This trip allows students to experience a real Vietnam within 12 days and 11 nights. In order to maximize your times of touring we flight between the highlights. This trip covers most of the entire attraction sites in Vietnam. It goes from capital city of Hanoi to the Majestic Halong Bay, ancient town of An, bustle and hustle city of Saigon – Ho Chi Minh City, Mekong waterway and legendary Cu Chi Tunnel.
General Information
Duration: 12 Days
Tour Type: School holiday
Starts/ Ends: Hanoi/ Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Tour Route: Hanoi – Halong Bay – Danang – Hoi An – Ho Chi Minh City – Cu Chi Tunnel – Mekong Delta
Dates: No fixed departure dates. You may go whenever you wish.
Activity Level: Regular Itinerary
Tour Customizable: Absolutely! (Tell us your specific requirements in the inquiry form).
Tour Highlights
- Experience the beauty of Halong Bay during an overnight cruise on a deluxe junk.
- Discover Vietnam’s culture and history through city tours in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, temple visits, and a cyclo tour.
- Explore the charming streets of Hoi An, take a cooking class, and visit Thanh Ha Pottery Village.
- Learn about the historic Cu Chi tunnels used during the Vietnam War.
Brief Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Hanoi
Day 2: Hanoi – Halong Bay (overnight on junk)
Day 3: Halong Bay – Hanoi
Day 4: Hanoi – City tour
Day 5: Hanoi – fly to Da Nang – Transfer to Hoi An
Day 6: Visit Hoi An
Day 7: Cooking class
Day 8: Hoi An – Da Nang – Fly to Ho Chi Minh
Day 9: Mekong Delta – My Tho
Day 10: City tour – Cu Chi Tunnel
Day 11: Saigon – Dam Sen Theme Park
Day 12: Departure Ho Chi Minh
Special Experiences
- Experience the interesting of colonial city of Hanoi with water puppet show and cyclo tour
- Deluxe Junk Cruise and over night on Halong Bay for spectacular landscapes and caves visiting and activities like; swimming, kayaking…
- Walking tour in charming town of Hoi An and cooking class
- Mekong Delta waterway
- Legendary Cu Chi Tunnel Experiences
- Dam Sen Theme Park
- Bustle & Hustle Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) with War historical Places
Day 1: Arrival Hanoi (D)
Transfer via: International Flight on your own arrangement
Upon arrival in Hanoi, the group will be met then transfer to hotel. Before our dinner at a fine local restaurant, the group will have one-hour cyclo tour in the Old Quarter and 1 hour watching Water Puppet Show in Thang Long Water Puppet Theater. Overnight in Hanoi.
Day 2: Hanoi – Halong Bay (Overnight on junk) (B, L, D)
08:30: Pick up at hotel then transfer to Halong.
12.30: Arrive at Ha Long public pier. Warmly welcomed by a friendly crew. Welcome drink upon arrival, the Halong Sails Cruises. Check-in procedure.
13.00: Luch is served at the restaurant. Enjoy fresh local specialty whilst cruising among thousands of karst islets. Pass by the most breathtaking scenery such as Dog Islet, Incense Burner Islet, Hoa Cuong Floating Village, Fighting Cocks Islet and Thumb Islet.
15.30 – 17.30: Visit Surprising Cave.
Cruise to other side and have a remote watch from boat to Pearl Farm.
Return to Titop Island. Make various options for doing sightseeing with opened panoramic view at the peak of the mountain. Going for a walk on a sandy beach or swimming in the emerald water surface of the World Heritage Site.
17.30: Back to the anchorage for the night. Availability for kayaking (if booked in advance) and swimming from the boat. Enjoy the sunset from the top deck.
19.00: Dinner is served at the restaurant. You would be appetizing by valuable dishes, prepared by an experienced chef. Relax and experience a new lifestyle in Ha Long by night. Taste some drink or take part to catch some squid with the friendly crew (depends on the squid season). Try to be a singer by singing with the karaoke system on board. Back to the cabin and have a good sleep.
Day 3: Halong Bay – Hanoi (B, L)
6.00: Wake up in the early morning. Enjoy fresh air and breeze from the sea. Sunrise is over Ha Long bay.
7.00: Western breakfast is served at the restaurant.
8.00 – 10.00: Have a sampan to visit Tunnel Cave (Hang Luon) by going through the mountains. Availability for kayaking (if booked in advance). After the Tunnel Cave, set sail to have a continuation of the cruise, pass by Human Head Islet, Turtle Islet and head to Ha Long pier by cruising in Bai Tu Long bay which is close to the city and gradually become a thriving region.
10.00: Check out procedure.
10.30: Lunch is served at the restaurant. Last chance to get more energy from delicious dishes that excited you throughout the trip to the next destination.
11.30: Time to say goodbye to the crew. Have a short transfer to the Ha Long public pier then transfer to Hanoi.
Day 4: Hanoi – City Tour (B, L, D)
Today we start our one-day city tour from the lobby of the hotel. We will drive to Ho Chi Minh Complex, where we will spend a couple of hours to visit: Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, his former stilt-house residence, the Presidential Palace, the Ho Chi Minh museum and one pillar pagoda. Keep going to see the Temple of Literature: Originally built as a temple to Confucius, this is the site of Vietnam’s first university dating back to 1070. The temple highlights the importance that Vietnamese society placed then and now on education. Lunch will be at the KFC restaurant in Hanoi.
In the afternoon, we will visit one of the most interesting museums in Vietnam; Museum of Ethnology, which is widely acknowledged as the best in the country and has an extensive display dedicated to Vietnam’s 54 Ethnic minority peoples. Following that, we will wander around the city by car to see the real-life of Hanoian as well as the different parts of the city.
After that we will take one-hour cyclo around the Old Quarter, known as the 36 streets, this bustling area of narrow streets is home to literally thousands of small businesses and shopkeepers. Originally, each of the 36 streets names’ was related to the products being sold there. Before we go back to the hotel, we will have the chance to enjoy the unique Water Puppet show. Hear the Vietnamese traditional instruments and singing from the live musicians who play throughout the show. The trip will be finished after the show at the hotel.
Day 5: Hanoi – Fly to Danang at 10:10 AM – Transfer to Hoi An (B, D)
After breakfast at the hotel, we will transfer to the airport for our short domestic flight to Danang. Danang city with Cham Museum – the houses of the most complete collection of Cham Artifacts anywhere in the world; Me Khe beach – where the American named and used to have their Rest and Relaxation; and the Marble Mountain – the five elements of the Universe (water, wood, water, fire and earth). We will arrive in Hoi An in the afternoon, relax and take our walking tour before our Dinner. Overnight at hotel in Hoi An.
Day 6: Visit Hoi An (B, L, D)
NO FLUORESCENT LIGHTS. NO MOTORCYCLES. NO TELEVISION. ON THE 15TH DAY OF EACH LUNAR MONTH, THE RIVERSIDE TOWN OF HOI AN GIVES MODERN LIFE THE NIGHT OFF.
Hoi An has a distinct Chinese atmosphere with low, tile-roofed houses and narrow streets; the original structure of some of these streets still remains almost intact. All the houses were made of rare wood, decorated with lacquered boards and panels engraved with Chinese characters. Pillars were also carved with ornamental designs.
We enjoy a morning walking tour around the ancient city to visit Chua Ong Pagoda, Chinese Assembly Halls, the 200 – year old Tam Ky ancestral house, and the Japanese Bridge.
Lunch at an Indian food restaurant
In the afternoon, we will take a 3-hour boat trip to Thanh Ha Pottery village, where we can see old men who produce jars, bowls, vases… Back to downtown for coffee and relax.
Day 7: Cooking Class (B, L or D)
8.30am or 3.30pm – Pickup at your hotel. After a short drive through the local countryside, we arrive at Tra Que Village, and the home of your host, Mr. Tuan. A welcome drink of freshly picked fruits is waiting before we take a walk around the village and learn about the history and customs of this charming village. We walk through the market gardens where hundreds of local farmers work their fields using the traditional methods of hundreds of years ago – no electrical machinery here.
We return to the home of Mr. Tuan, and this is where the real fun begins. Everyone is given a farming instrument, and we set about joining the farmers in preparing the land for sewing. Our guide describes the traditional farming methods while we help fertilize the garden using seaweed from the local river, and then water it using huge tin cans strapped to our back.
Time is then spent picking vegetables and herbs, and learning how to wrap them to prevent damage. Many of the local herbs are used by the farmers for traditional village medicines – this includes the herbal pillow, which helps relax your body and mind, ready for a good night’s sleep.
It’s now time to try our hands at making the village specialty named “Tam Huu” spring rolls – using the local herbs and vegetables we have just picked or Xeo Cake ( Banh Xeo). We then sit down and enjoy a lovely local meal.
Menu – Tam Huu, Family’s spring rolls, Banh Xeo, Vietnamese dishes ( Fish, Soup, vegetables, Rice)& Fruit Salad 1.00pm or 6.30pm – Transfer back to Hoi An.
Day 8: Hoi An – Danang – Fly to Ho Chi Minh City (B, D)
Free at our leisure today for swimming, shopping.
At 11:30, we transfer back to Da Nang for our short flight to Ho Chi Minh city. Arriving in HCM city, we transfer to the hotel. Then, we will visit HCM City. Group will visit Ben Thanh market, Cho Lon, Chinese town and market. Here you can experience our Vietnamese Southern daily life.
In the evening, we enjoy our dinner at a fine local restaurant. Overnight in HCM city.
Day 9: Mekong Delta (B, L)
At 08.00 we leave Saigon behind and head to Vietnam’s rice basket, the Mekong Delta. We will pass through idyllic, rural scenes until we arrive at My Tho, a peaceful town on the bank of the Mekong River, where we will visit the Vinh Trang Pagoda.
Next, we will have a boat ride on the Mekong, visit local homes and orchards, a coconut candy workshop, a honeybee farm, take a sampan ride on palm-shaded creeks, try a taste of seasonal fruit and honey tea and enjoy a performance of traditional Southern singing. We return to Saigon at about 5 pm.
Day 10: Ho Chi Minh City Tour – Cu Chi Tunnel (B, L)
Our tour starts at 08:30 and ends at 18:00. We depart our hotel for the Reunification Palace, the former Presidential Palace for the president of the South of Vietnam. After that, we will visit the War Remnant Museum, where you can see countless artifacts, photographs, and pictures documenting the second Indochina war. Before our lunch, we stop at Notre Dame Cathedral and Old Post office to get our good shots for our memory of the biggest city in Vietnam.
Our delicious lunch at KFC restaurant will be served at a nice restaurant in the central city.
Day 11: Ho Chi Minh City – Dam Sen Theme Park (B, D)
Today, students will have a full day in Dam Sen Theme Park.
Dam Sen is an excellent relaxing place for all ages. Especially, teenagers are the most popular patrons attracted by a variety of amusement and shows such as Roller Coaster, Winding Fall, Magic Flying Carpet, the Virtual World, Swinging Height… DS always makes every effort to ensure that its patrons would be offered the most up-to-date entertainments.
In the evening, students will have a Farewell dinner at a restaurant.
Day 12: Departure (B)
Our waiting vehicle will transfer the group to the airport for our flight home. Trip concluded.
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