This trip offers a good understanding of Vietnam, especially in terms of the people and daily life through typical sites, activities, villages. 

Day 1: HANOI

Arrival in Hanoi, meet your guide and transfer for hotel check in (official check-in time: 14:00).

Time at leisure. Overnight in Hanoi

Day 2: HANOI TOUR – LAO CAI BY NIGHT TRAIN (B)

Full day for exploring the fascinating city of Hanoi where old and new things blend together, Vietnamese, Chinese and French cultures mix together.

Enjoy a pleasant walk around the peaceful Ho Chi Minh area, visit HCM Mausoleum (close on Monday and Fridays, Oct - Nov), HCM’s stilt house and garden, the One Pillar pagoda. Take another pleasant walk at the beautiful Temple of Literature, visit the Ethnology museum.

Afternoon enjoy a fantastic rickshaw ride through the bustle and hustle of Hanoi Old Quarter. Finally take a fascinating walk through the famous 36 busy streets of the Old Quarter and shopping

20:00 Transfer to the train station. Boarding on the night Sapaly train Hanoi – Lao Cai 21:10  05:30   – 1 air conditioning cabin of 4 soft berths

Overnight on train

Day 3: LAO CAI – HILL TRIBE MARKET – SAPA (B)

5:30 Arrival in Lao Cai, have breakfast at local restaurant and we take a scenic drive up the mountains to visit the colorful market (depending on a certain date: Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday). Enjoy taking many interesting pictures at the market, then drive back to Lao Cai and transfer to Sapa a tourist hub in North Vietnam. Check in a hotel for relaxation.

Overnight in Sapa

Day 4: SAPA – LAO CHAI – TAVAN VILLAGE (B)

9:00 Transfer to a point where you will start the 4 km light trekking to Lao Chai village of Black H’mong People on easy path, mostly down hill, altitude is between 1,400m – 1,600m. There will be many photo stops on the way.

Depending on guests’ conditions, they can walk to Y Linh Ho village as well.

13:00 Transfer back to Sapa by car. Time at leisure

Overnight in Sapa.  

Day 5: SAPA – MA TRA – BY ROAD TO HANOI (B)

9:00am: After breakfast, have another trekking tour to Suoi Ho village (walk or go by car from Sapa to Suoi Ho, depending on the guests’ condition) and walk to Ma Tra village inhabited by the H’Mong people.

Then transfer back to Hanoi by road.

Overnight in Hanoi

Day 6: HANOI  – HALONG  (B/L/D)

8:00 Transfer to Halong Bay.

12:00 Arrival in Halong, check in a shared deluxe junk and enjoy the cruise with gorgeous scenery, delicious meals, visiting a cave, cooking class aboard, etc.

Overnight on the cruise

Day 7: HALONG  - HANOI – HUE (B/BR)

Early morning, doing Tai chi on the boat. Enjoy breakfast, continue the cruise around the beautiful bay.

9:00 check out the rooms and pay the bills.

10:30 have brunch on the boat

11:30 Disembark the boat and transfer to Hanoi airport for flight to Hue

VN 1545   HAN  HUI  1915  2025

Arrival in Hue airport, meet guide. Check in a hotel.

Overnight in Hue

Day 8: HUE TOUR (B)

8:00 enjoy Hue’s typical features: peaceful, traditional and beautiful.

Take a lovely boat trip on the Perfume River to the beautiful Thien Mu pagoda, visit King Tu Duc Tomb. Afternoon, visit the Imperial Citadel where the last monarchy of the Nguyen Dynasty was seated. You will have great chance to learn about the Vietnamese history and traditional architecture as well as enjoy the meditative atmosphere of this place. And you should not miss the interesting Dong Ba market.

Overnight in Hue

Day 9: HUE - HOIAN  (B)

9:00 Check out the hotel and transfer to Hoian by car, via the Hai Van pass, Danang city.

Arrival in Hoian, enjoy a city walk around the ancient town. Visit the History Museum, the Fujian temple, the Tan Ky ancient house, the Japanese Pagoda bridge.

Transfer to hotel check in. Time at leisure

Overnight in Hoian

Day 10: HOIAN– COUNTRYSIDE TOUR  (B/L)

8:00 Start a very interesting day with a nice bike ride from the hotel to Co Co river. Get on a boat and enjoy cruising through a fishing area. You can join in the fishing activities with local fishermen.

Then get on small bamboo baskets to row into a palm plantation and have fun with catching crabs.

Arrival at a fisherman’s home to enjoy some tea, sweet and talking to the hosts.

11:00 Continue to bike to Tra Que village where you will be welcome with a nice fresh drink. Take a walk around the vegetable village famous for herbs. The villages still use century-old traditional techniques to plant vegetables and herbs manually.

Then change into farmer’s clothes and pick up farmer’s tools to join farmers working in the fields.

Our farmer describes the traditional farming methods while we help fertilize the garden using seaweed from the local river, and then water it using huge tin cans strapped to our back. Then we pick vegetables and herbs, and learning how to wrap them to prevent damage.

Many of the local herbs are used by the farmers for traditional village medicines. You will have a chance to enjoy the herbal foot massage with a real farmer concept.

It's now time to try making the village specialties named “Tam Huu” spring rolls - using the local herbs and vegetables we have just picked or Xeo Cake (Banh Xeo). We then sit down and enjoy a lovely local meal.

Bike back to the hotel and rest.

Overnight in Hoi An.

Day 11: HOIAN – HCMC (B)

7:30 Check out the hotel , transfer to airport and take the flight to HCMC DAD SGN 9:35 11:05

Upon arrival, meet our guide and transfer for city tour in HCMC, the biggest city of Vietnam of modern hustle and bustle with visits to the Binh Tay market and Thien Hau temple in China town, the War museum, The Hundred Years Red Cathedral (Notre Dame Cathedral), The Old Post Office and The People’s Committee Hall which were all built during the French colonial period.

17:00 Enjoy the unique water puppet show

Hotel check in.

Overnight in HCMC

Day 12: HCMC – CU CHI (B)

8:00 Meet our guide and transfer to Cu Chi and visit Cu Chi Tunnels where human knowledge has been enriched by experiencing a web-like tunnel system of more than 200km in length which provide shelters for Vietnamese guerrillas during the Vietnam War against American troops.

Back to HCMC. Time at leisure

Overnight in HCMC.

Day 13: HCMC – CAI BE – CAN THO (B/L)

08:00 transfer to Cai Be located on the Upper Branch of the Mighty Mekong River.

10:30 Arrival in Cai Be, get on a boat and visit the Cai Be floating market and many workshops of making rice paper, salt, soya sauce, coconut candies, popcorn, pop rice, etc.

Get back on the boat and have lunch served with local food on the boat (included).

Continue to Vinh Long by boat along rivers, fruit gardens etc.

Enjoy a nice sampan row through Luc Cu canal.

Enjoy a walk for 15 minutes along fruit gardens and villages to visit Ut Trinh garden. Enjoy fruits and local traditional music.

Continue the boat tour to Vinh Long town, visit a local market

Then transfer to Can Tho by road.

Arrival in Can Tho. Check in a hotel and relax

Day 14:  CAN THO – HCMC (B)

7:00 After breakfast, check out and transfer to visit Cai Rang floating market. Then visit a rice noodle factory, An Binh market.

10:00 Transfer to HCMC

Overnight in HCMC

Day 15: HCMC – DEPARTURE (B)

After breakfast, time at leisure until transfer to the airport for your departure flight.

Inclusions:

• Hotel accommodation with breakfast (based on double/ twin sharing )
• Meals indicated in the program (B= Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=dinner)
• All ground transport on tour with A/C cars, boats, bike, trishaw, train tickets Hanoi – Lao Cai (sharing 1 cabin of 4 soft berths)
• 2 domestic flights: HAN – HUI , DAD – SGN
• Entrance fees for sightseeing and show
• Local English guides
• Daily cold bottles of water and towels

Exclusions:

• International flight tickets to and from Vietnam
• Personal travel Insurance
• Vietnam visa
• Personal expenses such as: other meals, drinks, laundry, tips, etc.
• All other accounts not mentioned in the above inclusions.