Captivating Vietnam Discovery – 9 Days

General Information

Tour Route: Hanoi – Halong Bay – Danang – Ho Chi Minh City – Mekong Delta – My Tho – Ben Tre – Ho Chi Minh City
Duration: 9 Days/ 8 Nights
Date: No fixed departure dates. You may go whenever you wish
Start/ End: Hanoi/ Ho Chi Minh City
Tour Customizable: Absolutely! (Tell us your specific requirements in the inquiry form)

Brief Itinerary

Day 1: Hanoi Arrival – ½ Day City Tour – Cyclo & Water Puppet Show (B, L)
Day 2: Hanoi – Halong Bay – Overnight on board (B, L, D)
Day 3: Halong Bay – Hanoi – Fly to Danang (B, Br)
Day 4: Danang – Bana Hills – Golden Bridge – Danang (B, L)
Day 5: Danang – Coconut Forest – Ancient Town – Danang (B)
Day 6: Danang – Free Time – Fly to Ho Chi Minh City (B)
Day 7: Ho Chi Minh City & Shopping Time (B, L)
Day 8: Ho Chi Minh City – Mekong Delta – My Tho – Ben Tre (B, L)
Day 9: Ho Chi Minh City – Departure (B)

Full Itinerary

Day 1: Hanoi Arrival – ½ Day City Tour – Cyclo & Water Puppet Show (B, L)

On arrival at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, we will be welcomed by our guide and transferred to the Ho Chi Minh complex where we will spend time at Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum (outside), his former stilt house, the Presidential Palace, and One Pillar Pagoda. After that, we have a quick look at Quan Thanh Temple, Tran Quoc Pagoda, and West Lake. Followings we visit the Temple of Literature, which originally built as a temple to Confucius.

Then, we move to the Ngoc Son Temple in Hoan Kiem Lake to visit one of the most famous temple in Hanoi. Later this afternoon, we enjoy 1-hour cyclo tour of the French-inspired “old quarter”. We will be free for shopping in the old quarter ranging from markets to designer boutique stores to amazing contemporary art galleries. After the tour, we move to a hotel and spend the rest of the day relaxing.

Remarks:

• Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is not open every Monday & Friday.
• Museum of Ethnology is closed on every Monday.
• The Museum can be moved to your favourite museum in Hanoi.

Notes: Check-in time will be 14:00

Overnight in Hanoi
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 2: Hanoi – Halong Bay – Overnight on board (B, L, D)

07:45 – 08:30 The shuttle bus will pick you up from the hotel and we transfer to Halong Bay in 3-hours
11:45 – 12:00 Boarding our boat at Tuan Chau Port – enjoy welcome drink, receive cruise briefing and safety instructions.
13.15 – 14.00 After the welcome onboard, be served with lunch while cruising towards the bay. Massage service is available after lunch and throughout the cruise. Please book in advance with your Cruise Manager.
14.00 – 16.00 Cruise through Halong Bay, passing the most beautiful and quiet areas including Incense Burner, Dog Stone Islet, Fighting Cock, Finger Islet.
16.00 Guests are transferred by tender to Titov Island. About one hour is spent on the island, allowing time to climb to the peak for a breathtaking 360 degree view of the Bay (there is also an expansive viewing deck half way up). After the climb, there is time left to relax on the beach and have a swim.
17.30 Depart and sail for about 30 minutes to anchor overnight.
18.30 – 19.00 Attend the Fruit and Vegetable Carving Lesson led by our Head Chef. During the lesson, the chef will conduct Fruit and Vegetable carving, showing the guests how we decorate and make some traditional Vietnamese food.
19.30 Dinner is served.
20.45 Evening activities. Board games like cards or Parcheesi are available, as well as massage service (massage service is available throughout the cruise). Also, everyone can try their luck at squid fishing on the boat with help from the crew.
23.00 End of Program for Day 1

Overnight on board
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 3: Halong Bay – Hanoi – Fly to Danang (B, Br)

06.30   Coffee, tea and breakfast pastries served in the dining room.
06.45   Enjoy Tai Chi lesson on the sundeck (lasting for about 30 minutes).
07.45 – 09.00 Arrive at Surprise Cave – one of the most spectacular and largest grottoes of Halong Bay. The mouth of the grotto is reached by ascending about a hundred stone steps.
09.00   Upon returning to the boat, guests will have 30 minutes to freshen up and finish packing. Please collect all of your belongings from the cabins and leave heavy luggage outside the cabins (staff will transfer directly to the pier).
09.30   Enjoy a full breakfast in the dining room. Bills are settled after breakfast. Relax on the sundeck or in the dining room enjoying the bay scenery as we approach the pier.
11.00   Arrive at Tuan Chau port, relax inside the pier building while waiting for return transportation.
11.30   Return back to Hanoi for the flight to Danang. Welcome up on arrival by local tour guide and driver then we transfer to hotel in Danang and spend the rest of day to relax.

Overnight in Danang
Meals: Breakfast, Brunch

Day 4: Danang – Bana Hills – Golden Bridge – Danang (B, L)

07:00 am – 08:00 am: Our Minivan and a tour guide pick you up at hotel lobby. Reach Ba Na Hills via Cable Car.
9:30 am: Spend your time on the most modern Cable Car in Southeast Asia, then take The Climbing Train to visit the top of the mountain& further explore Le Jardin D’Amour (consists of 9 gardens), Debay Wine Cellar (old wineries) & Ling Ung Pagoda. Continue the 2^nd Cable Car to visit  the French Village (enjoy Street Music, watch Art’s statue), Campanile, Nine Floor Goddess Shrine, Tombstone Temple, Linh Phong Monastery, Linh Chua Linh Tu Temple & Tru Vu Tea Shop. Watch Carnival Performance Show, Square Du Dome … Challenge the most popular adventure ride – Slide of Tube Car (free ride),
11:00 visit the golden bridge. Located in the middle of the mountain, the bridge is designed to be soft, the entire bridge covered with a magnificent yellow. From the distance, the bridge is like a silk strip floating in white clouds. What makes the bridge more special is the huge supporting hand. Lunch at Restaurant (Buffet).
15:00: Return to the Cable Car to leave Ba Na Hills
16:45 – 17:45: Our Minivan brings you back to your hotel. Tour ends.

Overnight in Danang
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 5: Danang – Coconut Forest – Ancient Town – Danang (B)

Hoi An Ancient town has been recognized as the World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO since 1999 thanks to its value. This place is complex of the acculturation. The architecture of the town reflects the influence of Chinese, Japanese, Potuguese, French and British traders. It used to be a trading port in 17th & 18th centuries where the trading cruise ships from Japan, China & the west met and exchanged goods. Hoi An nowaday is one the most attractive places in Vietnam and with a half day walking around, visitors will immediately feel the hospitality and friendship the locals extend to them. And they can see that what is so special about Hoi An is that this little port town is in an incredible state of preservation…Welcome to Hoi An!

After breakfast, we will be free until our guide pick us up at the hotel and transfers all of us to Bay Mau – Famous eco-tourism gives visitors many experiences about the nature of rivers, immense coconut forests and rustic basket boats, you can taste the local lunch meal in there. After the activities, your driver arrives to take you to Hoi An ancient town. We will start our walking tour around the ancient town to visit the Japanese Covered Bridge, the Pottery Museum, Tan Ky old house, the Cantonese congregation, the silk street of Hoi An, the temples and pagodas of Chinese appearance. Then we transfer back to Danang City for overnight accommodation.

Overnight in Danang
Meals: Breakfast

Day 6: Danang – Free Time – Fly to Ho Chi Minh City (B)

This morning, we will be free until the car picks you up at the hotel in Danang until our departure flight to Ho Chi Minh City. We will go to the airport around 2 hours in advance. On arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, welcome upon arrival by a local tour guide and driver then we transfer to the hotel for check-in. After check-in, we will be free to wander around the hustle and bustle city on your own.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City
Meals: Breakfast

Day 7: Ho Chi Minh City & Shopping Time (B, L)

Today, we visit all the highlights in Ho Chi Minh city such as the Reunification Palace, a palace of old President in South of Vietnam during the American war; Notre Dame Cathedral and Old Post Office, the two sites that we can’t ignore when we visit the city. After lunch, we travel to the district 5 to visit Cho Lon (China town) and Thien Hau Temple to understand more about our faith. We then head back to the center to do shopping at famous Ben Thanh market, this bustling and well-organized market is very popular with tourists, primarily due to its central location. It has a wide selection of goods ranging from fake Nike shoes to beautiful silk Ao Dai. Our free evening activities should be: walking around at the night market in Ben Thanh market area; explore the highest building in Ho Chi Minh City, Bitexco…. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 8: Ho Chi Minh City – Mekong Delta – My Tho – Ben Tre (B, L)

Our tour guide will pick you up at your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City and take you to Mekong Delta, where you can enjoy a full-day activity tour in My Tho and Ben Tre provinces, and experience the immensity of the biggest rice bowl of Vietnam. The first sightseeing spots of the Mekong Delta day tour are the floating fish farms and markets on the 4 legendary islets of Dragon, Unicorn, Tortoise and Phoenix. A rowboat will wind you down narrow water palm streams before you switch to a bicycle to cycle approximately 7 miles (12 km) through coconut gardens and along village paths to have a deeper view of the beautiful scenes.

We will then move to the local village, where you can experience daily lives of locals, and stop to visit residents’ houses or workshops to learn how they make banana and coconut cakes and taste those local specialties. You can try walking across the famous Monkey Bridge (a slender bamboo bridge used in rural Southern Vietnam to cross rivers and canals) to see locals making rice paper cakes and rice wine. Lunch will be served with unique Mekong cuisine before coming back to My Tho City and transferring to Ho Chi Minh City.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 9: Ho Chi Minh City – Departure (B)

Time will be free until our car arrives at the hotel to take us to the airport in good time to board our departure flight. Trip ends! Thanks for choosing Vietnam vacation with Viet Vision Travel!