This 9 day tour lets you visit the greatest sites of Vietnam: Hanoi, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh, Halong bay – One of natures wonders of the world, – Hue, Hoi An, Cu Chi Tunnels – A historic tunnel and Ho Chi Minh city. Domestic flights included.

Day 1: Hanoi City tour (L)

After having breakfast the tour guide and shuttle bus will arrive to pick up you to join our Hanoi city tour at 8.30am. Start the tour by visiting the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Ho Chi Minh Museum. Enjoy the architectural and historical aspects of Uncle Ho’s final resting-palace. Just next door is Ho Chi Minh’s house on stilts where he used to live in the past. On one side of the Mausoleum complex is the One Pillar Pagoda, built by King Ly Thai To in 1049, and the structure has become an important symbol for the people of Hanoi. Continue to visit the Temple of Literature (Quoc Tu Giam) – Vietnam’s first University constructed in 1070. Its gardens and well-preserved architecture offer a relaxing glimpse into Vietnam’s past.

Have lunch at a local restaurant, then proceed to  the Ethnology Museum, which helps you understand more of the 54 Ethnic Minority groups that make up the Vietnamese population. We then take you to Hoan Kiem Lake, to see the peaceful waters, and visit Ngoc Son Temple. Take an hour cyclo tour around the bustling old quarter to see ordinary life in Hanoi.

At 6pm you return to your hotel. Stay overnight at hotel in Hanoi.

Day 2: Hanoi – Hoa Lu – Tam Coc – Hanoi (B,L)

Transfer to Ninh Binh province – 100 Km south of Hanoi – First, on arrival in Hoa Lu, visit the Temples of the Dinh King and Le King built on the site of the Hoa Lu Ancient Citadel. Lunch will be in a Vietnamese restaurant.

In the afternoon, you have a 2 hour sampan ride, passing through the sacred Tam Coc Caves, also called “Halong Bay on Land”, it has the same limestone protrusions rising from rice fields with a stream instead of the sea. At 3pm.you will return to Hanoi.

Overnight at hotel in Hanoi.

Day 3: Hanoi – Halong bay (B,L,D)

Around 8.00am our guide will pick you up at your hotel to go to Halong bay by road. Take a rest at a Humanity Center and enjoy local specialties after 2hrs on the road. Arrive in Halong at 11:45am. The Captain and crew welcome you aboard your cruiser and savor the delicious lunch as the boat begins to cruise through thousands of Islands and Islets of different shapes.

After lunch, explore the biggest and the most amazing cave in Halong Bay – Surprise Cave (Sung Sot Cave). Then enjoy kayaking for an hour around a fishing village and discover the life of community there. Then back to the boat for Sunset Party,  cruise to calm, clean waters for swimming. Enjoy a delicious and romantic dinner with some barbecue courses.

In the evening, free time for entertainment with programs such as squid fishing, karaoke, or star-watching on the sundeck…        Spend overnight on board.

Day 4: Halong bay – Hanoi (B,L,D)

Early morning, start your new day on Halong Bay by doing morning exercises of Tai Chi or hunting photos. Breakfast with coffee or tea, and after breakfast, our bus takes you to Cai Beo harbour, to board a “Day Boat”. Then visit Ba Hang Fishing Village on the smaller boat to experience the lifestyle of local people, who live on water for a majority of their lives. Return to your cruiser and join in a cooking class and enjoy lunch.

At 11.45am, you will disembark from your cruise and transfer back to Ha Noi, and transfer to the airport for the flight to Hue.

Overnight at hotel in Hue.

DAY 5: Hue city tour (B,L)

After breakfast, at 8.00am, our guide and driver pick up you at your hotel and then take you on a full day of discovery in Hue: visit Emperor Minh Mang’s Mausoleum, Emperor Khai Dinh’s Mausoleum, a Performing Programs of VO KINH VAN AN – (Vietnam Traditional Kungfu), then visit Emperor Tu Duc ’s Mausoleums. Stop on the way to see how conical hats and incense sticks are made. Enjoy a buffet lunch in a local restaurant.

In the afternoon, visit the Imperial Capital (during the Nguyen Dynasties) and the seven–storey Thien Mu Pagoda on the riverbank. Return by boat on the gentle Perfume River and do not miss the sunset on the river. You will return to your hotel at 5.30pm, collect your luguage and transfer to Hoi An.

Stay overnight at Hotel in Hoi An.

DAY 6: Hoi An – My Son (B,L)

In the morning, at 8.00am, our guide picks you up at your hotel for a visit to My Son Holy Land – the ruins of the Champa people’s capital, an imperial city during Cham dynasty days. Here you will have the chance to explore and understand some techniques of Old Cham people in making red bricks to build the Tower which still now was a secret to everyone. You can see a large complex of religious relics that comprises more than 65 architectural works. It also surprises those who are curious of the architectural art. In 1999, UNESCO labeled the Cham architecture in My Son as a World Cultural Heritage Site. Moreover, you have chance to enjoy traditional music performed by Cham girls in their colorful dress.

In the afternoon, we will discover the city of Hoi An by foot. The historic town which used to be a prosperous seaport city from the 16th to 18th centuries is now a beautiful city that can’t be missed while touring the South East Asian region. While walking through the city, we will visit Hoi An’s colorful Local Market, Tan Ky Old House, Fu Jian Assembly Hall, and the 400-year-old Japanese Covered Bridge. Travelers can also see local residents raise silkworms and produce silk for Hoi An’s burgeoning textile industry.

Transfer to Da Nang airport for the flight to Ho Chi Minh city. Stay overnight at a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.

DAY 7: Ho Chi Minh City – Cu Chi exploring (B,L)

We will pick you up at your hotel and drive to visit to the Re-Unification Palace, the former palace of President Thieu and his predecessors. Today this building is a museum and venue for Government official receptions. Inside you can visit the President’s room. Nearby is the Central Post Office and the Notre Dame Cathedral, built between 1877- 1883 and are two of the city’s major landmarks. Neo-Romanesque in form, the Cathedral is the major seat of the Catholic religion in modern Vietnam. Continue on to visit the War Remnants Museum, where you will learn a lot about the Vietnam War, from a Vietnamese perspective.

After lunch, we head to Cu Chi and explore the Cu Chi tunnels complex. The tunnel network of Cu Chi became legendary during the 1960s for its role in facilitating VC control of a large rural area only 30km to 40km from Ho Chi Minh City.

Back to the city and stay overnight at hotel in Ho Chi Minh city.

Day 8: Ho Chi Minh city – My Tho – Ben Tre – Can Tho (B, L)

Leave Ho Chi Minh city, enjoy the scenic journey along the National Highway bordered by green rice fields. On arrival at My Tho, visit Vinh Trang Pagoda, take a leisurely boat ride along the river, view stilt houses, fruit plantations and fishing villages along the river bank. Proceed to Tortoise Islet, and have lunch in an orchard garden. Then a boat ride to An Khanh – a less touristy attraction in Ben Tre, enjoy cruising on a hand-rowed sampan under the shade of the water coconut trees along natural canals. Have a short cycling tour (applied for private tour/if time permits) then enjoy seasonal fruit & honey tea to the sound of “Southern Vietnamese folk music”, performed by the locals. Visit a family business which epitomizes the idyllic rural lifestyle, taste delicious coconut candy and observe the pastoral life as you roam through fruit plantations and villages.

Proceed to Can Tho. Free time to visit bustling Can Tho market. Overnight at hotel in Can Tho city.

Day 9: Can Tho – Mekong river – Ho Chi Minh city (B,L)

Take a leisurely boat trip to explore the picturesque tributaries of the Lower Mekong river ( Bassac River), then proceed to visit Cai Rang floating market (Phong Dien is optional), which are the liveliest in the whole region. Have you ever tasted Vietnamese vermicelli soup? Well, now go and see how it is made. Then wander around the village and meet the friendly local people and experience how to cross a “Monkey bridge” which is built with only o­ne stem of bamboo. Visit an orchard garden and  stop for lunch. On the way back to HCM city by bus the last stop is to see how incense sticks are made (optional visit to Mangrove forest which was a former Viet Cong base used by the guerillas during the War can be arranged on request).

Back to Ho Chi Minh City.

END OF THE TOUR.

The price: 1100 usd/ 1 pax

TOUR PRICE INCLUDES:

• Domestic flights
• Accommodation.
• Cookery demonstration and Tai Chi Session in Halong Bay
• Kayaking: Safe, clean and nice.
• Meals mentioned (B,L,D = Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner).
• Transfer and transport as per tour program.
• English speaking guide.
• Entrance and sightseeing fees.

EXCLUDES:

• Drinks
• Your private expenses.