Day
1 -
Hanoi
HANOI ARRIVAL
Arrive in Hanoi and transfer to your hotel. The rest of the day is at your leisure.
Overnight: Hanoi
Day
2 -
Hanoi
HANOI CITY TOUR (B, L)
Take a full day tour to explore Hanoi’s illustrious history. In the morning, visit the imposing marble edifice housing the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum before moving onto his wooden stilt house and the One Pillar Pagoda. You will then explore the first university of Vietnam, the Temple of Literature, which is imbued with the profound philosophies of Confucianism. In the afternoon, visit the Hoan Kiem Lake and the Ngoc Son Temple. A one-hour cycle tour of Hanoi’s Old Quarter allows you to catch a glimpse of ancient Hanoi and learn about traditional Vietnamese architecture.
Overnight: Hanoi
Day
3 -
Ha Long Bay
HANOI – HA LONG BAY (B, L, D)
After breakfast at hotel, transfer to Ha Long Bay, which is about 160 km or 3.5-hour drive away. On the way, you will see some rural areas of the Red River Delta with plenty of chances to take photos of Vietnamese farmers working in paddy fields. Stop half way to visit a handicraft workshop of fine clothes and embroidered paintings. Arrive in Ha Long City at 11:30 AM and check in aboard the booked junk right after the welcome drink is served. Start cruising while having lunch on board and enjoy the mighty bay view. Ha Long Bay meaning Descending Dragon Bay in Vietnamese as legend has it that it was where a holly dragon landed down from sky. The bay, famous as one of the world’s wonders and heritage sites whose formation dates back 500 million years, consists of around 2,000 karst islands and islets scattered over an area of 1,553 km2. The bay cruise will continue with up close sighting of Dinh Huong Island, Ga Choi Island, Dog Island, Sail Island, a visit to Sung Sot Cave and swimming stop at Titov Beach. Relax to enjoy the bay view at sunset, have dinner then you can join night fishing at 09:00 PM and spend a night on board.
Overnight: Ship
Day
4 -
Saigon
HA LONG BAY – HANOI – SAIGON (B, BR)
In the morning, refresh your body and mind with a Tai Chi exercise on the sundeck at the break of dawn. Have tea and coffee onboard and continue exploring Ha Long Bay sailing across its 2000 islets and visiting some of its major highlights. Normally, check out at 10:30, have brunch while cruising back to shore. Disembark at 12:00 AM to transfer to Hanoi airport for the flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Upon arrival, our guide will pick you up and transfer you to your hotel.
Overnight: Saigon
Day
5 -
Saigon
SAIGON: CU CHI TUNNELS & CITY TOUR (L, D)
After breakfast at hotel, meet your guide and transfer about 75 km North-west of downtown Ho Chi Minh City. Discover the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, which were once a major underground hideout and resistance base of Viet Cong forces during the two wars against the French and the Americans. The tunnels, entirely hand-dug, formed a highly intricate network of interlinked multilevel passageways at times stretched as far as the Cambodian border and totaling over 120 km in length. Its complexity was beyond imagination containing meeting rooms, kitchens, wells, clinics, schools, depots, trenches and emergency exits all aimed for guerrilla warfare. The tunnels were deep and strong enough to withstand destructive bombings and self-contained enough to outlast prolonged sieges. Return to the city at noon time for a lunch at local restaurant. In the afternoon, you will take a tour through the city starting with Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, a neo-Roman cathedral built over 130 years ago by the colonial French with materials entirely imported from Marseilles and stained-glass windows from Chartres. Next, visit Sai Gon Post Office, a fine colonial building which was designed and built in the early 20th Century by the famous French architect Gustave Eiffel, visit the Jade Emperor Temple (Phuoc Hai), a rare Taoist structure in Vietnam built in 1909 in dedication to the Lord of Heaven. It’s filled with smoky incense and fantastic carved figurines and still buzzing with worshipers, many lounging in the front gardens. In the evening, joining Saigon Foodtour which will take you arround this buslty city by back of the bike.
Overnight: Saigon
Day
6 -
Saigon
SAIGON: MEKONG DELTA TOUR – BEN TRE (B, L)
Travelling south from Saigon to Ben Tre, arrive at Tan Thach. Take a bicycle to go through Quoi Son coconut garden, Phu An Hoa rice field and Tu Dien village to Ben Tre town. Visit brickworks, where bricks are still painstakingly made by hand and get on a boat which will cruise along the Ben Tre river. Then we go through the zizag canal to visit local a coconut processing workshop, where you can try fresh coconut candy and see how every single part of this versatile nut is turned into food and other products. The boat will then stop at a quiet village where you can have a bike to experience real Delta village life, and a mat weaving house, where straw mats are woven using a hand loom – you can even have a go at weaving yourself! You will stop at a local restaurant for a delicious and filling lunch, featuring such local specialties as elephant-ear fish, which you can wash down with some cold drinks or beers. After lunch, you will hop onto a bicycle or a fun ride through the forest to Mr Khanh’s house. He is a passionate antiques collector and his house is jam packed full of fascinating artefacts from Vietnam and elsewhere in Asia. He also has some fascinating family albums dating back to French colonial times.
Overnight: Saigon
Day
7 -
Saigon
SAIGON DEPARTURE (B)