Essence of Vietnam - 14 Days

A great chance to discover the real Vietnam, with its gorgeous scenery, culture, and rustic way of life from North to South. Enjoy the quintessence of the Tonkin Show at Hanoi as well as the contrasting portrait of the village and the city shown through the unique performance of A O Show at Ho Chi Minh City. Get a vivid historical lesson at Hue and Hoi An before relaxing at the river region Can Tho and Vinh Long. All of the highlight destinations throughout the journey surely stir your imagination.

General Information

Tour Route: Hanoi – Halong Bay – Hue – Hoi An – Can Tho – Vinh Long – Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Duration: 14 Days/13 Nights
Date: No fixed dates
Start/End: Hanoi/ Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Tour Customizable: Available!
Active Level: Moderate, Easy Walking, Boating, …

Brief Itinerary

North Vietnam Itinerary – 4 days
Day 1: Hanoi Arrival – Tonkin Show (D)
Day 2: Cycling to Dong Ngac Village (B, L)
Day 3: Hanoi City Tour – Halong City – Quang Ninh Museum – Overnight at hotel (B, L)
Day 4: Halong Bay – Overnight Cruise (B, L, D)
Central Vietnam Itinerary – 4 days
Day 5: Halong Bay – Fly to Hue (B, L)
Day 6: Cycling to the Rural life of Hue & Imperial Citadel (B, L)
Day 7: Hue – Danang – Hoi An – Walking Tour (B, L)
Day 8: Hoi An Cooking Class (B, L)
South Vietnam Itinerary – 6 days
Day 9: Hoi An – Danang – Fly to Can Tho – Can Tho Ecolodge (B, L, D)
Day 10: Can Tho – Cai Rang Floating Market – Vinh Long Homestay (B, L, D)
Day 11: Vinh Long – Saigon (B)
Day 12: Saigon – Cu Chi by Speedboat (B, L)
Day 13: Saigon – The Insider’s Morning tour by Vespa, Evening Show A O (B, L, D)
Day 14: Saigon Departure (B)

Full Itinerary

Day 1: Hanoi Arrival – Tonkin Show (D)

Upon our arrival at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, we are welcomed and picked up by our local tour guide & driver to the arranged hotel in the city center. Check-in and free for relaxing.

Tonight, enjoy the fascinating Tonkin show where you can experience Vietnam’s Outdoor Cultural Spectacle in the Red River Delta and see the story immerging in the agriculture and tradition of North Vietnam. This is an amazing experience that should not be missed when visiting Hanoi. Overnight in Hanoi.

Day 2: Cycling to Dong Ngac Village (B, L)

Take in scenic vistas to visit Dong Ngac village. En route, stop at a local market to buy the ingredients to cook for our lunch today. Experience the bustling market and local life as we are guided on how to purchase all. After the market, transferred to a traditional house and were welcomed by our host.  Drink some tea, and relax a little bit before taking our bikes and venturing deeper into the village. Visit Dong Ngac communal house, the oldest house in the village which is more than 300 years old, and the Nguyen family with a house given by the Kings in the past.

Later, join the cooking demonstration in our host’s house and then enjoy the dishes that we do. And then, say goodbye to our host then continue on our afternoon journey. Cycling on mostly rural lanes through surrounding villages to Lien Mac, a beautiful area of immaculately tended vegetables and flowers. Get a close-up look at the colorful fields and have the chance to chat with some of the local people out caring for their crops. After taking another route from Lien Mac back to Dong Ngac, stop at a “tofu family” to see the tofu-making process and taste some fresh ones before bidding our farewells, and catching the van back to Hanoi.

Day 3: Hanoi City Tour – Halong City – Quang Ninh Museum – Overnight at hotel (B, L)

In the morning visit, the Ho Chi Minh Complex with Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the Presidential Palace, One Pillar Pagoda…and the Temple of Literature then stop for our lunch at a local fine restaurant.

This afternoon, spend 3.5 hours driving through the Red River Delta to Halong City. Stop for refreshments in Sao Do Town for a while during the travel. Arrive in Halong City, driving through the Quang Ninh Museum. After that, check-in at the hotel, and have a rest. Overnight in Halong city.

Day 4: Halong Bay – Overnight Cruise (B, L, D)

After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to Bai Chay Wharf for our 4-hour boat trip to visit Halong Bay – The World Nature Heritage. During that time, take the opportunity to explore the spectacular Heaven Palace (Thien Cung) and Dau Go caves crammed with thousands of stalactites and stalagmites of different colors, shapes, and sizes, which stir your imagination.

Keep cruising to see many limestone islands and islets, which are dotted around the bay including Incense Bowl islet, Cock Fighting islet, Sail islet, turtle island… Seafood lunch will be served on the boat. Activities this afternoon are kayaking, cooking demonstrations on the cruise, and swimming at the beach. Enjoy dinner and relax in the evening on the cruise.

Day 5: Halong Bay – Fly to Hue (B, L)

Get up early morning to join a Tai Chi lesson which makes you feel stronger for a long day trip. After that, have a light breakfast then take the small boat to Sung Sot cave (Amazing cave). Back to the cruise then we have our brunch already served.

Travel back to Noi Bai International airport for our short domestic flight to Hue where we are welcomed by a local tour guide & driver. Overnight in Hue.

Day 6: Cycling to the Rural life of Hue & Imperial Citadel (B, L)

Our local guide will pick you up from your hotel in the city center for Hue Cycling Tour. After a short brief about the tour and safety, start the cycling tour with a short cycle through peaceful villages and countryside to see the daily life of local people. Stop in some rice farms, vegetable gardens, duck farms... to learn how local people make their living.

Later, arrive in the small village of Thuy Thanh, which is home to Thanh Toan Local Market. Climb off your bike to explore the local market stalls, then pay a visit to the Thanh Toan Agricultural Museum to discover more about the role of agriculture in local society, and spend your time enjoying the beautiful Thanh Toan-covered bridge. Have lunch in Hanh Restaurant to enjoy some delicious local specialties.

Visit Hue Imperial Citadel – the home of Vietnam’s last royal Dynasty where you will be told interesting stories attached to this construction. After that, reach Dong Ba Market to see the daily life of local people, then free activities. Overnight in Hue.

Day 7: Hue – Danang – Hoi An – Walking Tour (B, L)

After breakfast at the hotel, depart Hue for Hoi An and travel through the high pass of Hai Van with its spectacular views of the East Sea en route to Danang.

Later afternoon, have a walking tour in Hoi An town – one of the World’s Culture Heritages in Vietnam. This quaint riverside town still boasts a wealth of century’s old traditional architecture. The influences of several Asian cultures can be seen in old houses and waterside buildings. It is also famous as a place to be instantly created inexpensive tailored outfits. Overnight in Hoi An.

Day 8: Hoi An Cooking Class (B, L)

This morning, we join the special cooking class at the local market shopping for all the ingredients for our lesson. We then boat to Vy’s Market restaurant where we can see, smell, hear, taste, touch, and interact with many different food-making processes. We can try samples from over 10 different food counters including Banh my, dumplings, pickles, weird….

Then we start our 2.5-hour cooking lesson with the chef and enjoy all the food that we cooked before. The gift after the lesson is a copy of the recipes and a Vietnamese cooking utensil to take home. Free shopping in the afternoon. Overnight in Hoi An.

Day 9: Hoi An – Danang – Fly to Can Tho – Can Tho Ecolodge (B, L, D)

Take a flight to Can Tho. Welcome upon arrival in Can Tho then relax for the rest of the day. Overnight in Can Tho Ecolodge.

Day 10: Can Tho – Cai Rang Floating Market – Vinh Long Homestay (B, L, D)

Your visit this morning focuses on taking a boat trip to the famous Cai Rang floating market, the biggest floating market in the Mekong Delta. Observe the daily life and local people selling their products on boats.

Continue the journey to Vinh Long. Upon arrival in Vinh Long, take the boat to visit the brick kilns where we can see how the local people create beautiful potteries from clay. Then, come to visit the orchard and traditional house, listening to the traditional music at a local home. Overnight in Vinh Long Homestay.

Day 11: Vinh Long – Saigon (B)

Today we leave Vinh Long for Saigon, time for free activities around Saigon.

Day 12: Saigon – Cu Chi by Speedboat (B, L)

Start the day with a Saigon River Speedboat Cruise from Ho Chi Minh City to Cu Chi Tunnels, otherwise known as the “Iron Triangle” or “Iron Land” which is around 70km far from Ho Chi Minh city. It takes us more than 1 hour to drive through the pleasant countryside; rubber plantations and rice paddies. From here, we will have a short time to enjoy the introductory video of how the tunnels were constructed; and then explore the maze of the tunnels that are widened for visiting. We also see various mantraps and the remains of a US tank, as well as various bomb craters made by 500lb bombs, dropped by B52 bombers. Relaxing time, we may try to use the real guns and bullets (your own paid – US$1/bullet).

After the Cu Chi tunnels tour, we travel back to Ho Chi Minh city for our half-day city tour. The highlights of this afternoon are the Reunification Palace (the former Presidential Place of the South Vietnam President in the past); the War Remnant Museum where we can see countless artifacts, photographs, and pictures documenting the second Indochina war; the Notre Dame Cathedral and Old Post Office. Before going back to our hotel, we have a short time to visit the Ben Thanh market. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh city.

Day 13: Saigon – The Insider’s Morning tour by Vespa, Evening Show A O (B, L, D)

Start this adventure from the back of a Vespa driven by a professional local. Step by step discovers Ho Chi Minh City’s hidden charms and traditional culture with an unusual way out of normal traveling routes. In the early morning, visit Tao Dan Park for bird watching and Thich Quang Duc Monument which is dedicated to a historical Buddhist monk who burnt himself to fight against the anti-Buddhism policies promulgated by Diem Government.

After that, a quick stop at Flower Market to capture some photos of colorful flowers. Pass by Ong Bon Pagoda, also known as Nhi Phu Temple. Built by the Fujian Congregation, the architecture is ironically carved with gold. Soak in the religious space, smell the aroma of burning incense, and witness locals coming to pray for luck and health. Stroll along a small fabric valley to reach the old-fashioned Chinese medicine street.

In the evening, immerse yourself in a story of urbanization unraveling before your eyes bring feel mesmerized by the color and charisma of the performance of the “A O Show” during an incredible cultural experience at Ho Chi Minh City’s opulent Saigon Opera House.

Day 14: Saigon Departure (B)

Today our awaiting vehicle transfers us back to the Tan Son Nhat International airport for our departure flight. Trip ends. Goodbye and see you again in the next Vietnam vacation package.

Inclusions & Exclusions:

Inclusions:

• Accommodation with daily breakfast as per detailed itinerary
• Transfers by private air-conditioned vehicle with an experienced driver
• Meals as specified in the itinerary with authentic local food. Western food is available (upon request) (B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner).
• Local-stationed English-speaking tour guide. He or she will provide you with the best local knowledge available.
• Entrance fees & permits (if have)
• Boat excursions
• Bottle of drinking water
• Domestic flights as listed in the itinerary

Exclusions:

• International flights and airport taxes
• Vietnam Visa
• Travel Insurance
• Other meals which are not indicated above
• Surcharge and Compulsory dinners (if any)
• Beverages in the restaurants where meals are included
• Gratuities to guides and drivers
• Personal and other expenses such as porter, bar bills and laundry not stated in the itinerary.