Vietnam Highlights

Highlights: HANOI/ HALONG BAY/ HUE/ HOI AN/ SAIGON/ MEKONG DELTA
Duration: 9 Days & 8 Nights

Itinerary
Day 1. Arrive Hanoi (D)
Warmly welcome on arrival Hanoi airport. Transfer to hotel. At leisure.
Afternoon you will take a private walking city tour to visit local market and Hanoi Old Quarter known for its 36 streets and former craft guilds. Evening enjoy a water puppet performance. Welcome dinner at local restaurant. Overnight in Hanoi.

Day 2. Hanoi (B/L)
Full-day private city tour. The post-colonial capital city of Hanoi is a unique Asian city with tree-lined boulevards, French colonial architecture, numerous lakes, pagodas and temples. This full day tour takes you around Hanoi ‘s most interesting sights, including the Ho Chi Minh Complex: Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and his Stilt House, Presidential Palace and the One Pillar Pagoda nearby. Also on the tour – the Lake of the Restored Sword and Ngoc Son Temple, the Temple of Literature, peaceful West Lake with lovers’ street Thanh Nien, the sedate Tran Quoc Pagoda and Quan Thanh Temple and one of the city’s museums, either the History Museum or the Ethnology Museum. Overnight in Hanoi.

Day 3. Hanoi – Halong Bay on cruise (B/L/D)
Today you leave Hanoi for Halong Bay – World Natural Heritage site – via the Red River Delta with 3.5 hours drive. Welcome on board for a junk cruise and set sail in the bay while lunch is served. Passage into the magical bay, where thousands of sculpted limestone islands rise from the waves like dragons’ teeth. After lunch, take a short trek to a nearby summit for a panoramic view of the bay, swimming on a quiet beach or sunbathing on the sundeck. Late afternoon, visit an interesting fishing village with an opportunity to interact with fishermen who have been living in the bay for almost three generations. At sunset, kayak or simply take a bamboo row boat to discover a water tunnel with many coral reefs in a scenic lagoon. Back on board your jun, enjoy watching the peaceful sunset and later unwind at a restaurant.

Day 4. Halong Bay – Hanoi (B, L)
Wake up on the bay to the sounds of waves and bird welcoming the new day. You will have an opportunity to view the sunrise over the bay. After breakfast, visit a beautiful limestone grotto then walk back to the boat for a final glimpse of Halong Bay while cruising back to the dock. Drive back to Hanoi. Overnight in Hanoi.

Day 5. Hanoi – Hue (B/L/-)
Transfer to airport for your noon time flight to Hue. Upon arrival at Phu Bai Airport you will be transfered directly to your hotel. This afternoon we embark on a tour of Hue City including the Citadel and the Forbidden Purple City, the Imperial Museum and Dong Ba market. Overnight in Hue.

Day 6. Hue – Danang- Hoi An (B/L)
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). Take a drive to visit King Minh Mang’s tomb and King Tu Duc’ tomb. Lunch at local restaurant. Leave the UNESCO-designated World Heritage Hue to another World Heritage Hoi An Ancient town over the Hai Van pass. You stop in Danang for a visit to the Cham Museum and handicraft villages on the foot of Marble Mountain before arriving in Hoi An. Once in Hoi An, you will check into hotel and have some free time to explore the town. Overnight in Hoi An.

Day 7. Hoi An – HCMC (B/L)
In the morning you enjoy a half-day walking tour through the narrow winding streets of the Ancient Quarter visiting Chua Ong Pagoda, Chinese Assembly Halls, the 200- year old Tan Ky ancestral house, and the Japanese Bridge. Leaving Hoi An for Danang Airport to take one-hour flight to Ho Chi Minh City.
In the afternoon you embark on a city tour of HCMC (Saigon) including The Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral and Old Post Office and bustling Ben Thanh Market. Overnight in HCMC.

Day 8 Ho Chi Minh City – Mekong Delta (B, L)
Today we travel to Vietnam’s rice bowl and fruit garden, the Mekong Delta. Here rice is harvested 2-3 times a year and each month is the season for one or more exotic fruits. Along the way visit a temple of the Cao Dai religion – a colorful and wonderful religion that blends the great world religions, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Taoism and among their saints are deceased famous persons in particular Lenin and Shakespeare. The divine eye pictured on the walls, towers and monitors the altar to the 2 million.
From the town of Cai Be you take a boat down the busy Mekong River and into the smaller channels where I get very close to everyday life. In addition, the transit vessels that acts as families’ homes and workplaces in the transport, storage and sale of fruit and vegetables. The trip includes lunch, stop by an orchard and a small family enterprise, which specializes producing rice paper, fruit candies of coconut and puffs made from rice. Boat ends up in Vinh Long, where we drive by car back to Ho Chi Minh.

Day 9. Departure (B)
There is no activity planned for today. Enjoy your free time for souvenir shopping until transfer to the airport for your onward flight.

Price: please contact us for the best offer at email sales@danviettravel.com

Including:
- Hotel accommodation with daily breakfast;
- English – speaking guide
- All private transfers with A/c car
- Boat trips & overnight in Halong Bay
- Two domestic flights with Vietnam airlines
- All entrance fees;
- Meals as indicated in the itinerary;
- Water & cold towel on sightseeing days.
Excluding: Vietnam visa, travel insurance, drinks, personal expenses and tips!

Note:
- All the services are based on a private basis.
- Check-in time at all hotels is 14:00 and check-out time is 12:00.
- All the flights are subject to change without prior notice