Deep insight Vietnam - 18 Day Tour

Welcome to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam! You will be greeted by our tour guide and transfer directly to hotel in Hanoi.

Check in time will be available at 2:00pm, and in case that you would like to secure an early-check in, an additional charge will be applied.

Optional: The rest of this day is free at leisure. You might have a sleep to recover, or wander around for some own exploration, or consider taking part in one of our suggested activities below:

• Water Puppet Show: A traditional Vietnamese water performing art, at which Vietnamese folk tales, history and local lives are introduced via colorful puppets.

• Vietnamese Cooking Class or Foodie Tours: Food in Vietnam, especially Hanoi, is totally tasty and able to mesmerize any visitor. A short walk around Old Quarter for some of Hanoi’s best food, or participation in a fun Vietnam’s cooking class could be a good start to your journey in this lovely country.

Please contact our travel consultant if you are interested in these services, and we are available 24/7 for assisting you.

Note: Please be advised that both international and domestic might be crowded at sometimes during the day, so in case that you arrive and cannot find our representatives, please be presented at Pole No.10 (Outside the Terminal Gate) and contact us, so we could easily search for you.

Morning or afternoon departure depend on availability

Half day Hanoi city tour (by car or by motorbike – upon client’s interest) - Routes can change subject to client’s interest.

Begin the first day of the trip with a tour of Hanoi. Depart from the hotel for a visit to Vietnam’s first university: the Temple of Literature. Founded in 1076, Quoc Tu Giam was established within a temple to educate Vietnam's royalty, mandarins and members of the elite.

Continue with a visit to the iconic One Pillar Pagoda, one of Vietnam’s most iconic temples. Nearby is the Mausoleum of the historic father figure of modern Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, and his modest house on stilts. (Sites are viewed from outside; closed Mon and Fri and from Jun - Aug)

Visit the picturesque West Lake and its sixth century Tran Quoc Buddhist Pagoda. Tran Quoc Pagoda is regarded as the most ancient pagoda in Hanoi with its history line of more than 1,500 years.

After visiting, you will have a meal at an authentic Vietnamese Restaurant. Free time at leisure for rest of the day.

In the morning, pickup at your hotel and head to Mai Chau by van with a short break along the way. Mid day, arrive in Mai Chau, enjoy welcome drink. Then enjoy traditional lunch in village (vegetarian available).

In the afternoon, bicycle ride with your tour guide, see farmers working in fields, locals weaving scarves and visit surrounding peaceful villages. Then you will have free time for bicycling, walking, shopping

After breakfast, go with local tour guide to visit more remote rural villages Na Meo and Na Mo villages to understand more about their culture and customs.

Mid day, back to the home stay for lunch and check-out.

Free time for shopping and relaxing.

15:00 – 15:30 Say goodbye to the family to get on the bus to drive back to Hanoi (3.5 ~ 4 hours drive).

After breakfast at hotel, driver picks up and transfer to Halong Bay, listed as a World Heritage of outstanding natural beauty, known in Vietnamese as “Dragon descending to the sea”.

Upon arrival, the boat crew welcome you and check in then enjoy a cruise around Halong Bay with a delicious local seafood lunch served on board. You can also behold thousands of limestone islands and grottoes rising from the clear, emerald water.

Following break, depending on each cruise’s itinerary of the day, you’ll join some activities on boat to discover the beauty of the bay such as visit a cave, doing kayaking or enjoy swimming in the sea before getting back to the junk for relaxing and dinner. Overnight on board.

You might start your 2nd day in Halong with an early tai-chi class, or simply wake up and witness the amazing sunrise on the bay. After breakfast, cruise take you to explore the most stunning caves in Halong.

The early lunch will be served on the way getting back to the main dock for transferring to Hanoi.

You will have free time for visiting Hanoi Old Quarter and try Vietnamese street food by yourselves.

Taking bath at hotel closed to the railway station.

Meet at hotel in Hanoi at around 19:00 hrs and transfer to Hanoi train station. Overnight train trip to Dong Hoii in shared sleeping compartments (sharing with other passengers in 2 lower & 2 upper berths per compartment). Train departs at approximately 21:35 hrs.

Notes:

- Our tour guide will not accompany during the train trip

- Train schedule is subject to change.

- Private compartments on request at surcharge.

- Train journeys are part of a great local experience. Cabins are shared with other local passengers (unless private cabin is requested and all berths paid for - with supplement). Restrooms at either end of the carriages complete the local experience.

Arrive at Dong Hoi Train Station in early morning.

Pick up at the train station and drive heading to Phong Nha with a stop at a local restaurant for breakfast. You will explore impressive caves in Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park.

Tour guide will bring you into depths of Vietnamese jungle where the lost world of ancient rock configurations can be found dripping from the ceilings. This is truly a unique chance to enjoy the real wilderness of Vietnam. After 25 minutes on boat, visitors will arrive at Phong Nha Cave, take a couple hours to see the cave. This cave is called as water cave, is famous for its rock formation which has been given names such as the “Lion”, the “Fairy Caves”, the “Royal Court”, and the “Buddha”.

Lunch at local restaurant.

In the afternoon, visit Paradise cave – the cave was labeled as one of most beautiful caves in the world and is the longest dry cave in Asia. With naturally primitive features, Paradise Cave looks like a landscape painting, making it very attractive to visitors. After exploring Paradise Cave, drive to hotel in town.

Tour tour guide and driver will meet you at your hotel in Dong Hoi, drive to Vinh Moc Tunnel approximately 2.5 hours away.

Your guide will recommend stops along the way to see a small church showing the signs of mortar attack in the area and visit former US Bases. You will go through the DMZ, where some of the bloodiest battles were fought during the Vietnam/American War, you will walk cross the Ben Hai River on Hien Luong Bridge that used to demarcate the division between North and South Vietnam (1954-1975). You will visit the museums containing photographs and memorials of the war before taking a fascinating tour of the Vinh Moc Tunnels. Your guide will take you into the tunnels and explore the complex; you walk past huge bomb craters, amazing fighting trench and even venture into the tunnels and explore the tiny living rooms, food and weapon storage and school that villagers would have survived on.

Ending trip transfer to Hue

The tranquil Hue City was founded in 17th century as a royal city and a capital (before Hanoi replaced it), and now has become one of top destinations in the middle of Vietnam.

Our itineraries today start with a visit to Thien Mu Pagoda, a famous Buddhism attraction which is located at the bank of the enchanting Perfume River. The pagoda is fascinating because of not only ancient design of the buildings, but also good location at which you could enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of the Perfume River.

Leaving the pagoda, we continue our journey today with a visit to the Imperial Citadel. Being the “house” of Nguyen Royal Family, the last dynasty in Vietnam, the citadel reflects luxurious and prosper lives of the royal family, and allows visitor to explore a part of Vietnam pre-modern history. Even though some buildings were damaged or destructed during some wars, but crucial constructions are still remained and currently being conserved at good condition. We will spend most of the time around the citadel, with visit to front gate, the Flag Tower, The King’s Palace, and the Museums of Royal Antiquities. Time for the buildings is finished, and now is time for interaction with the local people.

Our next and last stop will be Dong Ba Market, the largest traditional trading place in not only Hue City, but also the adjacent provinces. Walking through kiosks, you will have chance to understand daily business of local sellers, their way of doing business, as well as purchase some interesting souvenirs before we drive you back to your hotel.

Pick up at hotel in Hue, then transfer to hotel in Hoi An via Cloudy Pass. Land transportation by shuttle bus or private car will be used, with stop at some spots on the way for sightseeing and photoshoot (admission fee is not included).

Pick up at your hotel in Hoi An and drive to My Son Sanctuary, a collection of Champa ruins nestled amongst the mountains in a geological basin of the Quang Nam province (45km west of Hoi An town).

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, My Son is the cultural highlight of central Vietnam and well worth the hour's drive from town.

Follow tour guide exploring the groups of temples, you will learn more about history of the Champa Kingdom. On the way back, stop to visit to the Sa Huynh Champa Culture Museum in Tra Kieu.

Around noon, return to your hotel. End of tour.

Optional: We introduce some ways to explore the beauty of Hoi An, you can choose one of below options:

Option 1: Life as a Farmer in Cam Thanh village: Join the farmers in preparing and fertilizing the land. Get to know the villagers’ daily working routines, like raking the ground, sowing, watering and picking greens and many more gardening activities. 

Price from $ US70/ person

Option 2: Hoi An Vespa Tour 

Price from $ US85/ person

Transfer to the Da Nang airport to take a flight to Hanoi. Upon arrival, our driver will wait and transfer you to the hotel in the center of city.

Check-in hotel and free at leisure to relax.

Enjoy the attraction of Ho Chi Minh City. Sightseeing examples of French colonial architecture and exploring the Vietnam’s turbulent in past at the War Remnants Museum. Our guide will show you the most interesting sights that Ho Chi Minh City has to offer. Depart from your hotel to the Reunification Palace; this beautifully preserved palace was the residence of the President of the Republic of Vietnam. On April 30th 1975 the American War officially came to an end here. Afterward, we visit Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral, which was built in 1880, and the Old Post Office, which was built sometime between 1886 and 1891. It is one of the best examples of classical French colonial architecture. Our last stop would be at a local Market where you can practice your bargaining skills while shopping for souvenirs. Discover local life and culture. You’ll find some of the friendliest, liveliest, most convivial people in the city in here. Return your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.

Free time in the rest of day

Escape the city for a tour of the Mekong Delta, where you'll see what life is like beyond the urban centre of the south. An incredibly fertile region, the Mekong Delta's prime industry is food production, producing approximately half of Vietnam's total agricultural output. Local life for villages in the area revolves around the rivers and canals that make up the delta, so much so that people are more likely to transport by river than road. Enjoy the fresh air and immerse yourself in the tranquility of the countryside, still untouched by tourism. Board on boat and experience the diversity of the Mekong waterways first hand as you explore fish farms and exotic fruit farms. Touring the orchards, paddy fields and swamplands of the Mekong Delta, you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve stepped into the pages of a geography textbook.

You will be transferred to Can Tho for staying overnight

After Breakfast at hotel, take a motor boat to visit Cai Rang – the most fascinating floating market where we can see all trading activities on Mekong river. Do you mind to taste a bowl of “ hu tieu”- traditional rice noodle of Mekong delta person or try a small piece of durian which is the most addicted fruit to local people? A short stop to visit rice husking mill and walk around the village. See the beautiful scenery and daily activities of the locals.

Disembark at Ninh Kieu and transfer back to HCMC after lunch in Can Tho.

Formerly known as Saigon, todays Ho Chi Minh City is the bustling and vibrating economic centre of the South. Over the past few centuries, Saigon was called the “Pearl of the Far East” and was an important trading centre for Chinese, Japanese and Western merchants who travelled along the Saigon River.

Optional: We introduce some ways to explore the beauty of Ho Chi Minh City.

You can choose one of below options:

Option 1: Dinner Cruise on Saigon River: Spend romantic evening time to enjoy a special dinner on boat while the cruise setting sail on the Saigon River. Traditional music and dance performance is a worth-to-wait part of the night making everything even more memorable. Relax yourself among the amazingly beautiful views and scenery of Saigon nightlife.

Price from $ US33/ person

Option 2: Cu Chi Tunnels & Cooking Class Full day: Visit Cu Chi Tunnels - have a unique experience about underground life during the war time. Visit Ho Chi Minh Agricultural Villages, work in the garden like a real farmer, pick organic ingredients from the garden for your cooking class. Hand on cooking class, enjoy great healthy cooking tips and leave with nice certificate, recipes, souvenirs

Price from $ US74/ person

After breakfast, free until transferring to the airport for boarding home sweet home or next destination.

End of your.