The Best Of Vietnam 15 Days

In the Morning

• You will start with the Ho Chi Minh Complex including his Mausoleum, the Presidential Palace, the historic Stilt house, and the One Pillar Pagoda.
• We take a short drive to the outskirt of Hanoi to visit the Museum of Ethnology exhibiting the 54 officially recognized ethnic groups in Vietnam. Some of them we will meet during our trip to Sapa.
• Today we will have Pho for lunch, a Vietnamese Noodle shop. Some of the local people call this world-famous Noodle soup “Mac-Noodles” since it is as popular here as Mac Donald’s is in other parts of the world! At the restaurant your tour guide will explain the routine during Vietnamese meal times, and also tell you which special ingredients are needed for you.

In the Afternoon

• After lunch you will visit the Temple of Literature, a Confucius temple and also the first University of Vietnam.
• Continue Tran Quoc Pagoda (which means “Stabilizing the Nation”), the oldest pagoda constructed in the sixth century in the Westlake and also a famous attraction for pilgrims.
• Then we visit Hoan Kiem Lake & Ngoc Son Temple. Enjoy a cup of Egg coffee at Pho Co Café with stunning view of Hoan Kiem Lake and the surroundings.
• Relax 01 hr cyclo tour around Old Quarter (optional, if time permits)

• Hanoi Half day Food, Culture, Sights & Fun on vintage Minsk or Vintage Vespa or Gaz69 Jeep
• Evening show: Water Puppet show or spectacular My Village show.

• We will take you to one of the villages in the North of Vietnam where life goes by more slowly and above all with more smiles than in the city. The village is far from the noisy world of motorcycles, where time seems to be stopped; where the locals greet you with a smile and where you can enjoy the pure atmosphere of Vietnamese rice paddy countryside.
• We arrive the village at around 10.00am, where the host family is waiting for you. We will take a tour of the area and we will set up the bicycles to reach nearby rice fields, where you can see on your eyes the real life of farmers here, their fields, their buffalo and their fish ponds, talk with them to learn more about their life, their culture. In the rice season, you even can join with them in the farming activities. If you don't like riding a bike, you can get around on foot. It is not a long stretch.
• We return the local host to join Lunch with the family, you also can join with them for cooking, a great chance for you to learn about daily local life of a real Vietnamese family.
• After Lunch and a rest, we say goodbye the family and we'll take you for a relaxing boat ride around the Van Long Nature Reserve.
  
  Located amongst the valley, surrounded by spectacular ranges of limestone, Van Long is a captivating ecotourism destination. Nature lovers will not be disappointed by Van Long, the fauna and flora in Van Long typify the ecosystems of limestone mountains and Red River Delta wetlands. When taking a boat trip on this “wave-free bay”, we can contemplate the calm and quiet water surface like a gargantuan mirror. The relaxing boat trip takes us to Hang Ca Cave which is 250m long, 8m high, 10m wide. This cave is unique in its way: half-submerged, half-dried, with a lot of fish swimming up inside. After reaching the other side of the cave, you can catch a glimpse of a small valley. If fortunes smiles on you, you will also witness cauldrons, storks and langurs while traveling by boat.
  
  
• The next point is Hoa Lu, dive into history at the Dinh & Le Temples. Restored in the 17th century, the temples are dedicated to the Dinh and Le emperors and believed to be built on the original foundations of the old palaces from the 11th and 12th centuries.
• After visiting the Ancient Capital, we head to Hang Mua (Múa Cave), and start an amazing trek up to the top of Ngoa Long mountain, you are blessed to enjoy the spectacular rice valley and surroundings from here.

Breakfast at hotel in Hanoi.

• About 08.00am: Pick up from hotel & transfer to Halong Bay (about 3hrs driving, including breaks on the way)
• Arriving in Halong Bay around noon time, you will board a Cuise, begin a relaxing and unforgettable cruise around the breathtaking and unique limestone karsts and islets.
• A delicious fresh seafood lunch will be served as you cruise this spectacular bay, a UNESCO listed site.
• Towards the end of the day the boat sets anchor for the night.
• As the sun sets over the bay, dinner is served with fresh seafood, salad, and fruit

• Enjoy breakfast on the Cruise.
• Follow cruise’s itinerary.
• Brunch or Lunch on Cruise (depending on cruise’s services)
• Disembark at around noon time and take shuttle bus back Hanoi.

• Breakfast at local restaurant.

• Heading to Bac Ha Market (About 2.5hrs driving). Opened every Sunday at the center of Bac Ha township, this is the biggest ethnic market in Lao Cai Province and probably among some most interesting ones in the northern mountains. Peoples from ethnic groups including Black Zao, Tay, Phu La and Flower H’mong wearing their best traditional clothes attend the market to turn it into a kind of festival. Commodity sold at the market is varied from embroidered clothes, handicraft, farming products, food… to poultry and cattle such as vegetable, spices, chili, chicken, cat, piggy, doggy… At the market place, after finishing their shopping, peoples gathered into groups at footstalls or restaurants enjoying “Thang Co” a kind of H’mong traditional specialty, drinking corn wine and talking cheerfully. Not far away from the main market place, there is the buffaloes and horses’ market and it is really interesting to see the buyers carefully searching in order to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the animals before buying because a buffalo or horse is a real important property in their farming work. The best time to join the market is from 09.00 to 12.00 but it is fascinating to spend few hours earlier to see the people along the trail to the Bac Ha Market.

• Lunch at a local restaurant.

• After Lunch and short rest, we take a short visit the ancient house of H’Mong King – Hoang A Tuong, before leaving Bac Ha for Sapa town (about 3hrs driving).

After breakfast at hotel.

• We start the day trekking through the beautiful Muong Hoa Valley to Y Linh Ho village, home to Black Hmong minorities. If the weather permits, you will enjoy stunning views across the valley with mountains and rice terraces as far as the eye can see.
• Next on the route is a stop at Lao Chai, an established Hmong minority village which has been inhabited for centuries. Here you will have the opportunity to see the products of this minority at its best with hereditary rice terraces, homes and a vibrant community.
• Continuing on to Ta Van Village you will visit the Giay minority people. This group traditionally fished for a living and as a result established themselves close to rivers. They have mastered the art of fishing with bamboo sticks, and cook the fish inside bamboo. Nowadays, however, you are more likely to see the Giay working in fields planting or harvesting rice.
• Lunch at local house in Ta Van village, with great view over the rice fields and valley. Private car will be waiting in Ta Van to take you back to Sapa, on the way stop visit the ancient Rock filed.

• Depending on your physical ability, the trek can be shorten with start from Lao Chai Village, to Ta Van village (without Y Linh Ho village)
• Appropriate footwear should be used for treks to local villages. Note that in wet weather condition, programs may be adjusted.

• You can climb up Ham Rong mountain or take a leisure walk to nearby Cat Cat Village.
• Or take the train over Muong Hoa Valley to Fansipan Cable Car base, from here take cable car to Fansipan Peak (it is about USD 10/person for the train, and USD 35/person for cable car to Fansipan peak, and you can buy tickets yourself on spot).
• Or just hanging around Sapa market

Breakfast at hotel. Today we continue exploring this historical city.

• We start the day by taking a traditional dragon boat trip on poetic Perfume River, stop visit Thien Mu (Celestial Lady) Pagoda. This iconic seven-storey pagoda is regarded as the unofficial symbol of the city,overlooking the River. You will also see the Austin car which took Monk Thich Quang Duc to Saigon where he famously set himself on fire in 1963 as a dramatic protest against the unfair treatment of Buddhists by the Diem regime. The photo of his self-immolation is one of the most well-known images of the war.
• We continue to visit Minh Mang’s tomb that is located in a tranquil setting of gardens and ponds. Next point is the Emperor Khai Dinh Mausoleum, considered one of the most beautiful and picturesque works of architecture of the Nguyen Dynasty.
• Lunch at a local restaurant.
• After Lunch time, we spend some time at Truc Chi Garden, a crafting bamboo paper art workshop created by young talented artists. You will have a chance to meet one of the students there and be treated to hands-on experience to learn how to use the etching technique with bamboo pulp to create artworks. Try creating your own Truc Chi drawing and take it home as a souvenir.
• We will drive south to Da Nang and Hoi An, one of the most scenic drives over Hai Van Pass, where you can stop to enjoy the spectacular of the coastline, Lang Co Beach and Da Nang city.
• We stop in Danang, enjoy a hike up to the Marble Mountain, a cluster of five hills made from limestone and marble. It’s also a well-known pilgrimage site with peaks, caves, tunnels, and temples. Reaching the summit, you will get spectacular panoramic views of Da Nang city.

• After breakfast, you will be picked up from your hotel for a morning biking trip, on level ground to a local fishing village by Thu Bon River (for those uncomfortable with riding a bicycle, a private car can be arranged).
• Ride along country lanes at a peaceful pace viewing local life and pause to see farmers toiling in their rice fields using centuries of farming practices. Peddle your way through palm forests, across bridges, fields of water buffalo…
• Take a short break in a local family at Cam Thanh Village before experiencing a 1.5 hours ride on Traditional Basket Boat (round boat) in the Water Coconut Palm Forest. Learn how to sail the basket boat and spend your time to catch fishes and “purple crabs” in the Canal.
• Continue to ride to Tra Que Organic Vegetable Village where a large variety of vegetables is produced for the local community. At the village, you will be shown the environmentally sustainable practices which the local villagers have used for centuries and is still being used extensively today.
• After some farming practices, we head a local family to enjoy a foot massage and the traditional herbal foot dip, before riding your hotel for Lunch (on your own account) and take a rest.
• This afternoon we explore this beautiful Hoi An town on foot. Take a walking tour through the winding narrow streets of the Ancient Quarter, visit Chua Ong Pagoda, The Assembly Hall, 200-year-old Tam Ky house, and The Japanese Covered Bridge. During the walk, you will also have a chance to attend a cultural show with traditional music and dance performances. Explore the Lantern making factories, a typical traditional hand-made product of Hoi An.
• The last point is Precious Heritage Museum, is home to the permanent exhibition of Réhahn’s Precious Heritage Collection. Discover striking portraits, stories, and heirlooms that can’t be found anywhere else in the world.

• Upon arrival, you will have a chance to watch a brief video that will introduce you to the Cu Chi tunnels, followed by a walk through the reserve. In this walk, you can see the Secret Entrance to the tunnels, workshops for the handmade weapons, the clinic bunker, the commander bunker, the meeting bunker and the kitchen bunkers, which are all open and above ground. Nearby is a chilling exhibition of the traps and weapons used against the American GIs.
  
  
• You also can experience the Cu Chi tunnels by crawling inside to see how difficult life must have been, and discover the 3 levels underground. For those who do not like the claustrophobic atmosphere, you do not have to crawl into these tunnels, the small replica displayed outside will give you a perfect example of what the interior looked like.

• General Post Office, one of the oldest buildings in Ho Chi Minh City. It was built between 1886 and 1891, based on Gustave Eiffel’s design, a famous French architect and has become the busiest post office in Vietnam. Here you can send postcards, buy stamps and books, change money, buy souvenirs and enjoy the elegant architecture. At first sight, visitors may feel they are seeing an old 20th century railway station in Europe!
• Notre Dame Cathedral that was constructed between 1863 and 1880 by French colonists. It is a famous Romanesque cathedral in Southern Vietnam. Notre Dame Cathedral is also in the center of the Paris square, France.
• Reunification Palace (formerly known as Independence Palace) has stayed in the mind of many generations. It is the famous historical building which went through the two fierce wars against the French and Americans. It displays many pictures, weapons, and other artifacts in the basement under the palace.
• Cantonese Thien Hau Pagoda in China town, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the Chinese sea goddess, Mazu.

• Arrive at Ben Tre town, take a leisure boat trip on the mighty Mekong River.
• We stop at a local workshop to see how the local people peeling-splitting-paring coconut by traditional ways. Make another stop at a local factory to see the klins and learn how the people make activated charcoal from coconut hard-shell.
• Crossing Mekong river, called Cửa Đại & Cửa Tiểu, 30km far from the Eastern Sea, we arrive Tam Hiêp. On a rowing boat, take you deeper into the countryside on smaller canals to enjoy the peaceful time.
• Come to a local family to enjoy some kinds of fruits, honey-tea.
• Walking or Biking on small village paths through huge orchards to special farm where they are planting creepers (called LÁ SÂM). We pick up some leaves for making & tasting this special herbal jelly.
• Lunch at Ut Trinh’s home, an ancient style local house, located by the river, offering great view and peaceful atmosphere.
• Take a short rest after Lunch.
• Visit Long Thạnh Communial House in the village.