Welcome to Vietnam!

After arriving at Noi Bai Airport, you will be picked up and transferred to the hotel in the city center. Hotel check-in is available from 2 pm. In the afternoon, our tour guide will pick up you from the hotel and start Hanoi city tour. You will then visit the Temple of Literature, constructed in 1070 to worship Confucius, which was also used as the first Royal National University of Vietnam. There are 82 stone steles, carried by tortoises, engraved with names, birthdates, and birthplaces of honored doctorates from 1442 to 1779.

In the afternoon, you visit the Museum of Ethnology (closed on Mondays, the alternative on this day is the History Museum). The museum offers a wide range of informative and well-documented displays of the 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam. The outdoor display is an impressive collection of traditional houses of various minorities from the north to the central Highlands.

We will drive back to the Old Quarter for a 1.5-hour walking tour, specially designed for a deeper insight into Hanoian daily life. You will also visit the Ngoc Son temple which sits on a green islet in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake, connected to the lakeside by a graceful scarlet bridge named The Huc (meaning the early sunlight welcoming place). After, you will stay overnight at the hotel.

After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to the harbour of Ha Long Bay, whose name means ‘where the dragon descends into the sea’, already recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Check-in in the furnished cabin with a splendid view of the bay, welcome drink and an crew’s briefing. An exquisite lunch is served with fresh seafood. Free time to relax before the afternoon’s interesting activities.

Start with an exploration of Luon Cave which is considered as one of the most ideal places in Halong for kayaking or rowing boat. After that, you can visit Titov Island, where you can go swimming or hiking to the top for another stunning, panoramic view of the Bay. Enjoy your special dinner in restaurants with the best view of Halong bay.

Free time to challenge yourself in the night squid fishing or enjoy the tranquility of the night on your cruise.

Wake up early to witness an enchanting sunrise. For those interested, a short Tai Chi lesson on the terrace will refresh your mind and body. In the morning, you can also enjoy a cup of tea or coffee while admiring the extraordinary landscape.

Your next excursion is a visit to the magnificent Sung Sot Cave, where you can take in the panoramic views across Halong Bay. You can also participate in a cooking class. The chef will show you the tricks of cooking our country’s typical dishes and then enjoy them with brunch.

Disembark from the cruise around noon and transfer to Noi Bai airport. Flight to Danang.  Meet our driver at Danang airport and transfer to Hoi An. Overnight in Hoi An hotel.

After a tasty breakfast, we will take a bicycle to ride from your hotel to Tra Que village. Thanks to the special condition of rich soil and water, the village has long been known for growing many kinds of vegetables: lettuce, salad, houttuynia, fragrant knotweed, basil, and coriander vegetables etc., with which the traditional specialities of Hoi An have gained part of their fame. We will have a yummy lunch and participate in daily activities with the local farmers.

In the afternoon, we will take a half-day walking tour of Hoi An ancient town. In this UNESCO-classified world heritage site, we will visit Chua Ong Pagoda (dedicated to “Quan Thanh De Quan” – an ancient Chinese general), the 200-years-old Tan Ky house (with Japanese and Chinese influenced architecture), and the Japanese Covered Bridge (built by the Japanese then living in Hoi An to connect their quarter to that of the Chinese). We will then stroll through the bustling Dong Ba Market, passing many fantastic eating spots where food lovers can sample various local specialities.

Breakfast is served at your hotel; our driver will pick you up and transfer to the airport. Flight to Saigon. On your arrival to Ho Chi Minh City (former name is Saigon), you will be welcomed by our tour guide and driver. After transferring to your hotel at the city center (check-in is available from 2pm) there will be time for  exploring the largest city of Vietnam. We will visit Notre Dame Cathedral, constructed between 1877 and 1880 by the French. We will take a few steps from the Cathedral to the Central Post Office to admire its interior with the arched roof and curved windows, reminiscent of early European railway stations. You will stay overnight at the hotel. The city tour will then continue along Dong Khoi Street heading to see the Opera House and the Provincial People Committee building, built in 1897 by French architect Ferret Eugene. We will visit the Reunification Palace, formerly known as the Presidential Palace.

After breakfast, we leave the hotel at 8 am and take the road to Ben Tre Province in the Mekong delta. Upon arrival at Hung Vuong Pier (90km from Ho Chi Minh city), we will get on a boat and cruise along the Ben Tre River, one of the tributaries of the great Mekong in Vietnam. We will enjoy watching lively and bustling activities on the river like fishing and water transferring.

We will stop at a brick factory to see how bricks are made manually in a traditional way. We will have our next stop at a coconut processing workshop, located along the canal. We will hop on a tuk-tuk and ride along a village path and stop at a local family for a traditional lunch.

After that, we will walk to a mat-weaving workshop before embarking on a small rowing-boat to travel along the palm tree canal back to Hung Vuong pier.

On the way back to Ho Chi Minh City, we will stop to visit Vinh Trang Pagoda, one of the most well-known in the Mekong Delta. There are more than 60 Buddha statues made from wood, copper, or clay in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and inlaid with gold. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast will be served at your hotel. Depending on your departure time, you will have free time to relax or to buy souvenirs for your relatives or friends. Our driver will take you to Tan Son Nhat International Airport at least 3 hours before departure.

Thank you very much for travelling with Asia Viva Travel.

Have a safe return flight!