Authentic Vietnam Itinerary 12 days

Xin Chao! Welcome to Hanoi, Vietnam. Hanoi city is one of Asia’s most enchanting cities, full of culture, history, and the engaging contradictions of a rapidly developing and deeply traditional society. You are greeted in Noi Bai airport by your guide and driver at Noi Bai International Airport for your transfer to the hotel.

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You are invited by a Hanoi family for a warm and hospitable meal. On arrival, the friendly host will give you a big welcome and introduce you to their household. You'll sip some green tea and share your first insights into Vietnamese culture, customs, and habits. Around the dining table, the family members will tell us more about their lives, their living quarters, and even how Vietnam has changed over the last decades. Your meal includes some authentic local dishes which are popular among the locals. Here, you can eat, chat, and learn some basic Vietnamese phrases like: Xin Chao (Hello), Ngon qua (Delicious), and Cam on (Thank you)!

Note:

Please look for your tour guide who holds up your names on a welcome signboard.

While every effort is made to have your room available upon arrival, check-in time is at 02:00 pm; your room may or may not be ready before this time. Your tour guide will provide additional details regarding your stay, and you will be able to ask any questions you may have.

You'll then have plenty of time to recover from your flight and chill out.

Included for the day:

• Transport: Private vehicle and driver
• Tour guide: English-speaking tour guide
• Meals: Dinner with a local family.
• Entrance Fees: To all sites stated in the itinerary.
• Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi city

After breakfast at the hotel, head out to Ba Dinh Square and start our day with The Presidential Palace (formerly Palace of the Governor-General of French Indochina), Ho Chi Minh’s house-on-stilt, and nearby One Pillar Pagoda.

Following is a visit to the Temple of Literature – the first university of Vietnam built in the 11th century.

Next is a visit to the Museum of Ethnology, which gives an excellent overview of the country's ethnic groups, their customs, and ways of life. The highlight here is the large, beautiful outdoor area featuring genuine houses and compounds as built and used by the many different ethnic groups.

You then drive to Hanoi Center and explore the lively Old Quarter of Hanoi. This bustling heart of Hanoi has been a commercial center since King Ly Thai To built his palace there in the 11th century. Skilled craftsmen started to migrate and artisan guilds were formed on the famous "36 Streets". Previously, each street carried the name of the item produced and sold there, and many still have the same names. This is a place you must see to experience Hanoi, where you will find shopping and cultural/historical sites all wrapped into one.

Close your day by attending a wonderful performance of the Water Puppet Show.

Overnight in Hanoi

Included for the day:

• Transport: SIC
• Tour guide: English-speaking guide
• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
• Entrance Fees: To all sites stated in the itinerary.
• Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi

The tour guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel from 7h - 7:30 am and take you straight to Pu Luong Nature Reserve along the Ho Chi Minh trail. It takes about 4 hours to get a sense of what life is like in the countryside of Vietnam.

You'll have lunch at our homestay when you get to Pu Luong. Then, the car will take you to Eo Ken village, where you can start your trip to explore Pu Luong land, also known as "The Second Sapa of Vietnam." As you walk along the road in Eo Ken village, you'll start to see terraced fields. This is a good time to look for the best pictures of Pu Luong. Most of the people here are Thai Black. The women wear traditional clothes, and they live in small groups along the streams. On the way, you'll feel their hospitality and friendliness with sunshine handshakes and smiles.

Across the small stream and bamboo forest in Hang village, there are idyllic scenes of people taking a bath in the stream. Here, you can also try taking a bath in the clear, cool water of a stream that flows out of the forest.

The driver will pick you up in Hang village and take you back to the bungalow, where you can rest, eat dinner, and spend the night.

Included for the day:

• Transport: SIC
• Tour guide: English-speaking guide
• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Entrance Fees: To all sites stated in the itinerary.
• Accommodation: Bungalow in Pu Luong

The guide and driver will keep taking you to Pu Luong after breakfast. Today will be great for you because you will see water wheels that Thai people use to pump water into fields. This is a part of Thai culture that has been kept alive for a long time. When you go to the fish farm, you'll see a type of fish called "God of Fish." They worship gods.

After that, you will go to Deer village, walk along the stream to see how magical nature is, swim in the cool blue water, have lunch at a local's house, and then drive back to Hanoi.

Included for the day:

• Transport: SIC
• Tour guide: English-speaking guide
• Meals: Breakfast. Lunch
• Entrance Fees: To all sites stated in the itinerary.
• Accommodation: Hotel in Ha Noi

Breakfast is the best way to start the day, so make it enjoyable and nutritious. Your tour guide will then pick you up from your accommodation in the Hanoi Old Quarter at 8:00 am to take you to Quang Ninh province and Halong Bay. Take 15 to 20 minutes to relax before getting ready for one of your life's greatest adventures.

At 12:30, we will arrive at the harbor, where you can board the boat and begin your voyage with our amiable, knowledgeable, and skilled crew.

The lunch will be served to you as the boat travels on to our destination, passing by an almost unlimited number of islands and islets. Unquestionably a genuinely wonderful encounter.

You can head to the upper deck after your excellent meal to take in Halong Bay's grandeur in all of its natural, pure, magical, and beautiful manifestations.

Are you all set to join the activity? Let's kayak for an hour around the region of the floating community. If you don't like kayaking, don't worry, you can also swim.

When the time is up, you'll head back to the boat for a fun sundown party on the sundeck. Here, you may mingle with other tourists while listening to relaxing music and taking in the breathtaking splendor of Halong Bay.

Yes, this day has been great. There is no better way to cap it off than by indulging in a sumptuous dinner prepared by our chef. After that, you are free to do whatever you wish with your time, such as sing or just unwind.

Included for the day:

• Transport: SIC
• Tour guide: English-speaking guide
• Meals: Breakfast. Lunch, Dinner
• Entrance Fees: To all sites stated in the itinerary.
• Accommodation: Overnight on the boat.

With a light breakfast of crisp toast, flavorful eggs, and a cup of enticing coffee or tea, you can start your day off right. When you're finished, you'll be prepared to embark on the day's main adventure: exploring the Cave.

Because it is the most stunning and alluring cave in Halong Bay, it is a remarkable destination. Your knowledgeable tour guide will talk you everything there is to know about it.

After then, the boat will continue crashing into numerous islands and islets, giving you a good perspective of Halong Bay's breathtaking splendor. Vietnam is the only country in the world where such a site exists!

Do you want to attend a cooking class? One of the regional specialties, delectable deep-fried spring rolls, will be one of the recipes you learn to make from our chef. You must do it to really appreciate it!

Later, as you have a delicious lunch, we'll cruise back to the pier. After that, it will be time to disembark and bid the boat crew farewell.

We'll bus you to Hanoi.  After that, a quick transfer back to the airport we catch a short flight to central Vietnam. The car will pick you up at Hue airport and transfer you to your hotel.

Included for the day:

• Transport: Bus, Plan
• Tour guide: English-speaking guide
• Meals: Breakfast. Lunch
• Entrance Fees: To all sites stated in the itinerary.
• Accommodation: Hotel in Hue

Morning

The guide will come to your hotel to pick you up. You will go on a one-day tour of Hue to learn more about this beautiful city. Take a dragon boat to the first place, Thien Mu pagoda (Heaven Fairy Lady Pagoda), which is the oldest pagoda in Hue city. The morning boat ride to the pagoda will be a great way to start the trip. The Perfume River's fresh air will make you feel very good. Visit The Citadel. The Nguyen Dynasty, Vietnam's last royal family, lived in Imperial City. After the Citadel, our car will take you to the Dong Ba market, which is Hue's busiest and has a lot of different foods and goods. You can see how people in the area buy and sell things here. This is also a chance to buy gifts for your family and friends. We ate lunch at a nearby restaurant that served food from Asia and Vietnam.

Afternoon

Visit Khai Dinh Tomb, which is a mix of Western and Eastern architecture. A quick trip to the Minh Mang Tomb, which is thought to be the most beautiful of all the Royal Tombs. It is known for its architecture, which fits in well with the natural environment. After a great day, the driver will take you back to your hotel.

After that, we transfer you to Hoi An. Overnight in Hoi An

Included for the day:

• Transport: SIC and private car from Hue–Hoi An
• Tour guide: English-speaking guide
• Meals: Breakfast. Lunch
• Entrance Fees: To all sites stated in the itinerary.
• Accommodation: Hotel in Hoi An

Throw away your Hoi A trip to the paddy fields on a bicycle, observing the rural sceneries of farmers caring for their crops and water buffalo plowing the fields. Along the trip, you will encounter the hospitality of the locals who will greet you. The photographic possibilities are limitless.

You begin your journey at the Tra Que Vegetable Village, where you participate in the farming segment. This organic vegetable and herb farm is exquisitely presented, and it serves a significant portion of Hoi An with fresh vegetables. Here, you will discover traditional techniques for cultivating the soil, planting, and watering veggies. Certainly, you will have the opportunity for some hands-on enjoyment.

To reach your next destination from Tra Que Village, you paddle along palm-lined lanes through rice fields, passing flocks of ducks scrambling up muddy banks and water buffalo dozing in the shade. Here, you will ride a water buffalo across a rice paddy field while taking in the countryside's purest air.

After experiencing the farming lifestyle, you will board a wooden boat and go to the river's mouth, where it meets the Cua Dai Sea. Commence the fishing segment of the tour. You will first learn how to paddle bamboo basket boats and ride them around the remote waterways before meeting some local fishermen who will teach you some traditional net fishing skills. You may not be particularly skilled, but it is still enjoyable to try.

Your tour concludes with a delicious Vietnamese lunch on board the boat, prepared by your friendly crew, who also entertain you and your children by creating elaborate palm frond masterpieces.

Return to your hotel, where you have the remainder of the day at your leisure.

Included for the day:

• Transport: SIC
• Tour guide: English-speaking guide
• Meals: Breakfast. Lunch
• Entrance Fees: To all sites stated in the itinerary.
• Accommodation: Hotel in Hoi An

Morning, breakfast at the hotel in Hoi An. let walking to discover the beauty of this ancient town in Vietnam. Do not forget to bring your camera to take impressive shots.

Check-out hotel, transfer to Danang airport for flight to Ho Chi Minh city. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh city.

Included for the day:

• Transport: Private vehicle.
• Tour guide:
• Meals: Breakfast
• Entrance Fees:
• Accommodation: Hotel in Ho Chi Minh

Morning

After breakfast, your guide and driver will bring you to Ben Tre Town in the Mekong Delta, which is renowned for its expansive rice fields, numerous rivers, and magnificent sceneries. This region, known as the "rice bowl" of Vietnam, provides the majority of the country's fruit, rice, sugar cane, and coconuts.

After a two-hour journey through verdant farmland, you will arrive in Ben Tre, where you will go on a motorized boat tour through the coconut forest's small channels. During the boat voyage, you will stop at local cottage enterprises to observe how the craft has been passed down through the centuries.

Take a stroll through the village lanes, stopping at local homes to sample fresh fruits and honey tea while hearing a Tai Tu music performance. Continue to another workshop where coconut candies and a variety of coconut husk and fiber products are manufactured by hand.

Take a small sampan through palm-fringed back canals, sailing calmly over secluded rivers surrounded by a vast array of tropical vegetation. The tranquil, rural location is a refreshing and therapeutic escape from the frantic bustle of HCM City, which appears to be in the distance.

Enjoy meeting locals while riding at the back of a Motor Cart (xe lôi) around rural hamlets, rice fields, coconut trees, and luscious orchard farms.

Afternoon

After lunch at a local restaurant, you will return to Ben Tre town and continue driving through the Mekong's fields and towns to Ho Chi Minh City, stopping if time allowed at the Vinh Trang Pagoda.

Included for the day:

• Transport: SIC
• Tour guide: English-speaking guide
• Meals: Breakfast. Lunch
• Entrance Fees: To all sites stated in the itinerary.
• Accommodation: Hotel in Ho Chi Minh

Morning

After breakfast, you will be greeted by your guide and driven to Cu Chi, a small village located northwest of Ho Chi Minh City known for its network of subterranean tunnels that served as a safe haven and successful infiltration route for the Viet Cong during the closing stages of the Vietnam War.

Upon arrival, you will view a brief instructional movie before visiting the tunnels, the most renowned battlegrounds of the period. It is thought that the concealed network of Viet Cong tunnels spanned "hundreds of miles" in total length and contained living quarters, storage areas, temporary hospitals, kitchens, etc. Although the system was initially somewhat narrow, some sections have been enlarged for tourists, and you have the option to explore them.

Please note that these tunnels will be hot and claustrophobic, so if you want to watch from above ground, that is an option.

Cassava, the staple diet of the Viet Cong soldiers, is served alongside a tart tea. After exploring the Cu Chi Tunnels, return to the city with lunch at the local restaurant on way.

Afternoon

Spend the remainder of the day touring Ho Chi Minh City's major attractions. The Notre Dame Cathedral, the ornate City Hall (Hotel De Ville), the old Opera House, the historic Rex Hotel, the Central Post Office, renowned for its architecture, and Ben Thanh Market, where vendors display a vast array of goods and handicrafts, appealing to every taste, are particularly recommended.

Later, visit the Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum for a somber and enlightening look at Vietnam's military history and violent past.

Included for the day:

• Transport: SIC
• Tour guide: English-speaking guide
• Meals: Breakfast. Lunch
• Entrance Fees: To all sites stated in the itinerary.
• Accommodation: Hotel in Ho Chi Minh

Have a breakfast at hotel. Check out your hotel (unless you choose to stay a little longer). A private transfer to the airport for departure flight home or travelling on to more adventures, we will help you with the planning.

Included for the day:

• Transport: Private vehicle and driver
• Meals: Breakfast.