14 Days Vietnam Bicycling Tour

<p>Arrival in Hanoi. In the Arrivals Hall, your driver will welcome you holdling a signbỏad with your name applied, help you transfer out to the car and drive to the centrally located hotel. The hotel is located in the Old Quarter of the city with its nice narrow commercial streets and within walking distance of Hoan Kiem Lake and Dong Xuan Market, both of which are some of Hanoi’s landmarks.</p><p></p>

<p>Start your city tour by bike with the stops for visiting the city’s main attractions: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Presidential Palace. President Ho Chi Minh’s pile house. The one-pillar pagoda. Temple of Literature. After lunch, continue with a guided walk around the Old Quarter. </p><p></p>

<p>This morning, you will be transferred by car to Halong Bay. Getting on a traditional style Junk, you will be traveling around Halong Bay with its marvelous limestone landscape on a 2 day 1 night cruise program. Along the way, you will visit a limestone cave, a floating fishing village, and the kayaking will be your highlight activities of the day. Overnight stay in a private cabin on cruise. </p>

<p>You will wake up in this peculiar natural landscape, morning Taichi exercise and continue your boat trip in Halong Bay until the late in the morning. Disembark the cruise at the port where the driver is waiting and drives you directly to Ky Son, where you will be staying at a wonderful lodge in the middle of Vietnam’s countryside.</p>

<p>Wake up in the morning, you will attend to a short Yijinjing session. After breakfast you will take a bike ride through a rural area to the historic village of Duong Lam. Visit of the market, Mia pagoda and Emperor Ngo Quyen’s tomb. After lunch and a hand massage, you will check out and transfer by car to the mountainous Mai Chau, where you will stay at the Mai Chau Ecologde, which has the most beautiful location at the foot of a mountain and overlooking to the rice fields.</p><p></p>

<p>This morning, you will take a bike ride through rice fields where the local farmers are typically working on their land. Cycling on the pedal, you will ride through the open countryside and to the smaller villages, where you get to know 2 of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic minority groups, namely the people of the Muong and White Thai tribes. </p>

<p>Free in the morning for a walk or bike ride on your own in the beautiful Mai Chau Valley before check out and lunch at the lodge. You will be transferred to Hanoi Airport, from where you fly to Hoi An, a small town in Central of Vietnam – a city that many former visitors said as Vietnam’s most charming town.</p>

<p>Today you will have a day free at leisure to stroll around the cozy streets with the old houses built since 16th centurey when European, Chinese and Japanese traders settled here. In the historic setting today, there are restaurants, galleries, artifacts shops and tailors. You can take time to select your favorite fabric and have some express tailor clothes, or spend your time to go to the beach or ride a bike in rural area.</p>

<p>Today you will spend a day leisurely cycling though the scenic countryside of Vietnam, far from the traffic the motor scooters, and the noises the city. You will cross the islands on the Song Thu river delta using local transportation, including ferries and floating bridge.</p><p>This tour will take you to discover how wooden river boats are made, learn the secret of weaving the colorful straw “Hoi An” sleeping mats. Try the renowned Vietnamese basket boats and much more. You will spend the day with first-hand contact with one of the rural inhabitant of the region, far from the usual tourist circuits.</p><p>At lunchtime you will be invited into the home of a local Vietnamese family for a traditional Vietnamese meal, and learn their customs and traditions. After you have relaxed for a while under the shade of a mango tree, you will begin your return towards Hoi An by boat, which will take about 40 minutes</p><p></p>

<p>This morning, you will be transferred by car to the Old Capital and the Imperial City of Hue, where after lunch you will start cycling to the Royal Tombs of the two emperors of the Nguyen dynasty, namely Minh Mang (the first Nguyen Emperor) and Khai Dinh (The most recently built mausoleum)</p>

<p>Today will be another day for cycling, the bicycle wheels will firstly roll to the Thien Mu pagoda, where you will understand more about the Buddhism in Vietnam. Continue to the Imperial Palace and the Imperial City with the magnificiant buildings where the former emperors and his family lived in the past. </p><p>You have lunch in an Old Mandarin’s residence. </p><p>The afternoon is at your own disposal, it is possible to cycle with the guide in the private area in the citadel until late afternoon before cycling back to Hotel.</p><p></p>

<p>This morning, you will take a fly to Ho Chi Minh City and then by car to the Mekong Delta, which is a riverine delta area. Checkin at Mekonglodge, an Eco-lodge built with the rustic architecture with the view to the green surroundings of the delta. </p><p>In the afternoon, you will take a bike ride on a larger island and get an insight into daily life on the rivers and in the villages. You stop at small sights along the way, and visit a garden and taste some of the fresh fruits.</p><p></p>

<p>Breakfast in the restaurant.</p><p>From 08:00am: you will take boat trip to a small floating market, visit handicraft villages, then transferred to Mekong Lodge.</p><p>Daily lunch is served in the nice restaurant with the Vietnamese day-menu.</p><p>This afternoon program will be included a bike trip to Tan Phong island: visit some local handicrafts houses: handmade banana leaves hammock, daily house products being made from water hyacinth, free fruit tasting & Vietnamese folk music. Then take small rowing boat to small canal.</p><p>Come back to the lodge to join in the carvings on fruits or carrots in the evening & dinner in restaurant.</p><p>Riverside Bar are pleased to serve you</p><p></p>

<p>By car to Ho Chi Minh City, where you have a few hours on your own before transferring to the airport. Departure back home. </p>