Best of Vietnam

16 days 15 nights Contact ForPrice

Hanoi - Sapa - Ninh Binh- Bac Ninh - Halong Bay - Hoi An- Hochiminh - Cu Chi - Mekong

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INCLUSIONS 

  • Private air-conditioned vehicles
  • Air tickets within Vietnam airlines (Hanoi – Hue; Danang – HCMC) plus airport taxes
  • Accommodation as mentioned in the itinerary
  • English speaking tour guide
  • Bikes in Ninh Binh, Silkworm village, Cam Kim Island
  • Sampan boat ride in Ninh Binh
  • Boat trips in Hallong Bay/ Stork Island/ Perfume River/ Thu Bon River/ Mekong River
  • Meals as indicated in the itinerary
  • Sightseeing fees and permits during guided time
  • Service charges and Government taxes
  • Bottled water on the vehicle for Best of Vietnam Tour

EXCLUSIONS

  • Insurance of any kind
  • Single Supplement (will provide on request)
  • International flight tickets
  • Visas and airport departure tax
  • Tips and gratuities
  • Drinks and other meals
  • Others that not mentioned clearly in the inclusion

Detailed Program

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Day 1

ARRIVAL IN HANOI

Hanoi is the capital of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the country’s second largest city by population. This thousand-year-old city is considered one of the main cultural centres of Vietnam, where most Vietnamese dynasties have left their imprint. Even though some relics have not survived through wars and time, the city still has many interesting cultural and historic monuments for visitors and residents alike.. The city hosts more cultural sites than any other city in Vietnam.

On arrival, you are welcomed and picked up by your guide and driver and transfer to the downtown of Hanoi for hotel check-in. The remainder of the day is at leisure to recover from the jet lag. Overnight at a centrally located hotel

Meals included: N/a

DAY 2

HANOI CITY TOUR

The city tour of the capital city occupies your whole day.
In the morning, the sites include Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, his house-on-stilts, One Pillar Pagoda, Temple of Literature – Vietnam’s first university.

Lunch is served at a nice restaurant in town.

In the afternoon, the tour continues with a visit to one of the following museums, you can pick the one you like (the Ethnology Museum, Army Museum, National Fine Arts Museum, Hanoi Hilton prison or Vietnam Women Museum). Followed by a short walk or a cyclo ride in the Old Quarter. End the day tour with a traditional Water Puppet show. Your family will spend the second night in Hanoi.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 3

HANOI – BAC HA

After breakfast at the hotel, you will travel 5 hours to Bac Ha District, Lao Cai Province on the HW Noi Bai – Lao Cai. This is the longest highway in Vietnam. The scenic drive from the Red River Delta, through the midland to Lao Cai province will be a good start for your trip. Lunch is on the way. The afternoon, get transferred to Ban Pho village of the Flower H’mong people to start one-hour trek to visit the villages and view the rural countryside with terraced fields. Check into a local house for the night. Dinner and stay overnight.

​Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 4

BAC HA - SAPA

After your breakfast at the homestay. Bid farewell to the host and make your way to the hill-tribe market (Sunday: Bac Ha market; Tuesday: Coc Ly market; Saturday: Can Cau market). Here you will see some ethnic minority groups such as Flower Hmong, Phu La, Yao, Tay, Nung…etc. They are from different valleys, gather around for the trading. It is an awesome experience of seeing colors, understanding traditions and feeling the atmosphere. The market offers a variety of local products includes colorful embroidery, handicrafts and all types of daily necessary stuffs. Here also available animal market where people sell and buy or barter animal such as dogs, pot-bellied pigs, cows, buffalos and so on. Lunch is served at a local restaurant.
In the afternoon, you take about 3 hour drive to Sapa town. Check in the hotel and relax. Overnight in Sapa.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 5

SAPA - HANOI

After your breakfast at the hotel, at 8:30, you get picked and transferred by the car to a trekking point to Y Ling Ho Village, Muong Hoa Valley. Muong Hoa is the biggest valley in Sapa region and bottomed by a rocky river. This is a less-traveled path if you start earlier than other visitors. To start, you trek downhill the valley, the scenery of the rice terraces along your way is very beautiful and could be the highlight of the day. Cross the river on a small suspension bridge and continue the trek uphill. This is rather challenging when it is wet but definitely offers you spectacular view over the valley. Finish your morning scenic trek at Lao Chai Village where your private vehicle awaits you. Get back the town for lunch and followed by the afternoon drive to Hanoi. Check into your hotel in Hanoi again. Dinner on your own account.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 6

NINH BINH KARST COUNTRY

Depart from Hanoi early this morning and drive overland to Ninh Binh province, a beautiful and rustic countryside. Upon arrival, take 1,5 hour boat rowing at Thung Nang. This area is famous for its wonderful landscape of karst formations. The scenery along the gentle row is stunning and it is deserved to be the highlight activities of the day. Back to the dock and move to a local restaurant for a Vietnamese lunch. In the afternoon, you will continue the sightseeing to the surroundings by bicycles. About 3:30 PM, get back on your private vehicle and return to Hanoi. Check in your hotel and stay for the night.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 7

HANOI – BAC NINH

After your breakfast at the hotel, you are picked up again and heading Northeast to the neighboring Bac Ninh province. After 30km drive, you will arrive at Phat Tich pagoda for our first visit of the day. Phat Tich is one of the oldest pagodas in Northern Vietnam. After visit the main pagoda, your tour guide will walk you up 200 stone steps to the Peak of Phat Tich Mountain to see a giant stone statue of Buddha. Thence we continue on another 30 kilometers along Duong River (A branch of the Red River) to Phu Lao Village where you will have a home-stay experience for tonight. Refreshing and enjoy the local lunch with the family. In the afternoon, get back on your vehicle and make your way to Phu Lang Glazed Terra-cotta village. The visit to this village will absolutely amaze you while walking to visit some family-owned workshops. Learning the local techniques of producing different types of ceramics. The main categories that Phu Lang potteries focus on includes: Pottery in credence, Domestic pottery (used in family) and Pottery in decorating. Get back to the home-stay, relax and enjoy the dinner and stay for the night.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 8

HALONG BAY CRUISE

This morning, you may be woken up by the village roosters. To start the day, you may want to stroll around the village for a while before breakfast. About 9:00 AM, bid farewell to the host family and spend the morning drive to Halong Bay. The Bay is one of Vietnam’s most spectacular natural wonders and listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Upon arrival at the pier, you will board a boat for exploring the bay, the views that you get while navigating past thousands of limestone islands with rocky outcrops are incredible. Lunch and dinner are served on board. The activities of today include a swim in the bay in warmer months. You may have chance to do some kayaking

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 9

HALONG BAY AND FLY TO DANANG

Get up early this morning for some fresh-air on the open deck and join the Tai-chi class for some gentle moves. After breakfast, the crew will pull up the anchor, start the engine again and do more cruising to other parts of the bay, then gently heading back to the pier. The early lunch (Brunch) will be served aboard. Around noon, you are ferried in and get on your private vehicle. The afternoon drive will take you to Noi Bai airport where you will fly two hours to the center of Vietnam, Hoi An is the destination for today. On arrival, Getting transferred to the downtown and check in the hotel for the night.

Meals included: Brunch

Day 10

HOI AN FREE DAY

Hội An is a city on Vietnam’s central coast known for its well-preserved Ancient Town, cut through with canals. The former port city’s melting-pot history is reflected in its architecture, a mix of eras and styles from wooden Chinese shop houses and temples to colorful French colonial buildings. This is also known as the silk paradise with a lot of tailor-made shops for cloths and shoes. The town is about 7 km from Cua Dai Beach.
Today is yours for doing your own things: shopping, joining a cooking class, relax on the beach…

Meals included: Breakfast

Day 11

CAM KIM ISLAND BIKE RIDE

The tour guide will come and pick you up at 8:30 AM from the hotel. The island is a beautiful rural area, with a lot of vegetation, little temples and nice rice fields. Along the ride you will have chances to get some local interactions such as visiting local families and watch the traditional works of making noodle, home-made rice wine, weaving sleeping mats. Ride back to the hotel in the afternoon and relax for the rest of your day.
The alternative for the biking tour is a walking city tour of half-day in the Old Quarter.

Meals included: Breakfast

Day 12

FLY TO HO CHI MINH CITY (SAIGON)

After breakfast, your drive will meet you again at the lobby and take you to the airport for you to catch the morning flight to Ho Chi Minh City, commonly known as Saigon. Upon arrival, you will be met and greeted by another local guide for the rest of your trip. Transfer to the downtown for hotel check-in. The lunch today is on your own account. In the afternoon, with the tour guide, you will go to visit some featured sites of the city such as Notre Dame Cathedral, the colonial Post Office, renowned for its architecture, Reunification Palace and War Remnants Museum to learn more of Vietnam’s turbulent past. End your day with a stroll around Ben Thanh Market. Overnight in HCMC.

Meals included: Breakfast

Day 13

CU CHI TUNNELS AND CAO DAI TEMPLE

This morning, the car will take you out of the bustling city for Cu Chi District, locates approximately 70 km northwest of Saigon. This is a beautiful green land with fruit gardens, rice paddies and plantations. Cu Chi Tunnels are like a spider web in the soil of Cu Chi District. It consists of more than 200km of narrow underground tunnels that connecting half or total covered hideouts, shelters, fighting bunkers, hospital, school, living rooms and so on… All was built and used by Viet Cong for resistance against their enemy during the French and American war. After touring Cu Chi we make our way for approximately 1hr to Tay Ninh, to the Cao Dai Temple. Here you will watch part of a Cao Dai service, with an explanation of this very different religion. Have lunch in a local restaurant before driving back to town (Approx. 3 hrs.). Overnight in HCMC

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 14

SAIGON - MEKONG DELTA

08.00am pick up from your hotel & depart for Ben Tre, a nice province of Mekong Delta. Arrive at the Phong Nam brick kiln, where bricks are still painstakingly made by hand.
Get on boat and will cruise along the Chet Say river (a branch of the Mekong) and stop off at various local workplaces to give you a picture of how the local economy works. Then the boat will cruise through the small canal, discover the local life. The boat will then stop at a quiet village where you can have a short walk to experience real Delta village life, visit a mat weaving house, where straw mats are woven using a hand loom. Boarding your xe loi (a kind of motorized rickshaw) into the village where you can see farm, rice field and vegetable plan. Lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, board a sampan for a relaxing row along narrow canals. Take boat back to pier and get the private car to continue going to Can Tho. Arrive in Can Tho early in the evening. Overnight in Can Tho.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 15

MEKONG DELTA - SAIGON

The watery world of the Mekong Delta is home to many bustling floating markets. This day, we take a boat trip and exploring the vibrant floating market of Cai Rang, where the trading way is unique; each boat usually sells one particular item, whether it be pumpkins, pineapples, sugar canes. After an impressive boat trip, disembark at Ninh Kieu quay then visit an ancient house in Binh Thuy 10 km from Can Tho city. Lunch at local restaurant on the way back to HCMC. Overnight in HCMC

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 16

DEPARTURE FROM SAIGON

Today is your last day, if your departure flight is not early, you may want to do some last shopping otherwise just take it easy until getting picked up for the airport transfer.

Goodbye Vietnam!

Meals included: Breakfast