Day 1: Hanoi arrival
Arrive at Noi Bai airport. You will be transferred to hotel. Check in. Time at leisure. Dinner at restaurant. Overnight in Hanoi. (D)
Day 2: Hanoi – Halong Bay
Morning drive to Halong bay. Board Huong Hai Junk, check-in registration. Have lunch on board. PM, A fantastic cruise in Halong Bay visit Dinh Huong, Ga Choi island, Dog, Sail island. Continue to visit Sung Sot cave and a swim at Titov beach. Enjoy dinner on board while watching sunset. Fishing, drinking Vietnamese wine and spending a night on a air-conditional cabin. (B,L,D)
Day 3: Halong Bay – Hanoi
After having breakfast. A morning cruise to visit Man’s head island, Tortoise Island, visit Luon cave by small bamboo boat, Bai Tu Long bay, Toad island, Bai Tho mountain. Return to Halong city and have lunch on board. Back to Halong wharf. Arrive Halong wharf. Go back to Hanoi. Overnight in Hanoi. (B,L)
Day 4: Hanoi – Tam Coc Grotto & Bich Dong Temple – Mai Chau
Morning departs to Tam Coc Grotto. Take enjoyments from a relaxing ride on small sampans on the river as we are rowed through the winding rivers cutting through the rice paddies to the grottoes of the sacred Tam Coc Caves. Enormous limestone karsts jut out from the green rice fields which is why this area is often referred to as “Halong Bay on land”. Have lunch at a local restaurant. PM, drive to Maichau via Hoa Binh by road. Overnight in house on stilt. (B,L,D)
Day 5: Mai Chau – Xa Linh (Biking)
After breakfast, continue cycling to Xa Linh and visit H’Mong people and school in the village. Have lunch at rétaurant. In the afternoon, start biking (9km) from Xalinh to Hang Kia. Cycle back down to the valley floor and the Thai minority village of SamKhoe. Dinner and Overnight in the local H’Mong house. (B,L,D)
Day 6: Mai Chau – Hanoi
Gentle trekking around the beautiful valley of Maichau visit a small hamlet with subsistence lifestyles. Afternoon, return to Hanoi. Overnight in Hanoi. (B,L)
Day 7: Hanoi – Hue
Transfer to Noi Bai airport for flight to Hue, the central part of Vietnam. Have Lunch at a local restaurant. PM, visit the Old Imperial City and Dong Ba market for shopping. Overnight in Hue. (B,
Day 8: Hue
AM: Cruising on the Perfume River to Thien Mu Pagoda. Have lunch at a local restaurant. PM: visit the Royal Tombs: Tu Duc, Khai Dinh. Time at leisure. Overnight in Hue. (B,L)
Day 9: Hue – Phong Nha Cave – Ke Bang National Park
Early morning drive to Phong Nha Cave – Ke Bang National Park – The World Heritage Site. The park has many beautiful limestone formations, grottoes and caves, as well as the largest primeval forest in Vietnam and the biggest limestone mountain range on the planet. Phong Nha also boasts underground rivers, large caverns and passageways and broad pristine sandbanks. The most impressive cave – Phong Nha cave is probably also the most beautiful with many fascinating rock formations with imaginative names such as the Lion, Fairy Caves, Royal Court and Buddha. Return to Dong Hoi for lunch. Overnight in Dong Hoi. (B,L)
Day 10: Dong Hoi – DMZ Tour – Hue
Early morning drive to Quang Tri province for DMZ tours where some of the bloodiest battles were fought during the Vietnam War. In a fascinating day visit the Vinh Moc Tunnels kept as a monument to the determination of the Vietnamese to continue living in their traditional village areas. Whole villages moved underground and lived in these tunnels and caverns. Stop at a small church showing the signs of mortar attack in the area and visit US Bases kept as museums containing photographs and memorials of the war. Cross the Ben Hai River, used to demarcate the division between North and South Vietnam. Overnight in Hue. (B,L)
Day 11: Hue – Danang – HoiAn
AM. Have a free morning. PM, drive to Danang, visit Cham Museum, Marble Mountain and continue to HoiAn. Check in hotel. Time at leisure. Overnight in HoiAn. (B,L)
Day 12: HoiAn City Tour
After breakfast you will join in a walking tour of HoiAn. Visit the Ancient Town including the beautiful Chua Cau, or roofed bridge, Hoi Quan, the ancient meeting places, some ancestral family homes and some of the lovely and hidden pagodas. Have lunch at a local restaurant and in the afternoon take a boat ride on the ThuBon River for visiting Thanh Ha – the traditional pottery village and Kim Bong, a famous carpentry village. In the later afternoon, return to your hotel. Overnight in HoiAn. (B,L)
Day 13: HoiAn – My Son Holly Land
After breakfast, drive to My Son by private car, a fascinating archeological site with ruinous temples featuring both Hindu and Buddhist influences. Walk through the beautiful park where a stream flows through the center and various temples dot the landscape. Have lunch at a local family’s home. Here you will enjoy traditional HoiAn delicacies made by the family. Take a walk around the village and see how the Vietnamese live today. Return to your hotel in the afternoon. Overnight in HoiAn. (B,L)
Day 14: HoiAn – Danang – Saigon
In the morning, you will be transferred to DaNang airport for the flight to Saigon. Arrive Saigon. Check in hotel. Relax in your hotel before heading to dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight in Saigon. (B,D)
Day 15: Saigon – Can Tho
Morning drive to Can Tho, stopping along the way for tea at the bonsai gardens. Stop at Dong Tam Snake Farm if you are interested. Then you will take a motorized sampan for a cruise to the floating market and the near by popcorn cake and rice paper making workshops. Have lunch at a restaurant including a huge selection of fruit for dessert. Visit brick and pottery making villages before taking the ferry to a near by island and driving to a local House, where you will spend the night. Have dinner with the family. Overnight at Homestay. (B,L,D)
Day 16: Can Tho – Floating Market – Chau Doc (Biking)
After breakfast enjoy a one hour bicycle ride around the village, stopping to take photos wherever suits you. You will then take a boat to the Cai Rang Floating Markets, a less touristy market that will be bustling this early in the morning. Have lunch at a local restaurant. Proceed to Chau Doc by road. Overnight in Chau Doc. (B,L)
Day 17: Explore Chau Doc
Morning you will take a boat for visiting Cham and fishing villages and then Ba Den Mountain. Time at leisure. Overnight in Chau Doc. (B,L)
Day 18: Chau Doc to Phnom Penh
Breakfast in hotel and then catch the speed boat from Chau Doc to Phnom Penh at 7.00 AM.