Itinerary

Day 1: Hanoi Arrival (D)

You and your family will be warmly welcomed to beautiful Vietnam in the country’s vibrant capital, Hanoi. We drive past the city’s beautiful architecture and arrive in the Old Quarter, the colorful center of Hanoi, dropping you off at your hotel where you can check-in at any time after 14.00 pm. You will have time to settle into the pace of life here before our guide returns in the late afternoon to take you and your family for a delicious welcome dinner.

Notes: Dinner will be the only meal on the first day. Make your own arrangements for breakfast and lunch and stay overnight in Hanoi.

Day 2: Hanoi City Tour (B, L)

Have breakfast in your hotel before our guide and driver arrive. We will begin our Hanoi Full Day City Tour at the Ho Chi Minh Complex, the historic political center of Hanoi containing the vivid Presidential Palace and the central Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where the hero of Vietnam rests.

Behind the mausoleum, we will find Ho Chi Minh’s former stilt-house residence and the iconic One-Pillar Pagoda, a unique construction that encapsulates the Buddhist roots of Hanoi. After this, we continue south to the Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s beautiful first university and a pilgrimage destination for modern students looking for divine intervention to help them in their exams.

We will take lunch after this and decide on the next destination out of an option of two:

Option 1: Hoa Lo Prison

This historical prison housed many political Vietnamese revolutionaries during their country’s rule by the French, then transformed into a prisoner of war camp for Americans (including former senator John McCain) who were shot down over the skies of Hanoi.

Option 2: The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

This large museum contains many interesting artifacts and stories collected from the 53 ethnic minorities that comprise the population of Vietnam. In the museum’s grounds, there are full-scale replicas of traditional stilt houses in many different styles, giving children a great avenue for their exploration of different cultures.

We finish the day with a brief walk around the city’s wonderful Old Quarter, ending at your hotel.

Notes: Make your own arrangements for dinner and stay overnight in Hanoi.

Day 3: Hanoi – Halong Bay Overnight Cruise (B, L, D)

After breakfast at the hotel, we will take the drive to Halong Bay in the country’s East. A 3.5-hour transfer through the evocative Red River Delta will come before we meet our wonderful cruise ship, standing proudly in the world-renowned bay. We embark on the cruise and sit down to a gorgeous lunch as we begin cruising past the first of the limestone towers that line the waterways here. You can settle into the cruise from your cabin or the open sundeck, both of which will give you exquisite views of Halong Bay’s unique seascape.

Throughout the afternoon, we will engage in fun activities such as kayaking, visiting a cave and visiting a sandy island, all designed to get you into the bay to discover its majesty close-up. We return to the boat for a delicious dinner and the opportunity to unwind into a placid evening, with squid fishing and board games to keep the kids entertained.

Stay overnight in Halong Bay.

Day 4: Halong Bay – Bat Trang Ceramic Village – Hanoi (B, L)

Activities: Finish the overnight tour in Halong Bay and return to Hanoi via the pottery-making village of Bat Trang.

Wake up as the new morning light slides across the gorgeous towers of tree-topped limestone, best viewable from the sundeck where a beginners’ tai chi session will be taking place. Take breakfast in the restaurant and then recline on the boat for the remainder of the morning, with potentially some activities depending on the cruise that you select.

Lunch will be served slightly earlier than normal today as we disembark the cruise at midday before heading back to Hanoi. On the way, we stop at Bat Trang ceramic village, a wonderful locale on the outskirts of Hanoi where exquisite pottery is created. The kids can try their hands at creating some of their own pottery with a fun class, after which we can shop for souvenirs and complete our return to Hanoi.

Make your own arrangements for breakfast and lunch and stay overnight in Hanoi.

Day 5: Hanoi Departure (B)

Savor your final breakfast in the fresh morning atmosphere of Hanoi. Our driver will arrive at your hotel to transfer you to the airport, where you will catch your flight to your next destination.

This will be the end of the tour. We hope you had a wonderful time with your family around northern Vietnam and we hope that we get the chance to show you the rest of our beautiful country in the near

Inclusion

– Accommodation 

– Entrance fees as mentioned in the itinerary

– All transport including airport pick-up and drop-off by vehicles equipped with A/C

– Halong Bay overnight cruise

– English-speaking guides

– Meals as mentioned in the itinerary

– Water (2 bottles per person per tour day)

Exclusion

– Visa stamp fees

– Travel insurance

– Personal expenses

– Early check-in and late check-out surcharge

– Meals and drinks not mentioned in the itinerary

– Tips for the guides and drivers