Xin Chao - Hello Vietnam 12 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.
• 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 (Join-in tour)
• Evening show: Water Puppet show or spectacular My Village show.

• Our first stop is Hoa Lu - formal citadel to visit King Dinh and Kinh 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.
• We continue to Tam Coc, stop en-route to take photographs of the local villages and stunning landscape. Arrive in Tam Coc, from here it is open for you to be on car or bike through the countryside and local villages, to beautiful Thai Vi Temple, then continue to Bich Dong Pagoda, you will climb up to the top and get the panorama view of the area (A moderate level of physical fitness is required.).
• Get back Tam Coc for Lunch at a local restaurant.
• After Lunch and short rest, we board a sampan to visit Tam Coc (Three Caves), rowing down the river among the villages, mountains and lush green rice fields. Known as “Halong Bay on land”, Tam Coc are three limestone caves stretching along the splendid Ngo Dong River. During the boat trip, you will enjoy the impressive natural landscape, the spectacular Limestone Mountains, rice paddies, and temples. Pass through 3 caves to get a unique feeling of the mesmerizing underground system.

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 hotel in Hanoi. Today we will have a wonderful day to discover ancient Capital Hue.

• 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 the Royal Citadel where the Nguyen Dynasty ruled the country from 1802 till 1945. You will explore the ancient and atmospheric walled Citadel which contains the former Imperial Palace and the Forbidden Purple City. Especially you will have chance to visit Hue Royal Antiques Museum - A collection of ornaments from the Nguyen dynasty.
• We finish the morning tour by a stop at Dong Ba Market, the most famous market in Hue to discover daily life and get more experience about local people here.
• Lunch at a local restaurant.
• In the afternoon, embarking on an afternoon of exploring Hue’s famous royal tombs, illustrious examples of the Grand Dynasty’s past, and garden houses. We will 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.
• We finish the day 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.

After breakfast, 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.
• We continue to the nearby town of Hoi An. From the 16th to the 18th century, Hoi An was a thriving international commercial port. Today it is a quaint riverside town popular with tourists for its eclectic architecture, tailor shops, and cafes.
• We arrive in Hoi An in the afternoon, check in hotel before exploring this beautiful town on foot. We take a walking tour through the winding narrow streets of the Ancient Quarter, visits Chua Ong Pagoda, The Assembly Hall, The 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.

After breakfast at hotel, you will be taken to Danang airport for morning flight to Saigon (about 1hr flying). Arrive at Saigon airport, the local tour guide is waiting for you with a warm welcome, and escort you to hotel for leaving luggage.
This afternoon, the tour guide will show you the most interesting sights that Ho Chi Minh City has to offer.

• Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral 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.
• Saigon Post Office is 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.
• 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.
• Visit an authentic Vietnamese market. These vendors sell variety of products, such as seafood, vegetable, daily tools, clothes. You can find everything in a genuine Vietnamese market with affordable prices.

This morning we we depart from Ho Chi Minh city to Cu Chi Tunnels, that’s about 80km from Ho Chi Minh city (about 1.5hr driving). The tunnel system was built in the war battles in the South of Vietnam. The tunnels are asobering insight into the dedication of the Viet Cong who lived almost entirely underground in the narrow and claustrophobic tunnels, for up to 10 years.

• 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 ofthe 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.