Vietnam tour 21 days

Hanoi – Ha Long – Cat Ba – Sapa – Hue – Danang – My Son – Hoi An – Nha Trang – Ho Chi Minh City – Tay Ninh – Cu Chi – Vinh Long – Can Tho

Code: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, G = Guide  

Day 1: Arrival at Hanoi (D, G)

Upon arrival at Noi Bai airport, our guide will greet and accompany you to your hotel. Free time until you?ll be picked up to watch water puppet performance, a traditional art form closely connected with the long-standing spiritual life of the Vietnamese people. You?ll then be driven to a good local restaurant and enjoy a welcome dinner with us. Your overnight stay will be in Hanoi.

Day 2: Hanoi city tour (B, L, G)

The morning tour will begin with Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the resting place of Uncle Ho. You will also see his house-on-stilts and learn about the simple life of the Vietnamese?s beloved leader. Your next visit will be Tran Quoc Pagoda, one of the oldest pagodas, which still maintains its unique architecture harmonious with nature and boasts many precious Buddhist statues. You will then driven to Temple of Literature, the oldest school in Vietnam, giving it the distinction of being the most significant temple in both Hanoi and Vietnam.

In the afternoon, you will call at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, an excellent instruction to the cultural heritages of Vietnam’s 54 distinct ethnic groups. Later on, you will visit the beautiful Ngoc Son Temple and Hoan Kiem Lake – a striking blue gem in the city centre. The tour ends with 1 ?hour walking tour around the Old Quarters to enjoy its warmth and coziness, looking up to contemplate centuries-old and weather-beaten houses, both familiar and exotic, etc. Your overnight stay will be in Hanoi.

Day 3: Exploring villages around Hanoi (B, L, G)

Today, you will first visit Van Phuc, a centuries-old village renowned for the fine silk-making and silk products. The luster of its rich and colorful fabric has been a source of inspiration for Vietnamese poets to write about. Driver and guide will then take you to Bat Trang ceramic village where you can watch craftspeople forming, painting and glazing their products in traditional ways. You’ll have lunch box in the village.

In the afternoon, you will be driven to visit Dong Ho village, famous for its traditional unique paintings on ‘giay do’ paper. You’ll continue your visit at Dong Ky village where most of the local families produce furniture inlaid with pearl. You’ll then return to Hanoi for overnight stay.

Day 4: Hanoi/Ha Long/Cat Ba (B, L, G)

After breakfast, our guide will meet and take you to Ha Long Bay. Enjoy a 3 hour drive with a stopover at Hong Ngoc Embroidery workshop for refreshment and see different kinds of handicrafts skilfully made by disable people.

Upon arrival, you will board a private boat for a 5-hour cruise on Ha Long Bay. Declared as a World Natural Heritage Area by UNESCO, Halong Bay is not only famous for its exceptional scenic beauty but also outstanding geological and geomorphic values. After lunch with fresh seafood, you will visit the Amazing cave and a tranquil beach where you’ll be able to swim, and climb hills for an overview of the Bay’s remarkable seascape. Our boat will then take you to Cat Ba Island, the pearl island with a spectacular array of sea and island scenery covering an area of 20,000ha in the North-East of Hai Phong. When you arrive, you?ll be picked up by bus to your hotel. You’ll spend the night in Cat Ba.

Day 5: Cat Ba/Hanoi/Lao Cai (B, G)

Breakfast at your hotel, you’ll then have free time to relax at Cat Co Beach which is separated by a small range of mountain, you can swim in the blue and warm water, so clear that you can see the golden sand beneath. Moreover, the white-sand Cat Co beach makes a great place for walking around for the day

In the afternoon, you’ll take a short walk to the other harbor where you’ll take a hydrofoil to Hai Phong. Arriving in Hai Phong, your car will pick you up to return to Hanoi.Your time will be your own until our guide will escort you to the railway station for an overnight train to Lao Cai. You’ll spend the night on the train.

Day 6: Lao Cai/Sapa (B, L, G)

On arrival at Lao Cai Station, your tour guide will meet and take you to local restaurant to have breakfast. You’ll then be driven to start the tour with a visit to a distinctive market which is taken place once a week and frequented by ethnic minority people. The market seems colorful with a diversity of ethnic people coming to buy and sell. Enjoy your time to take photography or looking at colorful brocade, skirts of Mong ethnic minority people and specialties of the mountain region. You will also have a chance to communicate with the ethnic people and learn about their cultural identity. Your picnic lunch will be served at local restaurant.

In the afternoon, you will be transferred to Sapa, a home to a great diversity of ethnic minority people. Its breathtaking mountain scenery is some of the best in Asia with high green mountains cuddled in clouds, scattered rice terraces and rich agricultural areas where the native inhabitants live and harvest their crops…. The villages are traditional and are typically tucked away at the bottom of the hill slopes. Most of the villagers wear traditional colorful costumes. Rest of the day, your time will be your own to explore Sapa town .You’ll spend the night in Sapa.

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

Breakfast at your hotel, you’ll start the tour by hiking down a scenic valley calling in at the H?mong ethnic minority villages on the way. You’ll then be driven by Jeep to visit Lao Chai village – the village of Black H’mong people. In this village, you will have a welcome feeling at any house of the hospitable people. You could have time to talk with them and know more about their lives. You’ll then have picnic lunch.

In the afternoon, you’ll drive to visit Ta Van village, inhabited by Dzay minority. Enjoy the picturesque scenery along the treeking paths. Our driver will then take you to visit Giang ta Chai village, home to Red Dzao people. You’ll return to Sapa to refresh at a local standard hotel before being driven to Lao Cai station for your overnight sleeper train at 21.15 back to Hanoi. Your accommodation will be on the train.

Day 8: Hanoi free (B)

You’ll arrive in the station early in the morning and be escorted to your hotel. The rest day will be free. You’ll spend the night in Hanoi

Day 9: Hanoi/Hue (B, G)

You will be free until our car arrive to transfer you to Noi Bai airport for the morning flight to Hue. On arrival, you’ll be picked up and driven to your hotel in the city centre. Free time at leisure after check-in procedure.

In the afternoon, our guide will show you around Hue. You will first visit the Imperial Citadel, that served as the powerful seat of Nguyen dynasty from 1802 to 1945. Enjoy your shopping at the famous Dong Ba Market before transfer back to hotel. You’ll spend the night in Hue.

Day 10: Hue (B, L, G)

After breakfast, you will take a cruise along Perfume River to visit Hue’s best-known religious site, Thien Mu Pagoda. Our car will then take you to visit the imposing Minh Mang tomb, a striking example of classic Sino-Vietnamese architecture.

After lunch, a continuation to visit poetic Tu Duc Tomb. This tomb is idyllically set in a romantic scenary of mounts, lake and pine forest and considered as one of the most beautiful works of the Nguyen dynasty. Last but not least, you will visit elaborate Khai Dinh Tomb, which  is the result of the interminglement of many architectural trends: European and Asian, as well as ancient and modern. Your overnight stay will be in Hue.

Day 11: Hue/Danang/Hoi An (B, L, G)

Morning transfer from Hue to Hoi An. Pass by Lang Co Beach and Hai Van pass. You will stop at Danang to visit Cham Museum, which holds the finest collection of Champa sculptures in different art styles from the 7th to the 15th centuries. Driver and guide also take you to visit Marble Mountains and Stone Carving village where famous stone products are skillfully made by local people. Afterwards, you?ll head to Hoi An? an enchanting World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

After checking in your hotel, you will take a tour of the ancient town where the mix of Japanese and Chinese architecture reflects Hoi An?s significance in the past as an important trading port.. Your overnight stay will be in Hoi An.

Day 12: Hoi An/My Son/Hoi An (B, G)

After breakfast, you will be driven to My Son Sanctuary, once the religious and political capital of the Champa Kingdom for most of its existence. Set in a lush green valley, a series of impressive tower-temples dating from between the 7th and 13th centuries provide a breathtaking site. Our guide will show you the remains of remarkable brick towers, and explain their origins and purpose. You’ll then return to Hoi An with free afternoon to relax. Your overnight stay will be in Hoi An.

Day 13: Hoi An/Nha Trang (B)

Your time will be your own until you’ll escorted to Danang airport for your flight to Nha Trang. On arrival, you’ll driven to your hotel to check in at the hotel overlooking the bay. The rest day will be free on the beach.

You’ll spend the night in Nha Trang

Day 14: Nha Trang boat tour (B, L, G)

After breakfast at your hotel, your vehicle will pick you up and transfer you to the harbour where you will have a ?fun? sharing boat trip to experience the charm of Nha Trang?s Coast. Your first stop will be Mun Island where you you’ll anchor off  for swimming and snorkeling in the crystal clear waters. From here, we?ll head out to Mot Island for lunch aboard. You’ll then have an entertainment such as dancing and singing together with other passengers on the boat. A floating mini bar will served some of Vietnamese wine with fruit. You’ll continue cruising to Tam Island for relaxing on the beach and playing water sports. You’ll have a fruit party on the boat on the way to Mieu Island. You’ll be rowed in a circular bamboo-basket boat to visit a fishing village on Mieu Island. You’ll return to Nha Trang to spend the night.

Day 15: Nha Trang city tour (B, G)

After breakfast, our guide and driver will take you to visit Long Son Pagoda, the biggest Buddhist pagoda in Khanh Hoa. You will hike up on steps hehind the pagoda to the mountain peak where you can admire the magnificance of great white Buddha statue and enjoy a spectacular view of Nha Trang City. Continue your drive to visit Po Nagar Cham tower, which still retains the typical features of the Champa architectural art. You’ll then be taken to the hot spring spa for relaxing in the mud baths and mineral water pools.

In the afternoon, you?ll be free to stroll around Nha Trang’s beach. You’ll spend the night in Nha Trang.

Day 16: Nha Trang/Ho Chi Minh City (B, G)

You’ll be free and then be picked up to Nha Trang airport for your flight to Ho Chi Minh City. On your arrival at the Tan Son Nhat airport, you’ll be driven to your hotel. Your overnight stay will be in Ho Chi Minh City.

Day 17: Ho Chi Minh City tour (B, L, G)

A full day tour of the city begins with a visit to the History Museum, which has an excellent collection on the evolution and development of Vietnam?s history and culture, from the Bronze Age Dong Son civilization (13th century BC) till the last feudal dynasty ending in the mid-20th century. The following visit to the Museum of War Remnants will provide you a very partial, but riveting, perspective of the American War.

After lunch, you?ll visit the splendid old colonial buildings such as Centre Post Office and Notre Dame Cathedral. Furthermore, the next visit to Jade Emperor Pagoda, one of the best Taoist temples in Vietnam, will surely captivate you with its oriental architecture and artistic values. Tour ends after 2-hour shopping at the lively Ben Thanh market, which is so closely tied to the city’s life that the clock tower at its main gate has long been considered a symbol of the city. You’ll spend the night in Ho Chi Minh City.

Day 18: Ho Chi Minh City/Tay Ninh/Cu Chi (B, L, G)

After breakfast, you will be picked up to Tay Ninh to visit Cao Dai Holy See, the fulcrum of Cao Daism religion, which took root in southern Việt Nam during the 1920s. You are also welcome to attend the midday ceremony here.

Lunch at a good local restaurant.You will then be driven to visit Cu Chi Tunnels, an incredible cobweb-like tunnel complex with underground dug-outs of over 200-kilometer length, which was  a shelter for the Viet Cong guerillas and their sympathizers during the American war. From this underground village, the revolutionary forces staged the 1968 general offensive and the Ho Chi Minh campaign in April 1975 to liberate South Vietnam. You’ll then drive back to Ho Chi Minh City for overnight stay.

Day 19: Ho Chi Minh City/Vinh Long/Can Tho (B, L, G)

After breakfast, you will be transfered to Vinh Long, a peaceful province on Co Chien river, which branches out from the Mekong. Upon arrival, you?ll take a boat trip to enjoy ?a beautiful river painting? of Cai Be floating market which was formed in the Nguyen Dynasty in the 19th century and bearing all the characteristics of the locals? life in the western region. Proceed to visit some fruit orchards and local cottage industries. Lunch will await you at a local house. You will also have a chance to listen to the traditional folk music “Don Ca Tai Tu” which is is operated by the local people. You?ll then stroll on the village paths to visit the local markets and enjoy some kind of famous tropical fruit such as banana, pomelo, dragon fruit and so on. Return to Vinh Long by boat and then continue driving to Can Tho. Overnight stay in Can Tho.

Day 20: Can Tho/Ho Chi Minh City (B, L, G)

After breakfast, you will board an early morning cruise to visit the colourful Cai Rang and Phong Dien floating markets (the nicest one with heaps of rowing boats). Take in the picturesque scenery and enjoy the fascinating Mekong rural lifestyle. Return to Ho Chi Minh City and have a break at My Tho for lunch. You will spend the night in Ho Chi Minh City.

Day 21: Ho Chi Minh City departure (B, G)

You’ll be free until you’ll be picked up to the airport for your international departure flight.