Full Itinerary

Day 1: Hanoi Arrival

Arriving at Hanoi Airport, welcome you to Hanoi! We will transfer you to your hotel for check-in. The room is at your disposal from 14.00 onwards. Free time at your leisure. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 2: Hanoi Sightseeing (B)

In the morning, visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (closed on Monday and Friday) where the great President Ho Chi Minh rests in peace. We will visit the traditional stilt house and the respected One-Pillar Pagoda, the special pagoda with a particular structure. Leaving here, we will transfer to the thousand-year-old Temple of Literature, the famous first university in Vietnam. You will recognize that this is a popular place for Vietnamese students to take commemorative photographs when graduating.

 

 

After short rest, we start visiting the Ethnology Museum (closed on Monday). Here, you can deeply explore the diversity of Vietnam’s ethnic groups before enjoying a traditional water puppet show performed after the sunset.

Transfer back to the hotel. Meals on your own and take a sound sleep for the following day!

(Remark: Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum closes from October to November for annual maintenance. Outside visiting will be arranged)

Day 3: Hanoi – Halong Bay (B/L/D)

After breakfast, we will leave Hanoi for a 180-km journey to Halong Bay, one of UNESCO World Heritage site with its 3000 islands located in a background of limestone in Gulf of Tonkin. Coming to Halong, visitors will be impressed with the beauty of natural achievement and many wonderful types of scenery.

You will enjoy an overnight cruise on a wonderful boat floating on Halong Bay and savoring a special menu of fresh seafood will absolutely bring you the best moment you have ever had.

You will be served with lunch and dinner on the boat. Overnight onboard.

Day 4: Halong Bay – Hanoi – Da Nang – Hoi An (B)

After breakfast on board and some relaxing, we keep cruising on the bay. Back to the pier and disembark at around noontime.

Transfer to Hanoi Airport where you will take a brief flight to Da Nang city. Welcome by a local guide on arrival and transfer to your hotel in Hoian for check-in (30 km - 45-minute driving). Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 5: Tra Que Vegetable – Hoi An Town (B/L)

In the morning, take an excursion to Tra Que village by bicycle or car. Riding through plains of flooded rice fields, you will be impressed thanks to picturesque scenes of the local's daily life against a background of verdant countryside.

Tra Que is the land of many qualitative and fragrant herbs. Learn about locals’ agricultural techniques and join in their work for a while. Don’t worry about how to do it, they will patiently show you with some interesting tasks such as digging, watering, and harvesting.

After farming time, you can relax with a traditional foot massage using the family’s special technique before enjoying lunch in a local house. The gourmets will be satisfied with the village’s dainties such as “Tam Huu” combining shrimps, pork and aromatic herbs.

Following the lunch and a short rest, we will come back to Hoi An to explore the town.

We will start a walking tour with our tour guide around the attractive Hoian port town. In the 16th century, Hoian used to be the national trading center for East-West commercial itinerary. It seems to be the assembly point for the diversity of ancient streets and homes.

Particularly, the quaint cobblestone streets with more than two-century-old Chinese houses are indispensable subjects to visit and explore. You will see the ancient houses built following the Chinese, Japanese, French and European architectures along the narrow lanes. The 400-year-old Japanese Covered Bridge built by Japanese merchants in the 16th century, the Phuc Kien Assembly Halls, and the local fish market are some indispensable places that you should visit in Hoi An.

Let’s stop off at a tailor-made shop to get yourself a favorite clothes/suits/dresses done in just a few hours if you are interested. Dinner on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 6: Hoi An – Free at your leisure (B)

Today is a free day. You can relax at the beach or enjoy great shopping and discover the grace and history of this well preserved ancient town. Meals on your own and overnight in Hoian.

Day 7: Hoian – Danang, Cham Museum – Hue (B)

Today, we will departure by car for Hue. On the way, we will also visit the Cham Museum which was officially built-in 1915. It is home of the largest collection of sculptures and relics from the Cham civilization once known as the Khmer civilization with around 2000 multi-sizes objects dated from 12th to 15th century.

Then we continue heading to Hue via the scenic Hai Van Pass, where we enjoy the spectacular panorama of the central coastline from the summit. Stop at Lang Co stretch your legs on the white sands of this peaceful beach.

 

Arrival in Hue late in the afternoon. Check-in at the hotel. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 8: Hue Outskirt – Hue City sightseeing (B)

In the morning, we will board a local boat, float downstream the Perfume River to Tien Non-village, and take a biking-trip to visit Thanh Tien Paper Flower village. Reaching Thanh Tien Village, you will have the chance to witness some local families making a traditional local paper flower. The golden age of the village is a few decades ago when every household lives with this job and make it become an indispensable activity in daily life.

Especially, the artisans here do not use the chemical industry, saps and leaves are applied to make traditional style dye. That is the secret of flower paper why it can retain lasting color. Visitors can ask for joining the activity and discover their working methods.

Returning to the city, we will visit the Royal Citadel. Once you reach here, you will absolutely agree with us that this World Heritage Site is the not-to-be-missed destination for anyone in Hue. Walking to the famous Dong Ba Market to soak in the daily life of locals. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 9: Hue Sightseeing – Ho Chi Minh City (B)

In the morning, we will explore Mausoleum of Tu Duc, the fourth King of the Nguyen Dynasty with the longest reign. You can also discover the history of this area when visiting here. Return to the center of Hue City and travel along Perfume River, we will drop off and visit a typical garden house built following the precise rules of geomancy.

Saying goodbye to the ancient Hue City, we will depart to the airport for flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Welcome on arrival and transfer to hotel for check-in. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 10: Cu Chi Tunnels – Ho Chi Minh City Sightseeing (B)

After enjoying your breakfast, you will be guided to visit Cu Chi Tunnel, the historic shelter of Vietnamese soldiers during the war. We will pay a visit to the traps, the mysterious way-in, the network of bunkers and the underground hermitage.

Furthermore, there gives you a unique and wonderful chance to use real guns and bullets at riffle range as well as even creep into the Cu Chi Tunnels to understand the historic harsh life of Vietcong guerrillas. Covering almost 250km, the tunnels system helped over 16.000 communist guerillas alive during the war.

Relaxing with green tea and tapioca as Vietcong in wartime, you will understand more about their former life.

Transfer back to Ho Chi Minh City. In the afternoon, we will visit this dynamic metropolis. Let’s visit some historic sites of the city such as the Old Post Office of Saigon, the Notre Dame Cathedral, Dong Khoi Street and the Chinese District of Cho Lon as well as astonishing Binh Tay Market. Thien Hau pagoda is also an interesting destination for the peaceful feeling that you should not miss.

Day 11: Ho Chi Minh – Mekong Delta – Ho Chi Minh (B/L)

Today, we will transfer to Mekong Delta and visit the famous fertile land in the South of Vietnam. A 1.5-hour drive trip to the Mekong Delta offers a glimpse into the unique and distinct agrarian life of the vibrant Southern Delta region. Cruise across the Mekong River to one of the Islands (located in the town of My Tho) where you can gain insight into the local cottage industry of making coconut candies and enjoy some tea sweetened with bee’s honey.

Then take a paddle-boat cruise through the narrow canals of the Mekong and enjoy a lunch of ‘Elephant Ear’ fish combined with other delicious Vietnamese dishes – a local specialty. Return to your hotel in the afternoon. Dinner on your own. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Day 12: Ho Chi Minh City – Departure (B)

Today is a day free at leisure in Ho Chi Minh before your departure. Your room is available until noon time only. You will be collected 3 hours prior to your flight and taken to the airport.

Inclusion

– Accommodation

– Tours and transfers as mentioned by private air-conditioned vehicle

– Boat trips as mentioned in the itinerary

– English speaking guide

– Meals where mentioned (B: Breakfast; L: Lunch; D: Dinner)

– Entrance fees

Exclusion

– International flight to and from Vietnam

– Vietnam visa fee

– Other meals than mentioned

– Other services than mentioned

– Drinks, other than water on activity days

– Personal expenses (laundry, telephone, drinks, tip...)

– Travel insurance