Tour Itinerary
Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City (N/A)
Ho Chi Minh City arrival, welcome and transfer to hotel
You are greeted by a knowledgeable tour guide and driver at the pickup lobby at Tan Son Nhat Airport and transfer to your hotel after arrival.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City (B, L)
Have breakfast at your hotel.
9:00 am: Driver and tour guide will pick up you and begin the journey in Ho Chi Minh City. Visit to the Independence Palace, Binh Tay Market, China Town, Quan Am Pagoda, and Fito Museum of Traditional Medicine. The palace, once the home of South Vietnam’s presidents, is preserved in its late 1960s and 1970s style.
Visit the Saigon Central Post Office, a stunning building designed by Gustave Eiffel, and the Binh Tay Market, the city’s largest market, located in Chinatown. The market offers clothing, souvenirs, and food items, as well as a food court.
Visit Quan Am Pagoda, an ancient Taoist pagoda dedicated to Guan Yin, and the Traditional Medicine Museum (FITO) to learn about medicinal herb recipes and antique tools.
Return to your hotel.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 3: Ho Chi Minh City – Ben Tre (B, L)
Have breakfast at your hotel.
8:00 am: A representative will pick you up from your hotel and take you to Ben Tre, a picturesque area in the Mekong Delta known for producing coconut candy. Take a boat tour on the Ben Tre River after arriving at Hung Vuong Pier to learn about the villagers’ daily lives. Visit Mr. Tu Lo’s brick kiln and enjoy a boat trip to Nhon Thanh Village. Enjoy fresh fruits, bike rides, and a lunch with elephant ear fish. Explore local life and enjoy a boat ride on a canal. Disembark Ben Tre for a 1-hour transfer to Cai Lay, where you’ll participate in making Banh Xeo Nam Bo.
Overnight in Ben Tre.
Day 4: Ben Tre – Long Xuyen (B, L)
After breakfast at the homestay.
Ride your bike for 1 to 1.5 hours through the durian, sapota, and longan gardens on the route from Dong Hoa to Tam Binh. Get to know the locals before visiting the rural market. For refreshments, go back to the homestay. (Extension: Cycle to Ngu Hiep Island, where the alluvium of the Mekong River has created a rich garden, after a 1-hour hike along the trail with a local. These are out-of-the-ordinary adventures in a lavish and genuine location.) If you don’t want to ride a bike, you can request a motorbike from our tour guide and ride pillion. Transfer to Long Xuyen through Sa Dec so that we can visit the pagoda Kien An Cung and Huynh Thuy Le’s home from Marguerite Duras’ book “L’Amant – the Lover.” Learn about Sa Dec’s local market, which is stocked with fruits, vegetables, and seafood. Visit a crocodile farm and the Cao Dai temple en route to Long Xuyen.
Overnight in Long Xuyen.
Day 5: Long Xuyen – Ho Chi Minh City (B, L)
Have a breakfast at your hotel.
In the early morning, proceed to the the lively and genuine floating and town in Long Xuyen, situated on a tiny Mekong River tributary. Find out what the residents of the riverfront do on a daily basis. Take a boat ride to Cu Lao Ong Ho, where there is a little museum honoring Ton Duc Thang, our renowned president. Saddle up for a bike around the island and relish the tranquil scenery.
Return to Saigon and check in your hotel in late afternoon.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 6: Ho Chi Minh city – Tay Ninh – Hoi An (B, L)
Have breakfast at your hotel.
8:00 am: Visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, an underground city where Viet Cong conducted resistance against American troops. Over 250km long, dug over 20 years using pickaxes and shovels. Tour includes special tunnel visits and a visit to the Ben Duoc memorial temple in 1993.
Visit the Cao Dai Temple, a sacred Vietnamese attraction, and attend a midday mass. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before flying to Danang. Arrive at Da Nang airport and be welcomed by a professional tour guide. Drive along the beautiful coastline to your hotel in Hoi An.
Overnight in Hoi An.
Day 7: Hoi An (B, L)
Have breakfast at your hotel.
8:00 am: Pick up from hotel, visit Hoi An town center, visit Cam Pho, oldest communal house, and learn Japanese tea-ceremony. Enjoy non-touristic activities like making toys from coconut leafs with local experts.
Explore Hoi An’s iconic Chua Cau, a 17th-century bridge that connects the Japanese quarter to Chinese neighborhoods, and visit the authentic Quan Thang ancient house, a lively, fine-looking house with oriental-style architecture and sculptures, providing insight into Hoi An family life.
Visit the Phuc Kien Assembly Hall and Kim Bong village, known for wood carving. The artisans inherited techniques from northern Vietnam and later adopted Chinese and Japanese sculptures. Explore the village, visit a carpenter’s workshop, and buy wood products as souvenirs.
Explore Tra Nhieu village on cycling trails, witnessing unique crafts like mat weaving, bamboo sampan basket making, and shipyard crafts, while surrounded by palm and rice fields, buffaloes, and farmers.
Explore the Thu Bon River from Tra Nhieu, visiting fishing farms and water palm trees. In Cam Thanh, relax at a fisherman’s house, enjoy green tea and foot massages, and prepare local dishes. Later, take a bamboo sampan basket boat to the water palm tree forest for a relaxing experience.
Transfer back to hotel at the end of the day.
Overnight in Hoi An
Day 8: Hoi An – My Son – Hoi An (B, L)
Have breakfast at your hotel.
8:00 am: A half-day excursion to My Son, a World Culture Heritage site in the Champa Kingdom, is offered by a tour guide and driver. The site, located 40km from Hoi An Town, showcases 70 ruined architecture works from the 7th to 13th century. The tour also includes a traditional Champa dancing show.
After the excursion, travel back to city. Free and easy on the beach.
Overnight in Hoi An.
Day 9: Hoi An – Hue (B, L)
8:00 am: Pick up from the hotel, travel to Hue via Da Nang, visit Cham Museum, My Khe Beach, and Linh Ung Pagoda, take photos of fishermen, drive to Hue, and make a stop at Hai Van Pass for an ocean view.
Arrive in Hue, enjoy lunch, and visit Thien Mu Pagoda, a 1601-year-old spiritual highlight with an octagon tower and stunning Perfume River view.
The tour includes visiting the Hue Citadel, the only imperial city symbol in Vietnam, and exploring the city’s three parts: Kinh Thanh, Hoang Thanh, and Cam Thanh. The most beautiful sites are concentrated in this area.
Overnight in Hue.
Day 10: Hue City (B, L)
Have breakfast at your hotel.
8:00 am: Explore the Huong River on a royal boat trip to eastern villages, including Tien Non village. Enjoy a bike ride through three villages, witness daily life, and visit a family worship house in Tien Non village. Visit Thanh Tien village, a 400-year-old artificial paper flower village, and return to the city. Explore Khai Dinh King’s tomb, built between 1920-1931, featuring oriental and western styles. Climb a hundred-step climb to the worship palace, featuring porcelain fragments, a giant painting, and a royal object museum.
Return to the hotel on your own.
Overnight in Hue.
Day 11: Hue – Quang Tri – Phong Nha (B, L)
Have breakfast at your hotel.
7:30 am: After breakfast, visit Quang Binh province, known for its Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, a World Heritage site with 85,754 ha of geological and ecological value, featuring karst plateaus, rainforests, underground caves, and endemic species.
Visit the 17th Parallel, Vietnam’s historical border between Communist and non-Communist factions, and explore its unique history through a museum, flag tower, Ben Hai River, and Hien Luong Bridge.
The Vinh Moc Tunnel, a 1.7 km long, 10 to 23 m deep tunnel dug by locals between 1965 and 1967, serves as a testament to the Vietnamese people’s heroism.
Visit Phong Nha National Park and embark on a boat trip to explore Phong Nha Cave, a 1994 discovery known for its underground river and stalactites. Enjoy a leisurely walk and admire natural masterpieces. The driver will pick you up and transfer you to your accommodation, ensuring a comfortable stay in a tranquil town.
Overnight in Quang Binh.
Day 12: Phong Nha – Ha Noi (B, L)
Enjoy breakfast as you wake up in the fresh mountain air. We are paying the Paradise Cave (also known as Thien Duong Cave) a special visit today. There are new surprises in store for you. Its dimensions are 31.4 km long, 60 m high, and 30 to 100 m wide. It was found in 2005. In Asia, it is regarded as being the longest. After a brief stroll through the forest, you start exploring this terrestrial paradise through the many rooms, which astound you with their enormous, magical, and magnificent stalactites and stalagmites.
Transfer to Dong Hoi city in the afternoon so you may take a train to Hanoi in the evening.
Day 13: Ha Noi (B, L)
Arrive at Hanoi railway station, meet a tour guide, enjoy breakfast, visit the Temple of Literature, walk to Khue Van Cac, visit World Heritage “stone steles,” and explore Quoc Tu Giam, Vietnam’s first national university.
Visit the Ethnology Museum (closed every Monday) which offers a deep insight into Vietnamese culture through traditional costumes, tools, and houses. In Hanoi, visit the French Quarter, a “little Paris” with boulevards and government offices. Visit Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum and Presidential Palace. Towards the unique One – pillar pagoda which is one of the city’s symbols. It takes us from 1 to 2 hours to explore this complex, depending on the number of traveler.
Explore Hanoi’s traditional streets, including Ba Da, Lan Ong, Lo Ren, Dong Xuan, and Ta Hien, with a tour guide taking you to the Hanoi Great Cathedral, Lan Ong Street, and Dong Xuan central market. Enjoy local food and drinks in the vibrant Ta Hien Street area.
Finally enjoying the water puppet shows that is the unique performances, first appeared in the 11th century. In these shows, the daily life, culture and belief of Vietnamese people are described by puppets on water. The show usually integrates a traditional music performance as well.
Come back to hotel. Overnight in Hanoi
Day 14: Ha Noi – Ninh Binh – Hanoi (B, L)
Have breakfast at your hotel.
8:00 am: Travel from Hanoi to Ninh Binh, passing through the Red River Delta’s picturesque countryside. Visit Van Long, a 3-generation rural family, and enjoy a 15-kilometer bike ride or walk through the villages. You can enjoy stunning views of rice fields, a river, and limestone mountains as you go along the dyke. You can stop at various locations to capture lovely pictures or interact with the locals before continuing on foot to see the 11th-century Thung La Temple. Enjoy a genuine talk with the temple protector, as well as a 20-minute drum performance. Later, explore the grandeur of Van Long Nature Reserve by sampan boat as you travel along the creek and through limestone mountains. If you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse of egrets and white monkeys on the cliffs. Visit an embroidered village after the boat ride, where you can take an embroidery lesson taught by a skilled local craftsperson. This will be a good opportunity for you to practice on fabric like a real craftsman.
Return to your hotel. Overnight in Hanoi.
Day 15: Ha Noi – Bai Tu Long Bay (B, L, D)
Have a breakfast at your hotel.
8:00 am: Pick up in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, three-hour drive to Bai Tu Long Bay, passing through rural areas and rice paddies, beverage stop, arrival at harbor, and greeting at cruise reception.
Warmest greetings from our employees at 12:45 pm. After listening to a safety briefing, check into your cabin.
1:30 pm: Savoring a lunch of mouthwatering Vietnamese cuisine while gently traveling to the heart of Bai Tu Long Bay
Leave the boat at 15:30 to explore Cap La Island, a stunning region in Bai Tu Long Bay. Enjoy swimming, kayaking through the magnificent karst, and resting.
5:30 pm: Return to the boat and take advantage of sunset time (drink tea and delicious fruit). Our guide has also scheduled a cooking session for this moment. You get the opportunity to prepare Vietnamese food on your own.
7:00 pm: A lavish set meal is served on board.
8:30 pm: Free time for lounging and listening to music on the sundeck. You may also give squid fishing a shot. Please let our tour guide know if you’d like to participate in karaoke so that you can get help.
Spend the night at sea in Bai Tu Long Bay.
Day 16: Bai Tu Long bay – Ha Noi (B, L)
06:30 am: Start your new day off well by doing Tai Chi.
7:00 am: A Western-style breakfast will be served, along with traditional Vietnamese fare. There is access to tea and coffee.
8:00 am: Explore Thien Canh Son Cave. Your tour guide will go through the background of Ha Long Bay, Bai Tu Long Bay, and this natural cave.
09:30 am: Take the tender back to your boat and finish packing. Please take everything out of your cabin; you can leave heavy bags outside (staff will take you right to the pier).
10:30 am: Participate in the fruit carving activity and showcase your creativity.
11:00 am: Take pleasure in a typical Vietnamese meal.
12:00 pm: Dispatch at Hon Gai Pier, welcome by the driver at the harbor, then take pleasure in the return trip to Hanoi. Take a break in the middle to rest. Drop-off at your hotel (located in the Old Quarter of Hanoi).
Day 17: Ha Noi (B)
Have breakfast at your hotel.
Driver will pick you up at the hotel lobby (Hanoi Old Quarter) for about 45 minutes to Noi Bai airport (international or domestic hall according to your request). Thanks for the visit to our city.
End of our services!
