THE BEST OF VIETNAM Daily Departure Tour

THE BEST OF VIETNAM Daily Departure Tour

Traveling from South to North is the best direction to turn back time from modern daily life to the traditional culture and research history of Vietnam.
- Learn about Vietnamese War by visiting the real site of Cu Chi Tunnels system, an immense network of connecting underground tunnels, which contributed a big part in ending the war.
- Discover the water world of Mekong Delta that moves to the rhythms of the mighty Mekong.
- Strolling along the narrow street at Hoi An ancient town.
- Biking trip to Tra Que Village to experience the work of the farmers by gardening with the instruction of the locals.
- Explore Hue - the last Imperial Capital of Vietnam, learn about the culture and culinary deversity through the unique Foodie tour
- Contemplate the beauty of Ha Long Bay – One of the world’s new seven wonders with an overnight cruise excursion, explore the caves, enjoy the beach and kayaking.

Itinerary

Day 1: ARRIVE SAIGON

Stop At: Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam
Welcome to Saigon the most dynamic city in Vietnam.

Upon arrival, transfer from Tan Son Nhat airport to the center of Saigon then check-in hotel. At leisure to relax and get rid of jet lag.

Please note: Hotel check-in time is around 14.00. Early check-in upon hotel availability.

Duration: 6 hours

No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Overnight in Saigon.

Day 2: SAIGON – CITY TOUR - CUCHI TUNNEL

Stop At: Central Post Office, 125 Hai Ba Trung, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 70000 Vietnam
We start the city tour at the Reunification Palace, the witness of the fierce Vietnam War ended in 1975. The grand building today is a Museum and Hall of official receptions. Nearby the Palace are the colonial-styled Central Post Office and the Notre Dame Cathedral, built between 1877 and 1883 and one of the city’s major landmarks. Our last stop this morning will be War Remnants Museum.

Lunch will be served at local restaurant.

In the afternoon, we drive overland to Cu Chi Tunnels, an incredible underground network constructed by Vietnamese guerrillas to protect the region against the American attacks during the Vietnam War. We can even crawl a part inside the tunnel, visit their infirmary, kitchen.... to discover how people had survived hereby.

Back to your hotel later on.

Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Overnight in Saigon.

Day 3: SAIGON – MEKONG DELTA – SAIGON

Stop At: Vinh Trang Temple, Nguyen Trung Truc, My Tho Vietnam
This morning, we leave Saigon for My Tho, in the heart of Mekong delta with visit to the beautiful Vinh Trang pagoda on the way. Upon arrival, we will take a leisurely boat ride along the river, view the stilt houses, fruit plantations and fishing villages along the river bank. Proceed to Tortoise islet, have lunch in the orchard garden. Then a boat ride to An Khanh – a less touristy attraction in Ben Tre, enjoy cruising on a hand-rowed sampan under the shadow of the water coconut trees along natural canals, then enjoy seasonal fruit& honey tea to the sound of "Southern Vietnamese folk music", performed by locals.

Visit a family business which epitomizes the idyllic rural lifestyle, taste the delicious coconut candy & observe the pastoral life as you roam through the fruit plantation and village.

Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Overnight in Saigon.

Day 4: SAIGON – DANANG – HOIAN ANCIENT TOWN

Stop At: Da Nang International Airport, Hải Châu District, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam
Moring transfer to airport for your onwards flight to Danang.

Upon arrival, picked up from Da Nang airport to your hotel in Hoi An to drop off luggage.

Together with our guide in Hoian, we’ll walk over the tile-roofed Japanese Bridge, visit taciturn Chinese Assembly Halls, visit ancient houses and Trading Houses, pagodas and stroll into the market located by Thu Bon river, where we may find out the same feelings of the artists, who see the rooftops of Hoi An a magical old world of Oriental feel and source of inspiration. This is also a wonderful town to shop for lanterns, soft silk, raw silk, or get your clothes tailored within a day.

Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight in Hoian.

Day 5: HOIAN – TRA QUE COOKING DEMONSTRATION - HOIAN

Stop At: Tra Que Vegetable Village, Cam Ha Commune, Hoi An 560000 Vietnam
Depart from your hotel and ride bicycle in 30 minutes to Tra Que herb village. Take a short stroll around the vegetable garden and listen to the history of the village. Then join gardening activities in preparing the land, fertilizing with seaweed, raking the ground, sowing, watering, picking vegetables... Enjoy foot soak before getting to preparing lunch with a local family. Join cooking with ‘Tam Huu’ spring roll, ‘Banh xeo’ - a local pancake of people in Viet Nam middle region ... After your morning excursions and lunch, you learn how to harvest and wrap the vegetables. Bid farewell to your host family before cycling back to your hotel. Time at leisure in the afternoon for strolling around in the town to shop the silk products, souvenirs, or get your clothes made within one day or just relax at beach.

Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Overnight in Hoi An.

Day 6: HOIAN – MYSON SANCTUARY – HOIAN – HUE

Stop At: My Son Sanctuary, Duy Phu Commune, Duy Xuyen District Vietnam
Breakfast at hotel, we will then depart from Hoian to My Son Sanctuary, where you can discover the hidden treasure of the Cham culture that once rightfully developed in the location of present Central Vietnam. Thanks to the mystery and construction secrets of the Cham towers hereby, My Son had been also designated by UNESCO as one of the five World Heritages in Vietnam. It is a huge religious complex with over 70 towers and temples of different architectures.

Drive back to Hoi An for your onward bus transfer to Hue. The bus leaves at 15:00pm.

Duration: 8 minutes

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight in Hue.

Day 7: HUE CITY TOUR – STREET FOOD - HANOI – BY FLIGHT

Stop At: Hue Imperial City (The Citadel), Hue Vietnam
Being recognized by UNESCO as the 1st Cultural World Heritage for Vietnam, Hue is highlighted by the old royal architectural works and the most traditional Vietnamese lifestyle. This morning, we will discover the charm of the city from the Royal Citadel, Forbidden City. Move on to the colorful Dong Ba market where you can see many of ingredients for making Hue local food, and explore the local business life.

The best way to explore local culture is through its unique cuisine. Around noon time, we shall embark on a special street food tour to discover the other side of Hue. Our journey start from Sticky rice dumplings on a fried dumpling (Ram It) or Filtered tapioca dumplings (Banh Loc) to the well-known Hue beef vermicelli soup (Bun Bo Hue). The street food tour finish at a small restaurant serve Sweet soup (Che), a scrumptious local delicacy made of tapioca and various local ingredients. Or, if sweet soup is not your style, a Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk awaits.

Heading straight to Phu Bai Airport to board the flight to Hanoi. Upon arrival, picked up and transferred to check in at a central hotel.

Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Overnight in Hanoi.

Day 8: HANOI CITY TOUR

Stop At: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, 2 Hung Vuong Ba Dinh Square, Hanoi 100000 Vietnam
Breakfast at hotel.

It is your day to visit the Capital of Vietnam today. Let's start from the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, his simple house-on-stilts and the One-Pillar pagoda near Ba Dinh Square, where the most solemn ceremonies of Hanoi take place. Go on to Tran Quoc pagoda and the Temple of Literature, the very first high school of Vietnam Scholars. After lunch at local restaurant, we will visit Hoan Kiem Lake - the heart and soul of Hanoi.

If today is Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday or Sunday, move on to Museum of Ethnology. This superb museum showcases the depth of Vietnamese cultural diversity with an astounding collection of 15,000 artifacts gathered from throughout Vietnam. Maps, displays and dioramas are labeled in Vietnamese, French and English. Displays portray a typical village market, the making of comical hats and a Tay shamanic ceremony; videos show the real thing. You can also check out a traditional Black Thai house reconstructed in the museum. There's also a Centre for research and conservation where scientists from all over the world study traditional Vietnamese cultures.

If today is Monday, Wednesday or Friday, depart for Bat Trang ceramic village which is about 20 km away from Ha Noi, this is pottery village with a half- millenary historic development.

Back to your hotel in Hanoi later on to relax.

Please note: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum closes on Monday and Friday, late September to November for annual maintenance.

Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Overnight in Hanoi.

Day 9: HANOI – HALONG BAY OVERNIGHT CRUISE

Stop At: Halong Bay Vietnam
If you wish to see how the Hanoi people rise and shine in the morning, wake up early and run to a lake close by your hotel, you can join an exciting scene of hundreds of locals, passionately attentive in their morning exercises of Tai Chi quan, jogging, martial arts, classical dance and so on. After breakfast at the hotel, head East for more than 2 hours to Halong Bay, the pride of the Gulf of Tonkin, a Natural World Heritage as designated by UNESCO in 1994 and 2006. The road will pass by the Red River delta with green paddyfields and rural villages, where hard-work farmers are busy with their farming jobs, ploughing buffaloes or planting seedling. Upon arrival in Halong, check in the overnight cruise to discover the magnificent beauty of this “Descending-dragon” bay, created by thousands odd-shaped limestone rocks and karst grottoes. After a lunch on board, we can visit the Grottos, stop for swimming or kayaking, passing floating houses and approach islets to enjoy their beauty in close distance. Back to the cruise, enjoy cooking demonstration before having dinner. Evening attend activities on the boat or relax at your own leisure.

Please note the program may be little varied upon the cruise you choose.

Duration: 12 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight on the cruise.

Day 10: HALONG BAY – HANOI

Stop At: Hanoi Train Street, Trần Phú, Hàng Bông, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội 100000, Vietnam
You should wake up early to enjoy the dawn on the sea in the early morning. The Vietnamese call the "East Sea" by a point-oriented name "Eastern Sea", so you may guess how miraculous seeing the sunrise over the islets of the Bay. After breakfast our boat will continue to cruise in marvelous areas, where almost each islet has its own name, adopting its shape or reminiscent like Sail Island, Fisherman’s head rock, Butterfly rock or Turtle islet etc. Check out your room and have brunch on board while the cruise coming back the pier. Disembark from the cruise, transfer overland to Hanoi. Check in hotel. Your time at leisure.
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight in Hanoi.

Day 11: HANOI DEPARTURE

Stop At: Noi Bai International Airport, Phú Minh, Sóc Sơn, Hà Nội, Vietnam
After breakfast, free at leisure for relax or shopping (your own arrangement) before transferring to the airport for your onwards flight back home. End of service.

Please note: Hotel check-out time is around 12.00.

Duration: 4 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
No accommodation included on this day.