Luxury 12 Days Unique Vietnam Tour

Explore the charming city of Hanoi, often referred to as the ‘Paris of the East’, with its yellow ochre colonial buildings, tree-lined boulevards and scenic lakes. Visit the historic Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, an imposing monument of marble and granite built to house the preserved body of beloved revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh, affectionately known to the Vietnamese as “Uncle Ho”. You also discover Uncle Ho’s Stilt House, where he lived and worked here during his time as President of North Vietnam. Visit the One Pillar Pagoda, a Buddhist temple built in 1049 of wood in the shape of a lotus blossom and set on a single stone pillar. Continue to the Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first national university built in the late 11th century. The picturesque temple is an example of well-preserved traditional Vietnamese architecture and is featured on the back of the 100,000 Vietnamese dong banknote.

In the afternoon, visit the fascinating Museum of Ethnology (closed on Mondays) which houses an extensive collection of traditional costumes and artefacts from Vietnam’s 54 ethnic minority groups. Drive back to central Hanoi for a walking tour through the famed Old Quarter known for its ‘36 streets of 36 wares’ named after the original 36 artisan guilds that date as far back as the 13th century.

Conclude your day by watching an entertaining water puppet performance, a uniquely northern Vietnamese art form said to have originated in the flooded rice fields of the Red River Delta where villagers entertained themselves by manipulating puppets over the water. The show uses colourful wooden puppets to depict scenes of rural life and episodes of national history set to music. 

Breakfast at hotel, then you will transfer to Ninh Binh in around 2.5 hours.

Arrival in Ninh Binh, you will move to Hoa Lu Ancient Capital. Hoa Lu ancient capital was the first capital of the feudal state of Vietnam, Truong Yen Commune, Hoa Lu District, Ninh Binh Province. It is a tourist destination which will bring you to a few imperial capitals of the country in the ancient and medieval eras. Visiting Hoa Lu, you will not only have a fun and exciting time but can learn more about culture and history as well. Visit King Dinh and King Le’s temples. Then continue the trip to Mua Cave.

Arrive Mua Cave (Hang Mua) and start an amazing trek up to the top of Ngoa long mountain for watching the spectacular rice valley with spacious view of the nature.

Lunch at local restaurant.

Then you will discover Trang An Grottoes, get on a rowing boat traveling along the river with scenic mountain and green fields landscape.

In June 2014, Trang An landscape complex was designated by UNESCO as a world cultural and natural heritage. With an area of over 2,000 hectares, Trang An area is made up of limestone ridges, mysterious caves, valleys, rivers, and dozens of historical sites.

Then back to Hanoi.

Overnight in Hanoi.

08.30 You will be greeted at your hotel by the drive of cruise’s shuttle bus to take the new highway to Tuan Chau harbor.

12:00: Welcome to Heritage Cruises Lounge at No.28 of Tuan Chau International Marina for refreshments before boarding for the cruise.

12:30 Board the Heritage Cruises boat and enjoy a welcome drink as you receive a cruise briefing, safety instructions and check into your suite. Lunch is served at L’indochine Restaurant.

12:40 Heritage Cruises takes you to contemplate the magnificent sceneries made from limestone mountain of Lan Ha Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago. This bay is untouched and remote, as not many cruise boats use this route.

15:30 The cruise vessel approaches the Ba Trai Dao (Three Peach beaches) or Tra Bau in Lan Ha Bay, a natural frontier between the provinces of Halong and Haiphong. This secret hideaway has beaches, caves and coves, plus the spectacular natural beauty of about 400 islands. Guests can try kayaking or simply swim in the clear waters of the bay.

17:30 Back on Heritage Cruises, enjoy life aboard the vessel or in your suite, and with cocktail in hand watch the sunset over the Gulf of Tonkin.

18:30 Activities include afternoon tea and the chef will lead a Vietnamese cookery class.

19:30 A memorable dining experience will be offered at the restaurant, with local food in an intimate and romantic setting.

21:30 Enjoy evening views of the bay at the bar on the top deck. Try your hand squid fishing. The bars are open until late.

Overnight on boat

06:15 Start the day with the session of Vovinam on the sundeck.

06:45 Have a light breakfast on board.

07:15 Head off in a bamboo boat to explore the Dark and Bright Cave.

09:00 – 09:30 Return to the boat for checkout.

10:00 Enjoy brunch while cruising back to base.

11:00 Return to Tuan Chau Marina and disembark for the drive back to Hanoi by cruise’s shuttle bus and then private transfer to Noi Bai airport for flight to Hue.

Arrival in Hue, check in at hotel and overnight in Hue.

Rising up in the ancient land, enjoy your breakfast in the hotel. Then, board a private boat for cruising the romantic Perfume River, visit Lady Pagoda (Thien Mu Pagoda), the ornate Minh Mang’s tomb. You will embark on a tour of the city, including the Citadel and the Forbidden Purple City, the Imperial Museum and Dong Ba market. You will stay overnight in Hue

After breakfast at hotel, you will leave the UNESCO-designated World Heritage Hue for Hoi An. You will travel over the Hai Van pass to have an overlook Lang Co Beach & East Sea.

Arrival in Hoi An, check in at hotel at 2PM.

You will have free time. Then you will have the chance to immerse yourself in the tranquility and charm of this sleepy riverside town. From the 16th to 18th centuries Hoi An was a thriving international port frequented by Chinese, Dutch, French, Japanese, Portuguese and Arab traders, who came to trade in the high quality silk which is still produced in the region. Today, Hoi An is a relaxing resort popular with tourists for its eclectic architecture, skilled tailors and numerous cafes.

Take a half-day walking tour through the narrow winding streets of the ancient town centre, visiting Chua Ong Pagoda, the Chinese Assembly Hall, the 200-year old Tam Ky ancestral house and the famous Japanese Bridge.

Then back to hotel and take a rest.

Highlights: Cửa Đại Fishing Village and Cẩm Thanh coconut forest.

• Pick you up at your hotel by mini- van
• Transfer you down to PHƯỚC HẢI- CỬA ĐẠI Fishing Village
• Learn about local daily fishing life when walking throughout the fishing village
• Board Jack Tran’s  boat cruise and commence cruising on CỬA ĐẠI River
• Join local fisherman on the river and enjoy hands-on experience of round net and cast net fishing
• Enjoy learning and experiencing cultural folk music of Bả Trạo with local fishermen
• Keep arriving the BẢY MẪU 7 hectares water coconut forest at Cẩm Thanh Village. Hearing about the past war story before exploring the now tranquil coconut-palm flanked waterways of a past war and hear of the extreme conditions endured by soldiers of both sides of V.C & US army
• Enjoy THUNG CHAI basket boat demonstration by Jack Tran’s crews.
• Learn to paddle the unique Vietnamese bamboo basket boats and join in a basket boat racing for fun.
• Back on-board our boat, enjoy lunch and cold beer or soft drink
• Return to hotel by mini van

Breakfast at hotel, then take flight in Ho Chi Minh.

Arrival in Ho Chi Minh, check in at hotel and take a rest.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh

Visit Ho Chi Minh Reunification – It was designed by architect Ngô Viết Thụ and was the home and workplace of the President of the Republic of (South) Vietnam. It was the site of the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975 that ended the Vietnam War, when a North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates.

With over eight million inhabitants and four million motorbikes, Saigon is truly a city that never sleeps. Despite its modernity, Saigon maintains a strong link to the past and our city tour takes in some of Saigon’s most historic landmarks including the Notre Dame Cathedral, a red brick edifice with twin spires constructed from materials imported from France (entrance is only permitted when no services are being performed).

From the Notre Dame Cathedral, across two more intersections, you will see Turtle Lake – an artificial lake famous for its architecture. Then head across the square to the Central Post Office, completed in 1891.

Going a little further, the Ben Thanh Market awaits you to explore the lifestyle and food culture of local people. You can take this chance to discover a variety of Saigon food.

Back to hotel. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Transfer to Coco Riverside Lodge, Trung Nghia – Vung Liem within 3 hour drive via Bentre and 4 hours through Vinh Long province. Upon arrival, you will meet a representative and you are led to the lodge along countryside path. After just a short walk you will be treated to a welcome drink. Check in

Select bicycles for a cycling tour in the afternoon on quiet village roads passing by a duck farm, green rice paddies, sedge field and small villages. Along the way, you visit one of the many dragon/orange fruit plantations and taste it directly at the garden. This is a relaxing time with plenty of chances to capture the picturesque Asian sun set scenes. Enjoy the beautiful sunset before returning to the lodge on your bicycles.

After shower and refresh, you start to walk to neighbor home and enjoy a “poon” lights while traditional musical performance by war veteran artist. Then, experience of traditional torches made of dried coconut leaves to get back.

You are the chef! A traditional cooking class with Vietnamese pancake made by you. A great learning experience that means you can take a little of Vietnam home with you. Dinner is served at lodge’s restaurant

After breakfast, loaded boats are already heading to local squatting market and transporting goods such as coconuts from one factory to the other, crossing local ferry to visit beautiful Cao Dai temple. We also had a chance to see these factories. Situated alongside the river, these are small coconut-processing operations. Once the coconut has been shelled, the coconut fibers are removed from the husk to make rope, which in turn is used to weave rugs. You can watch the whole manufacturing process in a short period of time. Most of the work is done by hand at very low cost. The buyers are mostly foreign companies.       

Back to the Lodge, if time permitted, take some activities as to harvest some water coconut leaves and weave them up by you. These leaves are a key building material in the Mekong Delta as they are used to build the walls and roof of the houses. The local people will show you not only how they use these leaves but also how to make the ‘poon’ sticks that illuminated in the previous night.

Check out and transfer directly to airport for flight home.

Ends of services!