DAY 1: Arrival - Hanoi
Dinner
Upon arrival, you will be picked up from Noi Bai airport and transported to a hotel in Hanoi for a relaxing evening and dinner at one of Hanoi’s best restaurants. Stay in a hotel for the night.
Ha Noi Old Quarter
DAY 2: Hanoi city tour
Breakfast & Lunch
After breakfast, begin your city tour by visiting the Ho Chi Minh complex, which includes the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the Ho Chi Minh Museum, the famous One-pillar pagoda, and the ancient Tran Quoc pagoda.
Continue with a visit to the Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s earliest university founded in 1076, followed by lunch at one of Hanoi’s well-known restaurants. After seeing the Museum of Ethnology, take a traditional cyclo cycle around the famed Old Quarter, stopping at Dong Xuan market and watching a water puppet show before dinner.
Hanoi Water Puppet
– Try some local coffee.
– Try some local beer (Hanoi fresh beer)
– Come to the IDC Travel office and join us for dinner.
Evening optional activities in Hanoi:
– Have a drink at a neighbouring café/bar/pub.
– Exploring the downtown Hanoi area (walking streets on Weekends from Friday night until Sunday around Old Quarter areas and Hoan Kiem Lake)
– Go on a nighttime motorbike/scooter/walking tour.
DAY 3: Hanoi – Ha Long
Breakfast & Lunch & Dinner
Our car will collect you at your Hanoi hotel around 8:30AM and bring you to Ha Long (or Hai Phong), where you will arrive about midday.
Each cruise has its unique schedule and covers different aspects of the Bay:
- Cruise around Ha Long Bay, Bai Tu Long Bay, or Lan Ha Bay, which has several islands and islets surrounded by calm sea.
- On the first or second day, go to Heaven Palace Cave and/or Surprising Cave.
- Participate in cruise activities such as cooking classes, Tai Chi demonstrations, kayaking, swimming, and fishing.
On the boat, lunch and supper will be served. Overnight in your cruise room
DAY 4: Ha Long - Hanoi - Lao Cai
Breakfast & Lunch
The day before, travellers are encouraged to get up about 5.00 or 6.00 AM to see the sunrise or swim if the weather allows. Breakfast/ Brunch is provided at around 7:30 a.m., after which the boat continues its schedule to Heaven Palace Cave or Surprising Cave if not planned on the first day.
Return about midday to the port, then drive back to Hanoi, arriving around 16:00.
Free time to relax and eat at a restaurant before being brought to the railway station for the 21:10 overnight train to Lao Cai.
Ha Long Bay
DAY 5: Lao Cai - Sapa - Cat Cat
Breakfast & Lunch
Arrive in Lao Cai at about 06:00 and take a vehicle to Sapa. After breakfast, your guide will meet you at the hotel for a short hike to Cat Cat hamlet, which is home to the valley’s H’mong ethnic people.
Rice terraces in Sapa
The community has been relatively untouched by outside influences and offers stunning views of the valley, the majestic limestone mountains, and the green paddy fields. Visit local households and learn about their traditions before travelling down into the valley to witness the spectacular white curtain of the Cat Cat waterfall, which is flanked by a floral valley and deep green pine trees. During the summer, the rocks along the river and waterfall are popular for scenic photography and sunbathing.
Return to Sapa for dinner and an overnight stay.
DAY 6: Sapa - Lao Chai - Ta Van - Hanoi
Breakfast & Lunch
Breakfast at the hotel before taking a private car to the Black Hmong settlement of Lao Chai. Take a short hike down to the river to witness a hill tribe house and local women sewing traditional costumes, then continue to the Dzay ethnic minority’s Ta Van settlement.
Trek back to the main road to meet the car returning to Sapa, then to Lao Cai for supper and the overnight train back to Hanoi.
DAY 7: Hanoi - Hue
Breakfast & Lunch
When you arrive in Hanoi at about 5:00 a.m., you will be met by our car and driver and taken to a restaurant for breakfast before traveling to the airport for flight to Hue.
Our guide will greet you at the Hue airport and transport you to your accommodation. After check-in, you have free time in Hue; enjoy your dinner yourself.
DAY 8: Hue City tour
Breakfast & Lunch
Tour the Hue Royal Citadel in the morning, which was built by Emperor Gia Long in the early nineteenth century and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Visit the Imperial Museum, which has numerous historic relics from the Imperial capital, before traveling to Emperor Khai Dinh’s mausoleum and having lunch at a restaurant. In the afternoon, take a leisurely boat ride down the Perfume River to see the Thien Mu temple, Emperor Minh Mang’s mausoleum, and the famed Dong Ba market.
Dinner at a restaurant, evening at leisure.
DAY 9: Hue - Danang - Hoi An
Breakfast & Lunch
After breakfast, travel to the historic village of Hoi An through the Hai Van Pass to Da Nang, stopping along the way at Lang Co Beach, the Cham Museum, and Marble Mountain. Stop at Hoian for lunch.
In the afternoon, go on a walking tour of Hoi An, a key Asian commercial port in the 17th and 18th centuries, and see the classic architecture and laid-back atmosphere. Visit the centuries-old merchants’ residences, the 400-year-old Japanese Covered Bridge, and the vibrant, busy market…..
Evening free to eat and explore the town.
DAY 10: Hoi An - Da Nang - Ho Chi Minh City
Breakfast & Lunch
Spend the morning in Hoi An relaxing, shopping, and taking in the ambiance of this fascinating historic town before transferring to the airport in Da Nang for flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Our agent will meet you at the airport and transport you to your hotel, where you will spend the evening and overnight
Saigon at night
DAY 11: Saigon City tour
Breakfast & Lunch
After breakfast, take a full-day tour of this historic city, including the former Presidential Palace, the War Remnants Museum, and the city center’s famous architecture, including Notre Dame Cathedral, the City Hall, the Municipal Theater, and Xa Loi pagoda, as well as Ben Thanh market and Chinatown (Cholon).
The evening is free for you to use.
Notre-Dame Cathedral
DAY 12: Saigon - My Tho - Can Tho
Breakfast & Lunch
After breakfast, at 8:00 you will be picked up at your hotel and driven to My Tho, where you will board a motorized boat and sail down the Bao Dinh canal, which is flanked with stilt houses and fruit orchards.
Visit the wholesale fruit market in My Tho and Turtle Island, where you may enjoy lunch in the middle of an orchard. Enjoy a boat trip down the Tan Trach canal in Ben Tre, cruise beneath the shade of water coconut trees, and visit family enterprises to get a sense of the agricultural culture. Trek through the fruit fields on Thoi Son island and row through the various streams before returning by rowboat to My Tho.
Mekong Floating Market
Transfer to Can Tho and check in to your hotel on arrival. Evening free.
DAY 13: Cai Rang Floating Market - Ho Chi Minh City
Breakfast & Lunch
After breakfast, board a boat at 8:00 a.m. to explore the famed Cai Rang floating market, which is teeming with activity in the morning. Cruise through the intricate network of tiny canals, visit a community that specializes in manufacturing rice noodles, and marvel at the Mekong Delta’s beautiful “monkey bridges.”
Monkey Bridge
We then stop for lunch before heading back to Ho Chi Minh City, stopping along the route to see the bonsai garden at My Tho. Return to Ho Chi Minh City at 17:30 for a free evening to rest, eat, or shop.
Evening optional activities in Ho Chi Minh City:
– Enjoy local café/pub/bar beverages.
– Strolling around the night walking street (Bui Vien, De Tham streets)
– Go on a nighttime scooter or motorcycle trip.
DAY 14: Ho Chi Minh City - Departure
Breakfast
After breakfast at the hotel, you have the rest of the day to explore the city before transferring to the airport for your departing journey.
