16-day Amazing Vietnam

Warm welcome upon your arrival in Tan Son Nhat International Airport – HCMC. Meet your local guide at the airport for a transfer to hotel. Check in. At leisure. Your guide see you again for a welcome dinner at the Bonsai cruise on the Saigon river. Back to hotel. At leisure.

In the morning you have a tour visiting some of its famous attractions such as the Reunification Palace, the Municipal Theatre, the City Post Office, the Notre-Dame Cathedral and the War Remnants Museum. You can also have a walk through the city’s main shopping boulevard with fashionable boutiques and hill tribe crafts, high quality linens and house-wares and end up at the Ben Thanh market, one of the city biggest markets.
Afternoon is time to explore the China town: the western part of the city is dominated by Cholon (Chinatown), a thickly settled district rife with teahouses and pagodas and the famous Binh Tay Market. Visit the Thien Hau pagoda which features interesting Chinese-Buddhist style architecture and interiors with pagodas, courtyards, altars and paintings. Chinatown is also home to the Cholon
visit the Thien Hau pagoda, a Chinese style temple located in the Cho Lon market. Back to hotel. At leisure.

Today you leave HCMC for the Mekong Delta. Surrounded by thousands of crisscrossed canals, life in the Mekong Delta revolves much around the river, most of the villages are often accessible by rivers and canals rather than by road. Upon arrival you take a motor-boat to explore the Thoi Son islet. Following a village path passing local houses to visit some family-run coconut candy mills then you take a horse-cart from village to village. Enjoy lunch with local special dishes followed by the “Southern Vietnamese folk music”, a very common art activity in the Mekong Delta performed by local people.  Rejoin your car for a drive to Can Tho.

Early wake up today to join in the Cai Rang floating market, one of the most exciting activities you should do when you are in this area. Take a motorized boat to join the market and experience how people exchange goods, fruit and many other commodities on their vessels. You also find floating restaurants, floating bars, floating gas stations, and many other floating shops. Back to the shore. Visit Binh Thuy communal house before back to HCMC. At leisure.

In the morning you drive to visit Cao Dai Temples in Tay Ninh and observe the midday service. This temple is the cathedral of the Cao Daism religion and home of the Divine Eye, the official symbol of this unique religion. Cao Dai followers worship Jesus Christ, Confucius, Taoism, and Buddha.

On the way back you stop to visit Cu Chi Tunnels. Very famous in the wartime with its smart and complicated system including underground meeting room, kitchen, food, weapon caches, hospital. This underground complex is a must-see when you are in HCMC. You are invited to crawl around in the safer parts of the tunnel system or try a shooting range where you can fire a number of assault rifles, such as the M16 rifle or AK-47, as well as a light machine gun like the M60. Back to HCMC. Rest of the day is your free time.

Enjoy your free time until transfer to No Bai Airport for flight to Hue. Located in central Vietnam, Hue used to be the Citadel of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1805 to 1945 and is recognized as a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO. Meet your local guide at the Phu Bai Airport – Hue for a transfer to your hotel. In the evening you enjoy a Hue Citadel Royal style dinner at local restaurant.

In the morning you have a Dragon boat cruising on the Perfume river to visit the Thien Mu pagoda, one of the oldest and prettiest religious buildings in the country. From there you rejoin your car to visit the king Minh Mang’s tomb and king Tu Duc’s tomb. Time to taste some Hue famous street foods: Bun bo Hue ; Banh khoai ; Nem lụi Hue.

Afternoon you have a private tour to explore the Hue Citadel comprising three circles of Royal Citadel and Forbidden Citadel. Visit Dong Ba market, located on a bank of the Perfume river and is a paradise for snapshots of daily activities.

In the morning you leave Hue for Hoi An, another World Heritage site in Central Vietnam. Hoi An used to be an international trade center by sea on the east area in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was the busiest trading port during the reign of Nguyen as merchants from Japan, China, Portugal, Spain, Holland stopped over to exchange and purchase commodities. Journey to Hoi An is travelling over the Hai Van pass where you have a stop for a panoramic view over the Lang Co beach before arriving your hotel in Hoi An. At leisure. Enjoy dinner at local restaurant.

In the morning you have a walk to explore the Hoi An Ancient town with old houses, narrow streets, moss-grown walls, lantern makers. Visit the Japanese Covered Bridge, Chinese Assembly Halls, Handicraft workshop and enjoy traditional arts performance. Time to taste some Hoi An famous street food as: 1. Rice & Chicken ; Banh mi Hoi An ; Cao Lau Hoi An. Afternoon you ride by bicycle about 3km from Hoi An town to Tra Que Vegetable village, “the loveliest village on earth”. At the village you can experience of being a farmer, take photos of rice field and vegetable village, enjoy a leisurely walk taking and a stunning sunset or take a foot massage with the ingredients from Tra Que herbs and surround yourself with stunning landscape. Ride back to the town. At leisure.

Again you take a one-hour flight to Hanoi. Widely acknowledged as one of the loveliest cities in Asia, this one-thousand-year old city offer you its unique images that totally different from other Asian cities. Hanoi still retains a small-town provincial charm and unique intermingle with a French legacy wide, tree-lined boulevards, parks, grand villas and an artistic, café society.

Meet your guide at the Noi Bai airport for a transfer to hotel. At leisure. Your guide see you again for a water puppet show – a unique art performance in Vietnam. Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

This full day sightseeing offers you Hanoi’s most interesting places ( Feel free to personalize your day with an unlimited attractions of Hanoi ) including the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, House-on-Stilts, the One Pillar Pagoda, and the Tran Quoc pagoda, the oldest pagoda originally constructed in the sixth century.

Street Food Tasting: Time to taste some Hanoi famous street food as: Pho Hanoi ; Banh Cuon ; Bun Cha Hanoi followed by a cup of Vietnamese coffee at a street-pub.

Continue to visit the Temple of Literature, Hoa Lo Former Prison, Ngoc Son Temple. Dinner at local restaurant then you catch a night train to Lao Cai.

Early arrive in Lao Cai, a Vietnam-China border city. Meet you local driver for transfer you to your hotel located in Sapa town. Enjoy the North Vietnam mountainous area with its winding road, terrace rice fields and minority ethnic villages.  Time for relaxation or explore the mountainous town on your own (early check-in is subject to availability). Afternoon you have a short walking tour to visit the Cat Cat village – home of the H’Mong ethnic people located in the beautiful valley and learn about their unique customs and practices. Stop at the Cat Cat waterfall for some photo shots before returning to hotel. Enjoy dinner at local restaurant.

You start the day with a soft trek along buffalo paths to the Ta van and Lao Chai, villages of the H’Mong and the Day ethnic peoples, through stunning scenery inhabited by some of the friendliest people you can meet. More time to learn about other ethnic community in Sapa. Lunch at local restaurant. In the afternoon your driver picks up you from the village and transfer you back to Sapa for a short break then to Lao Cai. Dinner at local restaurant then you catch a night train to Hanoi.

Early arrive Hanoi in the morning, your driver meets you at the station and offer you a drive to watch local people do morning exercise at the lakes before having a breakfast and a cup of coffee.  Leave Hanoi for Halong Bay via the Red River Delta.

Welcome on board upon arrival Tuan Chau Harbor. Enjoy a welcome drink. Brief introduction by the cruise manager. Cabin check-in. Lunch is served while the cruise is sailing and passing by thousand of unknown islets. Stop at the Pearl Farm village. Take a kayak around Pearl Farm village. Continue to the Titop Island. Free choice of activities such as sunbathing, swimming or climb up to the peak of the Titop for the panorama view of the Halong bay. Return to the cruise. Join in the Cooking Demonstration by the cruise chef to prepare some Vietnamese dishes followed by the Sunset Cocktail on the Sundeck followed by a Vietnamese set menu dinner. Evening you are free to join some cruise activities including chat around the bar, watching movies of Vietnamese films, playing cards, playing chess, reading or try your luck with squid fishing.

Early bird to join Tai Chi on the sundeck. Enjoy sunrise at the bay followed by a light breakfast. Transfer by tender to Sung Sot Cave. Walk up about 100 steps to the cave entrance. It takes approximately 45 minutes to explore the cave one of the most beautiful cave in Halong bay with beautiful stalactites and stalagmites. Back to the cruise. Cabin check-out . Light lunch is served while the cruise is sailing and passing by thousand of unknown islets. Disembarkation. Rejoin your car back to hotel in Hanoi. At leisure.

Enjoy your free time at your hotel or you can do last minute souvenir shopping at Hanoi Old Quarter before meeting your guide for transfer to Noi Bai International airport for departure. Have a nice journey. Thanks for joining us.