17-Day Vietnam Family Culinary Vacation

Warm welcome upon your arrival in Noi Bai International Airport – Hanoi. Meet your local guide at the airport for a transfer to hotel. Check in. At leisure. Your guide see you again for a water puppet show – a unique art performance in Vietnam. Enjoy welcome dinner at a local restaurant. Back to hotel. At leisure.

The tour begins with an introduction to the local food scene over a hearty bowl of pho; noodle soup, the quintessential Hanoi street food. Then it is off to a bustling local market where your chef will demystify the local produce, and encourage you to taste some of its most exotic ingredients. A further 5 venues are included in the tour and all travel between venus is by taxi or on foot, the tour lasts for 4 hours and finishes with a typical Vietnamese ca phe, or che (Vietnamese tea) and local sweets.

Afternoon you visit some Hanoi’s most interesting places including Temple of Literature, then having a walk through the Hanoi Old Quarter, visit Ngoc Son Temple and enjoy a cup of Vietnamese coffee at a street-pub. Tonight you enjoy a Hanoi special dish “Cha Ca” at one of the most unique restaurants located in the Hanoi Old Quarter.

Today, you leave Hanoi for Mai Chau valley, the capital of the White Thai ethnic people. Enjoy the beautiful scenery and the superb panorama of Mai Chau, surrounded by a green valley and stilt houses. Check-in. At leisure. In the afternoon, you have a walk wandering from village to village, learning and getting in touch with local people, trying some of the local handicrafts.

Today you explore the Mai Chau valley by cycling from village to village along small village paths and rice fields at the foot of the mountains. It is a good time to interact with local ethnic people and learn more about their customs and habits. Back to your hotel and enjoy the valley peaceful atmosphere.

In the morning you leave Mai Chau for Ninh Binh through the Red River Delta. Check-in. At leisure. In the afternoon, you visit the king Dinh Temple and King Le Temple. These two temples are constructed by local residents near the center of the old capital in order to honor Dinh Bo Linh, the first emperor of Vietnam and Le Dai Hanh who founded the Le Dynasty in the 10th and 11th centuries. From here, you take a bicycle riding through the village paths to the Tam Coc cave where you have a sampan rowing to explore the caves. Back to hotel. Dinner with Vietnamese rural cuisines at local restaurant.

In the morning you drive to Halong Bay. 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 until transfer to No Bai Airport for flight to Hue. Meet your local guide at the Phu Bai Airport – Hue for a transfer to your hotel. 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. 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 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. Visit Dong Ba market, located on a bank of the Perfume river and is a paradise for snapshots of daily activities.  Time to taste some Hue famous street foods: Bun bo Hue ; Banh khoai ; Nem lụi Hue.

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 walking tour to explore the Hoi An Ancient town with old houses, narrow streets, moss-grown walls, lantern makers and visit Japanese Covered Bridge, Chinese Assembly Halls, Handicraft workshop and enjoy traditional arts performance.
Afternoon you take a bike along country roads to experience Vietnamese rural life and get in touch with local farmers and enjoy a sampan sailing on the Thu Bon River to meet local fishermen, try their traditional net fishing, experience paddling the bamboo basket boat. Biking back to the town to relax at a local pub, do some shopping or visit the local tailors who make quality clothes in a flash. Dinner at local restaurant.

Enjoy the whole day free and easy in the town.

Again you take a short flight to Ho Chi Minh city, a city full of surprises. The city’s core is still adorned with wide elegant boulevards and historic French colonial buildings and offers plenty of reasons to visit, from its blend of historic, attractions to vibrant shopping, dining and nightlife.

Afternoon you visit some famous attractions such as Reunification Palace, Municipal Theatre, City Post Office, Notre-Dame Cathedral and War Remnants Museum then having a walk through the city downtown and end up at the Ben Thanh market, the city’s biggest market. Enjoy dinner at the Bonsai cruise on the Saigon river.

In the morning you drive 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. Time for the HCMC Street Food Tasting. Much influenced by the culinary of Chinese, Cambodia, and Thailand, Southern food uses a little bit more sugar and coconut water and coconut milk. Southern cuisine also contains more saltwater and brackish water seafood than the North and the Centre. Just taste and see the differences yourself with some famous street food as Hu tieu Saigon ; Banh xeo

Today you have am excursion to 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. Check-in. Dinner at local restaurant.

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. Dinner at local restaurant.

Enjoy your free time at your hotel or you can do last minute souvenir shopping before meeting your guide for transfer to airport for your flight home. Have a nice journey. Thanks for joining us.