Highlights of Vietnam 12 Days 11 Nights

This full-day tour will take you around Hanoi’s most interesting sights. This morning, our guide and driver will take you to visit the Ho Chi Minh Complex, Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and his Stilts House, the Presidential Palace, the One Pillar Pagoda and temple of literature nearby and the Old Quarter, known for its maze of 36 streets and former craft guilds. And then one of the city’s best museums, either the History Museum or the Ethnology Museum. We go back to your hotel; the tour ends around 5:00 PM. And this evening, you will be transferred to the train station to Lao Cai. Overnight on train.

The train arrives at Lao Cai train station at approximately 6:00 a.m., and there will be a vehicle waiting to transfer you to Sapa. The drive to Sapa is only 33 km, but it takes around 1.5 hours. Once at Sapa, you will check in to your hotel (early check-in subject to availability). You will have breakfast at the hotel restaurant, then enjoy a free morning to explore around town. In the afternoon, there will be a walking tour to the hill tribe villages of Cat Cat, home to the H’mong hill tribe minority peoples. As you walk to the villages nestled in the valley below Sapa, you will meet some of the local minority people on their way to and from Sapa. Here you will have the opportunity to share cultural experiences with the families that live in the area. You will stay overnight in Sapa.

Following breakfast, you will explore the Sapa market and then set out on a 3-4 hour trek that will take you along buffalo paths and trails and through several hill tribe villages of Lao Chai and Ta Van, home to H’mong and Dzay people. This is an absolutely spectacular walk through stunning scenery inhabited by some of the friendliest people you can meet. You will stop for a picnic lunch on the way to Ta Van village. You will be transferred to Lao Cai for the night train back to Hanoi where you will stay overnight.

Arriving in Hanoi around 5 a.m., you will be picked up and go to a local restaurant for breakfast and morning coffee. You will then leave Hanoi for Halong Bay. The perfect way to see the UNESCO World Heritage areas of Halong and Lan Ha Bay is to spend a night aboard a charming boat. The mystical scenery, where thousands of limestone islands jut out of the emerald sea, sculpted into wonderous shapes covered in lush flora, is truly breathtaking.

Following breakfast, leave Hanoi at 09:00 for the 2.5-hour drive to Halong City. Arrive at the pier around noon and proceed with check-in formalities.  After the welcome onboard and checking into the cabin, lunch will be served whilst cruising. In the afternoon, enjoy some visits or activities (depending on the boat’s set itinerary). The boat will anchor for the night near karst formations towards the end of the afternoon.  Enjoy sunset on the deck followed by dinner, then retire for the evening.  Overnight on Junk

Wake up to the fresh morning amidst the bay and have breakfast (brunch on some boats) while leisurely immersing in the serene setting of the spectacular rock formations. Proceed to checkout as the cruise arrives towards port. After disembarking, the driver will meet you and take you back to the airport in Hanoi for your quick flight to Hue. Upon arrival at Phu Bai Airport, you will be transferred to your hotel in Hue for an overnight stay in Hue

Following breakfast in the hotel, you will board a private traditional boat for a cruise on the romantic Perfume River. Being the ancient capital, Hue is surrounded by ancient tombs of past emperors, some of which will be on the itinerary for the day. The charming Lady Pagoda (Thien Mu Pagoda) will be the first stop of the day and is located at the convergence of rivers, which makes it an ideal place for a great view of the Perfume River and surrounding area. From here you will cruise further to the ornate Minh Mang’s tomb and King Tu Duc’s tomb After lunch, in the afternoon, you will enjoy to explore this fabulous city starting with a visit to the Citadel, containing the Imperial City and the Forbidden Purple City, the Emperor’s private residence. The Imperial City was created in the 19th century and modeled on the Forbidden City in Beijing and there are many palaces and temples inside. You will also visit the Imperial Museum. You will stay overnight in Hue.

Leave the UNESCO-designated World Heritage Hue for Hoi An. You will travel over the Hai Van pass, stop in Danang for a visit to the Cham Museum and handicraft villages on the foot of Marble Mountain before arriving in Hoi An. Once in Hoi An, you will check into our hotel and have some free time to explore the town before an overnight stay in Hoi An.

Take a step back in time on a walking tour in Hoi An Ancient Town – a UNESCO World heritage site. A private guide will lead you through the well-kept historic district of this once – prosperous seaport city. Itinerary:. We spend the morning enjoying a walking tour around this enchanting port town. We follow the narrow lanes lined with centuries-old houses influenced by Chinese, Japanese, French and European architectures, and visit its numerous places of interest: the 400-year old Japanese Covered Bridge, the Phuc Kien Assembly Halls, the local fish market. Around the town we will see numerous art galleries and tailor shops, and you can even get some made-to-order clothes if you like. After lunch in a local restaurant, you will enjoy a short boat ride to a nearby village that specializes in ceramics and crafts – including boat building. And in late afternoon, you will have a flight to HCMC. And check in hotel. Overnight in HCMC

In the morning, you will drive to the Cu Chi Tunnels, which consist of more than 200 km of underground tunnels. This main axis system has many branches connecting to underground hideouts, shelters, and entrances to other tunnels. The network included innumerable trap doors, specially constructed living areas, storage facilities, weapons factories, field hospitals, command centers and kitchens. Today the remaining tunnels have become a major tourist attraction giving the visitor a unique experience and a feel of what underground life was like during the U.S.-Vietnam War. After lunch, in the afternoon you will enjoy HCM half day city tour (Saigon) including the Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Old Post Office and bustling Ben Thanh Market for shopping. You will stay overnight in HCMC.

After breakfast at hotel, our tour guide will meet you at hotel’s lobby and transfer to Cai Be pier. We will take a motorized boat to visit Cai Be, you will have a chance to observe the lively activities of local merchants trading their produce from vessels. Visit a village (a part of Dong Hoa Hiep village) where you will see some family run personal businesses that produce rice cakes and rice paper, popcorn (or pop-rice) or coconut candy…. Then you continue to take boat to Tan Phong islet where has long attracted tourists thanks to the fruit orchards throughout the year and depend on the fruit season such as rambutan, durian, longan, guava, rose-apple…. You enjoy fruit while listening traditional music (Đờn Ca Tài Tử). Your trip will continue to explore local life and people on islet by cycling. Have lunch at a local restaurant and take a short relax before getting boat to disembark to Cai Be pier and drive back to Saigon around 04:30 pm. Overnight in HCMC