13 DAYS DISCOVER VIETNAM ( MBV02 )

Upon arrival at Hanoi Airport, your private guide and driver are waiting to meet you, holding up a welcome signboard with your names on it and take you directly to your hotel in the Old Quarter.

We have left this afternoon free for you to relax, unwind, and become accustomed to your new surroundings.

Please note: Your travel documents contain a Visa-on-Arrival letter (unless otherwise arranged). Please ensure to pack this in your carry-on luggage. Your Visa-on-Arrival letter must be presented to Customs upon entry into the country.

Overnight in Hanoi

No meals

Morning

• Departure to the dramatic mountain scenery of Ninh Binh. Just three hours away from Hanoi, Ninh Binh has remained relatively untouched offering striking limestone karst scenery and a myriad of underground streams and grottos.
• Upon arrival, you will set out to explore the Trang An eco-tourism complex (the third Unesco World Heritage site on your list), and its staggering karst landscapes, replete with secret grottoes, towering peaks, and tranquil streams. Board a sampan for a journey through Trang An’s spectacular network of caves, archways, and grottoes, including Sang Cave, Toi Cave, Ba Giot Cave, and Sinh Cave.

Afternoon

• After lunch, you will continue to visit Hoa Lu, the location of the Ancient Capital of Vietnam dating back to the 11th century. Having been eroded over the millennia, the dilapidated ruins have nearly been absorbed by the spectacular scenery creating a mystical atmosphere that will be sure to titillate your imagination.
• On arrival, dive into the history at the remaining two temples of Dinh and Le Emperors. Restored in the 17th century but the temples are believed to be built on the original foundations of the old palaces from the 11th and 12th centuries.
• Hop on a bike for a leisurely ride through the area, limestone karsts towering above you as you ride along backroads and beautiful scenery. Arrive at Mua Cave Mountain where you enjoy a short hike which leads you to an incredible viewpoint with a spectacular sight of the Ngo Dong River below that cuts its way around the towering mountains.

At the end of the afternoon. You go back the hotel in Ha Noi.

Overnight in Ha Noi

Meals: (B/L/_)

Morning

• After breakfast, your private tour guide will pick you up and take you through the rich farmlands of the Red River Delta to the legendary Halong Bay where you will board a traditional-style Vietnamese Junk Boat that is your home for the evening. The limestone karsts and tropical islets rising up from the emerald waters of the bay provide an ethereal backdrop for your leisurely cruise.
• Upon arrival you’ll be welcomed aboard your Stylish Junk boat, each with its own individual route, to begin your cruise around the bay’s thousands of limestone islets and caves.

Afternoon

• After a delicious lunch on board, you will spend time to sunbathe on the sundeck and enjoy the peaceful tranquility of the bay.
• Later you will visit Sung Sot Cave “Grotte des Surprises” a hidden gem of mother nature. Float peacefully through magnificent limestone formations containing thousands of stalagmites and stalactites.
• Continue to cruise. As you weave your way through the islands, you’ll come across secluded bays, white sandy beaches, and floating villages.
• There is plenty of leisure time to enjoy activities both onboard and around the fantastical scenery of the Bay. Pamper yourself at the cruise spa or swim in the emerald waters.
• Toward the end of the day, you will sail to the overnight mooring area. During this time – the magical “blue hour” – Halong Bay reveals its true, magnificent beauty. You have a chance to attend the chef’s cooking demonstration or enjoy a mesmerising sunset on the top deck before a scrumptious dinner.
• The rest of the evening will be at leisure. You can watch a movie or join the crew for squid fishing before retiring to your room for a restful sleep.
• Note: If your time permits, we would highly recommend an additional night on board which gives you a lot more time to relax and take in the amazing landscape. You’ll get to cruise deeper into the Bay where it’s more beautiful and less crowded.
• Overnight on board in Halong Bay

Meals: (B/L/D)

Morning

• The graceful practice of Tai Chi eases you into your day as is the local custom. Join a ‘Local Specialist’ on the deck of the Junk boat for a morning class in exquisite natural surrounds. You’ll have time for an early morning swim at one of Halong Bay’s quiet beaches and, if you’re feeling energetic, hop on a kayak and paddle around lagoon, ilets  admiring the glittering stone walls.
• Back to the Junk boat. Check out of the cabin and then enjoy a full brunch buffet as you cruise back to port. Disembark around midday for your return drive to Hanoi.

Afternoon

• From Hanoi, you will be transferred to the airport to catch the flight Hue, in the central of Vietnam.
• Upon arrival at Hue airport, you will be picked up by your private guide & driver and taken to your hotel in Hue. Check in the hotel.
• Overnight in Hue

• Meals: (B/L)

Morning

• After breakfast, your private tour guide and driver will pick you to go to Hue city (the forth Unesco World Heritage site on your list) explore the former capital of imperial Vietnam from 1802 to 1945.
• The two-hour  journey will be an interesting experience because it allows you to see the stunning scenery along the way and especially crossing Vietnam’s former DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). The DMZ was the former border between North and South Vietnam before the reunification. Historically it was a narrow band of terrain extending from the Laos border to the coast, five kilometers on either side of the Ben Hai River, roughly on the 17th parallel north of latitude. Then head back to the city centre explore the Imperial City (the fifth Unesco World Heritage site on your list) with walls six miles in length; inside are the palaces and halls of the Mandarins and the remains of the Forbidden Purple City.
• The lunch will be served in a nice local reataurant.

Afternoon

• After lunch, Travel to the surrounding countryside to see the final resting place (royal tomb) of King Khai Dinh, designed in traditional Vietnamese style with a European touch making it unique from the other tombs in Hue.
• Another place also worth be seen is joyal tomb of King Tu Duc. Which designed in traditional Vietnamese style. The king some timework and relax in there when he stil alive. Thi King was worshiped in the tomb after the death.
• Overnight in Hue city

• Meals: (B/L/_)

• After breakfast depart for your exploration of Phong Nha Cave (the fourth Unesco World Heritage site on your list), the world’s longest limestone cave. Part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the cave was used as a hospital and munitions store during the Vietnam War. You will access the cave by boat along the son River and once inside, you will be amazed by the cave’s fine sand beaches, the spectacular milky-white stalagmites, and stalactites.
• Continue to visit the famous Thien Duong Cave, also known as Paradise Cave. Discovered by scientists of the British Caving Research Association in 2005, the Paradise cave is an ethereal complex of skyscraper-high stalagmites and stalactites that hang like the pipes of oversized church organs. The first 1 km (0.6 miles) is open to visitors and lit with the aplomb of a cathedral, with wooden steps and walkways navigating the uneven floor.

Morning:

• After breakfast you check out and move to visit Thien Mu Pagoda– Hue’s most famous religious site. Explore the pagoda’s landscaped gardens, the seven-storey octagonal tower and watch the monks chanting.Next place will be Truc Chi Garden, the crafting bamboo paper art workshop. 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.
• Overnight in Hue or Danang
• Meals: (B/L/_)

Then say goodbye to Hue and departure for Hoi An… you will drive south to Da Nang and Hoi An for 3 hours along the coast. Today you will enjoy one of the most scenic drives over Hai Van Pass (Sea Cloudy Pass). From the summit, you can enjoy the spectacular view of the coastline and Da Nang city below.

Overnight in Hoi An

Meals: (B/L/_)

Breakfast, your tour guide will pick you up and take you to the Ancient Quarter of Hoi An (the sixth Unesco World Heritage site on your list) where you will embark on a walking tour visiting the major attractions such as Chua Ong Pagoda, Tan Ky Ancient House, Fujian Assembly Hall, and the Japanese Covered Bridge.

Continue to visit the Precious Heritage Museum, home to the permanent exhibition of Réhahn’s Precious Heritage Collection. While transporting you to the furthest reaches of Vietnam, the collection will unveil the rich cultural tapestry of the ethnic tribes.

The highlight of the day is the visit to the Reaching Out Tea House, a welcome little oasis of calm in the busy, vibrant Old quarter, owned and operated by the mute and deaf people. Here you will be treated with delicious cakes and incredible tea in the Eastern style.

Move on to the house of a lantern craftsman. There, you can observe the lantern craftsman’s technique before hands-on work through each stage of lantern-making under the guidance of the enthusiastic craftsmen: from bending it into the frame, cutting cloth, gluing, to completing lanterns. Before this trip concludes, you will have your own lantern created by your own hands.

Now, it’s time for your Hoi An street food discovery tour. With your guide, you will weave in and out the tiny alleyways, get to chow down with the locals at stalls you’d never discover on your own. Every day at 4 pm, Hoi An’s streets filled with a myriad of street food carts, stalls, and vendors. The street food tour is a great introduction for you to enjoy a few of the Hoi An specialties cooked up by the locals, to introduce you to the faces behind the stock pots and to teach you how the Hoi An locals deal with those condiment trays!

Overnight in Hoi An

Meals: (B/D)

7.30 AM – 8.15 AM: Pick up at hotel and depart to My son sanctuary.

9.00 AM: Explore My Son. Watch ChamPa dance show.

11.30 AM: Have lunch.

13.30 PM: Take a cruise trip from My son to Danang Airport. Flight to Ho Chi Minh city

16.30 PM: Upon arrival at Tan Son Nhat airport, you will be picked up by your private guide & driver and taken to your hotel in Ho Chi Minh city. Check in the hotel and relax.

Meals: (B/L)

Breakfast, start to leave the hote to go out of the center and go ahead to Cu Chi, a small community located northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, known for its network of deep tunnels that provided shelter and an effective source of infiltration for the Vietcong during the later years of the Vietnam War.

Upon arrival, you will watch a short introductory video from the period before exploring the tunnels, the most famous battlegrounds in the world. The hidden network of Viet Cong tunnels is believed to stretch to “hundreds of miles,” in total length, housed living quarters, storage rooms, makeshift hospitals, and kitchens…etc. Although originally very narrow, some parts have been widened for the tourists and you have the opportunity to explore parts of the system.

Please note that these tunnels will be hot and can get claustrophobic, so there is an option if you’d like to view from above ground.

Try some of the main food of the Viet Cong Soldiers with a cassava tasting served with tangy tea. After experiencing the Cu Chi Tunnels, return to Ho Chi Minh City where the remainder of the day will be at your leisure.

Overnight in HCM CityMeals: (B/_/_)

Morning

After breakfast, your private guide and driver will take you out of HCM City in a private vehicle and onto some beautiful country roads to Ben Tre Town in the Mekong Delta, famous for its vast rice fields, numerous waterways, and beautiful landscapes. Known as the ‘rice bowl’ of Vietnam, this region produces most of Vietnam’s fruit, rice, sugar cane, and coconuts.

After the two-hour drive through the lush farming land, you will arrive in Ben Tre where you will set out on a motorized boat trip on narrow channels winding through the coconut forest. During the boat ride, you will stop at the local cottage industries to see how the local people make bricks and weave sleeping mats by hand. Learn about their craft handed down through generations.

Take a leisure walk along the village lanes, visiting the local homes to try fresh fruits, taste delicious honey tea while enjoying a local Tai Tu music show. Continue to visit another workshop where the local delicacy of coconut candy is produced, and a wide range of coconut husk and fiber products are skillfully handcrafted.

Next, take a small sampan through palm-fringed back canals, gliding peacefully along the hidden waterways surrounded by an immense variety of tropical plants. The quiet, rural setting is a welcome and restorative retreat to the frenetic buzz of HCM City which seems far, far away.

Enjoy sitting in the back a Motor Cart (xe lôi) passing local hamlets, rice fields, coconut groves, and lush orchard farms while meeting with local people.

Afternoon

After finishing your sightseeing tour your guide will take you to a riverside restaurant for lunch with local specialties then return to the pier and drive back to Ho Chi Minh City.

This evening you will be free to visit the night market to discover the authentic local cuisine or simply enjoy a glass of cocktail on the rooftop bar of the Hotel.

Overnight in HCM City

Meals: (B/L__)