8 Days – Tour Throughout Vietnam

PROGRAM DETAIL

Day 1: Hanoi Arrival

Upon arrival, you are transfer to hotel for check in and leisure.

Overnight in Hanoi. Dinner on your own expense.

Day 2:  Hanoi city tour (B/L)

8:00  We pick you up from your hotel (located within the Hanoi Old Quarter only) and take you to visit the Ho Chi Minh Complex, which includes Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum – the final resting place of the beloved national hero, Uncle Ho – and President Ho Chi Minh’s stilt house where he lived off and on from 1958 to 1969. You’ll also the Ho Chi Minh Museum where you can learn about this remarkable man and what he did for Vietnam and the world.

9.30: you’ll visit the One Pillar Pagoda, which is actually a group of structures that collectively make up a pagoda built over the water in the middle of a square lake.

After that, you’ll have a chance to explore the Tran Quoc Pagoda on the shore of west lake. From there, it’s onto the Temple of literature, which was Viet nam’s first university and is dedicated to Confucius.

12.30: you have lunch at a restaurant in the Old Quarter. Afterwards, you’ll visit Hoan Kiem Lake, the heart and soul of Hanoi.

Finally,  You’ ll stop in at MUSEUM OF ETHNOLOGY.This superb museum showcases the depth of Vietnamese cultural diversity with an astounding collection of 15,000 artifacts gathered from throughout Vietnam. Maps, displays and dioramas are labelled in Vietnamese, French and English.Displays portray a typical village market, the making of comical hats and a Tay shamanic ceremony; videos show the real thing. You can also check out a traditional Black Thai house reconstructed in the museum. There’s also a centre for research and conservation where scientists from all over the world study traditional Vietnamese cultures.

Overnight in Hanoi. Dinner on your own expense.

Day 3: Hanoi – Halong (B/L/D)

Shuttle bus will pick you up at hotel lobby (in the Old Quarter Hanoi) to travel to Halong (4 hours drive). Once landing, you hop aboard a traditional junk and sail out into this beautiful bay. You will marvel at all the weird and wonderful dramatic limestone karst formations rising form the crystal water.

According to legend, they were formed as a dragon descended to the sea. Spend the night up on deck chatting away under the starlit sky. A little piece of paradise found and definitely one of Vietnam’s highlights. Overnight on board.

Day 4: Halong – Hanoi (B/L)

Greet the day with a morning Tai Chi session on the sun deck and take the opportunity to view the sunrise over the bay. Visit a beautiful Surprise Cave then head back to the boat for a final glimpse of Halong Bay and a buffet brunch while cruising back to the dock. On the way back Hanoi, take in the lush scenery as you drive through the rich farmlands of the Red River Delta.  Overnight and leisure in Hanoi. Dinner on your own expense.

Day 5: Hanoi – Saigon (B/L)

Morning flight to Saigon.  Check in hotel and enjoy lunch.

Afternoon, visiting War Remnants Museum – originally opened in September 1975; it displays old military equipment and other related items from Vietnam War. Afterward, continuing seeing the Reunification Palace, formerly known as the Presidential Palace. The place symbolizes the end of Vietnam War when a North Vietnamese army tank went through its gates. Then taking a short stroll to see Notre Dame Cathedral and General Post Office, they are the beautiful examples of architecture from the French colonial period.

Overnight in Saigon. Dinner on your own expense.

Day 6: Saigon – Cu Chi Tunnel  (B/L)

After breakfast, depart for Cu Chi tunnels.

Around 9:30AM Arriving at Cu Chi tunnels (Ben Dinh) and proceeding 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.

Afterward, test tasting the steamed tapioca root which is the main staple food in Cu Chi during the war. For those interested, there is an opportunity to fire off an AK47 or MK16 with real ammunitions at the nearby shooting range. Leaving Cu Chi tunnels at noon and returning back to Ho Chi Minh city for lunch at nice local restaurant.

Back to Saigon for free at leisure in the afternoon.

Overnight in Saigon. Dinner on your own expense.

Day 7: Saigon – Cai Be floating market – Mekong delta – Saigon (B/L)

Today you’ll have a full day excursion to Mekong Delta. You will depart for Cai Be (3h) around 8am. Enjoy the green paddy fields stretching towards the horizon. When you arrive in Cai Be, you’ll board a motorized boat that takes you to the floating market, a sight that you’ll see no where else in the world. Next, your row boat will zigzag through a maze of shadow canals to arrive at a great orchard where you can freely taste many of the amous tropical fruits of Vietnam and watch locals’ as they complete their daily chores. Then we’ll see how coconut candy, crispy rice cake and ceramics are made here (served free with premium hot tea.) After this, you will roam through a village by bike to check out several rural shops or you can relax in a hammock for a short rest. Then you will head back to Saigon for a good night’s sleep.

Day 8: Saigon  – Departure (B)

Transfer to airport for your flight back home.