Vietnam Discovery

Arrive at Noi Bai International Airport, meet your driver for an airport transfer with a private vehicle and tour guide. The driving distance is approximately 45 minutes. Your visa should be pre-arranged, or be sure that your visa-on-arrival letter is in your carry-on luggage. Please go to custom desk as your first point of entry into the country and present these documents for visa upon arrival. 
Overnight at The Ann Hotel

Morning, take a full day city tour beginning with Ho Chi Minh Complex  which features the life of Ho Chi Minh, the nation’s founder. At the complex, visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where the nation’s founder’s body is preserved (closed on Monday, Friday and through October - November), the colonial Presidential Palace, originally the French Governor Office and a fine example of French architecture in Hanoi, and the rural style Ho Chi Minh’s house on stilts where Ho Chi Minh lived and worked. Stop by one of Hanoi’s icons, the One Pillar Pagoda, built in the 11th Century in dedication to Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara or Buddha of Compassion and reminiscent of a lotus blossom rising from a pond. Continue to the Temple of Literature, known as the first university of Vietnam built in 1070 by the Ly Dynasty to honor Confucius, sages and outstanding Vietnamese scholars.
Afternoon, come to the West Lake, the largest lake of Hanoi and visit Tran Quoc Pagoda, the oldest pagoda of Hanoi, built in the 6th Century and located on an islet in the lake. Take a cyclo tour through Hanoi’s downtown to sightsee the Old Quarter of 36 ancient streets, the Trang Tien Plaza shopping center, the colonial French-built Opera House, an elegant architectural landmark of Hanoi modeled after the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris and visit an antique Vietnamese-style house at 87 Ma May Street. End the tour by relaxing over a cup of coffee at a rooftop café and enjoying the full panoramic view of the legendary Hoan Kiem Lake (The Returned Sword Lake whose name comes from a legend of a sacred sword) at sunset.
Evening is hosted dinner, the destination for the evening is in the southwest part of Hanoi, where the lifestyle is a mixture of traditional and modern and the crowded streets are intersected by small and narrows lanes. During the American War (as the Vietnam War is called here), the hosts worked for the Vietnamese army. This neighborhood received the first bomb from the B52 planes, and the area was destroyed. Start with a cup of Vietnamese tea followed by a traditional meal, which will be served on a modern style dining table. After the meal, the host will play a traditional one-stringed musical instrument that he has made himself. At the end of the dinner, return to the hotel
Meal: Breakfast, Hosted dinner at local family
Overnight hotel at The Ann Hotel  

Morning pickup at 8:00 AM from your hotel for transfer to Ha Long Bay, which is about 160 km or 3 hour drive away. On the way, you will see some rural areas of the Red River Delta with plenty of chances to take photos of Vietnamese farmers working in paddy fields. Stop half way to visit a handicraft workshop of fine clothes and embroidered paintings.
Arrive in Ha Long City at 11:30 AM and check in aboard the booked junk when your journey across Ha Long Bay starts. Ha Long Bay meaning Descending Dragon Bay in Vietnamese as legend has it that it was where a holly dragon landed down from sky. The bay, famous as one of the world’s wonders and heritage sites whose formation dates back 500 million years, consists of around 2,000 karst islands and islets scattered over an area of 1,553 km2.
After the welcome drink is served, start cruising while having lunch on board and enjoy the mighty bay view. Ha Long Bay meaning Descending Dragon Bay in Vietnamese as legend has it that it was where a holly dragon landed down from sky. The bay, famous as one of the world’s wonders and heritage sites whose formation dates back 500 million years, consists of around 2,000 karst islands and islets scattered over an area of 1,553 km2. The bay cruise will continue with up close sighting of Dinh Huong Island, Ga Choi Island, Dog Island, Sail Island, a visit to Sung Sot Cave and swimming stop at Titov Beach. Relax to enjoy the bay view at sunset, have dinner after, go fishing at 09:00 PM and spend a night on board.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight at Calypso Cruise in Ha Long

Early risers can enjoy the splendid yet tranquil view of the bay at the crack of dawn. Breathe the sea’s fresh air, feel the morning breeze and hear the sounds of birds above. Have breakfast and cruise to visit Human head shaped island and Tortoise Island. Continue to cruise into Bai Tu Long Bay to discover the adjacent bay of “The Little Dragon Bowing to His Mother” as it is named. Check out and have lunch on board while heading to shore. Disembark and transfer back to Hanoi for flight to Hue. En route, stop to visit But Thap Pagoda in Bac Ninh province whose architecture and sculpture works are rated as the finest of Vietnam’s classical Buddhist art back in 17th Century.
Flight time is approximately 1hour and 15 minutes. On arrival in Hue airport, our guide and driver will pick you up then move to hotel for check in. Dinner at Vuon Y Thao restaurant.
Meal: Breakfast, Brunch, Dinner
Overnight hotel at Eldora  

Morning, start a sightseeing tour of Hue City beginning with Hue Citadel, a well-known UNESCO-recognized World Heritage Site which is a 520 ha fortress-like grand complex built in the early 1800s and featuring three enclosures separated by heavy ramparts namely Kinh Thanh Hue (Civic City) as the outer, Hoang Thanh (Royal City) as the middle and Tu Cam Thanh (Forbidden City) as the inner.
Take a boat cruise along the Perfume River for sightseeing and visiting two prominent historical landmarks namely Minh Mang Tomb, where Minh Mang, the 2nd Emperor of the Nguyen dynasty was buried, and Thien Mu Pagoda, a Buddhist monastery still in use with its origin dating back to 1601.   
Next, make your way to Thanh Tien Village, well-known for over 300 years of crafting paper flowers. Meet one of the local villagers and learn how to make your own ornate paper flower. You can be sure that your visit is backing a good cause as it is supported by Backstreet Academy, a social enterprise providing struggling artists, craftsmen and home-based workers with additional income and recognition.
Afternoon, you are transferred to Da Nang (110km) by car. Admire the beautiful landscape on the road through the Hai Van Pass. Enjoy a stunning headland-and-bay panoramic view from the pass, which for miles hugs the mountainside along the shoreline and overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Continue on to Hoi An for overnight. Dinner at Full Moon restaurant.
Meal: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight hotel at Belle Maison Hadana Hoian Resort & Spa 

Morning, discover your Hoi An tour with your guide and bike are ready at your hotel then cycle through old streets to a lantern making family. Colorful lanterns are an unmistakable part of Hoi An’s visual identity as the craft of lantern making has been passed down to present town dwellers from generations of their ancestors. You’ll observe and learn how to make lanterns in the traditional way under the guidance of friendly and skilled hosts. You will practice all production steps including whittling bamboo into splints and bending them into a frame, cutting fabric to size and gluing it to the frame to complete a lantern.
Next continue to a Hoi An cooking school, where you will learn to cook traditional Vietnamese food, have lunch and relax. After lunch, you will be shown how to decorate and pack your lantern and you are presented it as a souvenir in Hoi An. Say goodbye to the host and ride back to the hotel in the afternoon time. Refresh before having dinner at local restaurant .
Meal: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight at Belle Maison Hadana Hoian Resort & Spa 

Morning, transfer to Da Nang airport. On the way, stop over at Non Nuoc village or marble village known for its stone-carving products. Take a 45 minute flight to Nha Trang. Arrive in Nha Trang, welcome by our guide and transfer to your hotel. From a wilderness part of the Cham Empire before 1653, Nha Trang was transformed into a town during the colonial French rule and became the metropolitan capital of Khanh Hoa Province in 1937. The coastal city is well-known for its long pristine sandy beaches on the turquoise sea, which are ranked among the world’s best as well as scenic islands and coral reefs.
Afternoon, take a short city tour to visit the Por Nagar Temple, which is a vestige of the ancient Cham culture, the Oceanography Institute, which showcases the local marine life’s diversity and the Hon Chong Promontory, which offers a unique view of the sea and the boulder-stacked shore. The tour ends with a visit to Dam market. 
Meal: Breakfast
Overnight at Michelia Hotel

Morning, transfer to Cau Da Jetty to board a boat visit Nha Trang Bay, one of 29 world’s most beautiful bays by Travel and Leisure, and cruise to Tam Island and Mun Island, the two off-shore locations with clear water, beautiful corals and rich marine life ideal for water sports and recreations.
Continue the boat trip to Mot Island, Bai Tranh, enjoy snorkeling and sunbathing there or take some of available optional activities, which include scuba diving, jet skiing, windsurfing and parasailing. The underwater sight of marine biodiversity will open before your eyes with colorful corals and fishes up close. Boat trip to Tri Nguyen Aquarium will be made. Lunch included. Finish the trip at around 17:50pm. 
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Michelia Hotel

Morning, transfer to Da Lat, the capital of Lam Dong Province. On the way, enjoy the landscape of highlands and take photos of countryside life. Lunch at a restaurant en route
Arrive in Da Lat, transfer to you hotel and spend time at leisure. Built back in the early 1900s as a colonial French resort 1,500 m above sea level, Da Lat City boasts a pleasing temperate climate and an exquisite European appearance with elegant French-style villas, churches, boulevards, parks and flower gardens among pine hills. The city’s surrounding is notably marked with scenic waterfalls.
Meal: Breakfast
Overnight at Ngoc Lan Hotel  

Morning, transfer to Da Lat, the capital of Lam Dong Province. On the way, enjoy the landscape of highlands and take photos of countryside life. Lunch at a restaurant en route
Arrive in Da Lat, transfer to you hotel and spend time at leisure. Built back in the early 1900s as a colonial French resort 1,500 m above sea level, Da Lat City boasts a pleasing temperate climate and an exquisite European appearance with elegant French-style villas, churches, boulevards, parks and flower gardens among pine hills. The city’s surrounding is notably marked with scenic waterfalls.
Meal: Breakfast
Overnight at Ngoc Lan Hotel

Morning, at leisure until transfer 300 km South to Ho Chi Minh City. Lunch at a restaurant en route.  Arrive in Ho Chi Minh City and check in hotel. Ho Chi Minh City formerly named Saigon is the largest city and economic center of Vietnam always bustled with activities of modern life. It is where businesses converge and shoppers indulge themselves into unlimited choices. However the city also carries with it a rich historical legacy in contrast with its dazzling glamor.
Afternoon, take a half-day city tour to visit Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, a neo-Roman cathedral built by the colonial French with materials entirely imported from Marseilles, Saigon Central Post Office, which was designed and constructed in the early 20th Century by the famous French architect Gustave Eiffel, the Jade Emperor Temple (Phuoc Hai), a rare Taoist structure in Vietnam built in 1909, the War Remnants Museum, which features an extensive collection of exhibits including weaponry, photos and documentation on Vietnam’s wars with the French and Americans, and the Reunification Palace the South Vietnam President’s residence and symbol of the Southern Administration’s reign until end of April 1975.
Meal: Breakfast
Overnight at Grand Hotel  

Morning, meet your guide and transfer about 75 km North-west of downtown Ho Chi Minh City. Discover the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, which were once a major underground hideout and resistance base of Viet Cong forces during the two wars against the French and the Americans. The tunnels, entirely hand-dug, formed a highly intricate network of interlinked multilevel passageways at times stretched as far as the Cambodian border and totaling over 120 km in length. Its complexity was beyond imagination containing meeting rooms, kitchens, wells, clinics, schools, depots, trenches and emergency exits all aimed for guerrilla warfare. The tunnels were deep and strong enough to withstand destructive bombings and self-contained enough to outlast prolonged sieges. Return to the city at noon time for a rest
Start with a visit to the iconic Binh Tay Market, famed for its warren of food stands and grand Sino-French architecture. Learn about the everyday life of the fruit and vegetable sellers here before stopping for a glass of traditional Café Sua Da - Vietnamese iced coffee, and the chance to try some of Vietnam’s exotic fruits. Afterwards, hop on a cyclo and pass through the chaotic backstreets where everything from spare motorbike parts to religious artefacts are frantically traded
Stop at historic Cha Tam church, where President Diem was seized during the 1963 coup and hear about the city’s turbulent past before walking through the oldest streets of Cho Lon.
 
Special & Unique dinner at Noir Restaurant – Dine with the blind (Dine in dark)
Address: Lane 178 Hai Ba Trung . Dakao
Neighborhood: District 1
Cuisine: Choice of Western or Eastern 3-course set menu
Website: www.noirdininginthedark.com
This is a totally unique experience which should not be missed by any visitors to Saigon! The Noir experience sees diners being led into a pitch black dining room by blind or visually impaired staff who have been trained to impeccably aid and serve their guests
 
Meal: Breakfast, dinner
Overnight hotel at Grand Hotel  

The program will start with the visit of Cai Be colorful floating market cruising among local barges full of fruits and vegetables. Then, an optional stop can be made at local workshops where you can see how to make rice paper, coconut candy and pop-rice, pop-corn ...
It is so interesting to visit the handicraft village where you can see how they make some special products: making rice-net for spring-rolls, fish sauce & Soya sauce, cooking salt, sewing coconut-leaves for cottage roof...
The rowing boat will take you deeper into the countryside on smaller canals and to enjoy the peaceful time. It is so interesting to see traditional  houses made of wood and palm tree leaves and see some activities of the local farmers with an opportunity to make contacts with them and see how they catch fish or pick up fruits by ancestral ways in Mekong Delta..
Lunch can be served at Ut Trinh home. After lunch, we can walk around and then we will enjoy some kinds of fruits when listening to the traditional music
One more thing to do in this trip is biking! It will be so amazing to bike on village paths to see the local farms, houses, real life and the ancestral ways to pick up fruits in Mekong Delta..
The cruise will end at Vinh Long city , transfer to back to Ho Chi Minh for leisure time.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Grand Hotel  

Free at leisure until transfer back to Ho Chi Minh City airport for departure flight.