Day 1: Hanoi Arrival

Upon arrival to Hanoi, our guide and driver will be waiting to provide transport to the hotel for check in. Room is available from 14:00 The rest of the day is spent at leisure after your long-haul flights! Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 2: Hanoi City (B)

After your breakfast, pay a visit to Vietnam’s first university, the Temple of Literature. Founded in 1076 Quoc Tu Giam was established within a temple to educate Vietnam's royalty, mandarins and members of the elite. The university functioned for an incredible 700 years and its gardens and well-preserved architecture offer a fascinating glimpse into Vietnam’s past.

Continue to the nearby mausoleum of the historic figure and father of modern Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh (viewed from outside), and visit the former president’s house on stilts where he lived from 1958 to 1969. Then pay a visit the small but iconic One Pillar Pagoda before visiting Hanoi Old Quarter, a place where Hanoians buy everything from noodles to light fixtures to Buddha statues. The quarter’s 36 streets were named for the products that were sold from their shops. Today, vendors on Tin and Bamboo Streets still sell the same wares.

If the Old Quarter is the heart of Hanoi, food culture is the soul of this city. Laden with restaurants and traditional craftsmanship that’ve lived for centuries, cared for by laborious locals who are dedicated to traditional Hanoi lifestyle. On this food tour, those lively traditions in a friendly atmosphere are greatly exposed, and you’re most welcome.

This tour you to 3 different local restaurants and 1 Hanoian family, where you will sample delectable Vietnamese foods and learn in depth about the Old Quarter through our conversations with its residents. Enjoy the distinctive flavor of “Pho” at the city’s most famous Pho on Bat Dan Street, where you can experience the appeal of its incredible taste that has been capturing the fascination of people from all over the world, right from where it begins.

Walk through some hidden alleys and learn about Hanoi’s architectural space, including its distinctive “tube houses”. Visit a family who has been living in the labyrinthine Old Quarter for generations to learn about their life in the heart of the city over a cup of tea.

Sample the famous Banh mi, the Vietnamese baguette featuring classic liver pate and fresh cilantro, served by a family living on Hang Ca Street. On our way back to hotel, taste the amazing broth of Bun ngan – the city’s famous duck noodle dish, and see what ingredients should be added into this local dish and why.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Day 3: Hanoi – Halong Bay (B,L,D)

Leave Hanoi in the morning and head straight to Halong Bay, a stunning UNESCO World Heritage site with its 3,000 islands of towering limestone dotting the bay and Gulf of Tonkin. Upon arrival in Halong, you will board a beautiful boat for an overnight cruise in the bay with an excellent menu of fresh seafood.

Overnight on board.

Day 4: Halong Bay – Hanoi – Hue (B)

Wake up early in the morning to enjoy the aquamarine waters of the bay at its best. After tea/coffee and pastries have been served, the boat will continue to cruise quietly through the spectacular limestone formations of Halong Bay. Enjoy this more isolated part of the bay’s spectacular and unique islands. Overland to Hanoi Airport where you take onward flight to Hue.

Overnight in Hue.

Day 5: Hue – Lunch at Tha Om Garden House – Chuon Lagoon (B, L, D)

Being recognized by UNESCO as the 1st Cultural World Heritage for Vietnam, Hue is highlighted by the old royal architectural works and the most traditional Vietnamese lifestyle. We will discover the charm of the city from the Royal Citadel, Forbidden City, Hue Royal Museum. Wrap up the morning with a visit to Tha Om garden house typical of Hue city, which was built according to precise rules of geomancy. Experience the serene and pleasant feelings such a place might bring you and have lunch there.

In the afternoon pay a visit to the tomb of the former emperor Minh Mang which is located in a tranquil setting of gardens and ponds.

Then take a bike ride to Chuon Lagoon which is part of the Tam Giang - Cau Hai lagoon system stretching along the East Sea in the area of Thua Thien Hue province. Paying a visit to this attraction is highly recommended for those who love exploring nature and the local lifestyle, specifically the lives of local fishermen.

Enjoy the picturesque landscapes and explore how the locals by the lagoon live. Stop by a "Chò house" to taste some fresh seafood and indulge your stomach. Return to your hotel for overnight.

Day 6: Hue – Danang – Hoi An (B)

After breakfast, drive to the ancient port town of Hoi An. Despite the passing of 200 years and the ravages of weather and war, the centre of the ancient city remains wholly untouched. Passing through Danang, visit its notable Cham Museum, before climbing over the ‘Pass of Ocean Clouds’. Arrive in Hoi An  late in the afternoon and transfer to hotel. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 7: Hoi An (B,L)

Today’s tour will begin at 08:30. Escape from Hoi An’s bustling town centre and transfer to a local farm in Tra Que herb village for an insightful morning in the countryside. Explore the vegetable garden, learning about the local produce grown there and the hearing the history of Tra Que.

Assist the farmers as they work in the garden. Depending on the time of year, this may include tilling the land, fertilising the garden with seaweed or picking ripe vegetables. Throughout the experience, learn more about their daily lives and the rich culture that exists in the Vietnamese countryside.

After this interactive activity, enjoy an herbal foot massage to revitalize tired muscles. As midday approaches join with a local family to prepare lunch. Learn the secrets behind some of Hoi An’s most famous traditional dishes. Using vegetables and herbs straight from the garden, cook tam huu, prawns and pork mixed with lots of herbs, and banh xeo, a savoury pancake served inside thin sheets of rice paper. Then sit down and enjoy this home-cooked meal, wrapping up a memorable day in the countryside.

In the afternoon, take a stroll through the small streets of the town to explore some of the two-century-old Chinese houses. Sites include the Japanese Bridge, the Chinese Temple, and Tan Ky trading house.

Then enjoy a cup of coffee or tea at Reaching Out – a special teashop where all the waiters and waitresses are deaf staff who are given a chance to have a self–reliant life and integrate into the community by being professionally trained to work there. It will be a peaceful moment for you to enjoy the silence and savor the taste of the coffee. Overnight in Hoi An.

Day 8: Hoi An – Danang – Ho Chi Minh City (B)

Free at your leisure till transfer to Danang Airport to take the midday flight to Saigon. You will be welcomed at the Tan Son Nhat airport and transfer to the hotel to check-in. Spend the rest of the day free at your leisure. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 10: Ho Chi Minh City tour – Discover Saigon after dark on Vespa (B,D)

Morning visit Saigon’s highlight includes the Reunification Palace, the Post Office and Notre Dame Cathedral, War Museum

In the early evening, you will be picked up at the hotel by private car before heading off to street vendor stalls. This tour will take you through many parts of the city that are off the general tourist map. You’ll have a chance to experience the typical nightlife of Saigon – just exactly the way that local people often do. The tour will start with a ride to a section of China Town and then heading to District 4 through busy streets and alleys buzzing with locals seated at seafood street stalls and sipping on icy cold drinks. Leaving District 4 to District 3 the tour passes through downtown District 1 taking in the sights, sounds and smells of Saigon city with opportunities for stopping along the way whenever it takes your fancy.

Then the tour will continue to a well hidden Vietnamese-coffee shop to enjoy the sounds of local Vietnamese live music. After this very exhilarating nightlife tour of Saigon, you will then be driven back to the hotel. Lunch on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 11: Saigon – Cai Be – Vinh Long – Can Tho (B,L)

Pick up at your hotel, depart for Cai Be around 3 hrs driving. On the way you can see the green paddy fields stretching towards the horizontal. When you arrive Cai Be, you’ll board a motorized boat that takes you to the floating market and spend 1 hr there for an interaction that you’ll see nowhere else in the world.

Next, your row boat will zigzag thru a maze of shadow canals to arrive at a great orchard where you can freely taste many famous tropical fruits of Vietnam and watch locals’ daily chores.

Then we’ll see how coconut candy, crispy rice cake and ceramic are made here (served free with premium hot tea.)

After this, we will ride bicycles and roaming through a village to check out several rural shops or we can relax on a hammock for a short rest. We will land on a market place in Vinh Long and walk around to see how and what the poor rural people of Vietnam sell.

You are encouraged to interact with the vendors and see how friendly and respectful they are. You might also buy many interesting things for very little amount of money. After the boat trip, drive to Can Tho.

Overnight in Can Tho.

Day 12: Can Tho – Saigon – Departure (B)

In the early morning, visit the Cai Rang floating market. Cruise through the floating market which bustles with wholesalers on large vessels. Here, during the early morning market hours, larger sized boats anchor and create lanes that smaller boats weave in and out of. The main items sold here are fruit and vegetables, with each boat advertising their goods for sale on long, upright poles at the ship’s bow. The waterway becomes a maze of boats packed with mango, bananas, papaya, pineapple, and even floating pho vendors.

After visiting, transfer back to Tan Son Nhat airport for your onward flight. Ends of services.

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