Vietnam Break 8 days

Halong Bay is famed around the world for its natural beauty.  Visit Surprise Cave, regarded as one of the most beautiful in Halong Bay, climb to the summit of Titop Island, and kayak inside Luon Cave all in one day before returning to Hanoi.

 Set out from Hanoi and travel to Halong Bay, pausing for a break along the way.  When you arrive, you will be given a welcome and safety training before exploring the region.  Enjoy a buffet lunch served on board.

 Visit Surprise Cave, which is known for its natural beauty, then climb up and down.  Next up is Luon Cave, which you may explore by kayak.  Keep an eye out for monkeys and birds.  Climb to the top of Titop Island for panoramic views of Halong Bay, or swim at the beach.

 Then, hop back on the boat and return to the harbor, enjoying the scenery along the way.  Once the boat has docked, board the bus returning to Hanoi.

Overnight in Hanoi City

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Morning

Discover Vietnamese handicrafts on an interactive, guided tour departing from Hanoi. You will meet a local craftsman, visit a historical incense-making village, and learn about the conical hat-making process.  This discovery of precise artisanal crafts provides a distinct perspective on local culture.

 Begin with a pickup from Hanoi’s Old Quarter and travel to Chuong, a town noted for its conical hat-making tradition for over 300 years.  Meet your tour guide at the home of a local artisan to see how conical hats are manufactured.

 Depart for the Quang Phu Cau village, which has been making incense for almost a century.  Walk to the village center to learn how the people create incense on an artisanal, family scale.  Meet a family that specializes in dyeing incense sticks and admire the beautiful bundles of incense.

 A tour of a nearby plant provides an opportunity to see the next step of incense making.  Learn how to make incense from scratch and about the life of manual workers.  Before returning to Hanoi, bring home keepsakes of the area where incense is created.  Return to the city center.  The first spot to drop off is Hanoi Train Street.  If you do not wish to visit it, kindly wait for the bus.

Drop off at the hotels.

Afternoon

This afternoon, you’ll bid your goodbyes to Hanoi and fly south to Danang. Drive on to Hoi An, taking in the lovely scenery along the route. The remainder of the day is yours.

Overnight in Hoi An

Meals: Breakfast

Morning is your time to enjoy the gentle atmosphere of Hoi An ancient town.

Afternoon

You will be picked up by your tour guide and taken to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hoi An’s Ancient Quarter, where you will proceed on a walking tour to see the main sights such as the Japanese Covered Bridge, Chua Ong Pagoda, Tan Ky Ancient House, Fujian Assembly Hall, and more.

 Peruse Réhahn’s Precious Heritage Collection in its permanent exhibition at the Precious Heritage Museum.  Take a journey to the remote corners of Vietnam with this collection that reveals the diverse cultural heritage of the country’s indigenous peoples.

 The day’s most memorable experience will be a visit to the Reaching Out Tea House, a quiet haven run by the deaf and mute community that provides much-needed respite from the hectic Old Quarter.  Indulge in some mouthwatering Eastern-style sweets and tea at this establishment.

 Your Hoi An street food adventure can begin now.  You and your guide will navigate the maze of narrow streets and eat at street vendors you would never find on your own.  The streets of Hoi An come alive with a plethora of street merchants, carts, and food vendors every day at 4 pm.  If you want to sample some authentic Hoi An cuisine, meet the people who make the stock, and find out how the locals handle condiment trays, then a street food tour is the way to go.

Overnight in Hoi An

Morning

 After breakfast, you will be picked up and brought to the airport to take a short flight to Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon by the locals.

 When you arrive at HCM City International Airport, your private guide and driver will meet you and transport you to the hotel for check-in.

 Afternoon

 You will spend the remainder of the day with your guide exploring some of Ho Chi Minh City’s top attractions.  We’ll adapt your tour to your preferences, but we highly recommend visiting Notre Dame Cathedral, the old Rex Hotel, the General Post Office, which is known for its architecture, and Ben Thanh Market.

 Later, visit the Reunification Palace and the poignant War Remnants Museum to discover more about Vietnam’s difficult history.

 Proceed to the atmospheric Jade Emperor Pagoda before finishing in good style with a sundowner atop Vietnam’s tallest building, the Bitexco Tower.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh

Meals: Breakfast

Morning

After breakfast at the hotel, you’ll leave for the Cu Chi caves. It will take about an hour and a half to drive there. When you get there, there will be a short introduction and then a movie about how the tunnels were built and how the people who lived there during the war did it.
Then, take your time visiting the rest of the area and tunnel systems. These included the bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms, and storage areas, as well as military facilities such as weapons factories, field hospitals, command centers, and storage areas. All of this was done to help the people who lived in the caves meet their basic needs. Also, for safety reasons during the war, there are a lot of secret trap doors and dangerous traps in the maze-like tunnels. After that, there will be special tea and cassava, which was used as a wartime food by guerillas.
On the trip back to Ho Chi Minh City, a light lunch is served at a nearby restaurant.

Afternoon

Our next destination is My Tho, which is located in the center of the Mekong Delta. As we take a boat journey along the Mekong River, you will get the opportunity to take in the breathtaking landscape of the surrounding countryside and get an insight into the daily lives of the people who live there.

Following that, we will have a sampan ride through the small rivers that are lined on both sides with coconut trees. During this voyage, you will get the opportunity to experience the rural way of life, making a stop at the bee house to eat some local fruits and honey tea, and listening to a live performance of local music that is played by the villagers.

In the afternoon, we will wrap up our day and make our way back to Ho Chi Minh City, where we will arrive at roughly seven o’clock in the evening.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh

Today is the last day in Vietnam!  You will be picked up at your hotel and taken to the airport for your flight back to home or start another trip. It will have been an amazing trip.