Best Vietnam Tour

Upon arrival in Hanoi, you will meet your private tour guide and driver just outside Customs of the Noi Bai Airport. After a warm greeting, you will be transferred to the hotel we carefully selected for you. Having a good rest in the hotel, we will then take the Cycle Rickshaw to tour the Old Quarter, which is the soul of Hanoi's history and culture. The buildings here are in a blend of Vietnamese and French styles, so walking through the streets is like traveling through time and space. In the center of the quarter locates the Hoan Kiem Lake, where you will walk into the Ngoc Son Temple to admire one of the Vietnamese national treasures.

In the evening, you will have dinner at a superb restaurant to taste delicious Vietnamese food. The grilled chicken with pandan leaves and fried spring rolls with chicken or pork are highly recommended for you. Spring Rolls are the must-taste food when you are in Vietnam. A rice paper is rolled up with julienne cucumbers, carrot, cooked chicken or pork, and fresh vegetable. Then the long burrito rolled up is fried in the oil till golden and crisp. Delicious Fried Spring Rolls are ready for you to enjoy. After the dinner, your guide will escort you back to the hotel.

Meals: Dinner

After breakfast, you will be guided to Ho Chi Minh Complex to admire Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and his Stilt House in succession. Then we’ll visit the Presidential Palace – a splendid French style building built in 1868 where you can see how a regime rose and fell. Later, your guide will take you to visit the One Pillar Pagoda, a temple constructed on a stone pillar in the middle of a pond, looks like a blooming lotus growing in the lake. It is said the emperor got a baby from the blooming lotus after prayed at the temple in ancient times. From then on, more and more people come here and pray for getting a baby. Now, it is the most popular temple with endless local visitors who come to pray for good luck and health. Afterwards, let’s walk southwards for a few yards to the Temple of Literature & National University, a classical site in Hanoi full of Chinese cultural atmosphere.

In the afternoon, we will drive to the West Lake area to visit the nearby Tran Quoc Pagoda and Quan Thanh Temple. You will then be led to the Ethnology Museum to learn more about Vietnamese culture and history. After finishing the visit, you can enjoy the Water Puppet Show, a traditional form of Vietnamese folk arts.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

► Travel Tip:
Most of the museums in Hanoi are closed on Monday, with exception of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, which is closed on Friday. If your travel date meets Monday or Friday, we will adjust the itinerary for you based on your interests.

After breakfast, we will drive around 3 hours to the port to board the Halong Bay Cruise. Along the way, you will enjoy the idyllic landscape of Red River Delta on both sides. Approaching Ha Long Bay, you will be attracted by the bizarre rocks in various shapes, as well as many beautiful islands and sheer cliffs. With help of the cruise representative, you will board the luxury cruise. Enjoying the alluring natural landscape on board, you would feel completely relaxed from head to toe.

After a sumptuous lunch on board, you will pay a visit to one of the three limestone caves including Thien Cung, Dau Go, and Sung Sot. For the rest of the day, you can either appreciate gorgeous scenery with ease on sundeck, or participate in some recreational activities, such as kayaking, diving or swimming.

★ What Makes Us Different?
Instead of a day trip of shallow water cruise on a small boat arranged by other tour operators, we offer you a 2-day trip in the deep sea area and you could stay one night on the cruise. Thus, you can enjoy the fantastic scenery over Halong Bay. Our cruise will take you to the emerald waters of Lan Ha Bay or Bai Tu Lang Bay, where you can visit the millennia-old karst caves, islands, and floating fishing villages to learn about the superb fishing skills of local fishermen. A variety of water activities are also available during the cruise, which allows you to fully relax while enjoying the view.

► Friendly Travel Tip:
Today, you will go up and down stairs to visit some underground caves. The temperature is relatively lower inside, so please wear your comfortable shoes and bring a coat. If you are a swimming lover, please take your swimming suit, your guide will find a nice place and leave some time for you to swim in the sea.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

In the morning, you could get up early to attend the Tai Chi Class on sundeck, and then enjoy morning tea or coffee. Later, we will take a dinghy to explore the close-by islets. After that, return to the cruise and feast your stomach with a hearty brunch. Around noon, we will disembark at the Halong Bay wharf, and then head to Hanoi Airport for a flight to Da Nang.

Upon arrival, you will be picked up at Da Nang Airport and transferred to the hotel in Hoi An for check-in. After putting away your luggage, you can get first impression of Hoi An ancient town by visiting its surroundings on your own.

Hoi An is the largest lantern making center in Vietnam. When night falls, exquisite and bright lanterns illuminate the streets, which makes Hoi An a colorful ocean of lanterns. Lantern Street near Bon River is the best place to admire the beautiful scene and experience local life. You may see local people wearing their traditional dress, playing bamboo flutes and dancing with drums. You will also meet with some elder townsfolks selling paper water lamps which can pray for health and peace on the riverbanks. If interested, you can buy one and make your own wishes, then release the lamp into river.

Meals: Brunch

After breakfast, we will start a half-day walking tour in Hoi An Ancient Town. Your guide will take you to walk along the old alleys to discover some symbolic architecture. Our first stop will be Chua Ong Pagoda, built in the 17th century for consecrating a Chinese general Guan Yu. After that, we’ll visit the Fukian Assembly Hall (Phuc Kien) and Cantonese Assembly Hall, where you will admire some Chinese calligraphy and painting artworks. Next, we will go to the Old House of Tan Ky, a Chinese-style building with some Japanese elements, and the Japanese Covered Bridge, a refined covered bridge.

► Get Your Lucky Coin in Japanese Covered Bridge!
Japanese Covered Bridge was chosen as the back picture of the 20,000 Vietnamese Dong for its unique architectural style and hopeful meaning. The Cau Temple on the bridge displays some stone carvings of mythical creatures revered by the locals. It is said that in the past, the east side of the bridge was a Japanese town, while the west side lay a Chinese town. Japanese merchants built this bridge to connect the two towns, so as to facilitate trading. Since then, their business has been prosperous, and they believe that the bridge bring good lucks to them. Now, many locals still worship here for wealth, healthy and good luck. You can also see some lucky coins engraved with 12 zodiac signs in the temple. You can tell the staff your year of birth and buy a lucky coin belonging to your own zodiac as a souvenir.

In the afternoon, your guide will accompany you to a Handicraft Village by boat. Located on a small island, this village is known for its delicate ceramics and porcelains. Afterwards, we will return to the town.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

After checking out from hotel today, you will be transferred to Da Nang Airport to catch a flight to Ho Chi Minh City. On landing, your local guide and driver will pick you up at the airport and then escort you to the hotel to check in. After a short break, your guide will take you to visit the landmarks of Saigon, the Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral and Central Post Office, the French-style buildings constructed in late 19th century. Next, your guide will accompany you to the bustling Ben Thanh Market to experience local life.

Meals: Breakfast

Today's tour will begin with a visit to Cu Chi Tunnels, which is like a full-featured underground village. With the length of 250 kilometers (155 miles), the tunnels were dug by Viet Cong during the war in order to house troops, transport supplies, save injuries and even lay booby traps. Now, you could walk into some of the tunnels to see the interior of the refuge. After around 1.5 hours' visit, you will be transferred back to Ho Chi Min City and enjoy your lunch on the way.

In the afternoon, we will visit the War Remnants Museum, where you will get more detailed information about the different war periods with lots of displayed papers files, pictures or even some weapons. You can also find many military equipment such as an A-37 Dragonfly attack bomber, an UH-1 “Huey” helicopter and a M48 Patton tank in the yard. Afterwards, we will continue to visit the Reunification Palace, a National Cultural and Historical Relic, where there are many rooms with different functions, like delegations attending room, state meetings room, and banquet hall. You will get more information about the colonial period of Saigon and the milestones of modern Vietnamese history. After, you will be escorted to hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Mekong River is the lifeblood of Southeast Asia, particularly for people living in Mekong Delta. Today you will journey to its fertile and charming area to learn about how locals rely on Mekong for their life.

After breakfast, we will head for Ben Tre. Upon arrival at Hung Vuong Pier, you will board a private wooden boat and begin your trip through the winding Mekong River branches. We will stop by a village to visit the orchards, coconut forests, and candy factories. Then, go to a local farmer’s home to learn the manufacturing method of sedge mat and have some tea as well as tropical fruits. Later, you will experience the local motorized rickshaw "Xe Loi" for 20 minutes or explore the scenic villages by bicycle on your own. Afterwards, we will have lunch at a riverside restaurant and enjoy the Vietnamese folk music "Don Ca Tai Tu".

After lunch, we will take a sampan for a relaxing trip along the narrow canals which are filled with water coconut palms. Finally, we’ll return to Ben Tre and drive back to Ho Chi Minh City.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

★ What Makes Us Different?
Mekong River is the essence of Vietnamese tours. We have carefully selected off-beaten routes for your in-depth Mekong River tour, avoiding commercialized venues. Our tour will lead you to experience the diverse means of transport on Mekong Delta. You could take a long-tail wooden sampan to go through the lush nipa palm grooves and get to the clear green stream. You could ride the "Xe Loi" or cycle through the orchards on islets like locals. Diverse arrangements allow you to fully understand and touch the actual Mekong Delta.

Your 9 days private Vietnam tour will come to the end today. According to your flight schedule, you will be escorted to the airport for your leaving flight. Wish you a nice journey home!

Meals: Breakfast