19 days of exploring the S-shaped strip of land with us, you go along the country to set foot on all the famous landmarks, beat into the ordinary everyday life to learn about culture and customs in there, discovering the famous landscapes, relics have gone into the history of the nation. Along with interesting experiences such as sleeping on the cruise on Ha Long, exploring Dong Hoi by bike, suprise in Heaven Cave ,interesting with the street food and cyclo in Hue,make your own Hoi An lantern, floating on the boat on the Mekong River.
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Upon arrival, we will transfer you to your centrally located hotel in the old quarter. Free time at your leisure then.
Breakfast at hotel before you will spend full day to explore this city. Your sightseeing in Hanoi begins at the mausoleum where Ho Chi Minh, the president who was known as "Uncle Ho" lies in the state guarded by silent sentries. You will also visit the Presidential Palace and the House-on-Stilts. We will then head to the Temple of Literature considered as the first university in Vietnam built in 1070 dedicated to Confucius.
After a delicious lunch at local restaurant, you will go to the Museum of Ethnology. This museum is widely recognized as the best in the country and has an extensive exhibition dedicated to the 54 cultural groups of Vietnam. There are even traditional houses reconstructed. You have a traditional experience to look forward to next- a water puppet show.
Early morning you will be picked up from the hotel in Hanoi for a nice ride of about 5.5 hours to the heart of Sapa. Heading to Sapa town center, our guide will meet you and provide you with a delicious lunch. After that we will leave Sapa for the Muong Hoa Valley and the village of Ta Van. Upon arrival, the host will welcome you. Then you will have a chance to explore the surroundings by yourself. Overnight in loft or cottage.
Have a breakfast with local family, we continue through the beautiful valley and we will have plenty of time to discover the local life. We chat, laugh and have lunch with our Hmong guide. We will also meet the local Giay, Red Zo and black Hmong. Depending on your fitness and the weather, the severity of the route can be adjusted.
After a busy day, you can relax at local house. It is also a nice option to chat with the guide and other guests while enjoying a glass of wine in the Bamboo bar. In the evening, dinner will be ready to serve in this cozy, warm homestay.
After breakfast, you will be transfered back to Sapa center town. Then you have leisure time to explore by yourself. You may join an optional nice walk (about 2 hours) to a Cat Cat village, outside the tourist areas where you get a beautiful picture of this picturesque environment, the countryside and its inhabitants or changllenge to the top of the highest mountain of Indochina, the Fansipan.
Around 4 PM, the driver will pick you to be back to Hanoi for overnight.
Breakfast at hotel and then transfer to the Trang An- the first mixed world heritage in vietnam. We will take a boat to travel along the stream visiting Trang An ecological tourist site: the limestone, valleys and rivers gather together constituting a mysterious and amazing scene. Visit caves with stalactites of all shapes and colors, after lunch, back to hanoi, and dinner at local restaurant.
Around 8 o'clock you will be picked up at your hotel where the 3.5 hour ride to the port of Halong Bay. The beauty of Halong bay cannot be missed and after lovely drive through green paddy fields we will reach this UNESCO listed site. Heading to the unique overnight accomodation then we will cruise through the dramatic limestone peaks that rise from the water and you will able to watch the sun set over the bay before enjoying dinner on board.
You will wake up to the beautiful surroundings of Halong bay and watch the sun rises as coffee, tea and cookies are served on board. The rest of your morning is spent enjoying this unique destination, and may inlcude activities such as visiting cave. Later, we will disembark the ship, make our way to Hanoi for overnight train to Dong Hoi.
You arrive early in the morning in Dong Hoi. You will be picked up by our local guide and given a nice breakfast at a local restaurant before we leave for the Thien Duong cave. This cave was only discovered in 2005 by a local farmer. British cavers researched it further and the cave appears to be more than 35 kilometers deep, making it the deepest of Phong Nha cave. It is therefore not surprising that this cave is directly included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
After lunch we leave with the transfer to the hotel in Phong Nha for our overnight stay. Free at leisure then.
In the morning you make a nice bike ride of about 3 hours to explore the countryside. We cycled along farm fields and along the Son River. You come to the most special places by bike. Then we return to the farm and you can enjoy a day off.
Today we make a ride of about 200 kilometers to Hue. There are a number of stops along the way to learn some pieces of Vietnamese history at the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), the area between the former separation of North and South Vietnam. We see the Hien Luong bridge and Vinh Moc tunnels. On the way we will stop for a lunch. In the afternoon we arrive at the hotel in Hue where we will spend the night.
After breakfast we board the Dragon Boat and sail over the Perfume River to the Thien Mu Pagoda. Here we visit the seven-story high tower, a symbol of Hue. After this we continue to the imperial citadel, which was meant as a copy of the forbidden city of the Chinese Emperor in Beijing. After the Ngo Mon Gate we enter the Purple Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was reserved for the royal family Nguyen from the 18th century until the middle of the 20th century. Unfortunately, in 1968, the American bomb attack in response to a communist takeover of Hue put the largest part of the city flat. We shall see here that only a few buildings survived, such as the Thai Hoa temple, the Can Thanh temple, the Mieu and Hieu Lam Cac. All remains are worth a visit.
After lunch in the local restaurant we visit the grave of Emperor Tu Duc. This is the largest and for many the most impressive Royal tomb. After this we return to our hotel.
At 5.00 pm you will be picked up by cyclo (traditional bicycle taxi) at the hotel in Hue City. Then you will be brought to Hen Island where you can enjoy shellfish dishes, such as rice and noodles with 'cockles'. You will feel the original rural atmosphere during dinner, very peaceful and green.
We continue with the cyclo to Hanh. This is one of the best local restaurants. Here you can taste the special 'cakes', Banh beo, Banh and Banh loc made from rice flour. Definitely worth a try!
We then walk through the Le Loi street, along the Parfum river and across the Truong Tien bridge. We take you to the Dong Ba market where you can enjoy another Vietnamese classic 'Bun thit nuong', a delicious rice noodle dish.
At 19.30 we leave the noisy market Dong Ba. We continue our route to the Dinh Tien Hoang street for 'Banh khoai', a 'happy' pancake and 'nem lazy', a sort of satay. On the way you see the Imperial citadel in the atmosphere of the bustling night. At the end you are taken with the cyclo through the streets to admire the romance of the night. You can also buy nice souvenirs, such as sesame sugar, the typical Vietnamese conical hats, sour shrimps, a long traditional dress (Ao Dai) and Minh Mang wines.
21:00: At the end of the tour you will be taken back to the hotel with the cyclo.
In the morning you will be picked up at the hotel and we drive together to Hoi An. After about an hour we arrive at the 'Elephant springs'. Here you can relax in the rock pools. There are a series of small waterfalls and ponds here. We drive over the spectacular Han-Van-Pas and pass a picturesque fishing village called 'Lang Co'.
Once we have arrived in Hoi An, we will have lunch in an attractive local restaurant.
In the afternoon you make a city walk to get to know this charming town that is on the World Heritage List. The narrow streets with its centuries-old houses with Chinese, Japanese, French and European influences make this a photogenic scene. You visit the 400-year-old Japanese bridge, the Phuc Kien Assembly Halls, the local fish market and if you want to visit there are numerous art galleries, tailors and small shops. Meanwhile you hear traditional music everywhere and we visit one of the most famous old houses in the city, namely the Tan Ky house. After this the guide will take you to a lantern making workshop, where you will really make one yourself. What a unique experience that is!
To start you taste different traditional Vietnamese tea varieties. You get the bamboo that forms the basis of your frame and beautiful silk, so you can choose a color pattern yourself. The teacher shows you how to make your own Hoi An lantern. The lanterns are easy to fold, or you can take them with you in your bag. It is super fun to take this self made souvenir home. So you always have a nice memory of Hoi An.
After the lesson we bring you back to the hotel for an overnight stay in Hoi An.
This day you have plenty of time to enjoy one of the nicest towns in Vietnam, Hoi An. Stroll through the small alleys, enjoy the good coffee and the nice little galleries. Or if you prefer to go to the beach, that is also possible because Hoi An is close to the sea. If you want to see more of the surroundings, it is possible to make a nice bike ride where you get to know the countryside and its inhabitants better with the help of a guide.
In the morning we visit the Cu Chi Tunnels. The Cu Chi tunnels is an attraction that should not be missed when visiting HCMC. You have undoubtedly already heard a few things about the Vietnam War the previous days. But how could it be that the larger, stronger, better-armed American army could not win from the Vietcong guerrilla troops? To better understand this, a visit to the Cu Chi tunnels is very interesting. This place was very strategically located near a former US military base and one of the few easily accessible roads in Vietnam at the time. For those who are interested, there is even the possibility to fire rounds of an AK47 or MK16. Afterwards we have lunch at the 'Big Pig' restaurant.
After lunch we visit the war museum. In this museum you can see moving images of the senseless war. Part of the black-and-white photography of 'Requiem' is very moving to see. This black and white series was dedicated to both foreign and Vietnamese journalists and photographers who died during the conflict. The courtyard of the museum is also very interesting to view. Here you can see the remains of the war, various rusting tanks and cannons.
After this impressive day you will be brought back to your hotel. Tonight you can enjoy a free evening.
After breakfast, a two hour drive to My Tho where will expose the colorful outskirt life, picturesque rice fields along the journey. Upon arrival, boat trip to Mekong River with islet stop at Thoi Son to taste seasonal fruits, enjoy traditional folk songs. Then, visit the authentic life of the local and challenge your bargaining power at cottage handicraft shops. An adventurous sampan ride in palm shading creeks will be the next experience of the riverside region Lunch to be served with the Mekong Delta specialty – Deep Fried Elephant ear fish. Return to Ho Chi Minh City in the afternoon.
After breakfast at hotel, free time to discovery Ho Chi Minh city at your own leisure
Today is the last day of your tour in Vietnam, at the appropriate time you will be picked up and taken to the airport. End of services.
From $699 per person
