Essential Highlights of Vietnam

Trip Highlights

• Unique tour to Hanoi's lesser known area
• A glimpse of the most uncanny parts of Vietnam in only 14 days
• Peacefulness of Southern Vietnam

Trip Summary

Day 1: Hanoi Arrival

You will be warmly welcome upon arrival Hanoi airport and transferred to your hotel. Free at the rest of the day. Meals are on your own. Overnight in Hanoi.

Hanoi Old Quarter is the heart of sightseeing and food adventure - Photo by Elena Ermakova / Shutterstock.com

Day 2: Hanoi City Tour

Morning pick up and enjoy a day Hanoi city tour including Ho Chi Minh complex (Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ho Chi Minh Museum, The Presidential Palace, House on stilt and One Pillar Pagoda). Continue to visit the Temple of Literature - the First University of Vietnam. Lunch in a local restaurant. Afterward, visiting Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. Return to Hanoi Old Quarter for a daily-life-discovering walking tour. Return to hotel. Dinner is on your own. Overnight in Hanoi.

Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

Day 3: Hanoi > Halong Bay

After breakfast, pick up and transfer from your hotel to Halong Bay. Arrive to Halong at noon and get on our traditional wooden boat/cruise. Enjoy your time for relaxing, sightseeing and swimming. Visit the Floating Fishing village and swimming if the weather permits. Meals are including. Overnight on board.

 Cruising on Halong Bay

Day 4: Halong Bay Kayaking

Morning enjoy the sunrise with Tai Chi lesson on the deck. We offer kayaking trip to visit caves nearby, hidden coves and floating village. Lunch on support boat. Back to the mother boat for dinner and overnight.

Kayaking at Halong Bay

Day 5: Halong > Hanoi

Wake up on the bay to the sounds of waves and birds welcoming the new day. View the sunrise over the bay and after breakfast, visit a beautiful limestone grotto. Have a walk back to the boat for a final glimpse of Halong Bay while cruising back to the dock. Drive back to Hanoi and stay overnight. Dinner is on your own. Overnight in Hanoi.

 Hanoi at night

Day 6: Hanoi > Hue

Morning transfer to Noi Bai airport for your flight to Hue. Upon arrival at Phu Bai Airport you will be transferred directly to your hotel. In the afternoon you will embark on a tour of the city, including the Citadel and the Forbidden Purple City, the Imperial Museum and Dong Ba market. Dinner and you will stay overnight in Hue.

Museum of The Imperial City in Hue

Day 7: Hue City Tour > Hoi An

Morning enjoy hotel breakfast before discovering the ancient capital city. Cruising Perfume River by boat. Visit Thien Mu Pagoda and ornate Minh Mang's tomb. Lunch at local restaurant.Transfer to Hoi An in the afternoon after traveling over the Hai Van pass and visiting Cham Museum with handicraft village on the foot of Marble Mountain .Check in Hotel in Hoi An and have some free time to explore the town. Dinner is on your own. Overnight in Hoi An.

Huong River in Hue

Day 8 : Hoi An > My Son > Hoi An

Morning pickup at your hotel for the transfer to My Son, a World Heritage, 50 km southwest of Hoi An. My Son was a capital and religious center of Cham people, built from the 7 to 13 centuries and considered to be in the same league as some of Southeast Asia's greatest archaeological sites, namely Angkor in Cambodia, Bagan in Myanmar, and Ayutthaya in Thailand. Spend times to discover this area and return to Hoi An town at noon. Free at the rest of the day for your shopping or discovering the ancient town. Meals are on your own. Overnight in Hoi An.

Ancient Hindu tamples of Cham culture in My Son

Day 9: Hoi An Free Day

Free day in Hoi An for your relaxing – swimming on the beach or discovering the ancient town. Meals are on your own. Overnight in Hoi An.

 Hoi An - Vietnam

Day 10: Hoi An > Ho Chi Minh City

Morning transfer to the airport for your flight to Saigon. Upon arrival to Saigon, enjoy a day tour to visit the most beautiful places in this area including Notre Dame Cathedral, the historic Central Post Office, followed by exploring the Reunification Palace, and the remarkable site of the War Remnants Museum. Lunch in a local restaurant. Dinner is on your own. Overnight in Saigon.

Central Post Office in Ho Chi Minh city

Day 11: Ho Chi Minh City > My Tho > Ben Tre > Can Tho

Morning pick up at your hotel then leave Saigon, enjoy the scenic journey along the National Highway. Visit Vinh Trang pagoda in My Tho, take a leisurely boat ride along the river, view stilt houses, fruit plantations and fishing villages. Proceed to Tortoise islet, have lunch in the orchard garden. Boat ride to An Khanh - a less touristy attraction in Ben Tre, enjoy cruising on a hand-rowed sampan. Enjoy seasonal fruit & honey tea to the local sound of "Southern Vietnamese folk music". Visit a family business epitomizing the idyllic rural lifestyle. Taste delicious coconut candy & observe local villagers' pastoral life. Proceed to Can Tho. Dinner is on your own. Overnight in Can Tho.

 Floating market in Can Tho

Day 12: Floating Village > Ho Chi Minh City

Morning leisurely boat trip to the picturesque tributaries of the Lower Mekong river (Bassac River). Proceed to visit Cai Rang floating market, arguably the liveliest in the whole region. Learn how Vietnamese vermicelli soup is made. Then wander around the village and meet the friendly local people. Experience how to cross a "Monkey bridge" built by only one stem of bamboo. Visit the orchard garden. Lunch in the local restaurant. Overnight in Saigon. Dinner is not included.

Money bridge in Vietnam

Day 13: Ho Chi Minh City > Cu Chi Tunnel > Ho Chi Minh City

Morning enjoy a half day tour to 200-km-long legendary Cu Chi Tunnel, where was enormously devastated by bomb and mine but still played a vital role in the War. In their heyday, Cu Chi were specially designed as a multi-purposed tunnels used for living areas, storage facilities, and command centers. However, the violent past has been blurred away by peaceful rural rice paddy with ducks and water buffaloes happily co-existing scenery. Morning visit the tunnels and watch a short introductory video showing how the tunnels were constructed. Spend the next hour exploring the tunnels. Afterwards, enjoy tea, cassava (guerrilla's food during the war). Return to Saigon. Free at the rest of the day. Meals are on your own. Overnight in Saigon.

Cu Chi Tunnel 

Day 14: Ho Chi Minh City

Free until time for your transfer to the airport for your flight back home. Trip ends.