Tour Itinerary
DAY 1 Hanoi Arrival (N/A)
Arrive at Noi Bai International Airport and meet your driver for an airport transfer with a private vehicle and an English-speaking guide. The driving distance is approximately 45 minutes.
Your visa should be pre-arranged, or be sure that your visa-on-arrival letter is in your carry-on luggage. Please go to the customs desk as your first point of entry into the country and present these documents for a visa upon arrival. Fast-track service can be arranged upon booking.
Hanoi, or “River-bound City,” as its name literally means, is Vietnam’s capital with a thousand-year-old history dating back to 1010. The city’s fascinating beauty, which is characterized by unique cultural relics, ancient streets of antique houses, elegant French colonial buildings, tree-lined boulevards, and romantic lakes, has made it one of the most charming cities in Asia.
Overnight in Hanoi.
Meals:N/A
DAY 2 Hanoi Full Day City Tour (B, L)
Have breakfast at your hotel.
The city tour begins visiting to the Ho Chi Minh Complex, which features the life of Ho Chi Minh, the nation’s founder. At the complex, visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where the nation’s founder’s body is preserved (closed on Monday, Friday, and through October–November), the colonial Presidential Palace, originally the French Governor Office and a fine example of French architecture in Hanoi, and the rural-style Ho Chi Minh’s house on stilts where Ho Chi Minh lived and worked. Stop by one of Hanoi’s icons, the One Pillar Pagoda, built in the 11th century in dedication to Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, or Buddha of Compassion, and reminiscent of a lotus blossom rising from a pond. Continue the journey to the Temple of Literature, known as the first university in Vietnam, built in 1070 by the Ly Dynasty to honor Confucius, sages, and outstanding Vietnamese scholars.
In the afternoon, continue the tour to one of the following museums of choice: The Museum of Fine Arts, the National Museum of Vietnamese History, the Museum of Revolution, the Museum of Military History, or the Museum of Ethnology. Next, head for Hoan Kiem Lake, the center point of Hanoi, whose name “The Return Sword Lake” originated from a legend of a sacred sword and is home to a rare endangered giant turtle species, and visit Ngoc Son Temple on the lake. Take a one-hour cycle tour of the Old Quarter of Hanoi, with its ancient streets representing traditional trades from the past. Finish the tour at the Thang Long Opera Theatre with a traditional Vietnamese water puppet show.
Overnight in Hanoi.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
DAY 3 Hanoi – Halong Over Night On Cruise (B, L, D)
Have breakfast at your hotel.
In the morning, driver will pick you up at your hotel (at 9:00 AM) and transfer to Ha Long Bay, which is about 160 km (3.5-hour drive) away. You will see some rural areas of the Red River Delta with plenty of chances to take photos of Vietnamese farmers working in paddy fields, and you may stop on the way to admire the local scenery.
11.30–12:30: Landing at Tuan Chau Marina and Boarding time, check in your cabin. Followed by activities such as boarding the cruise for departure, a welcome drink will be served, a cruise briefing, safety instructions, and check-in cabins by the cruise manager.
13.00: A great lunch is served while cruising, passing by islets.
14.30: Kayaking around Luon Cave; visit Titop Island. Free choice of activities such as sunbathing, swimming, conquering the peak of the biggest island in Halong, and taking panoramic photos of Halong Bay in the afternoon
18:00: Happy Hour. Buy two beverages and get one free.
19.00: Cooking Class. Our chef will demonstrate the preparation of a particular Vietnamese cuisine in the dining room. Our guide will let you know what items will be prepared and will explain the process during the demonstration. Duration: about 20 to 30 minutes
19.30: Under the magnificent night sky, our luxury set menu dinner is served with a variety of Vietnamese and Asian foods.
21.00: Join the squid fishing on boat with our crews and enjoy the squid cooked with assistance from our chef, or laze yourself with our happy-hour drinks at the bar.
Overnight on Cruise
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 4 Halong – Hanoi – Flight To Ho Chi Minh City (Brunch)
06:15: Early start for a Tai Chi demonstration on the sundeck; tea and coffee available.
07:00: A light breakfast will be served in the restaurant.
07:45: Discover Surprise Cave, one of the biggest caves in Halong Bay, with beautiful stalactites and stalagmites.
09:00: Back to the main boat for check-out. Please put your baggage out in the corridor and settle your bill at reception.
09:30: A buffet brunch will be served in the restaurant while the boat heads back to the harbor.
11:15: The boat anchors at the wharf. It is time for you to go ashore from the boat, and we arrange for a private car with a guide to pick you up upon disembarking and transfer you directly to Hanoi airport for a flight to Ho Chi Minh City.
At Tan Son Nhat airport, you are transferred to your hotel by private car and guide.
Meals: Breakfast, Brunch
DAY 5 Ho Chi Minh & Cu Chi Tunnels (B, L)
Have breakfast at your hotel.
In the morning, driver and tour guide will meet you at your hotel and transfer you to the northwest of downtown Ho Chi Minh City (about 75 km). Discover the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, which were once a major underground hideout and resistance base for Viet Cong forces during the two wars against the French and the Americans. The tunnels, entirely hand-dug, formed a highly intricate network of interlinked multilevel passageways, at times stretching as far as the Cambodian border and totaling over 120 km in length. Its complexity was beyond imagination, containing meeting rooms, kitchens, wells, clinics, schools, depots, trenches, and emergency exits, all aimed at guerrilla warfare. The tunnels were deep and strong enough to withstand destructive bombings and self-contained enough to outlast prolonged sieges. Return to the city at noon for a rest.
In the afternoon, take a tour of the city, starting with Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, a neo-Roman cathedral built over 130 years ago by the colonial French with materials entirely imported from Marseilles and stained-glass windows from Chartres. Next, visit the Sai Gon Post Office, a fine colonial building that was designed and built in the early 20th century by the famous French architect Gustave Eiffel. Move on to Cho Lon, or the city’s China Town, where you will visit the Jade Emperor Temple (Phuoc Hai), a rare Taoist structure in Vietnam built in 1909 in dedication to the Lord of Heaven. It’s filled with smoky incense and fantastically carved figurines and still buzzing with worshipers, many lounging in the front gardens.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
DAY 6 Full Day Cai Be Vinh Long – Can Tho (B, L)
Have breakfast at your hotel.
The driver and tour guide will pick you up at your hotel and transfer you to Vinh Long (about 136 km), a riverside town in the vast Mekong Delta, the world’s largest delta. Embark on a boat cruise to the lively Cai Be floating market, where sellers and buyers bargain and exchange goods from their boats. Proceed through a fascinating maze of shady canals to Hoa Binh Phuoc Island. The beautiful landscape of zigzag canals, lush vegetation, peaceful villages, and activities of rural life will make you a delightful sight. There on the island, visit some local farmers’ homes, interact with warm-hearted hosts, and learn about their trades of bonsai gardening, tile and ceramic production, rice paper, and coconut candy making. After the tour, we drive to Can Tho, check in, and free at leisure.
Overnight in Can Tho
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
DAY 7 Can Tho – Phu Quoc (B)
After breakfast, meet our guide and transfer to the airport for an hour-long flight to Phu Quoc. Arrival at the airport, meeting our guide, and transfer about 12km to the city center.
DAY 8 Free & Easy (B)
Have breakfast at your hotel.
Free at leisure at beach.
DAY 9 Free & Easy
Have breakfast at your hotel.
Free at leisure at beach.
DAY 10 Ho Chi Minh Departure (B)
Have breakfast at your hotel.
Meet our guide and driver in the hotel lobby, then transfer to the airport for our departure flight.
End of our services!
