Essential Vietnam Cultural & Historical 12 days

Afternoon

- Check-in at the renowned hotel

- At noon, a group lunch will be held for introductions and a tour summary

- Your tour guide will lead an introductory walking tour of central Saigon

- The guide will show you around the city and introduce you to the major historical, cultural, and market sites

*such as the Saigon Opera, Central Post Office, Notre Dame Cathedral, Ho Chi Minh City Hall, and Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street

- Get a drink at the Caravelle, home to American news networks

Evening

- Have dinner as a group in a fantastic Saigon restaurant

- Enjoy your first overnight in Ho Chi Minh City

Morning

- Depart the hotel for a full-day trip to the Mekong Delta, located south of Saigon

- Observe a thickly inhabited area and one of the country's rice baskets

- Sightsee a maze of canals, streams, and rivers, with floating communities and markets, lush rice terraces, and a centuries-old way of life 

- Before boarding a small riverboat to see the floating markets in Cai Be, you will have a walking tour of this lovely river town and the local market

- Back on dry land to visit a fruit farm and a candy factory before returning to the mainland

- Then, take smaller wooden rowboats across some of the island's narrow waterways 

- Sample some local fruits and beverages while listening to traditional Vietnamese folk music

- Have a group lunch at a restaurant to experience traditional Vietnamese cuisine on the island.

Afternoon

- Return to Cai Be town and your departure to Ap Bac

- Go to Ap Bac Village and adjacent fields, which was the location of one of the war's first major clashes

Evening

- You get recommendations and be transported to a courtyard with five restaurant options for your meal in Saigon

Morning

- After a restful night, you wake up and get your breakfast

- Conduct Easter Mass at Saigon's Notre Dame Cathedral, a great multicultural event

- Continue your city walking tour, including the Reunification Palace, the War Remnants Museum, and Ben Thanh Market

- Lunch on your own - we'll send you in the right direction and give you some recommendations

Afternoon

- Enjoy free time to visit the numerous great Saigon attractions for a more in-depth experience of the sites that interest you the most, such as museums and markets

Evening

- You're on your own for dinner

Morning

- Take a domestic aircraft to Da Nang from Tan Son Nhat Airport

- Visit Danang, known as China Beach, which is combined a city, port, and airbase to form one of the war's most crucial American base complexes

- We'll next drive to Marble Mountain, one of the country's best carved-marble emporiums, for some shopping

- Enjoy a delicious lunch at the restaurant

Afternoon

- Drive to Hoi An, a historic and well-preserved coastal town

- Hoi An, with its marketplaces, pedestrian-only alleys, stores, women dressed in traditional ao dai, and a lovely beach, comes to mind when you think of Vietnam

- Check into a Hoi An Hotel and take a rest in your private room

- Walk along the Thu Bon river and admire the beauty of Hoi An ancient town

Evening

- Dinner on your own, either at the hotel or somewhere close

Morning

- Take the walking tour of Hoi An, including markets, shops, pagodas, the Japanese Bridge, and historic houses

- It's time to unwind after four action-packed adventure days

- This day is yours to spend however you like

Recommendation:

- Relax on the beach at An Bang

- Poolside at our lovely hotel

- Shopping in Hoi An (this is the place to get your Vietnamese clothing tailor-made)

- You're on your own for lunch

Afternoon

- Sightsee sunset views and the illumination of river lanterns

- Have a group dinner at Sakura, a rooftop restaurant by the riverbank

Evening

- Get your overnight in Hoi An with your fellows

Morning

- Set out for Hue and arrive at the lovely accommodation

- Take auto-rickshaws from the hotel to Hue Citadel to get a true sense of the city's pulse

- Walking tour of the Citadel, Vietnam's final dynasty's city-within-a-city from the early nineteenth century

*It is a magnificent royal site with three tiers of fortification and housing quarters for the Vietnamese royal family and mandarins. 

- Hear about the harrowing battle of Hue in 1968, which took place during the infamous Tet Offensive

- Lunch on your own in one of Hue's many excellent restaurants

Afternoon 

- You'll get some free time to explore Hue on your own

Evening

- Enjoy a group supper with a lot of Hue cuisine

Morning 

- The bus leaves for the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

- Get an all-day tour of the famous military sites from the Vietnam War:

+ The Marine hilltop base at Khe Sanh, where a two-month siege occurred in 1968

+ The Rock Pile observation post that kept an eye on the critical route 9

+ The bridge at Dong Ha, where an American captain saved South Vietnam with his incredible heroics in 1972

+ The DMZ and North Vietnamese tunnel complex at Vinh Moc 

- Return to Hue and have a nutritious group lunch

Afternoon

- If you decide to stay in Hue, you will have free time to explore, including a cruise of the Perfume River to see the ornate royal tombs and other sights

Evening

- In Hue, you're on your own for dinner

Morning 

- Depart for Hue Airport (Phu Bai, the former US airbase)

- The flight to Hanoi is scheduled to depart early in the morning

- Arrive at the convention hotel and check-in 

- Get a group lunch near your hotel

*The Old Quarter has been inhabited for over 1,000 years and is comprised of a tangle of ancient commercial lanes now brimming with shops, restaurants, and lively pubs. 

Afternoon

- Join a walking tour around Hanoi Old Quarters, the center of the Vietnamese capital

- Go along the Hoan Kiem Lake, which is important to Vietnam's founding myth, and connects the two quarters

- Visit several museums in this neighborhood

- Go to the Hoa Lo Prison, also known as the Hanoi Hilton, which imprisoned US pilots captured during the war 

- Pay a visit to St Joseph's Cathedral

Evening

- You're on your own for dinner

*Recommendation:

- Hanoi By Night Foodie Vespa Tours

- Hanoi Food Tour by Motorbike at Night

Morning 

- Take cyclos to the West Lake area

- Sightsee the Ba Dinh Square, which was once the French colonial government's headquarters and is now the Vietnamese government's headquarters

- Visit numerous museums dedicated to Ho Chi Minh, including his mausoleum

- Walk through the ancient Temple of Literature, which once housed Vietnam's oldest university and the Fine Art Museum

- Prepare and enjoy your lunch by yourself

Afternoon

- Afternoon at leisure to discover Hanoi's hidden gems

- Bike tours, cooking classes, and other optional activities could be included

Evening

- Dinner as a group, followed by an opera or jazz performance 

- Relax yourself in Hanoi overnight

Morning 

- Join us for an optional group exercise at 6 a.m. in a park near the hotel

- A group workout session in a park near the hotel is available as an option

*Vietnamese people are early risers, and many go to their local parks to exercise individually and in groups. 

- It's an incredible sight, and we'll go right to Halong Bay 

*With over 3,000 limestone karst islands rising from the gorgeous waters, Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

- Check into deluxe balcony cabins aboard the luxury cruise

- Explore Halong Bay, feel a quiet natural wonderland with caverns, beaches, floating villages, and markets, as well as endless natural beauty

- Have lunch at the cruise's restaurant

Afternoon

- Enjoy a spa treatment (surcharge fee)

- Explore Sung Sot cave and kayak around the islets as part of the ship's optional excursions (depending on each cruise's itinerary)

- Get your drink at Happy Hour Buy 01 Get 01

- On the sundeck, join a cooking demonstration (optional)

Evening

- Dinner on the boat at sunset

- Fishing for squid, watching movies in a restaurant, or simply unwinding

Morning 

- On the sundeck, there was a Tai Chi demonstration

- At daybreak, a light meal is served

- Titop Island is a great place to go sightseeing, hiking, swimming, or just relaxing on the boat

- Enjoy a beautiful morning sail among the amazing limestone karst islands after a delicious breakfast aboard the cruise 

- Admire the amazing area's breathtaking beauty 

- Taste a light meal is served

Afternoon

- Disembark at Tuan Chau Marina

- Make your way back to Hanoi

- Arrive at the hotel and check-in

Evening

- Farewell meal and group dinner and get your last night in Hanoi

- Morning departures are recommended to reach your next destination in time to catch a flight

- Transfers from the hotel to the airport are included in the price