This luxury Vietnam tour package will be showing you both to the fascinating nature of the country on one hand and historic cultural sites on the other. The package providing access to off-the-beaten-track villages, allowing you to see and interact with local people in order to provide an in-depth understanding of the Vietnamese people.
Day 1
HANOI – ARRIVAL (-/-/-)
Arrival at NoiBai Airport, meet your English speaking guide and transferred to hotel.
We begin our13 days Vietnam Tour Package with an authentic Cyclo ride around Hanoi Old Quarter – where you can experience the real daily life activities of local people in the oldest area of Hanoi. And then our guide will take you through a narrow lane and pass by local people’s houses and here it is rare to see other tourists. Come back to your hotel.
Overnight in Hanoi
Day 2
HANOI to HALONG BAY VIA HIGHWAY (B/L/D)
Breakfast at the hotel then we depart to Halong bay through highway.
Upon arrival to Halong, embark to the Junk and set sail through bay while lunch is served. We will sail through the picturesque “Dragon descending to the sea”. The bay has 1,969 limestone islets rising from the sea while many of them containing beautiful grottoes. After lunch, take a short trek to the nearby summit for a panoramic view of the bay dotted with our Junk. You can go swimming on a quiet beach or sunbathing on the sundeck. Later afternoon, visit an interesting fishing village with opportunity to interact with fish men who have been living in the bay for almost three generations. At sunset time, take a bamboo row boat to discover a water tunnel with many coral reefs in a scenic lagoon. Back on board, enjoy cocktails while watching the sunset before dinner.
Overnight on the Junk
Note: The itinerary is subject to change by each cruise. Confirmed upon booking
Day 3
HALONG BAY – HANOI CITY TOUR (B/L/-)
Visit beautiful limestone grotto then back to the boat for a final glimpse of the Halong Bay while cruising back to the dock.
After lunch on board, check out and we drive back to Hanoi. We will have time to do a short Hanoi city tour. We visit outside Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum– the symbol of the country and Presidential Palace, Presidential Garden, his House on Stilts and One Pillar Pagoda. After that, visit Temple of Literature – the center of the culture of Hanoi that worship Literature – the only subject for students to study in the feudal system just a hundred years ago and Confucius.
Overnight in Hanoi
Day 4
HANOI – SAPA BY SHARED D’CAR LIMOUSINE – SILVER WATERFALL, TRAM TON PASS – HEAVEN GATE (B/-/-)
On the 4th day of our Vietnam tour package, after having Breakfast we head towards fascinating SAPA
07.30 AM Shared D’car Limousine picks you up at the hotel lobby. Drive to Sapa via high way (20 minutes break time on the way)
12:30 – 13:00: Arrive at your hotel in Sapa Town. Check-in hotel and a short relax
14.30: Meet your local English speaking guide and we take a leisure trip. The drive uphill offers the most spectacular scenery of Fansipan Mount. Just a kilometer out of the town rose flower farms and later chayote grows on bamboo frames covered a vast area. We’ll stop at the magnificent Silver Waterfall before continue the road trip for some kilometers further to Heaven Gate and Tram Ton Pass. At 2047m above sea level, the Heaven Gate & Tram Ton Pass is the highest mountain pass in Vietnam. From here enjoy walking around for half an hour for the beautiful scenery of both two sides of Hoang Lien Son mountain range. The wind blows stronger to force the clouds to move constantly. It is the best point here to enjoy the breathtaking scenery of the two sides of Fansipan Mountain Range. Amazingly that the weather is very different by the side: In many days It is foggy and cloudy on Sa Pa side and sunny brightly the other side. Leaving the Heaven Gate for the way back downhill 7 km, then we stop to pay a visit to some lush farm in O Quy Ho where different kinds of vegetables, flowers, fruit trees, and even medicinal plants are grown for years which makes this part of Sapa evergreen. Transfer back to Sapa and the trip ends with drop off at hotel or any place at request.
Overnight in Sapa
Day 5
SAPA FULL DAY TREK (Lao Chai – Tavan – Giang Ta Chai) (B/L/-)
The 5th day of our Vietnam tour package is devoted to a beautiful hike through the breathtaking scenery of Sa Pa valley.
Start by road that descends in the wake of the street Cau May (6 km) En route, admire the rice terraces hidden behind the mist of the morning, a truly awe-inspiring sight.
Follow a small track and cross Muong Hoa River and pass well-tended rice terraces on your way to the Black Hmong village of Lao Chai. Continuing through the colorful rice terraces you will reach the village of Ta Van Giay. As you continue your trek along the Muong Hoa River you will cross a small suspension bridge, roughly 2km from the settlement. Here you can discover a fascinating collection of rock carvings. These engravings depict some beautiful images of man, stilt houses and some beautiful decorative patterns. We lunch in a home in the village. After lunch, the walk continues through a bamboo forest to Giang Ta Chai, a Red Dao ethnic minority village. After taking a rest nearby a waterfall to refresh, you start climbing uphill to a road where the car is ready for your journey back to Sapa.
Then around 08.00 AM we drive from Sapa to Hanoi at NoiBai Airport (about 5-hour driving) for a short flight at 16.00 to Danang. Pick up on arrival and we drive to Hoian the little attractive town very famous as living museum which was originally one of the major trading centers of Southeast Asia in the 16th century.
Overnight in Hoian
Day 7
FULL DAY HOI AN CITY (B/-/-) Walk, Bike and Boat
Walking Tour
Morning take a walking tour to Hoi An ancient town. Visit ThangLoi Handicraft workshop in Phan Chu Trinh Street – One of the popular Vietnam tourist places.
You will have the chance to experience all the typical traditional handicraft of Hoi An, such as wood carving, mat weaving, lantern making, silkworm raising, spinning and weaving, table cloth making and embroidery picture. These handicrafts made a great contribution to upgrade the living standard of local people since Hoi An turn to be a popular destination for the tourists.
Then take a walk to Hoi An ancient town. We will start the walk from small alley from Phan Chu Trinh Street to Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street. This is the typical ancient street of Hoi An, which can show you the great atmosphere of the ancient town. Visit the Japanese Cover Bridge – the symbol of Hoi An. After that visit Tan Ky, the most well-known and authentic ancient house in town.
Then take a walk along the Nguyen Thai Hoc – the ancient street of Hoi An to the market of the town. Visit the local market of Hoi An and PhucKien Congressional Assembly Hall, the communal place for the Chinese community from Fukien province in China as well the worshiping temple to Thien Hau, the Goddess protecting people on the sea – that was so important for the Chinese Merchant and Fishman in the past. Then you have free time for discovering the town on your own or shopping
In the afternoon, we’ll have a biking trip to Cam Nam Village (If you can’t bike we can use Cyclo or Motorbike). The cycling will take you from the town to Cam Nam Bridge. You will have the first stop for the photo opportunity of the activities and scenery on the Thu Bon River. Then the cycling will take you along the Thu Bon River bank, where you can have another photo stop for panorama view of Hoi An from another side of the river. You will ride along the riverside and cycle through the local villages of Cam Nam. This is an untouched area by tourism with very friendly and hospitable local people. You can see their daily life activities or even viewing the interior of their house and their life through always opened doors.
Return by Boat
Then we embark on the boat and take a cruise to Thu Bon River. You can experience the local daily life along river, such as fishing, farming, catching clam …. Come back to Hoi An around sunset time.
Overnight in Hoi An
Day 8
HALF DAY HOIAN COOKING CLASS AT THE MARKET RESTAURANT (B/L/-)
Food is definitely one of the main attractions to experience in Vietnam. Therefore, our Vietnam tour package includes a short cooking course for you to return home with.
In the morning, we will take you to visit the very impressive and busy fish market near Hoi An. The market is for wholesales for the best fish in the area that have been caught at night on the sea and sill so fresh. you will join an authentic cooking class in The Market Restaurant. We visit Hoi An’s colorful and bustling market where participants learn about the uses of different fresh noodles, how to recognize and buy fresh fish, herbs and their uses in Vietnam, fresh and dried spices – their uses in our recipes and medicinal purposes, rice and grains, see and taste exotic fruits.
On our return to The Market Restaurant, we tour the many different Street Food counters, seeing live cooking demonstrations, learning how to make many different recipes with food tastings along the way. See bread for our BanhMi or baguettes being made in front of you and then taste the baked bread fresh from the oven. Rice and water being ground to make rice water to make noodles, rice flour crepes, dumplings, and rice paper dried on bamboo and grilled to eat with Hoi An chili sauce. See our famous dish of Cao Lau, the noodles being made by hand and steamed over an open fire. We offer a choice of traditional Vietnamese teas served with homemade Hoi An cupcakes made freshly in front of you. Taste sweet treats and candy that we eat at Tet our Vietnamese New Year celebrations.
The Cooking Class
The cooking lesson runs about 2.5 hours – our cooking teachers first demonstrate each dish before we prepare the same dishes ourselves. After the lesson, we sit down and eat what we have cooked. You will receive a copy of the recipes and a Vietnamese cooking utensil to take home.
Recipes: (Vegetarians are provided with replacement ingredients).
Cabbage leaf parcels shrimp mousse in broth
BBQ chicken & lime leaves
Mango salad with prawns
Crispy Hoi An Pancakes with pork, prawns & bean sprouts
The rest day is free on your own at your hotel or you can go to the beach
Overnight in Hoian
Day 9
HOI AN to HUE CITY TOUR (B/-/-)
Morning drive from Hoi An to Hue via Danang, we stop to visit Cham Museum with a great collection of sandstone artifacts from the 4th to 13th centuries.
Then we drive through famous Hai Van Pass to Hue, the ancient capital of Vietnam.
Afternoon take the cyclo trip from your hotel over famous Trang Tien Bridge to Dong Ba –the famous wholesales market in Hue. The cyclo even can take you by the area selling food in the market along Perfume River. From the market, we will follow the river bank toward the area around the ancient citadel of Hue, getting over the streets, local shops for the overview of daily life and architecture of this famous citadel. The ride will be ended at Noon gate – the main entrance of Imperial Citadel for the walking tour to the inner area of the citadel where the Nguyen Dynasty ruled from 1802 to 1945 including Flag Tower, Noon Gate, Nine Dynastic Urns, Nine Holy Cannons, Thai Hoa Palace, and Forbidden Purple City.
Overnight in Hue
Day 10
HUE CITY TOUR Q SAIGON (B/-/-)
Morning we drive to visit Thien Mu pagoda, the symbol of Hue city then take a walk around Kim Long Village.
It will be a great chance to learn about the lifestyle of the local people there. Visit the hundred years old ancient house that belongs to the Mandarin of Royal Court in the village. Then we visit Tu Duc Tomb, discover the beautiful and impressive architecture of this unique construction in Hue as well as the story of the King there. Drive to Phu BaiAirport for a late flight to Saigon. Pick up on arrival and transfer to hotel for check-in.
Overnight in Saigon
Day 11
FULL DAY CUCHI & SAIGON CITY (B/-/-)
Morning we drive to Cu Chi – the famous network of tunnels which were used as the base from which the Vietnamese mounted their operations of the Tet Offensive in 1968.
The Cu Chi Tunnels consist of more than 250km of underground tunnels. This main axis system has many branches connecting to underground hideouts, shelters, and entrances to other tunnels, the tunnels are between 0.5 to 1m wide, just enough for a person to crawl along. Back to Saigon
Afternoon, we visit Reunification Palace – the former Presidential Palace of Southern Vietnamese Government before 1975. Then visit Notre DameCathedral and Central Post Office. Visit War Museum before taking an orientation walk along Dong Khoi and Nguyen Hue. Finally, we visit the Ben Thanh Market, a lively local market, where they really sell everything.
Overnight in Saigon
Day 12
SAIGON – BENTRE – XEP CANAL (B/L/-) Mekong Delta
Breakfast at hotel then we drive to Ben Tre. The tour will be started by boat to take downstream around fishing floating village on Tien River and see 4 islands as Long –Lan –Qui-Phung.
Cruising to Xep canal. Then we take a tuktuk (local transportation called “xe lam”) on village path visit a local garden with warm honey tea cup while enjoy tropical fruits with traditional music. Stopover at a local workshop where you can learn how to make coconut candy taste all kinds of candies with their family.
And then get on a rowing boat on a small canal with beautiful water coconut palm trees along two sides of the canal. Lunch can be served at the local family. Back to the bus to drive back to Saigon.
Overnight in Saigon.
Day 13
SAIGON CITY- DEPARTURE (B/-/-)
Morning is free until we transfer you to Tan Son Nhat Airport for your departure flight. This is where our 13 day Vietnam tour Package comes to its end.