Vietnam Highlights 18 Days

Day 1: Arrival at Hanoi (D, GP)

Arriving at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel. In the evening, you’ll have tickets for a performance of traditional Water Puppetry, an art form unique to northern Vietnam, and a good, light-hearted introduction to its rural culture. After the show, you’ll have dinner at a restaurant in a restored French colonial building. You will spend the night in Hanoi.

Day 2: Explore the capital Hanoi (B, L, G)

Today, you will visit some of the must-see sites in Hanoi. First, you will visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum’s complex including Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, museum, his simple house-on-stilt and One-Pillar Pagoda. You will then visit oldest pagoda in Hanoi, Tran Quoc Pagoda.

After lunch, you will visit the excellent Ethnology Museum and the bustling Old Quarter. You will finish your day by attending a Water Puppetry performance. You will spend the night in Hanoi.

Day 3: Hanoi/Ha Long (B, L, D, G)

After an early breakfast, you’ll leave for Ha Long Bay, one of the most spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Areas where you’ll board a wooden junk built from the model of the old Vietnamese court vessels. The cruising route will take you to the busy World Heritage area and then to some of the less well-known grottoes and caves. Meals will be provided on board with fresh seafood mainly. You will spend the night in a twin or double cabin with an en suite toilet and shower.

Day 4: Ha Long/Hanoi/Lao Cai (Brunch, G)

You’ll spend the morning cruising Ha Long Bay, followed by lunch just before docking around noon and leaving for Hanoi. In the evening, your car will arrive to take you to Hanoi railway station in time to board the overnight sleeper to Lao Cai.

Day 5: Lao Cai/Ethnic Market/Sapa (B, L, G)

Arriving in Sapa in the early morning, you’ll be met and taken to visit an ethnic marketfrequented by ethnic minority peoples. After a picnic lunch, you’ll continue your journey into the mountains to Sapa. The rest of the day will be free to explore the town. You’ll spend the night in a Sapa hotel with good mountain views.

Day 6: Sapa (B, L, D, G)

After an early breakfast at your hotel, you’ll hike to visit the Red Dao ethnic minority people of Giang Ta Chai village, where you’ll have lunch. Later in the afternoon, you’ll be picked up by jeep to travel to Ban Ho village where you’ll have dinner and spend the night in a Tay ethnic minority group stilt-house.

Day 7: Sapa/Lao Cai/Hanoi (B, L, G)

After walking around Ban Ho village and a refreshing splash-around in a clear mountain spring, your guide will serve a stream-side picnic lunch. In the afternoon, you’ll be picked up to return to Sapa and, later in the evening, to Lao Cai station by jeep to catch the overnight train to Hanoi.

Day 8: Hanoi/Hue (B, G)

Arriving in Hanoi in the early morning, you will be met and driven to your hotel for breakfast and refresh.

You will be free until transferred to the airport for a noon flight to Hue. Arriving in Hue, you will visit the Imperial Citadel of Hue and the local Dong Ba market. You’ll spend the night in Hue.

Day 9: Hue (B, L, D, G)

Your morning will begin with a cruise along the Perfume River to visit to the Thien Mu Pagoda. From there, you’ll drive to the Royal Tombs of Emperor Minh Mang and, in the afternoon, Emperor Khai Dinh. After that, you’ll return to Hue to visit one of city’s ‘garden houses’ and then return to your hotel to freshen-up.

In the evening, you’ll sit down for dinner in the pleasant surroundings of the garden houses and enjoy some of the most typical dishes of Hue’s cuisine. You’ll spend the night in Hue.

Day 10: Hue/Danang/Hoi An (B, L, G)

In the morning, your car will arrive to drive you to Danang via the high mountain pass of Hai Van. You will then visit the remarkable Hindu statuary in the Cham Museum before leaving for Hoi An. After lunch, you’ll have a guided visit to the Ancient Town of Hoi An. You’ll spend the night in Hoi An.

Day 11: Hoi An/My Son/Hoi An (B, G)

Today, you will visit the World Heritage ‘My Son Sanctuary’. Your guide will show you the remains of the remarkable towers constructed by the Cham builders. The rest of the day will be free. You’ll spend the night in Hoi An.

Day 12: Hoi An free (B)

The day will be free for strolling in the town, lazing on the beach, or whatever takes your fancy. You’ll spend the night in Hoi An.

Day 13: Hoi An/Danang/Ho Chi Minh City (B, GP)

Today, you will fly to the hustle and bustle Ho Chi Minh City where you will met on arrival. You will spend the night in Ho Chi Minh City.

Day 14: Ho Chi Minh City orientation (B, L, G)

After breakfast, your guide will arrive to show you around Ho Chi Minh City. You’ll visit the History Museum, the Museum of War Remnants, the huge Ben Thanh market.

In the afternoon, you will visit the Jade Emperor Temple and a lacquer workshop. In the evening, you’ll have tickets for a performance of traditional Water Puppetry. You’ll spend the night in Ho Chi Minh City.

Day 15: Ho Chi Minh City/Vinh Long/Can Tho (B, L, G)

A morning drive will take you to Vinh Long where a Mekong River cruise will take you to visit the fruit orchards, a traditional family-run brick kiln, and some long established cottage industries. You’ll drive further into the Mekong Delta to Can Tho where you’ll spend the night.

Day 16: Can Tho/Ho Chi Minh City (B, L, G)

In the morning, you will take a boat cruise in the Cai Rang floating market on the Mekong Delta and then return to your hotel to check out. On your return to Ho Chi Minh City, you’ll call in at the beautiful and ancient Vinh Trang pagoda, 3 km from My Tho centre. Your overnight accommodation will be in Ho Chi Minh City.

Day 17: Ho Chi Minh City/Tay Ninh/Cu Chi (B, L, G)

A morning drive will take you to Tay Ninh to visit the Cao Dai Holy See in time to watch the mid-day ceremony. After lunch, you’ll visit the famous Cu Chi tunnels, a Byzantine maze of underground passages, chambers, rooms and booby traps used by both the Vietminh and the Viet Cong to suddenly materialise as if from nowhere, launch a lightning ambush, and vanish equally rapidly. You’ll spend the night in Ho Chi Minh City.

Day 18: Ho Chi Minh City departure (B, DP)

Your time will be your own until your private car and driver arrives to take you to Tan Son Nhat airport for your departure flight. Tour ends.