Day 1: Hanoi – Arrival
Upon arrival at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, enjoy a welcome from your guide and transfer to your hotel in the city centre. to check in. Relax after a long journey.
Overnight in Hanoi.
Day 2: Hanoi Capital City - Insights (B)
Today a guided tour will take you to visit many of the city’s highlights. We first come to visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the final resting place of the Vietnamese Communist revolutionary leader, who led the country’s independence movement from 1941. (Please note that we can only see the Mausoleum from the outside on Monday and Friday afternoons due to scheduled closures.) Visit Ba Dinh Square where Ho Chi Minh read the Proclamation of Independence in front of millions of Vietnamese people on September 2 1945. Next to the humble Residence of President Ho Chi Minh is the One Pillar Pagoda, whose origins date back to the foundation of city 1000 years ago.
Next, we visit the Temple of Literature, a Confucian temple and Vietnam’s first university. Constructed in the 11th century, the gardens and well-preserved architecture offer a relaxing glimpse into Vietnam's past. In the afternoon, the city visit continues with walking tour in the chaotic Old Quarter, where the narrow streets are roughly arranged by trade. Visit a daily wet market, walk through small alleys of typical old tube houses, and see merchants at work. All the city liveliness appears right in front of you. We stop and taste egg coffee, hot coffee with condensed milk, topped with egg foam and cinnamon powder. Egg coffee is a Hanoi specialty found nowhere else in the country.
Overnight at your hotel in Hanoi.
Day 3: Hanoi – Ha Long Bay, a World Heritage Site (B, L, D, Local guide on boat)
After breakfast, you will depart by road to Ha Long Bay, a World Heritage Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Travel through the rich farmlands of the Red River Delta and the landscape of rice fields, water buffalo, and the daily life of the Vietnamese village.
Arrive in Ha Long and prepare to board a junk for a Ha Long Bay cruise. Lunch on board. The cruise passes by many rocks and islets in many unlikely shapes and sizes. The cruise may stop for a while to visit a cave, a beach for swimming, and once more, you will ride a rowing sampan to a fishing village. This smaller boat will allow you to approach closer to floating houses of fisherman and learn how they earn their living; how many generations are living in a small house of 8-12 square meters.
Later, the junk moves to docking area for overnight.
Dinner and overnight on board.
Day 4: Ha Long Bay – Hanoi – Hue (Brunch, local guide on boat)
Get up early for an amazing Sunrise view over the sea (weather permitting, of course!) and feel the silence of the beautiful misty bay. At 6.30am, a 30-minute Tai Chi session is organized. Energize your body and soul or just allow yourself some time to recline on a sunbed with a cup of coffee. A brunch will be served while cruising further to explore the beauties of the Bay before returning to the Wharf. The boat continues cruising toward Ha Long port.
Disembark at noon and head to Noi Bai Airport for a flight to Hue. Meet our guide in Hue and transfer to your hotel for the evening. Overnight in Hue.
Day 5: Explore Hue city (B)
This morning, we will explore Hue in an authentic way. You will have 45-60 minutes to experience a very old form of transport in Vietnam: ‘Xich lo” or rickshaw. ‘Xich lo’ appeared in Asia in 1920 and in Vietnam in 1930, became popular in 1940s. The ‘Xich lo’ is a three-wheel bicycle with a seat in front and the driver behind.
We start our tour by crossing the Perfume River on the Trang Tien Bridge. Then ride along the famous Dong Ba market. From here, we follow a branch of the Perfume River to an area full of local shops where you can see lots of trading activities. We will turn left into the area surrounding the Citadel where local people have lived for generations, some in ancient houses, continuing their business and lives just as they have done for hundreds of years.
While sitting on the ‘Xich lo’, all of the activities on the street, in the shops, and in the houses, happen around you. We come to visit the Imperial Citadel where Kings of Vietnam’s last feudal dynasty ruled from 1802 to 1945, including Flag Tower, Nine Holy Cannons, Ngo Mon Gate, Thai Hoa Palace, Nine Dynastic Urns, and the stunning Forbidden Purple City.
In the afternoon, we visit Tu Duc Tomb. The tomb of Tu Duc, the ‘poet Emperor’, is set in an elegant garden with a magnificent lake and pavilion complex. Continue visiting the towering Thien Mu Pagoda, one of the most famous landmarks of Huế. Then, transfer to the boat landing for a leisurly boat trip upstream to the Perfume River before returning to the city center.
Driver picks up and transfers you back to hotel.
Overnight in Hue City.
Day 6: Hue – Bach Ma Zen Monastery – Hai Van Pass – Hoi An (B)
After a big breakfast, we leave Hue for Hoi An Ancient Town via the splendid Hai Van Pass. But before the pass, we will enjoy a 2-hour excursion to the rarely visited Bach Ma Zen Monastery. Constructed in 2006, Truc Lam Bach Ma Zen monastery is in the center of the Truoi River foothills. Continue the journey to Hoi An via the Hai Van Pass, which is one of the most scenic coastal roads in the world. Stop en route to take a breather (and some photos!) at Lang Co Bay.
Arriving in Hoi An, check in at your hotel and relax.
Overnight in Hoi An.
Day 7: Morning fishing market & World Heritage walk (B)
Central Vietnamese villages are best discovered in the early hours of the morning, which is why we depart at 7am. Drive to the small villages in the beautiful surrounding countryside. We head across the new Cua Dai Bridge to Duy Hai fishing hamlet to visit the morning fishing market. There are about 2,000 citizens in Duy Hai.
Most of the villagers’ livelihoods are based on catching and processing fish or shrimp. While visiting there, you can observe how the villagers sell their seafood to customers. Drive back to town for a 2-hour guided walking tour around Hoi An Ancient Town - UNESCO World Heritage site. Visit the Japanese covered bridge, Chinese assembly hall, a typical Vietnamese merchant’s house, one of the more interesting museums, and the local market. There are numerous art galleries, souvenirs and tailor shops where you can get some express made-to-order clothes if you like. They’ll finish your clothes in 24 hours!
Return to your hotel at noon time.
Afternoon is free at leisure to explore the town or continue exploring some villages near Hoi An town by bike.
Overnight in Hoi An.
Day 8: Hoi An – Danang - Ho Chi Minh City (B, D)
After breakfast, transfer to Danang City airport, 40km from Hoi An. Take a flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Upon arrival, you’re greeted by our guide and you drive to your hotel to leave luggage. Start to visit city: After a quick view of the Reunification Palace and Central Post Office, we would like to show you a fascinating side of Ho Chi Minh City, away from the bustle of regular tourist attractions.
Visit to the erstwhile secret weapon chamber used by the Viet Cong in the turbulent days of the Vietnam War. Make your way through narrow roads lined by makeshift houses, and meet friendly locals who have occupied these tiny houses for generations. Stop by a busy intersection to meet a street artist and chat about the souvenir carvings he crafts. Watch him carve your names onto your rings, pens or any other souvenir you fancy.
Go back to your hotel for check-in and relax. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 9: Experience Mekong Delta with rowing Sampan, bike, tuk tuk (B/L)
Depart from your hotel at 8am, taking only a 2-hour drive to Ben Tre province crossing Rach Mieu bridge. Arriving at Hung Vuong Pier, hop on a motorized boat on Ben Tre river – one of the tributaries of the Mekong River – while observing lively activities along the river such as fishing and farming. Our first stop is at a traditional brickwork factory to see how to make bricks traditionally by printing and baking. Continue to visit a coconut processing workshop located along the canal. Return to the boat and go through natural scissors and creeks to a village and see some local houses making sleeping mats and enjoy some local tropical fruit.
Take a motorized cart (tuk tuk) or bicycle on shady paths, pass by green rice fields, vegetable plains, and take in the local environment around you. Enjoy a lunch of southern food at a local restaurant.
After lunch, we take a row-boat along a palm creek before meeting up with the motorized boat and transferring back to the pier. Return to your hotel after a memorable day emerging yourself in Mekong Delta local living.
Then transfer by road to Can Tho – capital of the Mekong Delta.
Overnight in Can Tho.
Day 10: Can Tho – Cai Rang floating market – handicraft family (B)
Breakfast at hotel before an early start. Depart your hotel at 7am before cruising along the small and picturesque tributaries by row-boat, taking in the Cai Rang Floating Market along the way. This is one of the most exciting floating markets in the Mekong Delta, with a myriad of row-boats selling colorful produce. See the beautiful scenery and daily activities of the locals. After visiting the market, continue the boat trip to visit a Truc Lam monastery by the river and Uncle Ut Dzach and his family who make ‘Banh Hoi’, steam rolls made of fine rice flour, using traditional techniques.
The owner will introduce you to every step in the process of making ‘Banh Hoi’, from making flour, pressing the noodle by a long bamboo pole and steaming it. Then, eat the cake with BBQ pork and enjoy time chatting with the family members. Say goodbye to the Dzach family and enjoy a short walk to the river port. Experience a local ferry crossing the river to other side of river bank where the driver is waiting to take you back to Ho Chi Minh City. Arrive at your hotel in the late afternoon, check in at your hotel and enjoy free time in the evening.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 11: Ho Chi Minh City - Phan Thiet (B) – 5 – 5.5 hours drive (205km = 127 miles)
After breakfast, you will drive to Phan Thiet (no guide), check in your resort and be free at leisure!
Overnight in Phan Thiet.
Day 12 to day 13: Phan Thiet – Free (B)
Two free days in Phan Thiet for beach relaxation or to do whatever takes your fancy!