Day 1: Saigon Arrival
You will be met and transferred from Tan Son Nhat Airport to hotel. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh (formerly Saigon).
Day 2: Saigon – City Tour All Day
Our guides are the experts so we leave you in their hands to decide what you want to see and do today. There are some great markets if you are in the mood to shop or you can visit some of the museums like the History Museum, or some pagodas, like Thien Hau Pagoda and Jade Emperor Pagoda. A more somber attraction is the War Remnants Museum, a very powerful look at the Vietnam War. Chat with your guide and decide what suits you! Dinner on your own. Overnight in Saigon. (B,L)
Day 3: Saigon – Mekong Delta all Day
Enjoy breakfast in your hotel and then leave Saigon for Cai Be with a stop at a bonsai garden for tea. From Cai Be, take a motorized sampan for a cruise to the floating market, and visit nearby popcorn cake and rice paper making workshops. Have a delicious lunch in a garden restaurant including dessert of an astonishing variety of fruit. Visit brick and pottery villages on your way back to Saigon by car. Dinner on your own. Overnight in Saigon. (B,L)
Day 4: Siem Reap Arrival
You will be met and transferred from Siem Reap Airport to hotel. Overnight in Siem Reap.
Day 5: Siem Reap – Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom
Wake up early and head out to watch the sun rise over Angkor Wat, and then grab a traditional breakfast of noodle soup like the locals do at local stall.
After breakfast head to Angkor Wat in an air conditioned car, or if you choose by bike, with your guide. Explore this majestic temple throughout the morning while it is still cool and has fewer tourists. Have lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon head to Angkor Thom, the famous walled city and see the many temples within its borders, including the fascinating Bayon temple. There are several beautiful spots from which to watch the sunset. Discuss with your guide where you would like to be and then relax and enjoy a memorable end to your day at the temples. Dinner on your own. Overnight in Siem Reap. (B,L)
Day 6: Siem Reap – Beng Mealea, Banteay Srei and the Ta Prohm
Enjoy breakfast at your hotel before leaving the crowds behind and heading to Beng Mealea, a temple only recently opened to the public. After an hour you will leave the paved road and get onto a beaten track running through rice fields and villages of rural Cambodia. At the temple our guide will help you imagine how it once was as you pick your way through the rubble now surrounded by jungle. In the afternoon head to Banteay Srei, an intricately carved temple known as the Lady Temple. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant near Banteay Srei and then on the way back visit Ta Prohm, one of the prettiest temples in the complex. Dinner on your own Overnight in Siem Reap. (B,L)
Day 7: Siem Reap – Village and Market
Our village guide will take you to his village showing you rice paddies and typical homes along the way. At his village enjoy a fresh coconut drink and meet his family and neighbors. Walk from here to West Baray Lake where you can take a local boat to an island with some picturesque ancient Khmer ruins. Return to shore where your car will be waiting for you. From here head to Pua District and visit the Artisans de Angkor silk farm where many local women are trained in the art of silk weaving.
Enjoy lunch at Khmer Kitchen, a restaurant specializing in traditional Khmer dishes.
Take a walk around the Old Market where the locals and tourists shop side by side. Then pay a visit to Artisans de Angkor to see their workshop in town. Here you will be taken on a short tour to see the students learning the skills needed to produce works of art in a variety of different materials before visiting their beautifully displayed shop. Dinner on your own. Overnight in Siem Reap. (B,L)
Day 8: Luang Prabang Arrival
You will be met and transferred to your hotel. After you get checked into your hotel, your guide will take you on a city tour including Wat Xieng Thong, Wat Visun and Mt. Phou Si. Start your evening by taking a stroll down the main road and browsing through local handicrafts at the night market. Overnight in Luang Prabang. (B)
Day 9: Luang Prabang – Day on the Mekong
After breakfast, take a long tail boat crossing to the right bank of the Mekong to visit the pottery village of Ban Chan. From here take a thirty minute walk to Wat Long Khoune village to see its local temple. Return to your boat which will stop by a rice wine distilling village on its way upriver. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant and cross the river to visit the Pak Ou caves, famous for thousands of miniature statues of the Buddha. Return to Luang Prabang by long tail boat in the late afternoon. Dinner on your own. Overnight in Luang Prabang. (B, L)
Day 10: Hanoi Arrival
Wake up at sunrise to give monks morning alms. You’ll be accompanied by your guide who can demonstrate the proper method of alms giving and explain this daily Buddhist ceremony. Return to your hotel for breakfast. Transfer to Luang Prabang airport from your hotel in time for your flight – Vietnam Airlines.
Arrive at Noibai airport Hanoi, where you will be met by your guide and transferred to your hotel.
Take a one-hour cyclo tour of this charming capital city through the scenic Colonial Quarter, the Restored Sword Lake and the Old Quarter of “36 streets of 36 wares”. Attend a Water Puppet Show to experience a truly traditional Vietnamese evening. Your guide will take you to a local restaurant for dinner. Overnight in Hanoi. (B,D)
Day 11: Hanoi – City Tour all day
Morning sightseeing tour to visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and his House on stilt, One Pillar Pagoda, Quan Thanh Temple, Tran Quoc Pagoda. Lunch at restaurant. Afternoon, Visit Vietnam Ethnic Minority Group Museum, Fine Art Museum and Temple of Literature. In the evening, Water Puppets Show. Dinner on your own. Overnight in Hanoi. (B,L)
Day 12: Hanoi – HoaLu and TamCoc
Enjoy a 100 km drive through rural northern Vietnam to the site of Vietnam’s first capital – HoaLu, situated on the edge of the Red River Delta in a narrow valley surrounded by limestone mountains. After visiting the two remaining sanctuaries of the ancient citadel, lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon enjoy a relaxing ride on small sampans as you are rowed along winding rivers cutting through the rice paddies to the grottoes of the sacred TamCoc Caves. Return to Hanoi. Dinner on your own. Overnight in Hanoi. (B,L)
Day 13: Hanoi – Day at Leisure
Today you are free to explore Hanoi on your own. Overnight in Hanoi. (B)
Day 14: Hue Arrival
Transfer to Noibai airport for the flight to Hue. You will be met and transferred to your hotel. Overnight in Hue. (B)
Day 15: Hue – City Tour all day
With your guide visit the old capital city, a World Cultural Heritage site. Visit the Royal Tombs of Emperor Khai Dinh and Tu Duc. Enjoy lunch at the local restaurant. In the afternoon take a dragon boat across the triangle of the Perfume River, stop to visit Con Hen Island and Thien Mu Pagoda. Dinner on your own. Overnight in Hue. (B, L)
Day 16: Hue – Danang – HoiAn
After breakfast drive to Danang where you will visit the Cham Museum, which has the finest collection of Cham sculpture in the world. Also visit the famous Marble Mountain and then have lunch at a restaurant overlooking the river. In the afternoon drive to HoiAn, a picturesque riverside town 30 km south of Danang that was one of South East Asia’s major international ports during the 17th, 18th, 19th centuries. Have dinner at a HoiAn restaurant specializing in HoiAn delicacies like White Rose. Overnight in HoiAn. (B,L,D)
Day 17: HoiAn – MySon and Lunch with family
Your guide will meet you at your hotel and take you to My Son, 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. Your guide will explain many of the temples and point out interesting features. When you are done return to your van and head to a local families home for lunch. Here you will enjoy traditional HoiAn delicacies made by the family. Your guide is happy to act as a translator if you have any questions. Take a walk around the village and see how the Vietnamese live today. Return to your hotel in the afternoon. Dinner on your own. Overnight in HoiAn. (B,L)
Day 18: HoiAn – Day at Leisure
Today you are free to explore HoiAn on your own. Overnight in HoiAn. (B)
Day 19: HoiAn – Departure
You have a free day then you will be met and transferred to Danang Airport for the flight.