Itinerary
Day 1: Hanoi Arrival (D)
Welcome to Hanoi: Vietnam’s bustling colonial capital. Your tour guide and a driver will meet you outside the baggage claim of Noi Bai International Airport and take you to your hotel in the city center.
After check-in and refreshment embark on a one-hour cyclo tour of Hanoi's atmospheric Old Quarter, a bustling area of narrow streets homes to literally thousands of small businesses, shopkeepers and street vendors, selling everything from bananas to books. Savor table delicacies for dinner at one of the finest restaurants in town.
Day 2: Hanoi Cooking Class & City Tour (B, L)
This morning, your tour guide will take you to the cooking class. Discover the local market and learn about ingredients, flavors and see how the locals prepare for meals. Next is a short talk on the art of Hanoian gastronomy, vegetables, herbs & spices & learn how to prepare & use them. The Chef will share to you her pride of Vietnamese cuisines and the secrets how to make it good.
Enjoy the local food in Hanoi style.
In the afternoon take a city tour of Vietnam’s charming capital. With its wide tree-lined boulevards, French colonial architecture, peaceful lakes, and ancient oriental pagodas, Hanoi is an eclectic mix that offers something for everyone. Your city tour takes you to Hanoi’s key sites: Temple of Literature, West Lake (including Tran Quoc Pagoda & Quan Thanh Temple) & Hoa Loa Prison (formerly known as the “Hanoi Hilton” during the Vietnam war).
Evening's highlight is Water Puppet Performance - a unique Vietnamese art form hailing from Southeast Asia’s wet-rice culture.
Day 3: Hanoi – Halong Bay – Overnight on cruise (B, L, D)
Enjoy breakfast at the hotel, before setting out on a 3 to 4-hour drive to the UNESCO World Heritage Site: Halong Bay.
The following Halong Bay itinerary is a sample for our standard service on a 3-star junk/ cruise. Different programs are available through our luxury cruise itineraries.
Spend 24 hours on a Cruise in the amazing bay: a natural wonderland composed of jutting limestone islands and sparkling turquoise waters.
Savor a gourmet lunch of fresh seafood onboard as you sail out into the mystical bay. In the afternoon, cruise around some of Halong’s numerous islands. Along the way, visit one of the bay’s 3 largest caves (Thien Cung, Dau Go or Sung Sot). Stop at an island cove with a sheltered white sanded beach and take a dip in the warm waters of the Gulf of Tonkin (if the weather will be suitable). Pass the night on your junk, lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of calm waters.
Day 4: Halong Bay – Hanoi – Fly to Da Nang – Hoi An (B, L, D)
Awake early and participate in Tai Chi on the top deck or simply relax watching the sunrise over the bay’s towering islands. Enjoy a morning cup of coffee or tea, before setting out to explore the nearby islands by rowboat. Return to the junk for brunch then take advantage of the sundeck and admire the amazing rock formations of Bai Tu Long Bay as you navigate back to Halong City, where your driver will meet you at the dock and take you to Noi Bai Airport to catch your short flight to Da Nang.
Your tour guide and driver will transfer you to the hotel in Hoi An, a destination with two faces: the charming, old-world trading port of narrow streets and traditional houses, and the beach with its luxurious resorts and the long stretch of clean white sand.
Day 5: Hoi An Cooking Class – Walking Tour (B, L)
Today enjoy a half-day cooking class in Hoian. Meet at the Hai Scout Cafe in Hoian’s Old Town. From there you will head to Hoian's colorful market. Explore the market and interact with local vendors to purchase some fresh ingredients for today’s cooking class.
In the afternoon, take a walking tour through the narrow winding streets of the ancient town center, visiting Chua Ong Pagoda, the Chinese Assembly Hall, the 200-year old Tam Ky ancestral house and the famous Japanese Bridge.
Day 6: Hoi An – Da Nang – Fly to Nha Trang (B)
After breakfast, your driver will transfer you to Danang Airport for a southwards flight to the beach city of Nhatrang.
Upon arrival at Cam Ranh Airport, meet your tour guide and a driver, then visit the ancient Po Nagar Cham Tower, Long Son Pagoda, and Dam Market on the way to your hotel.
Rest of the day, spend your free time on the beach.
Day 7: Nha Trang – Free at leisure (B)
With its turquoise sea, golden stretches of sand and idyllic islands, Nha Trang is tempting to spend your days just relaxing on the beach.
Day 8: Nha Trang – Da Lat (B)
This morning, you will drive up-hills to Da Lat with a stopover of rural Nha Trang on your way out for a peek of what countryside living in Vietnam is all about. You will reach the mountain town of Dalat, known as the "City of Eternal Spring", after four hours on the road.
An afternoon of sightseeing takes in the art deco former summer residence of Bao Dai – the last Emperor of Vietnam, the old Dalat Railways Station, the Central Market, and famous XQ embroidery workshop. There will be a chance for a short walk around the Lake to get a feel for this delightful city in the evening.
Day 9: Da Lat – Fly to Saigon (B)
Have breakfast at the hotel then leave Da Lat for Elephant Falls - one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the Vietnam Central Highlands. En route, visit a coffee plantation, vegetable farms, a cricket farm, a rice wine processing plant and a silk-worm factory. Stop at a hill tribe village of the K’Ho ethnic minority group, there, you will learn more about the important Gong culture (The Space of Gong Culture in the Central Highlands of Vietnam) which has been declared as a UNESCO World Heritage. You can wander around the village and experience local lifestyles.
Return to the city for lunch. Transfer to Lien Khuong Airport and take your flight to Saigon. On arrival, your driver will pick you and transfer you to your hotel in the center of the City.
Day 10: Saigon Cooking Class & Saigon City Tour (B, L)
Enjoy a morning cooking class at the Vietnam Cookery Center. Your hands-on cooking course is conducted by a professional chef.
In the afternoon you will visit such sites as the Reunification Palace, the War Remnants Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Old Post Office and Ben Thanh Market. Enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure.
Day 11: Saigon – Cu Chi Tunnels – Departure (B)
Today, you travel outside of Saigon to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels. Cu Chi Tunnels is an underground labyrinth of passageways, used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War (or “American War” as it’s referred to here) as protection against American air raids. Those inclined are invited to crawl through selections of the tunnels to better understand what life was like for the Vietnamese soldiers during wartime.
Tour ends at Tan Son Nhat International Airport/ Or your driver and guide will transfer you to your hotel in town in case you stay longer in Saigon.
Price Included
– Accommodations
– Breakfast & meals per mentioned in the itinerary
– Transportation by private car with AC
– English speaking guides
– 3 domestic flights (HAN – DAD, DAD – NHA, DLI – SGN)
– All entrance fees, performances, boat trips & excursions
Price Excluded
– Travel insurance
– Vietnam Visa
– Gratuities for tour guides/ drivers
– Beverages & other personal expenses