DAY 1: Hanoi Arrival (Meals)
Arrive at Noi Bai International Airport, meet your driver for an airport transfer with a private vehicle and English speaking guide. The driving distance is approximately 45 minutes.
Your visa should be pre-arranged, or be sure that your visa-on-arrival letter is in your carry-on luggage. Please go to custom desk as your first point of entry into the country and present these documents for visa upon arrival. Fast tract service can be arranged upon booking.
Hanoi or “River-bound City” as its name literally means is Vietnam’s capital with a thousand-year-old history dating back to 1010. The city’s fascinating beauty which is characterized by unique cultural relics, ancient streets of antique houses, elegant French colonial buildings, tree-lined boulevards and romantic lakes has made it one of the most charming cities of Asia.
DAY 2: Hanoi – Old Quarter Tour (Meals: B)
The city tour begins with a visit to the Ho Chi Minh Complex which features the life of Ho Chi Minh, the nation’s founder. At the complex, visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where the nation’s founder’s body is preserved (closed on Monday, Friday and through October - November), the colonial Presidential Palace, originally the French Governor Office and a fine example of French architecture in Hanoi, and the rural style Ho Chi Minh’s house on stilts where Ho Chi Minh lived and worked. Stop by one of Hanoi’s icons, the One Pillar Pagoda, built in the 11th Century in dedication to Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara or Buddha of Compassion and reminiscent of a lotus blossom rising from a pond. Continue to the Temple of Literature, known as the first university of Vietnam built in 1070 by the Ly Dynasty to honor Confucius, sages and outstanding Vietnamese scholars.
Afternoon, continue the tour to one of the following museums of choice namely the Museum of Fine Arts, the National Museum of Vietnamese History, the Museum of Revolution, the Museum of Military History or the Museum of Ethnology. Next, head for Hoan Kiem Lake, the center point of Hanoi whose name “The Return Sword Lake” originated from a legend of a sacred sword and home to a rare endangered giant turtle species and visit Ngoc Son Temple on the lake. Take a one-hour cycle tour of the Old Quarter of Hanoi with its ancient streets representing traditional trades from the past.
DAY 3 : Hanoi - Halong Over Night On Boat - Unesco World Heritage (Meals: B,L,D)
Morning pickup at 8:00 AM from your hotel for transfer to Ha Long Bay, which is about 160 km or 3.5-hour drive away. The transfer is approximately 3 hours. You will see some rural areas of the Red River Delta with plenty of chances to take photos of Vietnamese farmers working in paddy fields and you may stop on the way to admire the local scenery.
Arrive in Ha Long City at 11:30 AM and check in aboard the booked junk right after the welcome drink is served. Start cruising while having lunch on board and enjoy the mighty bay view.
Arrive in Ha Long City at 11:30 AM and check in aboard the booked junk when your journey across Ha Long Bay starts. Ha Long Bay meaning Descending Dragon Bay in Vietnamese as legend has it that it was where a holly dragon landed down from sky. The bay, famous as one of the world’s wonders and heritage sites whose formation dates back 500 million years, consists of around 2,000 karst islands and islets scattered over an area of 1,553 km2.
After lunch, take a short trek to a nearby summit for a panoramic view of the bay dotted with golden sails, go swimming on a quiet beach or sunbath on the sundeck. Later in the afternoon, you will visit an interesting fishing village with an opportunity to interact with local people who have been living in the bay for almost three generations. An optional kayaking trip is available weather permitting. Back onboard enjoy a lavish dinner and enjoy the bay view at sunset. Spend a night on board.
DAY 4: Halong - Hanoi – Da Nang (Meals: Brunch)
In the morning, refresh your body and mind with a Tai Chi exercise on the sundeck at the break of dawn. Have tea and coffee onboard and continue exploring Ha Long Bay sailing across its 2000 islets and visiting some of its major highlights. Normally, check out at 09:30, have a buffet brunch while cruising back to shore. Disembark at 11:00 AM to transfer to Hanoi capital then take a flight from Ha Noi airport to Da Nang city. Flight time is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes
Arrival Da Nang airport, you are transferred to your nice hotel by private car & guide. The transfer from Da Nang to Hoi An is approximately 40 minutes.
DAY 5: Hoi An Ancient Town – Cooking Class (Meals:B,L,D)
Vietnamese cuisine is going to famous in the world so today let us take you on a quick adventure into the wonder world of Vietnamese cuisine. Meet your guide this morning and transfer out to a local market. Begin the morning with a delightful wander around Ben Thanh market with your cooking instructor, an experienced local chef. He / she tell you about a real shopping experience, provide you with knowledge on ingredients an how to select the best in local market. We then transfer to the Cookery Center with bags full of vegetables, tropical fruits, meat and exotic herbs and seasonings, you will then start practice cooking the Vietnamese way. The chef definitely will share her / his secrets with you from recipes to techniques of processing the ingredients, mixing them in the right balance and cooking them into fine dishes. You might be surprised to find out how much you can do in making typical main dishes, drinks and desserts. After finishing, sit back relaxed and enjoy your self-cooked lunch feeling accomplished.
Afternoon, city tour to discover the charm of Hoi An as a renowned World Heritage Site. Once a bustling maritime commercial port of Asia between 15th and 19th centuries, Hoi An is now a peaceful town of exceptionally well-preserved architecture, lifestyles and traditions. After receiving a brief introduction to the history, shape, and color of traditional lanterns, start a walking tour around the town to see its highlight sightseeing include the town’s iconic 400-year-old Covered Bridge with a small temple attached to one side as a prominent example of Japanese architecture, the Museum of Trade Ceramics which is an elegant Vietnamese style wooden house built in 1858 showcasing antique ceramic artifacts, the 200-year-old Tan Ky House typifying an ancient Chinese merchant residence, the Ong Temple built in 1653 by Chinese settlers to worship Guan Yu, an ancient Chinese general whose character stands for loyalty, bravery and justice and the local market vibrant with colors and activities.
Enjoy an unforgettable time with dinner at Full Moon Restaurant, where you’ll participate in a traditional activity: sending the floating lanterns “hoa dang” down to the water. Hoi An is well known as the Lantern City, and this blend of exceptional cuisine with beautiful tradition is magnificent.
DAY 6: Hoi An – Da Nang – Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) (Meals: B,D)
Morning, transfer to Da Nang airport for flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Flight time is approximately 1.5 hours.
Meet your driver for an airport transfer with a private vehicle and guide. The transfer distance is approximately 30 minutes
Tour today starts with the War Remnants Museum which features a comprehensive collection of the machinery, weapons, photos, and documentation of Vietnam War with both the French and Americans, and the Reunification Palace, which was the former residence of the President of South Vietnam until end of April 1975. Last, stop for shopping at the French-built Ben Thanh Market which dates back to 1870 and whose main entrance clock tower has become a symbol of the city.
Evening, dinner at Lady Hau cruise on Saigon river
DAY 7: Ho Chi Minh & Cu Chi Tunnels – Story Of War (Meals:B)
Morning, meet your guide and transfer about 75 km North-west of downtown Ho Chi Minh City. Discover the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, which were once a major underground hideout and resistance base of Viet Cong forces during the two wars against the French and the Americans. The tunnels, entirely hand-dug, formed a highly intricate network of interlinked multilevel passageways at times stretched as far as the Cambodian border and totaling over 120 km in length. Its complexity was beyond imagination containing meeting rooms, kitchens, wells, clinics, schools, depots, trenches and emergency exits all aimed for guerrilla warfare. The tunnels were deep and strong enough to withstand destructive bombings and self-contained enough to outlast prolonged sieges.
Take this popular tour with a VC veteran who lived and fought during Vietnam war in this area to get to know more about the tunnel and their lives during the war.
Afternoon, tour in the city starting with Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, a neo-Roman cathedral built over 130 years ago by the colonial French with materials entirely imported from Marseilles and stained-glass windows from Chartres. Next, visit Sai Gon Post Office, a fine colonial building which was designed and built in the early 20th Century by the famous French architect Gustave Eiffel. Move on to Cho Lon or the city’s China Town where you will visit the Jade Emperor Temple (Phuoc Hai), a rare Taoist structure in Vietnam built in 1909 in dedication to the Lord of Heaven. It’s filled with smoky incense and fantastic carved figurines and still buzzing with worshipers, many lounging in the front gardens.
DAY 8: Full Day – Ben Tre On Mango Cruise (Mekong Delta) (Meals: B,L)
Depart the city this morning and head south to Ben Tre to begin a Mekong Delta day of discovery. Arrival, take a Xe loi ride (cycle-drawn carriage) through a lush green town, enjoy a boat cruise through small canals with beautiful tropical scenery, even voyage on a traditional sampan boat, and visit is also made at a local multi-generational family surviving on traditional means.
Stop shortly in at a brick making factory and a rice noodle factory, and jump on a bicycle for another vantage point as you ride to My Long to visit a former Viet Cong soldier who survived two years fighting the Khmer Rouge in Phnom Penh, now making rice paper for a modest living.
You’ll have a chance to enjoy a delicious 5-course lunch, then visit a nearby house of Mr. Hung, who is a famous sticky rice maker in his village. Feed his stock of catfish and walk through his fruit garden if wanted.
Option:
Late afternoon return to Ho Chi Minh City for an À Ố Show, a new kind of art performance which blows apart the conventions of previous art shows in Vietnam
Supplement charge: USD 65$/pax (Wow ticket)
DAY 9: Ho Chi Minh Departure (Meals: B)
Meet our guide & driver at the hotel lobby then transfer to airport for departure flight.
