Enchanting Vietnam Highlights

Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City, the financial hub of Vietnam! Your guide will await you at the airport holding a banner bearing your name. After a warm greeting, you will be transferred to the hotel by a comfortable private vehicle. For the rest of the day, you will be free to explore the city at your own pace.

► Activities & Dinner Suggestion:
If you stay at 4-star Liberty Central Saigon Riverside Hotel, the Ben Thanh Market, the city's biggest indoor market is a good place for you to stroll around. There are various goods and handicrafts. If you find something whichever you like, please remember to make a bargain with the seller. After 19:00, there will be full of many food stalls outside the market. The Banh Mi, also known as Vietnamese sandwich, is really worth a try. Afterwards, you could walk back to hotel within 15 minutes.

Staying at 5-star Hotel Nikko Saigon, you can go to the Ho Thi Ky Food Street, which is located around 10 minutes’ walking distance from hotel. You can taste some flavorful dishes here for dinner. The Nhat Quynh mixed rice paper and Co Thao beef hotpot are highly recommended. The Ho Thi Ky is also the largest wholesale flower market in Ho Chi Minh City. Besides delicious food, you can also walk through the narrow alleyways and admire the diverse range of fresh flowers.

You will have a full day tour today to visit the attractions in Ho Chi Minh City, which is also well known as Saigon. First, let's start from Ho Chi Minh City's China Town - Cholon, where you may visit some temples dedicated to the worship of Tin Hau, Avalokitesvara, and Buddha. Later, you will be guided to the first Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine (FITO). Apart from the unique building and ornaments, you will also learn about the history of the development of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine. The displays here are exquisite and stunning and you are sure to find them really interesting. Then, we will head to the War Remnants Museum for the history of Vietnam War and the Second Indochina War.

After lunch, we will visit the former Presidential Palace, also called the Reunification Palace. While wandering around the beautifully-decorated halls, you can see various function rooms as well as elegant lacquer paintings and tapestries in the corridor. Afterwards, we will go on to visit some French colonial buildings such as the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Central Post Office.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Today you will have an excursion to the Mekong River Delta to experience the diverse culture and gain a close appreciation of the local lifestyle. In the early morning, your guide and driver will meet you at the hotel at the appointed time and then transfer you to Ben Tre. After a two-hour drive, your tour will really start by the cruise on the Ham Luong River, a branch of Mekong River. You will pass by various local barges stuffed with fresh fruits, vegetables, and drinks & coffees. Ask the guide to stop for a while, if you would like to try some local fruits which are really sweet and cheap. Later, you will also get off the boat and visit some workshops.

► Enjoy Mekong River Specialty While Listening to Vietnamese Opera
The Mekong River specialty fried fish will be served as your lunch today, and you can have the tasty dish while enjoying Don Ca Tai Tu, which is also called Vietnamese Opera. Don Ca Tai Tu is popular folk tune in South Vietnam, originated from the royal music in Imperial City of Hue since the early 19th century, and it was introduced into the south during the development of the region. Now Don Ca Tai Tu has deeply rooted into the daily life of local people, as it has become indispensable at weddings, funerals, baby’s one-month celebrations, birthday banquets for the elderly, and traditional festivals in the Mekong Delta area. Surprisingly, you’ll find the versatile performers can sing in different languages, to bring you a better understanding of the local folks!

In the afternoon, the boat will take you to a village where you will disembark and walk to a peasant’s house to get in touch with the rural life. After that, you will also have a chance to admire the picturesque sceneries by bicycle or a kind of rickshaw called "Xe Loi". Finally, you will reach Ben Tre by boat, and we will drive back to the hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

In the morning, you will take a flight to Da Nang. Upon arrival, you will be picked up and escorted to the well-preserved Hoi An Ancient Town, which was a traditional trading port of Southeast Asia thriving from the 15th to the 19th century. The town is attractive with the fusion of multiple ancient architectural styles and local features, and is even more enchanting when countless lanterns along the streets lighten up in the evening.

Today, we will have a half-day walking tour through the winding streets with some stopovers at attractions including Chua Ong Pagoda, Chinese Assembly Hall, the 200-year old Tam Ky Ancestral House and the famous Japanese Bridge. Finally, a short relaxing experience on the river by boat will conclude today's journey.

► Taste Vietnamese Flavor, Drip Coffee!
Travel in Vietnam, and you can incredibly find coffee shops everywhere throughout the country, and coffee is a daily necessity for the locals. From chic coffee shops to small roadside stalls, Vietnamese drip coffee can be served. Here, you can see that the coffee is extracted from the ground coffee drop by drop with a stainless steel filter, and the simple method preserves the aroma of coffee to the maximum. As condensed milk and ice cubes are added, a cup of cold and delicious drip coffee is completed. While visiting the old town, the guide will take you to the popular Cargo Club Cafe for a cup of Vietnamese drip coffee, where you can also enjoy views of Hoi An from the terrace.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Today, your guide will take you away from the bustling city to experience the tranquil rural life around Hoi An. After breakfast, we will go to Vong Nhi Village by car, where we will then transfer to bikes for a 6km (3.7-mile) cycling journey to Tra Que Vegetable Village. On the way, you can enjoy the beautiful villages along the Thu Bon River, the vast expanse of rice paddies, and dotted islands of coconut groves. You will certainly be immersed in the picturesque countryside. Arriving in Tra Que Village, we will walk into Thanh Dong Organic Farm to learn how the organic vegetables and herbs are grown here. The farmers will be honored to introduce their farming methods for you, such as raking, sowing and irrigating. You may follow their way to water the vegetables, or pick up some seasonable ripe ones to taste. We will then leave the farm and take a local special basket boat along the Do River to The Field Restaurant. Warm-hearted boatman will teach you how to keep balance in a basket boat, and drive you to watch how the local fishermen casting their nets skillfully. Upon arrival, you will take part in a simple cooking class and enjoy an authentic Vietnamese lunch. Afterwards, we will return to Hoi An Ancient Town or the hotel. The afternoon will be free on your own arrangement.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, you will check out from hotel and then we will drive to Hue by a private car. The scenery along the way has been nominated as one of 50 must-see places by the National Geographic magazine. You will go through Hai Van pass which is over 500 meters (1,640 feet) high to overlook the spectacular coastline, and have a drink at the beautiful Lang Co Beach before continuing to Hue. Hue is another ancient town with a long history. We will spend the whole afternoon walking around the town and visiting some attractions including the Imperial City (The Citadel), Hue Royal Palace, and the Tomb of Tu Duc. Stay overnight in Hue.

Meals: Breakfast

The poetic and picturesque Perfume River is the mother river of Hue. This morning, you will have a private boat cruise down the river to visit Thien Mu Pagoda, a famous and important monastery in Vietnam situated by the river. The place where the monastery stands is said to be the Dragon Vein of the Nguyen Dynasty. Next, you’ll be escorted to spend some time at the busy Dong Ba Market and the ornate Minh Mang's Tomb before boarding the flight to Hanoi. Upon arrival, your guide will meet you at the airport and transfer you to check in the hotel.

★ What Makes Us Different?

Meals: Breakfast

As the capital city of Vietnam, Hanoi has a long history and is rich in cultural relics and historic sites. Today you will have a full day to explore this ancient and charming city thoroughly. First, we will arrive at Ba Dinh Square in the center of the city. The square can accommodate one or two hundred thousand people and is a major site for celebrating festivals. You will also be guided to visit the nearby attractions to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, his Stilt House, the One Pillar Pagoda, the Presidential Palace, and the Temple of Literature. Then, we will go to the West Lake to enjoy the enchanting scenery while walking around. We will also pay a short visit to the sedate Tran Quoc Pagoda and Quan Thanh Temple by the lake.

In the afternoon we will go to the Ethnology Museum. Later, we will conclude today’s tour by enjoying a special Water Puppet Performance at Hoan Kiem Lake. It is a unique folk art with a long history that you may not see anywhere else in the world. We will then transfer you back to the hotel or you may continue to enjoy some time at Hoan Kiem Lake at your own pace.

Meals: Breakfast

The breathtaking and elegant Halong Bay will be a highlight of your Vietnam trip. It is 3 to 4 hours’ drive from Hanoi, but you will find it worth the lengthy transfer. After having a big breakfast at your hotel, we’ll set out early in the morning.

Halong Bay is on the list of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. You will appreciate the beauty of this natural wonderland by spending 24 hours on a traditional cruise. You will board the cruise at around noon time and have lunch onboard while sailing out into the mysterious bay. After lunch, you will be free on the cruise to enjoy the relaxing time with comfortable sunshine, gentle breeze and the majestic sight of soaring limestone islands coming into view. This afternoon, the islands that we will cruise around are Dinh Huong and Ga Choi. We will also visit one of the 3 largest caves here, Thien Cung, Dau Go or Sung Sot. Later, you can get off the cruise and have a short spell of free time on a white-sand beach of the Gulf of Tonkin. Stay overnight on the cruise.

★  What Makes Us Different?
As the essence of Vietnamese tours, Halong Bay is beautiful and spectacular. However, some areas have been overdeveloped and quite commercialized in recent years. As a professional travel agency, we have made many field trips and strictly selected cruise ships as well as the routes. In contrast to small cruises in the offshore area, we offer you large 4-star or 5-star cruises that allow overnight-stay and sail in the deep water area of Lan Ha Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay. Rooms with outdoor balconies will be arranged for you on the cruise ship, and both buffet and set menus are available. The welcome reception, farewell dinner, and more activities will make your Halong Bay cruise pleasant and leisurely.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

You may find it interesting to participate in Tai Chi Class on top deck or enjoy sunrise if you could wake up early. Then after a morning cup of coffee or tea, you will take a rowboat to explore some of the nearby islands. As you get back to the cruise for brunch, the ship will head back to Halong City. The return journey is easy and relaxing so that you may take your time to have a rest or enjoy the gorgeous picturesque setting of Bai Tu Long Bay along the way. Upon your arrival at the dock, your guide and driver will meet and transfer you to Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi for your departure flight home, which will signal the end of your memorable Vietnam travel. Bon Voyage!

Meals: Brunch

Friendly Notice:
If your flight departs in the next morning, you can talk to your travel consultant and add one night stay in Hanoi. We are always ready to customize the itinerary to perfectly match your schedule.