Enchanting Vietnam Highlights

After enjoying a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel, kick off today’s city sightseeing with your private guide at the city’s largest Chinatown: Cholon, which drew a huge number of Chinese merchants due to its booming trade in the late 18th century and became one of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods. Visit the temples housing deities like the God of Wealth, and Mazu, a Chinese sea goddess. When the Cholon Food Story Festival takes place in December or January, the area is bustling with stalls selling Chinese and local delicacies like roast duck, dumplings, and spring rolls, as well as culinary demonstrations and music shows.

After leaving Chinatown, let’s proceed to the Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine (FITO), whose traditional pharmacy model vividly recreates the layout of a 19th-century pharmacy, with pots and jars for herbal decoction, pestles and stone mortars for grinding herbs, and hundreds of images of medicinal plants. Seize the opportunity to experience grinding medicinal materials under the guidance of the staff.

Afterward, head to the War Remnants Museum to learn about the Vietnam War (1955-1975) and the First Indochina War (1946-1954). Many exhibits, including samples of deformed fetuses caused by chemical weapons and battlefield photos of rural massacres, publicly display the brutality of the wars. Please be mentally prepared, and children under twelve are not advised to watch. Then, visit the Reunification Palace, a modernist building that was once destroyed but now still houses the wartime command bunkers, antiquated communication devices and reception rooms. Afterward, sightsee two classic French colonial buildings: Notre Dame Cathedral and the Central Post Office. Finally, your guide and the driver will escort you to the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel Nikko Saigon (5 stars) or Liberty Central Saigon Riverside Hotel (4 stars) or similar

★ Take a Rowboat to Explore the Pristine Mekong Delta’s Life!

In the morning, your guide will accompany you on a 2-hour private car ride to Ben Tre. After arriving at Hung Vuong Pier, you’ll board a cruise to explore the Ben Tre River and enjoy some prepared coconut juice. Ben Tre is a paradise of water coconut trees, which can be fully utilized from the leaves to fruits and flowers, and some kids even used coconut shells as buoyancy aids when learning to swim! Amid the lush coconut groves are family-run handicraft factories and orchards of tropical fruits like papaya, tangerine, and durian. Disembark and pass through the orchards, where you may encounter locals skillfully hanging from coconut trees, picking fruits - that’s how they make a living. We’ll also visit some brick factories featuring novel cone-shaped red brick kilns and a coconut candy factory, where you can learn about the traditional method of making and packaging coconut candy, and savor some samples, maybe some coconut ice cream as well!

Afterward, drop by a villager's house to experience the authentic rural life and unwind with some fruits and tea prepared by the hospitable villagers. In the yard, people sit on a mat, hand-weaving sedge mats using simple wooden tools, and the dyed sedge is drying in the sun, scattered and resembling colorful fans. Afterward, enjoy a bicycle or "Xe Loi" rickshaw ride to fully see the rural scenery, with expansive coconut groves and rice fields, for around 20 minutes.

Next, have lunch at a riverside restaurant and taste the Mekong Delta’s specialties: crispy, yummy fried elephant ear fish and fresh tropical fruits. Afterward, take a sampan rowboat tour. Sit at the stern of the long wooden boat with pointed ends, wear a bamboo hat borrowed from the boatman, and immerse yourself in the narrow, winding canals. If you are brave enough, ask the boatman to teach you how to row the boat. After the tour, we’ll take a boat back to Ben Tre, then disembark and return to the hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel Nikko Saigon (5 stars) or Liberty Central Saigon Riverside Hotel (4 stars) or similar

In the morning, your guide and the driver will escort you to the airport for your 1.5-hour flight to Da Nang. Upon landing, enjoy a comfortable convoy by private car to Hoi An Ancient Town, once a thriving Southeast Asian trading port, and now a touristy lantern town with a mix of Chinese guildhalls, temples, and Japanese structures.

Follow your guide on a half-day walking tour through the narrow alleys, dotted with historic houses with vine-covered yellow walls and red sloping roofs. Sightsee some landmarks, including the Chua Ong Pagoda, the Chinese Assembly Hall, the 200-year-old Tan Ky Old House combining Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese styles, and the exquisite Japanese Covered Bridge, while hearing fascinating anecdotes about them from your knowledgeable guide. End today with a short, relaxing boat trip on the Thu Bon River. Take in the charming night illuminated by countless colorful lanterns, and wander around the streets teeming with classical tea houses and taverns bustling with patrons, and girls traditionally clad in Ao Dai taking pictures. Besides, the Hoi An Lantern Festival is held every 14th of the lunar month, when the town will be adorned with more nice lanterns, and people will perform lion dances and release water lanterns to celebrate it. At last, your guide and the driver will escort you back to the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: La Siesta Hoi An Resort & Spa (5 stars) or Hadana Boutique Resort Hoi An (4 stars) or similar

★ Enjoy an Outskirts Eco-tour with a Unique Basket Boat Trip

Today, follow your guide embrace the outskirts’ natural beauty! After breakfast, enjoy a private drive to the Vong Nhi Village, where you’ll embark on a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) cycling journey to Tra Que Vegetable Village. A comfortable drive is at your command if you don’t feel like riding. Along the way, take in the views of vast rice fields, well-organized vegetable garden beds, and chickens and ducks pacing within fences. After arriving, visit Thanh Dong Organic Farm, where no chemicals are used in farming. The farmers will show you the traditional planting methods, such as plowing, sowing and irrigating. You can try lifting the watering can with your shoulders to water the plants. Then, head to The Field Restaurant by a unique bamboo basket boat, which was invented by fishermen to avoid exorbitant boat taxes, as they claimed it was just a basket. Sitting in the ‘basket’ on the Do River, seize your chance to see fishermen skillfully do challenging skills, like circling, casting nets and catching crabs. Upon arriving at the restaurant, take a simple cooking class and enjoy authentic Vietnamese cuisine, with all the fresh ingredients coming from their own organic vegetable garden. At last, your guide and the driver will escort you back to the ancient town and the remainder of the day is at your disposal.

► Recommended Activities in Hoi An (at your own expense)
The ancient town has many family-run lantern workshops, and you can find a less crowded one to make a lantern by yourself. Savor the pleasure of molding the frame and gluing the silk onto the bamboo strips. It takes around 2-3 hours, and costs VND 300,000-500,000 (USD 10-20). Alternatively, you can hail a taxi and head northwest to An Bang Beach, which is about a 10-minute drive away. Enjoy swimming or leisurely lying on a parasol, sipping a cup of cocktail and eating some food.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: La Siesta Hoi An Resort & Spa (5 stars) or Hadana Boutique Resort Hoi An (4 stars) or similar

After breakfast, your private guide and the driver will wait for you at the hotel and you’ll leave Hoi An for Hue by a scenic drive. En route, make a brief stop at Hai Van Pass, which was listed in National Geographic’s “50 Places of a Lifetime”. Marvel at the breathtaking coastline, rugged cliffs, billowing clouds, white sandy beaches and the historical hilltop fortress.

About 3 hours later, we’ll arrive in Hue, the capital of three dynasties, including Vietnam’s last one, the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), luring visitors with its royal city and tombs. Your guide will accompany you to tour the Imperial City, Vietnam’s largest and best-preserved ancient architectural complex with over 160 buildings! It’s a miniature facsimile of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, with a square layout, moats, namesake structures inside the Royal Palace, and ubiquitous Chinese characters. It also lavishly applies Vietnamese elements, such as the extensive use of bright yellow, which symbolizes the royal authority. Afterward, let’s sightsee the Tomb of Tu Duc, which belongs to the Nguyen Dynasty’s fourth emperor (reigned 1847-1883), a gifted poet who wrote his autobiography at the stele pavilion. After the visit, we’ll escort you back to the hotel.

Meal: Breakfast
Accommodation: May De Ville Lakeside Hanoi (5 stars) or La Siesta Classic Ma May (4 stars) or similar

This morning, your guide will accompany you to embark on a dragon boat tour along the picturesque Perfume River, whose name came from the rich floral scent of withered flowers that floated down the river from the orchards upstream. During the cruise, admire the 21-meter (69-foot) tall 7-story octagonal Phuoc Duyen Tower from a distance in the Thien Mu Pagoda, the destination of our boat tour. With a history of over 400 years, it’s Hue’s oldest temple and a spiritual sanctuary for local Buddhists. We specially arrange a morning tour so that you can have the chance to see the monks doing daily chanting of sutras and meditating at around 8:00 at Dai Hung Palace.

Next, experience the urban daily vibe in the bustling Dong Ba Market, where vendors wearing straw hats sit on low stools, with baskets filled with vegetables, fruits, and handicrafts like exquisite lacquerware placed on the ground. Then, drive to the outskirts to sightsee the Tomb of Minh Mang, the resting place of the Nguyen Dynasty’s second emperor, an accomplished emperor (reigned 1820-1841). Facing north, the Chinese-style mausoleum nestled in the mountains was built with lakes, pavilions, temples and bridges, complemented by the solemn civil and military official stone statues.

After the tour, we’ll escort you to the airport for your 1.5-hour flight to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Upon landing, meet your local guide and the driver, who will accompany you to the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: May De Ville Lakeside Hanoi (5 stars) or La Siesta Classic Ma May (4 stars) or similar

After breakfast, follow your guide to embark on the most famous scenic route of Hanoi, taking in its deep history. First, head to Ba Dinh Square, a vital venue for national rallies, and visit the solemn Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. In the glass coffin, his remains are well-preserved, with every hair strand clearly seen, but please note that we’ll pay respects to the well-beloved president only from the outside if your visit falls on Monday, Friday, or during the maintenance period. Next, learn more about the great man at the adjacent Presidential Palace and Ho Chi Minh's Stilt House. Then, after passing by the Buddhist One Pillar Pagoda, proceed to the Temple of Literature, which houses the first Imperial Academy and enshrines Confucian sages, including the Chinese philosopher Confucius. Vietnam's educational system was heavily impacted by China’s in the past, and thus the inscriptions on the relics are largely in Chinese characters.

Buddhism, Taoism and Catholicism coexist peacefully amid Vietnam's diversified religious culture, and your guide will show you around one of the two religious sites in the West Lake: the peaceful Tran Quoc Pagoda, featuring a remarkably tall red stupa, or the Quan Thanh Temple, which worships the Taoist deity Tran Vu. Afterward, based on your preference and the time, visit either the Museum of Ethnology to get an overview of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups, or the National Museum of History, which shows the country’s history from prehistoric times to the modern era.

We’ll also soak up Hanoi’s lively vibe at the Old Quarter, where the names of the labyrinthine streets tell what they sell, such as the Herb Street and the Kitchenware Street. The traditional family business model is still prevalent here, with many stores having been passed down through generations. Let’s conclude the day with a distinctive Water Puppet Show. The traditional art treasure originated from the Red River Delta’s rice farming culture in the 11th century, and now covers a wide range of themes, including rural life, temple fairs and legends, with vigorous instrumental accompaniment. The puppets are small to see from the back seats, so please make your tour reservation as soon as possible so that we can reserve a front seat for you. At last, we’ll escort you back to the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: May De Ville Lakeside Hanoi (5 stars) or La Siesta Classic Ma May (4 stars) or similar

In the coming two days, Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, will be a highlight of your Vietnam tour. After breakfast, enjoy a 2.5-hour escort by private car to Ha Long Bay Pier. Board the cruise and savor a buffet lunch while admiring the stunning turquoise bay! It is home to thousands of towering karst limestone rock formations, such as the Fighting Cocks Islet, which resembles two roosters standing face to face. Additionally, the mythology that a divine dragon descended to help people defend against enemies cloaks the wonderland in mystery.

★ Take 2D1N Cruise to Explore Karst Landscapes & Village Life

For a more pristine natural landscape and to avoid the impacts from overtourism, we’ve conducted multiple on-site investigations and selected two cruise options for you to choose from:

The five-star Indochine Cruise in a Vietnamese style will head south of Ha Long Bay to Lan Ha Bay, where you can take a kayak or a rowboat to explore the Dark and Bright Cave (Bat Cave), which not only boasts magnificent karst rocks and a beautiful lagoon but also houses bats dangling upside-down from the ceiling and monkeys! After the tour, return to the cruise ship, and then you can swim in the safe areas under the guidance of the staff, and participate in fun activities like mini golf and fruit carving lessons onboard.

The four-star Western-style Signature Royal Cruise will sail northeast to Bai Tu Long Bay, where you can kayak around the Vung Vieng Floating Village to get insights into the life of the local water community and learn about fishing techniques and traditional pearl farming from the hospitable villagers! Afterward, go back to the cruise and enjoy its entertainment, such as happy hours with "buy 1 get 1 free" drinks, a Vietnamese cuisine class, and night squid fishing.

► For Your Information:
1. The cruise itinerary will be subject to the cruise companies.
2. Please wear a life vest and bring a waterproof phone pouch whether kayaking or rowing.
3. There are English-speaking staff on both cruises at your service at any time.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Indochine Cruise (5 stars) or Signature Royal Cruise (4 stars) or similar

This morning, rise early and follow a professional teacher to practice Tai Chi, a ‘soft’ Chinese martial art. Then, after enjoying a cup of coffee or morning tea and some snacks to replenish your energy, go and explore the nearby islands! If you are on the Indochine Cruise, visit Trung Trang Cave, a 300-meter (984-foot) long cave with amazing stalactites and stalagmites. On the viewing platform outside the cave, take in the gorgeous mountain vistas all around. If you are on the Signature Royal Cruise, explore Thien Canh Son Cave. Besides the craggy stalactites and stalagmites inside the cave, you can take panoramic views of Bai Tu Long Bay from the top of the cave, and take a relaxing stroll on the hidden white sandy beach beneath the cave!

After the tour, return to the cruise ship to enjoy a buffet brunch. When the ship returns to the Ha Long Bay wharf, your guide and the driver will pick you up and then escort you to Hanoi airport for your departure flight. Bon Voyage!

After the Vietnam tour from Saigon to Hanoi, you’ve gained an overall understanding of Vietnam. If you want to explore more, consider our in-depth Vietnam tour itineraries, which include rice fields and ethnic villages in Sapa, and beaches in Nha Trang; or extend your trip to other Indochina countries like Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. Please feel free to contact us, and we’ll customize an itinerary according to your interests.

Meal: Brunch