arrival the driver and car return to Hue and transfer by park vehicle to the summit guest house. The road from the park entrance to the park guesthouse near the summit is very scenic with sweeping vistas of undisturbed rainforest and the coastal plain. The park accommodation is in renovated colonial villas and the ruins of once grand holiday homes and hotels are scattered along the trails from this point up to the summit. There are many good trails for birders and for non-birders alike with several waterfalls and small lakes.
Overnight in Bach Ma.

Day 11: Bach Ma (B)
Bach Ma National Park is a very well-run operation and knowledgeable park guides can be hired if required. Over 330 species of bird have been recorded at Bach Ma and specialities include the Annam Partridge, Crested Argus, Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo, Blyth ’s Kingfisher, Ratchet-tailed Treepie and Sultan Tit.
Overnight in Bach Ma.

Day 12: Bach Ma (B)
Another full day to explore the trails of Bach Ma. Other desirable species include Bar-bellied and Blue-rumped Pitta, Red-collared Woodpecker and White-winged Magpie.
Overnight in Bach Ma.
Day 13: Bach Ma - Hue - Hanoi (B)
There is time for some early morning birding before meeting up with the driver and transferring to Hue Airport for the flight to Hanoi . Pick-up and transfer to hotel. Free at leisure.
Overnight in Hanoi .

Day 14: Hanoi - Xuan Thuy (B)
Depart to Xuan Thuy Nature Reserve (120km). More than 200 bird species have been recorded at Xuan Thuy. The site is the most important staging and wintering area for migratory waterbirds in the coastal zone of the Red River Delta. It regularly supports large numbers of commoner migratory waterbird species, including Black-tailed Godwit, Spotted Redshank and Eurasian Curlew. Many rare species can also be found at Xuan Thuy, including the largest wintering population of Black-faced Spoonbill in , with around 60 birds each winter in recent years. Other rare species that regularly occur at the site include Saunders's Gull, Spotted Greenshank, Spoon-billed Sandpiper and Asian Dowitcher.
Upon arrival, at hight tide, take a boat to reach the offshore mudflats and sandy flats to give us maximum opportunity of finding some of the worlds’ rarest and most enigmatic shorebirds, including the spectacular Spoon-billed Sandpiper and Nordmann’s Greenshank. We may also find Asiatic Dowitchers and Great Knot amongst the huge flocks of shorebirds passing through the reserve at this time of year. We will hope to find flocks of Black-tailed Godwits, Eurasian Curlews, Spotted Redshanks and many other northern hemisphere shorebirds so familiar to us from the UK. If we are fortunate we may also find a few Saunder’s Gulls and Black-faced Spoonbills, as well as other gulls and ducks.
An alternative boat route involves visiting Con Xanh island, which is planted with Casuarina, which shelters migrating passerines, including pittas, and the outer edge of Con Ngan island, where waders, ducks and herons feed in the Tra river mouth.
Overnight in Xuan Thuy.

Day 15: Xuan Thuy - Cuc Phuong (B)
Walking through the shrimp ponds on Con Ngan island, where the park headquarters is located, can be rewarding, especially at high tide when Black-faced Spoonbills and various gulls, ducks and waders come to roost and feed in the shrimp ponds.
Afternoon depart to Cuc Phuong National Park (85km).
Overnight in Cuc Phuong.

Day 16: Cuc Phuong (B)
The first national park to be established in , Cuc Phuong is an area of limestone hills covered with large tracts of primeval rainforest with 307 species of birds counted so far. Key bird species here include Grey Peacock-Pheasant, Bar-bellied, Blue-rumped and Eared Pitta, White-winged Magpie, Limestone Wren-Babbler, Fujian Niltava, Red-collared Woodpecker, Silver-breasted Broadbill and Pied Falconet.
A full day’s birding on the trails of Cuc Phuong. Rising this morning with the sounds of the forest all around us, we head out for a trek through the lush rainforest that makes up the park. The trek will take in stops at centuries old giant trees. Reach out the Muong minority people at Bong village. During the 20 km journey, view the wide variety of preserved bird species in the park and enjoy the sights and sounds of the jungle.
Overnight in Cuc Phuong.

Day 17: Cuc Phuong (B)
From Bong village, we follow a circular route viewing a variety of endangered bird species. Return to the guesthouse in late afternoon.
Overnight in Cuc Phuong.

Day 18: Cuc Phuong - Hanoi - Depart Hanoi (B)
A final morning of birding before meeting up with the driver and heading back to Hanoi in the afternoon and transfer to Noi Bai Airport for departure flight.

End of services.