Overview of Laos & Vietnam

Welcome to Vientiane, Laos! Upon arrival you will be greeted and welcomed by the local tour guide of AA Vietnam Travel and transfer to the hotel at downtown. Free at leisure or taking a walk to get acquainted to the city for the remainder of the day. If your arrival flight is early, some sightseeing activities would be arranged to keep you busy. Overnight in Vientiane.

Meals included: Not available

Breakfast at the hotel before get picked up to start the day of Vientiane. Firstly, your personal tour guide will accompany you to visit Vat Sisaket, the oldest original temple in Vientiane. Nearby is Ho Phra Keo, once the royal temple of Lao monarchy. Your next stop is at one of the most photographed places in Vientiane–Patousay, the victory gate also known as Anousavari. Another famous Vientiane landmark is the That Luang Stupa. The original stupa was said to contain relics of Lord Buddha. Continue to the Morning Market (Talaat Sao), known for its superior silk weaving, metal work, and woodcarving. After lunch at a local restaurant, visit the surroundings of Vientiane including the Buddha Park, located 15-miles (24-km) south of Vientiane, and take a look at the impressive Friendship Bridge. Return to Vientiane and visit the weaving village of Ban Nong Bouathong. Stroll along the banks of the Mekong River at sunset. If time permit visit COPE Visitor’s Center before returning to your hotel.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

As usual, have breakfast at the hotel, then you will get transferred to the airport for the flight to Luang Prabang. Upon arrival at the airport, you are welcomed and get to the hotel in town for check in. Afterwards, you will be accompanied by your tour guide to visit The Royal Palace (official name “Haw Kham”). Before sunset, ascend the 328 steps to the top of Phou Si Mountain that offers a stunning panoramic view of the surrounding rivers and cityscape before wandering through the bustling hill tribe market where traditional textiles and handicrafts made by the hill tribes are for sale. Do some shopping if you want or just for a look and taking photographs. Back to the hotel to end the day. Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, you will take the cruise along a Mekong River to Pak Ou Caves, where you will discover gold-lacquered Buddha statues of all shapes and sizes nestled deep in the limestone caverns. Embark on a cultural tour of Luang Prabang in the afternoon, you will explore the gilded temples such as Wat Mai, Wat Sensoukarahm and Wat Xieng Thong dotted across the city. Later in the afternoon, take the flight to Hanoi.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

This day tour to learn about the capital city of Vietnam occupies your whole day with featured sites, including Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, his house-on-stilts, One Pillar Pagoda, Temple of Literature – Vietnam’s first university for the morning. Your lunch today is served at a restaurant in town with local tastes. 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. Spend your second night in Hanoi.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

In order to catch up with the 9-hour hydrofoil to Cat Ba Island from Ben Binh port, Hai Phong City, you will start driving this morning at 7:00 AM from Hanoi. The hydrofoil ride takes you about 45 minutes. Arrive at Cat Ba port where you will get a short transfer to Beo wharf. From here, you will embark on a private traditional boat for cruising to visit Lan Ha Bay and Halong Bay. During the cruise you will have time to do some kayaking to explore some hidden tunnel-like caves through some limestone sheer islands. Once the anchor is dropped for the night place, you are free to jump off the boat for swimming (if the weather permits). Relaxing and having dinner on the boat. Overnight aboard.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

If you are an early bird today, you may have chance to enjoy the sunrise from the open deck on the top before having the breakfast. This morning, the boat will continue on taking you to visit other part of the bay with a visit to a fishing farm to learn about the method of the local fishermen, doing fish farming on the bay. Early lunch is served while the boat is winding gently back to Cai Beo wharf for ending your cruise by noon. Get the transfer back to Cat Ba little town for a short break at a cafe’ while waiting for the afternoon hydrofoil back to the main land. On landing at Binh port, you will take your private transport back to Hanoi and onward to the airport for a short flight to Danang in the center of Vietnam. On arrival, get picked up and transferred to the ancient city of Hoi An. Check in your hotel and stay for the night.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Nestled a couple of kilometers inland on Thu Bon river, Hoi An is typified by the 16th century Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese architecture. The morning walking tour offers you a chance to see how beautiful the Old Quarter of Hoian is. The sites include the Japanese Covered Bridge; Phuoc Kien Assembly; Tan Ky ancient house; Hoi An Culture and History Museum and Quan Cong temple. The afternoon is free on your own to enjoy the hotel’s facilities, swimming on the beach or strolling around the Old town for shopping. Overnight in Hoi An.

Meals included: Breakfast

This morning you will join a cooking class to learn how to make some traditional Vietnamese dishes with a tour to a local market and the vegetable gardens. Enjoy your work at lunch time transferring to the airport for your afternoon flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). After the airport pick-up, check in your hotel in the down-town of the city. Relax and stay overnight in Saigon.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

After your breakfast in the hotel, start the day by visiting War Remnants Museum and the former Presidential Palace. Thence walk to the major sights of colonial Saigon: Notre Dame Cathedral, the Old Post Office. After lunch, 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. Thence we will drive back to the city in the late afternoon. Overnight in Saigon.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

At 8:30 AM head south of the city for the morning drive to the delta town of Ben Tre, nestled deep within the rice-bowl of Vietnam – the Mekong Delta. Upon arrival, you will embark on a motorized boat trip around the scenic Ham Luong River (a branch of the Mekong) and stop off at various local workplaces to give you a picture of how the local economy works. The boat will then stop at a quiet village where you can have a short walk to experience real delta village life, before boarding your xe loi (a kind of motorized rickshaw) and traveling into the village where you can visit fruit orchards before stopping at a riverside restaurant for a delicious and filling lunch. Followed by a short sampan for a gentle ride along narrow creeks. You will then return to the dock where you will disembark and take the return drive to your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Take it easy for your last day in Saigon until getting picked up and transferred to the airport for your departure flight. Goodbye Vietnam!

Meals included: Breakfast.