Vietnam Discovery

Welcome to Hanoi, Vietnam’s bustling colonial capital. Upon arrival at Noi Bai Airport, the driver and guide meet the guests outside the airport and transfer them to a hotel in the city center.

In the afternoon, they begin with an orientation walk that includes some of the city’s highlights. The walk passes the elegant Hanoi Opera House, the lively Old Quarter with its narrow streets and small shops, and the peaceful Hoan Kiem Lake with the iconic Ngoc Son Temple. 

In the evening, savor a welcome dinner of authentic Vietnamese food at one of Hanoi’s finest restaurants.

Meals: Dinner.
Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi.

Today, guests will have a full day to explore Vietnam’s charming capital. The city tour will take them to Hanoi’s key sites: the Ho Chi Minh Complex (Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and stilt house), the Presidential Palace, the nearby One Pillar Pagoda; the Temple of Literature; West Lake including the sedate Tran Quoc Pagoda & Quan Thanh Temple; and one of the city’s museums (a choice between the History Museum and the Ethnology Museum). 

In the afternoon, enjoy a traditional Water Puppet Performance – a unique folk art that originated a thousand years ago during the Ly dynasty. The show depicts the daily activities in Vietnamese rural life as well as important historical events and ancient legends. Each water puppet is hand-carved and given five layers of lacquer paint to protect the puppets from the water and to add vital colors to the performance.

In the evening, guests are transferred to the railway station for the night train to Lao Cai.

Meals: Breakfast.
Accommodation: on train (in 4 4-soft berth cabin with A/C).

The train arrives at the Lao Cai railway station in the early morning. The guide and driver will meet the guests there and take them on the 40km drive to Sapa – Northwest Vietnam’s premier travel destination.

After checking in and having breakfast, take some rest before beginning the day’s excursion. In the late morning, set out on a two-hour trek through terraced rice fields to the villages of Cat Cat and Sin Chai. Meet members of the H’mong community and learn about their traditions and daily life. Return to the hotel with free time in the afternoon to explore Sapa town at their own pace.

Meals: Breakfast.
Accommodation: Hotel in Sapa.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before setting out on a full-day trek to explore Sapa’s cultural diversity and haunting natural beauty. Take a guided hike through yawning valleys decorated with terraced rice fields and pass through remote hill tribe villages. Guests can have three trekking options to choose from: soft-trek (~ 3 km), medium-trek (~ 6km), and long-trek (~ 12km). 

Along the way, they see terraced rice fields, streams, and visit homes of the H’mong, Dzao, and Dzay people. Have lunch at a hill tribe village, then drive back to Lao Cai to catch your return night train to Hanoi.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Accommodation: on train (in 4 4-soft berth cabin with A/C).

Arrive back in Hanoi early in the morning. After breakfast at a local restaurant, guests take a three to four-hour drive to Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At noon, they arrive at the pier and board a traditional junk cruise in the amazing bay: a natural wonderland composed of jutting limestone islands and sparkling turquoise waters 

A welcome drink is served, followed by a lunch of freshly prepared seafood when the boat sails into the bay. During the afternoon, cruise around some of Halong’s many islands, such as Dinh Huong and Ga Choi. Along the way, visit one of the bay’s 3 largest caves: Thien Cung, Dau Go, or Sung Sot. Stop at an island cove with a sheltered white-sand beach and take a dip in the warm waters of the Tonkin Gulf (weather permitting). 

As evening falls, dinner is served on board. The night is spent on the cruise, anchored in calm waters surrounded by the karst landscape.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
Accommodation: on the cruise.

Awake early and participate in a Tai Chi session on the sundeck or simply relax and enjoy the sunrise over the bay’s towering islands. Enjoy a morning cup of coffee or tea before setting out to explore nearby islands by rowboat. 

Return to the junk for breakfast, then take advantage of the sundeck and admire the amazing rock formations of Bai Tu Long Bay as you navigate back to Halong City. A farewell brunch is served on board before the boat docks at Tuan Chau pier. The driver meets guests and transfers them to Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi for their flight to Hue. Upon arrival, the guide and driver will meet and take them to the hotel.

Optional (please contact our travel consultants for an arrangement in advance):
Austrian engineer Doppelmayr and Swiss engineer Garaventa have completed the world’s largest aerial tramway across Halong Bay. The 2,222m ropeway is suspended from two concrete towers, the larger of which is 188.88m high. Each of the double-decker cabins and six sets of doors is built to carry 230 passengers, making them the biggest ever built. The tramway will take visitors between a terminal in the Bai Chay District of Halong City up to the amusement park at the top of Ba Deo Hill (Hon Gai Ward, Halong City). The Nu Hoang Cable Car (meaning Queen in English) has been operating since 25 June 2016, and the round-trip entrance ticket is 15 USD/ person (excluding). 

If you are interested in taking this gondola lift, our driver can take you to the Nu Hoang Cable Car after the cruise, and you may spend a couple of hours there. Afterwards, you will be transferred directly to Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport for your departure flight.

Meals: Brunch.
Accommodation: Hotel in Hue.

Begin the day with a visit to the Imperial Citadel, including the Imperial City and the Forbidden Purple City – once the Emperor’s private residence. Walk through palaces and temples that date back to the 19th century. In the afternoon, continue to the Imperial Museum, Tu Hieu Pagoda, and Dong Ba Market. Explore the market’s stalls filled with local produce, spices, and handicrafts before returning to the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast.
Accommodation: Hotel in Hue.

Spend the morning on a private boat cruise down the romantic Perfume River to visit the iconic Lady Pagoda (Thien Mu Pagoda), an elegant seven-tiered octagonal tower that has become Hue’s most widely recognizable monument, and the ornate Minh Mang’s tomb. 

Have lunch at a riverside restaurant before starting on your drive to Hoi An. Pass over the Hai Van pass and stop en route in Danang for a visit to the Cham Museum and handicraft villages at the foot of Marble Mountain. Arrive in the ancient riverside town – Hoi An in the late afternoon, check in at the hotel, and enjoy the rest of the evening free at their leisure.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Hoian.

After breakfast, drive 40 kilometers outside Hoi An to visit the My Son Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Surrounded by the Cat’s Tooth Mountains, My Son is home to the ancient Cham ruins and is often referred to as Vietnam’s Angkor Wat. Return to Hoi An for lunch and enjoy the afternoon free for walking through the old town, shopping, or relaxing on the beach.

Meals: Breakfast.
Accommodation: Hotel in Hoian.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for a flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Arrive in the late morning and enjoy an orientation tour through Ho Chi Minh City’s bustling streets en route to the hotel. Have lunch at a downtown restaurant of their choosing, then set out on a guided city tour. 

In the afternoon, visit the War Remnants Museum, learn about Vietnam’s recent history at Reunification Palace. Then, visit the nearby neo-Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral, and the City’s Centre Post Office before passing by the ornate Opera Theatre and the City Hall. Finally, end up at the Ben Thanh Market, where vendors display a vast array of goods and handicrafts, appealing to every taste.

Enjoy the rest of the day at their leisure.

Meals: Breakfast.
Accommodation: Hotel in Saigon.

After breakfast at the hotel, guests travel outside of Saigon to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels. The Cu Chi Tunnels are an underground labyrinth of passageways, used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War (or “American War” as it’s referred to here) as protection against American air raids. Those inclined are invited to crawl through selections of the tunnels to better understand what life was like for the Vietnamese soldiers during wartime. 

Next, visit the beautiful Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh and partake in the noontime prayer service. This large and colorful compound is home to the hybrid religion founded in the 1920s: “Caodaism”, which combines elements of Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam to promote peace. Have lunch in Tay Ninh and return to Saigon in the late afternoon.

Meals: Breakfast.
Accommodation: Hotel in Saigon.

Enjoy an early breakfast at the hotel before driving to the riverside town, Cai Be. Along the way, stop at a candy factory and an orchard garden, where guests can have an opportunity to listen to traditional music. Enjoy a relaxing lunch at a riverside restaurant, then cross the Mekong by motorized boat to visit some fluvial islands and explore the countryside by bicycle. The driver will meet them at Vinh Long pier and take them to Can Tho City for the night.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Accommodation: Hotel in Can Tho.

Wake early and leave the hotel to visit the famous Cai Rang floating market by motorized boat. Continue the boat ride to see the Mekong Delta’s famous orchards and sample the fresh, exotic fruit. Then venture deeper into the countryside, passing traditional houses made of wood and palm. Return to Can Tho for lunch, then drive back to Saigon, arriving in the late afternoon.

Meals: Breakfast.
Accommodation: Hotel in Saigon.

Have breakfast at the hotel, then enjoy a free morning before driving to the airport to catch the departure flight.

Meals: Breakfast.
Accommodation: N/A.