Day 1: Saigon arrival (-/-/-)

Saigon - Airport: 7km, ~20min drive

Upon arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport, you will be introduced to your guide and driver who will proceed escort you to your hotel located in the heart of Saigon. After making sure of a breezy check-in, you will be left to your own devices to rejuvenate. Spend a lazy afternoon exploring the largest city in Vietnam.           

Meals Included: None
Accommodation: Hotel in Saigon

Day 2: Saigon City (B/L/-)

After a delicious breakfast at the hotel, our guide will appear at the hotel for your first official tour of Saigon. We begin with some beautiful French colonial structures including the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Old Saigon Post Office. Notre Dame Cathedral was built between 1877 and 1883, and the stones used to create it were exported entirely from France. Apart from the religious meaning, the most captivating point of this Cathedral is its special neo-Romanesque style of architecture. Next, to the cathedral stands the Old Saigon Post Office, finished in 1891. It is another fine example of French architecture and is Vietnam's largest post office. The tour continues along Dong Khoi Street, where the Opera House and the Peoples’ Committee building were built in 1897 by French architect Ferret Eugene.  The 800 seat Opera House served as the home of the Lower House Assembly of South Vietnam after 1956. After this, we head to the Reunification Palace which is the former residence of the President of South Vietnam. This is until April 30th, 1975 when North Vietnamese tanks came crashing through the front gates thus marking of the Vietnam War.  For a mental break, we’ve booked a popular Saigon restaurant for some lunch.

In the afternoon, you will visit the War Remnants Museum formerly known as the Museum of American War Crimes. This is a poignant display of the futility of war. For a more relaxing afternoon, next on the sightseeing list is Thien Hau Pagoda located in Cho Lon, the city’s Chinatown. This pagoda is dedicated to the Goddess of the Sea. The most impressive features of the structure are the intricate friezes and the carved tableaus towards the front of the pagoda. Another site that cannot be missed the bustling Ben Thanh Market. There are a number of vendors and food stalls which provide fresh & delicious dishes. You also can find many goods for daily use as well as a variety of eye-catching local handicrafts and souvenirs.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel in Saigon

Day 3: Saigon - Ben Tre (Mekong Delta) - Saigon (B/L/-)

Saigon - Ben Tre: 107 km, ~2h drive

After breakfast at hotel, we leave the bustling city of Saigon for the Mekong Delta - Vietnam’s biggest rice basket. Upon arrival at Hung Vuong pier in Ben Tre, embark your boat to cruise along Ben Tre River, a tributary of the great Mekong, to explore the local lifestyle and the daily hustle and bustle. We will stop at the brickfield to see how bricks are made by hand in Vietnam and a coconut candy home factory located along the canal to witness the process of making this local candy and other souvenirs. We then have the opportunity to taste bee honey tea at a local honey farm and a variety of tropical fruit that grow amply in the orchards of the Mekong Delta. It is recommended to walk or cycle through the coconut groves and green rice paddies to soak up and relax in the tranquil countryside atmosphere. After lunch at a local restaurant, we will take a trip on small rowing boats through a maze of waterways lined by two rows of palm tree. Upon cruising back to the pier, we drive back to Saigon in late afternoon for overnight.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel in Saigon

Day 4: 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.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel in Saigon

Day 5: Saigon - Flight to Danang - Hoi An (B/-/-)

Saigon - Danang: 900km, 1h10m flight

After breakfast at hotel, our driver will meet and transfer you to airport for flight to Danang. Upon arrival, you will be picked up by our guide and driver for a drive to Hoian which was originally a Cham seaport but has been influenced down centuries by a myriad of traders from various cultures. Arrival in Hoian, we will visit this delightful and tranquil town, some of which are the famous Japanese Covered Bridges, the Pottery Museum, the 200 years old Tam Ky House, the Chua Ong Pagoda, the vibrant market.

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

Day 6: Hoi An - Tra Que Village - Cam Thanh Villages (B/L/-)

After breakfast at the hotel, we depart by bicycle to Tra Que village and drop a nice visit to Chuc Thanh Pagoda, the oldest pagoda in Hoi An, built in 1671 with a great value dated from 17-18 century. Arrival at Tra Que Village, we will meet Mr Chinh - a home gardener. He will tell you the story of the history and customs of this charming village as well as of his family. You are also presented the daily activities of gardeners such as raking, fertilizing, cultivating and watering soil.

We then continue to Cam Thanh village. Stop to take some beautiful photos. A quick stop at the local market - Ba The where local people exchange their self-consumption in the region. Interestingly, we will embark on a sampan bamboo basket: rowing competition, practice of fishing technique. Take a little rest in the house of fisherman (Mr. Phong) with the welcome green tea, a beautiful walk in the village to see the daily activities of fishermen. Relax by a foot massage with medicinal herbs that planted in the family garden. It is an effectively traditional therapy method that enforce your health. Prepare vegetables and herbs from Tra Que, small pratice of cooking the dishes: crispy pancake (meat, shrimp, beansprouts…), spring rolls of Hoi An, Tam Huu, grilled fish in banana leaf… Enjoy the dishes you made before driving back to hotel. The rest of the day is yours for relaxation.

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

Day 7: Hoi An Cooking Class - Hue (B/L/-)

Hoi An - Hue: 140km, ~2h30m drive

After breakfast at hotel, we start the day at 8:45am with a drink at Hai Scout Cafe - our meeting point. 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 later. We board the Red Bridge boat for a leisurely cruise (25 minutes) along the Hoi An River to the Red Bridge Cooking School. This is 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. 

After the cooking class, we will depart for Hue, along the way, we make stopover at the sensational Marble Mountains and Cua Dai Beach. We then follow the road crossing over the scenic Hai Van Pass before arriving in Hue, Vietnam's last imperial capital of Vietnam.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel in Hue

Day 8: Hue - La Chu Village (B/L/-)

Morning after breakfast at hotel, we depart by private car for the village of La Chu located 9 km north of downtown Hue. This village is known for its market gardening of vegetables and aromatic herbs (onions, chives, coriander, basil, etc ...). We can also see buffaloes eating herbs to their hunger. Plowing the land, the peasants wearing their conical hats curl themselves in the rice fields. Despite the difficulty of the work, they are always smiling and very hospitable.

See you at the entrance of the village, for a bike ride through the charming countryside of Hue. First stop to discover a family factory of votive offerings paper (a very popular and strong belief among Vietnamese). Pursuit to a small local daily market. Visit the market through the stalls of meat, spices and vegetables and fresh fruits, under the look benevolent and intrigued women unaccustomed to cross tourists. Then discover vegetable fields, where you can meet the villagers, and chat with them. They will be very happy to pose for a photo with you, what a memory! A very pleasant immersion in the Vietnamese countryside! Typical countryside landscapes between fields, rice paddies, banana plants, rivers, lotus ponds and in the background the mountains where we can still see the effects of orange agent shed by the US military more than forty years ago.

Of course, you cannot leave this bucolic setting without greeting the family specializing in the production of "Banh Loc" - a small cake made from rice flour mixed with shrimp. Exchanges with the family and possibility to try to create these different dishes. Arrival in a family restaurant in the middle of the rice fields to enjoy a delicious fresh and typical lunch. After lunch, a little relaxation in the beauty of the Vietnamese rice fields, you can relax your feet in a hot bath scented with medicinal plants. Zen attitude guaranteed!

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel in Hue

Day 9: Hue Imperial City - Flight to Hanoi (B/L/-)

Hue - Hanoi: 700 km, 1h10m flight

After breakfast at hotel, we visit the Citadel containing the Imperial City and the Forbidden Purple city, the Emperor's private residence. The next stop of our trip is the elaborate royal tomb of Emperor Tu Duc which was built between 1864 and 1867 by 3000 soldiers and workers. It includes 50 monuments surrounded by a 1500m long wall covering an area of 12ha.

After lunch at a local restaurant, we return to the city for a walk to the bustling Dong Ba Market passing many fantastic eating spots where you have a chance to sample some local delicacies. We then transfer to airport for flight to Hanoi. Upon arrival, our driver will meet and transfer you to hotel for check-in.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi

Day 10: Hanoi City - Overnight train to Lao Cai (B/L/-)

Hanoi - Lao Cai: 270km, ~7-8h on train

After a wholesome breakfast at hotel, 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. Next stop, lunch!-which will be served at a popular local restaurant. 

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. 

Time is then free until transfer to Hanoi Railway Station for an overnight train to Lao Cai leaving at around 10p.m.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Overnight on train

Day 11: Lao Cai - Sapa - Cat Cat - Ma Tra Village (B/L/-)

Lao Cai - Sapa : 40km, 1h drive

Arrival Lao Cai Train Station at around 6:00a.m, our guide and driver will meet and transfer you to Sapa, situated just 40km from Lao Cai. After breakfast, we will explore Sapa town, founded by the French as a holiday resort. 

In the afternoon, we will visit Cat Cat village, home to H’Mong people. They are excellent “tho cam” weavers, a kind of brocade fabric. The “tho cam” of Cat Cat village is of especially high quality, as it is dyed with natural colors, polished with beeswax and embroidered with unique designs. Cat Cat silver jewelry such as necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings are known for their sophisticated production techniques. A walk through this old village offers a glimpse into traditional customs and practices of the ethnic Black Hmong. We will stop at a beautiful waterfall and the remains of a hydroelectric plant built by the French during their colonisation of Vietnam.

If time permits, visit Ma Tra Village. Located only about 5km to the south-east of Sapa town, Ma Tra Village was added recently into Sapa’s growing list of stunning destinations. The village is a new must-see for visitors when coming to the mountain town of Sapa and preferring a less commercial track. The Village is home to H’mong ethnic people and only boasts around 50 homes. They survive using their craft such as weaving brocade, silk, forging farming tools and carving silver. They generally only make such items to meet their own needs, but since the growth of tourism in Sapa, many H’mong women make decorated cloth to sell on the town’s main streets.

• Morning : 3km, 2h30m walking
• Afternoon : 3km, 2h trekking

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel in Sapa

Day 12: Lao Chai - Ta van - Bus back to Hanoi (B/L/-)

After breakfast at hotel, we embark on a lovely walk that will take us along small paths and trails and through several hill tribe villages of Lao Chai and Ta Van, home to H'mong, and Dzay people. This is an absolutely spectacular walk through stunning scenery inhabited by some of the friendliest people will ever meet. We enjoy lunch at a family house in Ta Van village.  This is an excellent opportunity to meet with local people and study the art of making batik and local weaving villages, the textile tradition of craft women Black H'mong and Red Dzao.

In the afternoon (around 15:00), a Limousine shuttle bus awaits you at your hotel in Sapa to take you back to Hanoi by the highway. Upon arrival in Hanoi in the early evening, check-in hotel. Time then free on your own.

• Distance : 8km
• Duration : 3h30m trekking
• Speed : Average

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi

Day 13: Hanoi - Chuong/Vac Villages - Mua Cave (B/L/-)

Hanoi - Ninh Binh: 95km, ~1h45m drive

After breakfast at the hotel, we depart for the discovery of one of the best known craft villages - the village of Chuong (30km from downtown Hanoi - 30mn drive) inseparable from its "nón", the famous Vietnamese conical hat. Then continue to the village of Vac which is specialized in the manufacture of bird cages. Discovery of this craft and a work of great skill whose reputation is well established.

Follow the route to Ninh Binh, one of the most famous sites in Vietnam, also nicknamed “Halong Bay on land” because of its reliefs reminiscent of the famous "Halong Bay" with many hills, limestones covered with lush vegetation, a succession of natural cirques linked together by tunnels dug by erosion.

Arrival around noon. Check-in the hotel.

In the early afternoon, you take a bike ride to visit the temple of Thai Vi, located in the middle of rice fields & mountains. You discover along the way the local life and also the typical landscapes of the region. Continue the ride to the Hang Mua site, climbing the 486 stone steps to the top of the bell-shaped mountain located not far from Tam Coc. At the top, you can enjoy a fantastic panorama of the "Halong Bay on land". Return to your hotel to rest and enjoy the atmosphere & the swimming pool. Dinner on your own.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel in Ninh Binh

Day 14: Tam Coc & Surroundings (B/L/-)

Breakfast at the hotel. Early in the morning to avoid mass tourism, you embark on a rowing sampan for a 1h45 ride in the middle of the rocky peaks of Tam Coc, discovery of a superb natural landscape (possibility of replacing with Thung Nham - another site too nice than Tam Coc's but much less touristy). Visit the magnificent site of Hoa Lu to discover its temples dedicated to the emperors Dinh Tien Hoang of the Dinh dynasty (968-80), and Le Dai Hanh of the Le dynasty (980-1009).

Then climb to Mount Truong Yen to discover the tomb of Emperor Dinh Tien Hoang. From there, you will have the panoramic view of the village of Truong Yen and its surroundings, marvelous landscapes made up of ancient houses and limestone mountains surrounded by rice fields.

In the afternoon, you will visit the Bich Dong Pagoda where a fantastic panorama of the "Halong Bay on land" awaits you. At the end of the afternoon, we return to the Van Lam village where you can walk freely and discover the local embroidery trade.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel in Ninh Binh

Day 15: Ninh Binh - Halong Bay (B/L/D)

Ninh Binh - Halong: 200km, ~4h drive

We arrive in Hanoi around 5:00 am in the morning where your new guide will escort you to a hotel to freshen up. After breakfast, we will commence our three-hour journey along the Red River Delta to Halong City. 

From there, we embark an elegant wooden junk for a cruise through the limestone cliffs and emerald waters of Halong Bay. Here we enjoy the striking scenery of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Whilst on board, we will be served a fresh seafood lunch followed by swimming and the chance to explore some of the limestone caves in this area. Witness one of the world’s best the sunsets before you sit down for a lush dinner. The captain then will anchor for the night nearby a remote island where you’ll have the option for night fishing or just sit out on the deck and relax under the stars.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Overnight on Junk

Day 16: Halong Boat Trip - Hanoi (Br/-/-)

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 for a 3-hour journey back to Hanoi.

Meals Included: Brunch
Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi

Day 17: Hanoi - Departure (B/-/-)

After breakfast at hotel, time is free until our driver meet and transfer you to Noi Bai airport for your flight to your next destination or back home. Thank you very much for travelling with us!

Meals Included: Breakfast