Vietnam Culinary Classic Tour – 12 Days

Day 1: Arrival Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – Saigon After Dark by Vespa
Viet Vision Travel’s tour guide will be ready to welcome us up on arrival. The experienced and friendly driver will transfer us to the hotel after that. The tour guide will help us check in and we take a short rest before riding Vespa tour with driver at 6h00pm. The tour will take us around Saigon city where is not touristic and we will explore the local food which is safe for foreigners. We enjoy cocktails and appetizer at Café zoom (quoted by The Lonely Planet), street seafood, cold drink, Banh Xeo… and various other local foods. The expert tour guide will explain in details for each dish. We also stop at a Saigonese style coffee shop to both drinking coffee and listening to music as a local Vietnamese. Before ending this amazing tour, we head to a lively bar, relax and enjoy some drink. Overnight in Saigon.

Vespa tour in Saigon

Day 2: Ho Chi Minh city tour & Cooking class (B, L)
This morning, we will join a hands-on cooking class at the Saigon Culinary Art Center with Grand Chef. He will lead us to Ben Thanh market to purchase all ingredients for coming cooking lesson. We are all back to the restaurant, start practicing to cook three Vietnamese course meal. After 3 hour cooking, we sit down and enjoy what we cooked before.

In the afternoon, we venture this big vibrant city with all the tourist highlights such as the Reunification Palace where tour guide takes us back to the war history when there was President. We also know the place where old Southern Vietnam people run away of Vietnam by Helicopter from the top of the building. And the Reunification Palace nowadays is rebuilt as a conference hall where many parties and events organized. We will also visit the War Remnant Museum nearby where will we see many information, photos, items of wars. Later we take a short drive to the famous Post Office and Notre Dame Cathedral for visiting and take nice photos and shopping around in Ben Thanh market. Back to hotel and relax. Overnight in Saigon.

Reunification Palace front view

Day 3: Mekong Delta tour / Cai Be floating market (B, L)
Today, we travel to the heart of Mekong Delta to explore one of the largest floating markets, Cai Be. We will be recommended to leave hotel little bit early in the morning to be able to join the local market when it is busiest. Our boat will cruise us among the barges of fruits, food and other local products. We will meet many friendly sellers and buyers who are doing their exchanges in peace. The tour guide will help us to buy anything what we want.

Later, the cruise will take us to the handicraft villages where they produce rice-net (cover of spring rolls), fish sauce, soya sauce, cooking salt, sewing coconut-leaves for cottage roof…. We stop for lunch at an old house then take a rowing boat deeper into the villages. We come closer to the local people by biking along the narrow paths or chatting with them. The cruise will end at Cai Be pier where our awaiting vehicle transfers us back to Saigon. Overnight in Saigon.

Travelers try making rice paper at a workshop, Mekong Delta

Day 4: Cu Chi Tunnel & Fly to Danang – Hoi An (B)
This morning, we take a short visit to Cu Chi Tunnel before leaving to Hoi An by flight. Cu Chi Tunnel is located in Cu Chi District, 70km from Saigon. We will enjoy a short video about the Tunnel’s history then discover the real tunnels which are reconstructed for tourists. We taste a special local food that the people here ate during the war and we will stop at the shooting range (up on request) to try to shoot the real bullet one time in life.

We are back to Saigon at noon time and take a short flight to Danang. Welcome up on arrival by local guide and then we all transfer to hotel in Hoi An. Free to explore Hoi An Ancient town by night.

Students biking to school in Hoi An

Day 5: Hoi An Walking tour & Cooking class (B, L or D)
Today, we walk around the World Culture Heritage Site to visit all the main sites that set up for visitors. We start from the Cantonese Congregation then walk to the Pottery Museum, the Japanese Covered Bridge, Tan Ky old house, and the last point at the Handicraft workshop to enjoy 15 minutes traditional music performance. There are some other open places and we can ask the tour guide stops if we want to take a look.

In the afternoon, we join a cooking class that chef will take us to the local market; introduce all things related to the dishes that we cook later, then purchase. There will be a lot of fun in the market and we can practice some simple Vietnamese to buy. The cooking class lasts 3 hours then we do all things with guiding of chef. After the class, we enjoy exactly what we cooked before.
Overnight in Hoi An.

Delicious Hoi An’s food

Day 6: Hoi An – Hue – Royal Dinner (B, D)
This morning, we farewell Hoi An and transfer to Hue. On the way, we will stop and take a short visit to Danang city with Cham Museum, Non Nuoc stone carving handicraft village, Marble Mountain, Lang Co Beach and Hai Van pass. Arriving in Hue in the afternoon, we will explore this famous peaceful city by enjoying one hour cyclo tour. The driver will bring us around the old city wing and stop at Trang Tien Bridge. There are many chances of photos during this cyclo tour.

Tonight we enjoy almost special dishes that Kings and Queens had in the past at a special Royal Dinner. We will also dress as a King and Queen. Overnight in Hue.

View from Hai Van pass

Day 7: Hue tour & Taste of Outstanding Vegetarian Food (B, L)
There are approximately 108 Buddhist pagodas in Hue. The city citizens are almost Buddhism. The monks are strict vegetarians and the Buddhism can follow vegetarian 2, 4 to 6 days a month or they can keep vegetarian diet like monks. Under feudal dynasty, Kings asked to follow vegetarian diet in one week when they organize the Earth, Heaven Scarify. Cooks had to process food as good as possible to attract Emperors. That is the reason why Hue vegetarian food is developed and preserved until now. The vegetarian dishes are made with raw materials mainly from groups such as rice starch , cassava , potatoes … ; green leafy vegetables ; soya beans , peanuts , sesame and fungi , but when processed into the cuisine .

After breakfast this morning, we take a boat trip along Perfume River to visit Thien Mu Pagoda that located on the top of the Hill, and then the driver will take us to Tu Duc Emperor’s tomb. Before our outstanding vegetarian lunch at a pagoda, we have a short stop at two handicraft villages of Colonial Hats and Incense nearby. In the afternoon, we will discover the Citadel and Forbidden City, home and head quarter of old Emperors and their dynasties. We also have a short visit Dong Ba market where all the ingredients for restaurants are being sold.
Overnight in Hue.

Hue’s food

Day 8: Hue – Fly to Hanoi – Evening food tasting tour (B, D)
Hanoians are not only famous for their elegance but for their communications and culinary also. The gentle, finical beauty and quality of each food become specific art food of Hanoi. Hanoians know well how to choose the right places for their eating and they become loyalty customers if they really enjoy that kind of food.

Hanoi food tasting tour

Today, we take morning flight to Hanoi. Welcome up on arrival with tour guide who is waiting for us at the airport then we transfer to hotel in the city. We take a short relax then join with tour guide for our Hanoi food tasting tour. We will have chance to taste many kinds of local street food that is very special and well-checked for foreigners. We finished our great tour at a corner coffee workshop to enjoy both Hanoi city view and special coffee or fruit shake in Hanoi. Overnight in Hanoi.

Hanoi street – view from high building

Day 9: Hanoi city tour & Taste of special dish of Hanoi (B, L)
“Cha ca La Vong” – Grilled fish with rice noodle, peanut, herbs and fish sauce is one of specialties in Hanoi. It was created by a Doan family in Hanoi in 1871 and now it’s very famous. Almost visitors want to go there to try this delicious dish one time.

Tasty Cha ca La Vong

Today, we will explore Hanoi with all main highlights that Viet Vision Travel tailor for the first time visitors to Hanoi and enjoy the delicious lunch at an old Hanoi house with Cha Ca La Vong. They are Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ba Dinh Square, New National Assembly House, Presidential Palace, One Pillar Pagoda and his House on stilt with fish pond….After this complex is the Temple of Literature where is known as the first University of Vietnam under the Feudal Dynasties and now is a temple. The Museum of Ethnology is a place that we will have idea about all minorities living in Vietnam with their culture, people and characters. Hoan Kiem Lake with Ngoc Son Temple makes our day more memorable with a nice view in the late afternoon. Lastly, we enjoy one hour for a Vietnamese traditional performance of water puppet. It’s full of traditional music and art. Overnight in Hanoi.

Hanoi street food – sweet soup in a corner of old quarters

Day 10: Hanoi – Halong Bay (overnight on deluxe junk cruise) (B, L, D)
Halong Bay is not only famous for the landscape but also for the fresh seafood. Meals on boat are often fabulous with all tourists. We will join the cooking demonstration or fruit carving demonstration on boat in the sunset time with chef. The crew team will make in-house guests surprised every service.

Cooking demontration on the cruise of Halong

The crew team will welcome us on board and we join all the activities like kayaking, swimming, boating, fishing, relaxing… with other passengers. The boat will take us around the Heritage area and we will see thousands of islands and islets with different shapes. We also stop to visit one of the most wonderful caves in Halong Bay in the afternoon or next morning depends on the weather or timing of a day. We have all our meals at a restaurant on boat. Overnight in Halong Bay.

The floating village in Halong Bay

Day 11: Halong Bay – Hanoi (B, L)
We are recommended to get up early today to get peaceful, fresh sunrise time on the tranquil Bay and join Tai Chi session with Master. Later, we enjoy breakfast with combination of western and Vietnamese food. We will take part in the rest activities on boat and check out at 10h00. We relax on the sundeck or restaurant, enjoy last lunch, settle bill and farewell Halong bay at midday. The tender takes us back to the pier where our awaiting vehicle transfers us back to Hanoi.
Tonight, we are free for last minute shopping and picking the favorite dinner in Hanoi. Overnight in Hanoi.

Kayaking experience in the bay

Day 12: Departure Hanoi (B)
At the appointed time with tour guide last day, we will farewell Hanoi and depart to the airport for our departure flight. Trip ends.