Fascinating Vietnam Tour 12 Days

You will be warmly welcomed upon arrival at Hanoi airport and transferred to your hotel. In the afternoon you will take a private walking city tour to visit local markets and Hanoi’s Old Quarter, known for its 36 streets and former craft guilds. In the evening you will enjoy a water puppet performance before a welcome dinner at a local restaurant and an overnight stay in Hanoi.

The post-colonial capital city of Hanoi is a unique Asian city with tree-lined boulevards, French colonial architecture, numerous lakes, pagodas, and temples. This full-day tour takes you around Hanoi’s most interesting sights, including the Ho Chi Minh Complex, Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and his Stilt House, the Presidential Palace, and the One Pillar Pagoda nearby. Also on the tour will be the Lake of the Restored Sword, Ngoc Son Temple, the Temple of Literature, peaceful West Lake “with “lovers’ street” Thanh Nien), the sedate Tran Quoc Pagoda, Quan Thanh Temple, and one of the city’s museums, either the History Museum or the Ethnology Museum. You will stay overnight in Hanoi.

Today you leave Hanoi for Halong Bay (a World Natural Heritage site) via the Red River Delta. Upon arrival, you will set out on a junk cruise on the bay while lunch is served. You will pass through the magical bay, where thousands of sculpted limestone islands rise from the waves like dragons’ teeth. After lunch, you will take a short trek to a nearby summit for a panoramic view of the bay, swim on a quiet beach, or sunbathe on the sundeck.
In the late afternoon, you will visit an interesting fishing village with an opportunity to interact with fishermen who have been living in the bay for almost three generations. At sunset, you can kayak or simply take a bamboo row boat to discover a water tunnel with many coral reefs in a scenic lagoon. Back on board, you can enjoy watching the peaceful sunset and later unwind at a restaurant. You will stay overnight onboard.

You’ll wake up on the bay to the sounds of waves and birds welcoming the new day. You will have an opportunity to view the sunrise over the bay and after breakfast, visit a beautiful limestone grotto. You will have a walk back to the boat for a final glimpse of Halong Bay while cruising back to the dock. Then you will drive back to Hanoi and stay overnight.

You will transfer to the airport for your noon 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. You will stay overnight in Hue.

Rising up in the ancient land, enjoy your breakfast in the hotel. Then, board a private boat for cruising the romantic Perfume River, and visit Lady Pagoda (Thien Mu Pagoda), the ornate Minh Mang’s tomb. We will enjoy lunch at a local restaurant. Leave the UNESCO-designated World Heritage Hue for Hoi An. We will travel over the Hai Van pass and stop in Danang for a visit to the Cham Museum and handicraft villages on the foot of Marble Mountain before arriving in Hoi An. Once in Hoi An, we will check into our hotel and have some free time to explore the town. Overnight in Hoi An.

From the 16th to 18th centuries, Hoi An was a thriving international commercial port for Chinese, Dutch, French, Japanese, Portuguese, and Arab traders. These people came primarily to trade in the high-grade silk, which is still produced in the area, as well as ceramics. Today, Hoi An is a quaint riverside town, popular with tourists for its eclectic architecture, tailors shops, and numerous cafes. Some of the buildings in the narrow streets have remained unchanged for more than a century. We enjoy a half-day walking tour through the narrow winding streets of the Ancient Quarter visiting Chua Ong Pagoda, Chinese Assembly Halls, the 200- year old Tam Ky ancestral house, and the Japanese Bridge. Following the tour, there will be free time to shop or relax. Overnight in Hoi An.

You will then leave Hoi An for Danang Airport to take a one-hour flight to Ho Chi Minh City. In the afternoon you will embark on a city tour of HCMC (Saigon) including the Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Old Post Office, and bustling Ben Thanh Market. You will stay overnight in HCMC.

This morning you will drive to Cao Dai Temples in Tay Ninh. Cao Dai Holy See Temple is the cathedral of the Cao Daism religion and home of the Divine Eye, the official symbol of this unique religion. Cao Dai followers worship Jesus Christ, Confucius, Taoism, and Buddha. You will also be able to observe the midday service.
Following lunch, you will drive to the Cu Chi Tunnels, which consist of more than 200km of underground tunnels. This main axis system has many branches connecting to underground hideouts, shelters, and entrances to other tunnels. The network included innumerable trap doors, specially constructed living areas, storage facilities, weapons factories, field hospitals, command centers, and kitchens. Today the remaining tunnels have become a major tourist attraction giving the visitor a unique experience and a feel of what underground life was like during the U.S.-Vietnam War. You will stay overnight in HCMC.

You will leave HCMC to lush My Tho where you’ll cruise on a private boat through the green vegetation of the canals to an orchard, where you are treated to a delicious lunch in a local restaurant in the heart of the Mekong, complete with tropical fruits. You will also visit the snake farm Dong Tam which breeds snakes for, among other things, snake wine, and visit the VinhTrang pagoda. You then head to Can Tho city, the heart of the Mekong Delta, for an overnight stay.

You wake up to the sounds of the Mekong River welcoming a new day and take a boat trip to join in the Cai Rang floating market, one of the most bustling floating markets in the Mekong Delta, with hundreds of small boats barging and jostling for space to sell their goods. After sampling local fruits, our guide will escort you back to the hotel through myriad canals. You will have lunch at a local restaurant before returning to Ho Chi Minh City for an overnight stay.

There is no activity planned for today so you are free to enjoy your free time souvenir shopping until transfer to the airport for your onward flight.