Your driver will pick you up at your hotel in Hanoi around 08h00 to travel to Mai Chau. It takes around 3,5 hours’ drive from Hanoi and 35 minutes’ drive west of Mai Chau Town, nestled in the true beauty of Mai Chau’s lush jungles and leafy valleys, Avana Retreat is a high-end mountain retreat designed to represent a genuine love for natural environment.

Arrival, lunch at Green Chili restaurant- located at the foot of the mountain with a view of beautiful cascades running gently from the waterfall nearby. This restaurant serves both local and fusion dishes to satisfy the most demanding appetite.

Then participate in a complimentary tour with local guide, opens daily from 14h30-15h00 to discover Museum Stilt house. Beautifully located on a low hill and surrounded by trees and wild grasses, a 1970 traditional Thai stilt house is transformed into a museum that showcases objects that we collected from three ethnic groups living surrounding Avana. Every afternoon, a local guide will introduce you to the beliefs, rituals, and everyday life of the three groups living in the surroundings through the museum’s collections.

Next, check in and relax.

In the afternoon, give yourself a little time to look insight into this mountainous area and its ethnic groups in our complimentary workshops. Local artists perform traditional loom weaving and rattan basket making every day at the Stilt House. They will give you a hands-on lesson to make Thai crafts on your own. Combine with the museum tour to make your day more knowledgeable (from 14:00-17:00).

Dinner at resort’s restaurant or Private dinner by waterfall: the very first experience in Vietnam.

Enjoy outdoor cinema from Sunday to Friday in the evening or Saturday Live Performance for either live music or local dance of the White Thai people.

Overnight at Avana Retreat.

After breakfast at resort, leave modern life behind to hike into the mountains. Start from Avana Retreat to trek (within 3 hours) through the nearby forest before you reach the top of a tranquil mountain where you can behold the breathtaking views over Thai villages. Continue to walk on narrow dirt paths, passing local cornfields, cassava fields, bamboo forests, and paddy rice fields to visit other villages. On the trek, you might see farmers, and hear buffalo’s bell ringing out in the air. You also visit a local house and listen to them sharing stories and traditional life customs in an ethnic village. Return to Avana Retreat by shuttle van.

*Note: A moderate level of physical fitness is required and is not recommended for guests younger than 12 years of age. This tour is arranged local guides with basic English. English speaking guides are available for an additional fee.

Return to Avana at noon, free time for your own activities. You can experience fishing- down the pathway from Green Chili restaurant and over the bridge you’ll find our fishing pond and may even find some of our staff enjoying a day off there. Feel free to join them and see if you can catch something! Or you can visit chicken farm where you can feed the chickens and if you’re there early enough, pick your own eggs for breakfast! Or Let your body and soul connect with nature at Orchid Spa where you can find a full menu of body treatments and facials targeted to each guest’s needs.

Overnight at Avana Retreat.

In the morning, from 07:00 to 08:00am, you can join for a complimentary Morning Yoga to improve your quality of life, get more energy and have brighter moods.

Enjoy breakfast at restaurant then take part in 1,5 hour- jeep tour (maximum for 3 guests per jeep and age 12 and up). Feel the freedom of the wind blowing in your hair as you take a tour in our 1975 US military jeep. The journey takes you through the breathtaking scenery of terraced rice fields on wildly rugged mountain roads.

Back to resort. Free at leisure.

You can relax at your room which is equipped with large balcony offering views of the rice field, mountain and valley or enjoy the infinity pool with the best sunset view.

Overnight at Avana Retreat.

On your last day, no activities are scheduled until hotel checking out. Head back to your hotel in Hanoi in the afternoon. End of services.