VIETNAM AT A GLANCE TOUR 12 DAYS

DAY 1: ARRIVE HANOI 

On arrival Hanoi, meet your guide & driver at Noi Bai International Airport and transfer to hotel in the city center and check-in. (Hotel rooms may not be ready until 14:00 but an early check-in would be guaranteed with a surcharge.)

Rest of the day is at leisure. O/N in Hanoi

DAY 2 : HANOI CITY TOUR- ( B, L) 

AM: 8:00 Tour guide will pick you up at your hotel, start your city tour by taking photos and learn about the history of the Hanoi Old quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake as well as the Hanoi Opera House. Then you stop to visit some other Hanoi’s famous sites seeing: including Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ho Chi Minh house on stilt, Presidential Palace and the Temple of Literature – the first university of Vietnam and is constructed to dedicate to Confucius. . Have lunch at local restaurant.

PM: Visit the Ethnology museum which consists of documents, antiques and photos of culture and custom of 54 ethnic communities from the North to the South of Vietnam. Enjoy the water puppet show. Return to hotel for relaxing. O/N in Hanoi. 

DAY 3 : HANOI – HALONG( B, L, D) 

7:45           Hotel pick-up. Transfer to Halong Bay by shuttle bus , 165km far from Hanoi

12:30            Arrive at Hon Gai Harbor, Ha Long City.

12:45          Enjoy a welcome drink onboard.

13:30          Enjoy a freshly prepared lunch while cruising through Bai Tu Long.

15:30          Explore VungVieng Village. Guests have 01 hour riding on sampan bamboo boat and learn about life of fisher communities or kayaking around VungVieng area.

16h30:        Swimming, Sunbathing and Relaxing at Ban Chan Beach

17:30:         Relax and enjoy the sunset cocktail while the boat cruising to Cong Dong-Cong Do area for docking for overnight

18:00          Cooking class offering lessons in traditional Vietnamese cuisine.

19:30          Dinner will be served with BBQ buffet

21:00:         Relax and enjoy the evening or choose from a variety of activities including board games and squid fishing.

DAY 4 : HALONG –HUE( BRUNCH) 

6: 30:          Rise early for morning tai chi on the sundeck.

07:30:         Light breakfast

8:00:           Explore the ThienCanh Son Cave.

9:30:           Checkout and relaxing on sundeck

10:30:         Enjoy the last of the Ha Long Bay scenery over lunch as the boat cruises back to shore.

12:00          Transfer directly to the airport to take flight to Hue ( 19:30PM).

19:40           Arrive Hue, meet the guide and driver at the airport and transfer to hotel in downtown. O/N in Hue.

DAY 5: HUE CITY TOUR( B)

8:30am. Star the trip at your hotel in Hue City with Tourguide & Driver. Visit the Thien Mu Pagoda, then the Tombs of King Tu Duc and King Khai Dinh. Have lunch at a local restaurant. After lunch at local restaurant, continue to visit the Imperial City, which is located in the Citadel. Modeled after the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Imperial City was built in the early 19th century. Explore the Thai Hoa Palace, with its spacious hall and ornate roof of huge timbers supported by 80 carved and lacquered columns. See the Halls of the Mandarins, the Nine Dynastic Urns and the site where the Forbidden Purple City once stood and Dong Ba market. O/N in Hue

DAY 6 : HUE- HOIAN ( B, L)

08h30 : Transfer to Hoi An( 120km far from Hue). On the way, you will stop at Lang Co beach, Hai van pass. On arrival Da Nang, visit Marble mountain- Ngu Hanh Son ( Moutains of the Five Elements ). Climb up Thuy Son ( Water ) by the stone stairs and enjoy the panoramic view of the nearby countryside, and visit Huyen Khong cave before entering Tam Thai and Linh Ung pagodas. Take a rest at the foot of the mountain, where you can visit Non Nuoc stone village. Here, you can see the local skillful sculptors creating many marble products which are exported to many countries worldwide. Have lunch at local restaurant. Check in hotel in Hoian. In the evening you will have a walking tour around Hoian ancient town with visiting Japanese bridge, Phuc Kien communal house, ancient houses… O/N in Hoian

DAY 7 : HOIAN COOKING CLASS ½ DAYS( B, L)

+ Starting at 8.00am, a chef-guided tour to the local colorful and crowded Hoi An Market and experience the amazing sights, sounds and aromas of this busy place. You will have an opportunity to meet the local sellers and learn about the foodstuff to be prepared for the cooking lesson.

+ The market tour will give you an insight not just into the scents and flavor of Vietnamese herbs and spices but also real market culture, how to bargain and where to buy your fresh foodstuff. The market place is the core of Vietnamese society.

Start the cooking lesson. The lesson runs for about 2 hours. The head chef first present a theory lesson, and then He demonstrates course by course according to the lesson plan, during his demonstrate He will ask some check questions to ensure that you understand what he does, of course you can ask questions at any time. You will see the finished courses and you will have plenty of opportunity to get involved and try your hand at reproducing the flavors.

DAY 8 : HOIAN EXPERIENCE CYCLING IN 3 HOURS( B)

AM: free at your leisure

PM: at 3:00PM Start your adventure by meeting our guide at your hotel.   We then cycle a short distance to escape from the city and main roads to Tra Que village where we meet the locals working on their herb and vegetable gardens and watch and learn how the Vietnamese farm organically.

We continue our cycle ride through the rice fields, meeting local farmers along the way and seeing how friendly their water buffalo are when we have the chance to take a ride with them. We stop at the beautiful water palm area and visit a local fisherman and his family for snacks and chat to them about their lives.   We then experience a ride on the traditional bamboo basket boat amidst the famous coconut palms where the Viet Cong used to hide during the War. Finally, we enjoy a leisurely cycle back to the centre of Hoi An.

DAY 9 : HOIAN – DANANG – HOCHIMINH CITY( B)

At 12:00 PM guide and driver pick up you at the hotel and transfer to the airport to take flight to Ho Chi Minh city( 14:30 – 15:40) . On arrival Saigon, meet the guide and driver at the airport and transfer to hotel. Check in hotel. O/N in Hoc Chi Minh city.

DAY 10 : HOCHIMINH CITY TOUR – CU CHI TUNNELS( B)

AM: Pick up at the hotel and transfer to Cu Chi tunnels. On arrival Cu Chi, view video film and presentation about Cu Chi tunnels.  On site visit of Ben Dinh tunnels.  Cu Chi tunnels were created since 1948 to assist Viet Nam to combat the French.  Construction of the tunnels continued over the next 25 years until they became an underground city with living areas, kitchens, storage, weapons factories, field hospitals, command centers for the war against American

PM: Return to Ho Chi Minh city and start city tour with seeing War museum, Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, Ben Thanh market… O/N in Saigon

DAY 11 : HOCHIMINH CITY- MEKONG DELTA ( B, L)

08:30AM Departing from  for My Tho city by air-conditioned bus. In My Tho, boarding the motorboat at a pier and cruising on the Mekong River. Here, overlooking floating houses where fishes are farmed beneath the house (viewing from the motorboat).

Continuing the journey on the river until reaching Cồn Thới Sơn (Unicorn Island), from here taking a horse cart to reach a performance site where Vietnamese traditional music (Đàn Ca Tài Tử – A folk art form from Southern Vietnam accredited by UNESCO in 2013 as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity) can be heard and seasonal tropical fruit can be tasted (included).

Afterward, being on a small hand-rowing boat (the main mean of transportation in My Tho & Ben Tre) and slowly cruising through a small creek with beautiful overhanging coconut trees. Lives from both sides of the creek can be observed.

Before heading to lunch, passing through bee-keeping farm and enjoying honey tea, a typical Mekong house can be viewed here. Then, it is lunch time after a short walk.

After lunch, boarding the motorboat and heading to learn coconut candies making process from a workshop. Sample of candies can be tasted.

03:00PM Returning back to bus and going back to Ho Chi Minh City.

DAY 12 : HOCHIMINH CITY – DEPARTURE( B)

Free at your leisure until transfer to the airport to take flight home. End of tour.