Day 1: Hanoi Arrival (-/-/-)

Hanoi - Airport: 30km, ~40min drive

Upon arrival at Noi Bai Airport, meet our driver who then escort you to the city center. After making sure of your successful hotel check-in, he will be pleased to leave you free time for your own lunch and leisure to recover after the long flight.

Day 2: Hanoi - Yoga & Massage Therapy (B/L/-)

08:00: Our driver will meet you at your hotel lobby and transfer you to the treatment center.

08:30-12:00: Yoga session (3h30min) at Sen 1992.

• Instruction to choose the appropriate package based on the General Health Check & Consultation by experienced doctors
• Measure body mass index
• General health check & consultation by experienced Oriental doctors
• Treated directly by experienced traditional Oriental doctors and fire therapy (depending on one’s health)
• Vascular & skin check and facial skincare advice
• Practicing qigong with doctors’ guidance & meditating at the fresh oxygen garden 21-26%
• Bury yourself in perfumed herbs
• Sauna with Himalayan Pink Salt helps reduce joint pain
• Soaking in wooden tub and Jacuzzi with SEN’s traditional medicine (follow doctor’s instructions)
• Facial mask and hair wash with Japanese soda
• Exfoliation & steam sauna with herbals
• Experienced therapists with specific treatment
• Vitamin C electrophoresis therapy
• Cupping therapy (follow doctors’ instructions
• Customers can use 5 types of SEN’s exclusive massage essential oils for treatment
• Free beauty salon with hair and nail services
• Enjoy nutritious dishes suitable for each customer’s health

Note: Please take a shower after at least 4 hours to take highest effect and have enough time for essential oils to penetrate deeply into the body

We return your hotel and the rest of the day is yours to relax.

Day 3: Hanoi City Tour (B/-/-)

We start the day trip with a visit to the Ho Chi Minh Complex. This famous site compromises Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum (closed on Mondays & Fridays), his former stilt-house residence, the Presidential Palace and Ho Chi Minh Museum. Following this, we head to the Temple of Literature constructed in 1070 to worship Confucius. Otherwise known as the first university of Vietnam, the site also honours the eighty-two Vietnamese doctorates that each passed a number of rigid exams in the medieval ages. Their names, birthdays and birthplaces are each engraved in headstones perched on stone tortoises. It is widely believed that touching the heads of these tortoises will bring luck. Its peaceful green compound with its neatly maintained lawns, gardens and lotus ponds make it a tranquil hideaway from the city’s bustle and heat. Lunch is on your own cost. 

In the afternoon, we visit Museum of Ethnology (closed on Mondays, the alternative is the History Museum) dedicated to Vietnam's 54 officially recognized ethnic groups with both indoor and outdoor sections. While the in-housed exhibition is particularly informative, the outdoor display continues in the museum’s garden with fascinating examples of traditional houses of numerous minority groups, from the Kinhs to the ethnic groups of the Central Highlands. We then enjoy a 45 minute-cyclo tour to the Old Quarter where you can see streets with century-aged trees and French Colonial buildings. We then head to Ngoc Son Temple set on a tiny islet in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake. Ngoc Son Temple dates back to the 13th century, and the lake itself is the picturesque heart of Hanoi, frequented by tourists and locals alike. 

18:15-19:30: Yoga session (75’) at Om Hanoi Yoga & Cafe. Enjoy the rest of the evening at your leisure.

Day 4: Hanoi - Halong Bay Overnight Cruise (B/L/D)

After breakfast at hotel, we depart for Halong Bay without guide, passing a peaceful countryside typical of Red River Delta with endless rice fields and winding rivers. We will arrive at Halong’s tourist wharf around noon and embark an elegant wooden junk for a cruise through the limestone cliffs and emerald waters of  Ha Long Bay to enjoy a fantastic view of the picturesque scenery blending with the sky and some 3,000 limestone this World Heritage Site. While being on board, we will be served a sumptuous fresh, local seafood lunch followed by swimming and exploring some of the limestone caves in this area. Try the feeling of witnessing the sunset on boat is really great. Dinner on board. The captain then will anchor for the night nearby a remote island.  In the evening, there is the option for night fishing or just sit out on the deck and relax under the stars.

Day 5: Halong - Hanoi - Flight to Da Nang - Hoi An (B/L/-)

Waking up surrounded by the tranquil beauty of the bay, we have time for an early morning dip with joys and emotions for watching sunrise on sea followed by breakfast. The cruise continues to move around the bay for us to discover more secluded areas, we then take kayaking and swimming in the stunning bay. The junk will be near us at all times serving as a backup vessel for those that require it. At around midday we will return to the main harbor before transferring to our awaiting vehicle to head to Hanoi for the flight to Da Nang. Upon arival at Da Nang Airport, you will be escorted to the Hoi An for hotel check-in and relaxation.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch or Brunch
Accommodation: Hotel in Hoi An

Day 6: Hoi An Ancient Town Walking Tour (B/-/-)

At 13:00, we take a walking tour to Hoi An Ancient Town - an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15^th to the 19^th century. We start our day with the Japanese Covered Bridge - one of Vietnam’s most iconic attractions. Created by the Japanese living in Hoian in the 1590s as a way to reach the Chinese quarter across the water, the bridge is a beautiful historical piece of Japanese architecture. It would be a shortcoming without a visit to Tan Ky House - one of the many ancient houses that making up Hoian Ancient Town. Built two centuries ago with both Japanese and Chinese influences on architecture, this house has been preserved through seven generations. While walking, we will encounter pretty houses of Chinese merchants. Another must-see destination is Phuc Kien Assembly Hall – an excellent work of architecture considered as a heritage of historical significance. Built in 1690, this Assembly Hall is in fact a temple dedicated to the sea goddess Thien Hau.

16:00-17:15: Yoga session (75’). Enjoy the rest of the evening at your leisure.

Day 7: Hoi An Cooking Class Morning Group Tour - Yoga Session (B/L/-)

After breakfast at hotel, please make your own way to Hai Scout Cafe at 98 Nguyen Thai Hoc - our meeting point. From here, our guide will escort you to a colorful market where you can experience the amazing sights, sounds and aromas of this busy market. We will have the opportunity to interact with the local sellers and purchase some of the ingredients to be used in the cooking lesson. From here, we board the Red Bridge boat for a leisurely cruise (25 minutes) along the Hoi An River and arrive our destination: Red Bridge Cooking School. Here you get a chance to view local river life, so, make sure your camera is handy. On arrival, we explore the cooking school’s herb and vegetable garden, before learning about some of Hoi An’s and Vietnam’s well-known dishes. The cooking lesson runs for about 2 hours - each dish is first demonstrated by the Red Bridge chef’s, before we prepare the same dish ourselves. Included in the class is a brief introduction to Vietnamese food carving (plate decoration). After the lesson, we sit down and eat exactly what we have cooked. Delicious!

Recipes:

1. Making fresh Rice paper
2. Fresh Rice Paper Rolls of Shrimp
3. Crispy Hoi An Pancakes with Shrimp, Herbs & a Peanut Sauce
4. Marinated Beef on a Sizzling Plate
5. Vietnamese Eggplant in Clay Pot
6. Food Decoration - Pineapple Boat, 3 Colored Flowers & Vietnamese Hand Fan
   Back your hotel & free after

Vegetarians are provided with replacement ingridients

18:00-19:15: Yoga session (75’) at Nomad yoga. Enjoy the rest of the evening at your leisure.

Day 8: Hoi An Free Day (B/-/-)

Enjoy the the whole day at your leisure.

Day 9: Hoi An - Da Nang - Flight to Saigon (B/-/-)

Danang - Saigon: ~850km, 1h30m  flight

After breakfast at hotel, our driver will meet and transfer you to Da Nang airport for the flight to Saigon. Upon arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport, meet your new driver who then escorts you to the hotel for check-in.

Day 10: Saigon City Tour (B/-/-)

07:30-09:00: Yoga session (90’) at Sivananda Yoga Center. We then return to your hotel to relax.

At 13:00, we take a half day to visit all famous sites of this bustling city including the Reunification Palace, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Central Post Office, and the War Remnant Museum. If time permits, we continue our trip to the bustling Ben Thanh Market, which is a fantastic place for bargains of all kinds. There are a number of vendors and food stalls in the market food section that offers fresh local dishes. You also can find many goods for daily use as well as a variety of eye-catching souvenirs. 

Day 11: Saigon - Ben Tre (Mekong Delta) - Saigon (B/L/-)

 Saigon - Ben Tre: 107 km, ~2h drive

After breakfast at the hotel, we leave the bustling city of Saigon behind us and depart for the Mekong Delta known to local as ‘Vietnam’s biggest rice basket’. Upon arrival at Hung Vuong pier in Ben Tre, we embark a boat to cruise along Ben Tre River, a tribute to the Mekong. With stops at the brickfield to see how bricks are made by hand and a coconut candy home factory located along the canal where we witness how to make these local delicacy. You will then have the opportunity to taste bee honey tea at a local honey farm and a variety of tropical fruit that grow abundantly in the orchards of the Mekong Delta. You can then walk or cycle through the coconut groves and green rice paddies to soak up and relax in the tranquil countryside atmosphere. Lunch is served at a local restaurant.

In the afternoon, we will take a trip on small rowing boats through a maze of waterways lined by two rows of palm trees. We cruise back to the pier and disembark for a drive back to your hotel. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel in Saigon

Day 12: Saigon - Agricultural Village - Cu Chi Tunnels (B/L/-)

 Saigon - Cu Chi: 30km, ~50m drive 

After breakfast at hotel, we depart for the village of organic vegetables in Cu Chi (30km – 1h drive). In this village, you will be guided by the farm owner to become real farmers. You will start the farm tour by discovering fertile and lush fields, where there are over a hundred species of herbs, vegetables and other crops characteristics of Vietnam. The owner not only explains the features and usefulness of vegetables including herbs – ingredients often used in the preparation of traditional dishes of Vietnam but also teach you how to grow and harvest. After a morning full of discovery and joy on the field, with vegetables you just harvest in the garden, you will be guided in the preparation of pure but easy to make Vietnamese dishes such as mushroom soup, sauté vegetables, vegetable salad with shrimp and pork, soups, etc. At lunch together, you will taste the dishes you have just prepared. After lunch, you will also get further instructions on Vietnamese cuisine and dishes that you like.

Our next destination is the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, which were an incredible underground network constructed by Vietnamese fighters during the long struggle for independence. The tunnels contained hospitals, plus accommodation and schools, and were used as a military base for the Vietcong in the American war. Upon arrival, proceed to an underground hut to watch a short video and presentation about Cu Chi tunnels before having a real hand-on experience of what it took to live in the tunnels. We return to hotel Saigon in late afternoon for overnight.

Day 13: Saigon - Morning Yoga - Departure (B/-/-)

07:30-09:00: Yoga session (90’) at Sivananda Yoga Center. We then return to your hotel to relax until your driver picks you up and transfers you to Tan Son Nhat airport for your flight back home or to your next destination. We thank you for choosing www.tonkin-travel.com! 

Meals Included: Breakfast