VNM13: Highlights Of Việt Nam(14D13N)

Upon arrival Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport, you will be greeted by your local guide and accompanied to the hotel for check in. Your time is free at leisurely.

Overnight in Hồ Chí Minh City.

Breakfast is served at your hotel. Your guide will pick you up at hotel and spend your delightful morning to discover city highlights. Your visits will include, in no specific order:

Independence Palace (*) was rebuilt after an unsuccessful coup by bombing in 1962 that destroyed almost the entire old building, which had been built by the French colonial government in 1871. During the Việt Nam War (1955 – 1975), this was also well known as The Presidential Palace, the most powerful symbol of South Việt Nam until April 30, 1975.

War Remnants Museum (*), a must-see attraction for most visitors, was founded on September 4, 1975. It was first named “Exhibition House for U.S. and Puppet Crimes”. In 1990, the name was changed to “Exhibition House for Crimes of War and Aggression”. In 1995, a week before an announcement by the U.S. President, Bill Clinton, for the normalization of diplomatic relations, the name was changed to War Remnants Museum, as we all know it now.

Central Post Office, built between 1886 and 1891, is one of the best examples of classical French colonial architecture mixing with Eastern decoration style. There are two painted maps that were created just after the Post Office was built; one map is titled “Telegraphic lines of Southern Việt Nam and Cambodia 1892”, and the other is titled “Sài Gòn and its surroundings 1892”.

Notre Dame Cathedral of Sài Gòn, constructed between 1863 and 1880, has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet). Most of the original building materials were imported from France. After nearly 140 years in use, the building has been in renovations since July 2017, which will continue until the end of 2023. During this time, we are not able to go inside, but a beautiful view from outside is also worth paying a visit.

Jade Emperor Pagoda, built in 1909 in honor of the supreme Taoist God, is one of the most spectacularly atmospheric temples in Sài Gòn. There are many ancient works of art for worship, such as paintings, statues, panels, exquisite carvings… made from wood, pottery and pasteboard.

Lunch is served at a local restaurant before driving about 1,5 hours through the pleasant countryside to Củ Chi. We may stop along the way for refreshments and toilet.

Upon arrival, you’ll watch a brief of propaganda video, which explains how the tunnels were used to successfully defeat American military forces in combat. The tour continues and the guide explains some traps that were placed in the jungles of Việt Nam to either maim American soldiers or create panic amongst the ranks.

From here, you can enter one of the tunnel entrances and crawl through the tunnels, a real experience to imagine how people could live there for an extended period!

There is a shooting range where you can try to fire an automatic or semi-automatic weapon for a fee (this fee is not included). Take some rest at the end for a taste of Củ Chi boiled tapioca and thinking what humans are capable of when having to defend their home.

After that, we complete the tour excursion by taking you back to your hotel. Your evening is free at leisure.

Overnight in Hồ Chí Minh City.

Breakfast is served at your hotel. Your guide will pick you up at hotel, and drive 2 hours to Bến Tre Town. We will stop along the way for refreshments and toilet.

Upon arrival, we board a motor-boat and cruise along a vast network of canals and channels to enjoy wonderful views of life along the Mekong River. Stop at a brick kiln, where the locals work among clusters of beehive-shaped structures that churn out millions of bricks each year in handy traditional style. They offer a fascinating glimpse at a local industry.

Crossing the River to the other side, we will stop at a traditional workshop to witness a step-by-step process on how to make coconut candy while trying some yourself.

Visit a local family to see where they make traditional mats and enjoy some fruits and tea. It is a chance to interact with local people to know more about rural life. Enjoy what local people offer by hand-rowing a sampan along the shady, breezy canal. Take a motor cart or cycle ride on shady roads, pass by green fields and vegetable plantations, and find out about tropical culture from the villagers.

Lunch will be served at a riverside restaurant with a Vietnamese 5-course set menu. Please request in advance if you have a food allergy, you are a vegetarian, or you observe Halal.

After that, we drive back to Hồ Chí Minh city and drop you back to hotel. Your evening is free leisurely.

Overnight in Hồ Chí Minh City.

Breakfast is served at your hotel. After that, your driver will pick you up and transfer to Tân Sơn Nhất Airport for taking a flight to Đà Nẵng city.

Upon arrival, you’ll be greeted by a local guide and transfer to a restaurant for having lunch. After that, we visit to the famous Museum of Chăm Sculpture where displays approximately 300 sculptures, among which some are made from terracotta from the period between the 5th and 15th.

We leave Đà Nẵng City and continue driving to Hội An. We stop on the way for seeing the Marble Mountain and its Non Nước Stone Carving Village, where the local skillful sculptors create many marble products which are exported to many countries worldwide.

Upon arrival Hội An, we drop you at hotel for checking in. Your evening is free to discover this charming town at leisure.

Overnight in Hội An.

Breakfast is served at your hotel. Your morning start with a drive through the countryside to Mỹ Sơn Holy Land, a World Heritage Site recognized by UNESCO in 1999, which located about 50km southwest of Hội An in a lush valley, Mỹ Sơn was a capital and religious center of Chăm people, now remaining with red brick towers and sanctuaries. Mỹ Sơn is considered to be in the same league as some of Southeast Asia’s greatest archaeological sites, including Angkor in Cambodia, Bagan in Myanmar, Ayutthaya in Thailand and Borobudur in Indonesia. These towers and sanctuaries were built from the 7th to 13th centuries.

Lunch is served at a local restaurant.

Your afternoon start with a walking excursion around tiny town of Hội An for your visits to a 400 years old Japanese Bridge, a 300 years old Chinese temple, a 200 years old Vietnamese former merchants’ house and etc.

We can drop you back to your hotel at the end of the tour excursion, or you can continue to explore the town by your own.

Overnight in Hội An.

Breakfast is served at your hotel. We say goodbye to Hội An and set our drive across the spectacular Hải Vân pass and the scenic fishing village of Lăng Cô to Huế.

Lunch is served at a local restaurant.

After that, we discover the South of Huế, where there are eight splendid royal tombs of the Nguyễn Emperors, situated among the hills on the banks of the Perfume River. Often designed while the emperor was still alive, each mausoleum was built to serve as a palace for the afterlife. Among them, the Tomb of Emperor Tự Đức, with its lotus-filled lake and central pavilion and the simple and serene Tomb of Khải Định are the most interesting.

We complete today tour excursion by driving you to hotel for checking in. Your evening is free at leisurely.

Overnight in Huế.

Breakfast is served at your hotel. Today, you’ll learn about the former imperial capital of Việt Nam. We start the tour excursion by taking a boat trip on the romantically named Perfume River visits Huế’s best-known religious sites, Thiên Mụ Pagoda. Then continue to discover Imperial Citadel from where the Nguyễn’s Dynasty ruled between 1802 and 1945 including Flag Tower, Noon Gate, Nine Dynastic Urns, Nine Holy Cannons, Thai Hoa Palace, and Forbidden Purple City.

Lunch is served at a local restaurant.

After lunch, we will say goodbye to Huế and transfer to Phú Bài airport for taking a flight to Hà Nội. Upon arrival, you’ll be greeted by a local guide and transfer to your hotel for checking in and free evening at leisurely.

Overnight in Hà Nội.

Breakfast is served at your hotel. Your guide will pick you up at hotel and spend your delightful day to discover city highlights. Your visits will include, in no specific order:

● Hồ Chí Minh Complex: Completed in 1975, the complex includes Hồ Chí Minh’s Mausoleum, the Presidential Palace, House-on-Stilts, and the Hồ Chí Minh Museum.

● The Temple of Literature: Originally built as a temple to Confucius, this is the site of Việt Nam’s first University dating back to 1070. Inside are the stone steles mounted on the backs of turtles, inscribed with names of Việt Nam best scholars.

● Museum of Ethnology: This museum is widely acknowledged as the best in the country and has an extensive display dedicated to Việt Nam’s 54 Ethnic minority peoples.

● Ngọc Sơn Temple and Hoàn Kiếm Lake: The Ngọc Sơn temple is set on a tiny island on the Hoàn Kiếm Lake, its history dating back to the 13th century. The temple is reached by crossing the Thê Húc Bridge which literally means the ‘Place Touched by Morning Sunbeams’. The Hoàn Kiếm Lake is the local point of the city and the source of many legends.

Lunch is served at a local restaurant. After that, you’ll have one hour Cyclo tour through the Old Quarter: Also known as the 36 streets, this bustling area of narrow streets is home to literally thousands of small businesses and shopkeepers.

We complete today tour excursion by taking you back to hotel for your evening free at leisurely.

Overnight in Hà Nội.

Breakfast is served at your hotel. We check-out early and ready at hotel lobby. Your guide and shuttle bus will pick you up and transfer about 3 hours to Hạ Long bay including a 20-minute stop on the way.

Arrive at the jetty in Hạ Long City towards noon and proceed with check-in formalities. After a welcome onboard, lunch will be served while cruising towards the bay itself. In the afternoon, enjoy some visits and/or activities (depending on each boat’s itinerary) or just spend some time relaxing on board. Towards the end of the day the boat sets anchor for the night among the karsts formations. Dinner is served on board.

Overnight in a selected cruise on Hạ Long Bay.

Wake to the sun peeking over the horizon and see the bay at first light. Watch as vendors paddle their small sampans teeming with goods to the nearby boats and villages. On returning to Hạ Long City, enjoy a wholesome brunch as the boat cruises through uniquely-shaped limestone rock formations. Disembark and be greeted by the driver for a transfer back to Hà Nội.

We arrive at Hà Nội around 4:00p.m., check-in hotel; and you’ll have your free time to explore the city at leisure.

Overnight in Hà Nội.

Breakfast is served at your hotel. We leave Hà Nội a 2 hour drive heading south-west of Hòa Bình Province, where we will visit a Mường village. After having met the local villagers, drive back to Hòa Bình town for lunch. We continue driving to Mai Châu valley and arrive there late afternoon. Check in the local home stay at Lac village. The rest of your time is free at your leisure to explore the village by your own. Tonight, you will have dinner at a local house’s family.

Overnight in Mai Châu.

After breakfast at the homestay, we drive for an hour to a Hmong village of Sa Linh where we will spent an hour walking around to see how the people of this isolated village do business and make their living. Return to Mai Châu for lunch. Then drive downhill to Ninh Bình. Check-in to your hotel and free evening leisurely.

Overnight in Ninh Bình.

Breakfast is served at your hotel. Today you will visit to the Đinh and Lê temples of the Ancient Capital Hoa Lư and then you will move to Vân Long Reserve for lunch. You may also enjoy an optional oxcart ride to Vân Long Wharf for a 2 hour boat trip along the Vân Long River. Along the way you will see caves, green rice fields, limestone mountains and the rural life of the locals before returning to Hà Nội.

Overnight in Hà Nội.

Breakfast is served at your hotel. Your day is free until our driver picks you up at hotel and transfer to Nội Bài Airport for taking flight out. End of services.

HAVE A GREAT TRIP!