Vietnam – Myanmar Explorer 18 days

Ho Chi Minh Ho Chi Minh Cao Dai temple Cu Chi Cai Be floating market Da Nang Hoi An Japanese Bridge Hai Van pass Hue Hue Minh Mang Tomb Ha noi Halong Halong Dau Go cave Yangon Bagan Mt Popa Mandalay Myanmar Kuthodaw Pagoda Myanmar Pindaya Cave Myanmar Inlay Lake Myanmar Indein

Tour snapshot

Tour code:
MCT-03
Length:
18 days / 17 nights
Start From
Ho Chi Minh city

Overview

Discover dynamic Ho Chi Minh City, Admire the beauty of the Mekong River, Experience life underground in the Cu Chi Tunnels, Chill out in charming Hoi An, Explore the tombs and temples of Hue, Witness the wonder of Halong Bay with an overnight cruise, Enjoy a traditional water-puppet performance in Hanoi. Starts from the city of Yangon where the culture of Burmese, Indian and Chinese are blending in the most colorful way. You will be invited to relax by the lake of Inle, home to many ethnic minorities and Intha one leg rower. After visit Mandalay with its ancient captials, you will have chance to admire the temples of Bagan, the biggest Unesco site in Burma.

Itinerary

Day 1

Ho Chi Minh city and arrival

Arrive at Tan San Nhat airport. Be welcomed by your local guide and driver. Transfer to your hotel. Take an orientation tour in the afternoon (if time permits). Enjoy a dinner cruise on the Saigon river. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Ho Chi Minh city.

Day 2

Ho Chi Minh city tour

Breakfast at your hotel. Begin your sightseeing tour by visiting the Reunification Palace, which was the former residence of the President of South Vietnam until the end of the war in April 1975, and explore some French colonial structures including Notre Dame Cathedral and the Old Central Post Office. Take a tour of town including Thien Hau and Quan Am pagodas. After seeing the Emperor Jade Pagoda and the War Remnants Museum we end the city tour with a visit to Ben Thanh market where anything and everything is for sale . Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Ho Chi Minh city.

Day 3

Ho Chi Minh city – Tay Ninh – Cu Chi tunnels

After breakfast at your hotel, drive west to Tay Ninh, the headquarters of Caodaism, a symbol of the curious combination of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. On arrival attend the fantastic mid-day temple service when the followers fill the temple wearing colorful robes. Lunch at the local restaurant. On the way back, stop to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, an underground network of tunnels constructed by Vietnamese fighters during the struggle for independence. The tunnels contained hospitals, accommodation, smokeless kitchens, etc. They were also used as a military base for the Vietcong during the American war. Drive back to HCMC. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Ho Chi Minh city.

Day 4

Ho Chi Minh city – Cai Be floating market

Breakfast at your hotel. Depart for Cai Be, stopping to take photos in Tan An town overlooking picturesque flat rice fields. On arrival in Cai Be, set off by motor boat to visit Cai Be floating market and watch the locals trading fruit and many other commodities on board their vessels. Then wander into a small village to visit an orchard and fruit plantation. Continue cruising to Vinh Long along a series of small canals to experience the charms of the Upper Mekong Delta. Visit a small family business to see how coconut candy and crispy rice popcorn are made. Arrive in Binh Hoa Phuoc village, the green pearl of Vinh Long, where you can immerse yourself in nature. Enjoy a lunch of fresh river food served in the heart of a garden accompanied by traditional southern Vietnamese folk music. Take a delightful walk through a bonsai garden. Meet the driver in Vinh Long. Return to Ho Chi Minh City. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Ho Chi Minh city.

Day 5

Ho Chi Minh city – Da Nang – Hoi An

After breakfast at your hotel, transfer to Tan San Nhat airport from where you will board flight VN 1316 to Danang (11.30-12.40) You will be picked up and transferred to your hotel in Hoi An. In the afternoon, visit the Japanese Covered Bridge, a Pottery Museum, Tan Ky old house, the Cantonese congregation, silk street of Hoi An, Danang style temples and pagodas. Dinner on guest’s account. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Hoi An.

Day 6

Hoi An – Hue

After breakfast at the hotel, depart for Hue via Danang. Visit Marble mountain and a Cham museum. Stop for photos at Hai Van pass and Lang Co beach. Have lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, visit Dong Ba market, the Imperial Citadel from where the Nguyen Dynasty ruled between 1802 and 1945 and the ruins of the Purple Forbidden City. Enjoy a night boat trip and be entertained by a performance of Hue folks songs. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Hue city

Day 7

Hue city tour – Ha Noi

Breakfast at your hotel. Take a morning boat trip to visit the royal tomb of Emperor Tu Duc followed by Thien Mu pagoda and mausoleum of Emperor Minh Mang which is set in nice gardens and lakes. Lunch at a local restaurant. Transfer to the airport for boarding flight VN 1542 to Hanoi (14.20-15.30). Pick up from Noi Bai airport and be transferred to your hotel in the Old Quarter. Enjoy a welcome dinner including some of Hanoi’s specialties. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Ha Noi city.

Day 8

Ha Noi city tour

Breakfast at the hotel. Visit Ho Chi Minh Complex, containing Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, the Presidential Palace, Ho Chi Minh’s stilt house and one Pillar pagoda. Continue onto the Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first university which is almost 1000 years old, Hoan Kiem lake, Ngoc Son temple, Tran Quoc pagoda and Quan Thanh temple. Lunch at the local restaurant. Enjoy a cyclo ride around the old quarter from Hang Dau to Hang Gai streets. Dinner at your own expense. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Ha Noi city.

Day 9

Ha Noi – Ha Long

Following breakfast at your hotel, depart for Ha Long via the Red River Delta. Arrive in Ha Long city and board a junk. A seafood lunch will be served on board while you enjoy a four-hour cruise on the bay to visit Thien Cung cave (The cave of the heavenly – famous for its stalagmites and stalactites) which has been open to public since 1998. Lunch at the local restaurant. Visitors can then admire the newly-discovered Dau Go grotto where wooden stakes were set deep inside the cave prior to a battle with an invading Mongol army. Boat ride back to Ha Long city. Road trip back to Hanoi. Dinner on guest’s account. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Ha Noi city.

Day 10

Ha Noi – Yangon

Breakfast at your hotel. Free leisure time to explore the city until your transfer to Noi Bai airport for for boarding flight VN957 to Yangon (16.35 -18.10). Arrive at Yangon International Airport. Welcome by our tour guide. Transfer to Hotel. Enjoy dinner at Karaweik Palace Restaurant with traditional cultural dance. Stay overnight in Yangon.

Day 11

Yangon – Bagan

After breakfast, transfer to airport for domestic flight to Bagan. On arrival tour starts with the busy local market and continuing with visits to a diverse selection of the most important Pagodas and temples, such as Shwezigon Pagoda, built by King Anawrahta in the early 11th century, Kubyanuk Gyi, a temple with exquisite murals of Jataka scenes, and Ananda Temple with four huge standing Buddha images and numerous seated figures in niches around the galleried interior.Continue sightseeing to Manuha Temple, built in Mon Style in 1095, Nanbaya Temple, a unique sandstone monument, said to have been the palace of King Manuha and Myingaba Gu Byaukgyi Temple,noted for its ancient mural paintings under the protection of UNESCO. Proceed to Bupaya Pagoda to watch sunset over the Ayeyarwaddy River. Stay overnight in Bagan.

Day 12

Bagan – Mt. Popa – Mandalay

Enjoy your breakfast in your hotel. Drive to Mt. Popa by enjoying the scenic beauty. A crag named Popa Hill lock believed to be an abode of 37 Nats (spiritual beings) regarded as the gods for animism before the Bagan dynasty (11th to 13th cent). After climbing 777 steps to the top you can enjoy the scenic beauty around including the extinct volcano Mt. Popa with about 1500 meters high. On the way to Mt. Popa, study the daily life of the people among the palm trees. Then proceed to Mandalay. Upon arrival, transfer to hotel. Stay overnight in Mandalay.

Day 13

Mandalay

After breakfast, drive to Amarapura, visit a bridge, called U Bein which belongs to 1782 recuperated from the waste of an abandoned palace totally in teak wood accredited to the achievement of the mayor U Bein. Then extend Mahagandayone, a monastery with high reputation consists of more than a thousand of monks can be seen at the same time while they have their first meal of the day. Visit MAHAMUNI PAGODA with its spectacular Buddha image. By visiting the Shwe Nan Daw Kyaung wooden monastery in teak wood standing to witness the durability of teak and the carving of the 19th century is still with totally traditional Myanmar style. After that visit to KUTHODAW PAGODA, known as the world’s biggest book, consisting of 729 marble slabs engraved with Buddhist scriptures. A visit is also made to a jetty to observe daily life at the river and to craftsmen’s workshop to see Kalaga tapestries being created. You can call it a day by enjoying the sun setting at Mandalay Hill. Stay overnight in Mandalay.

Day 14

Mandalay – Heho – Pindaya

After breakfast, transfer to airport for domestic flight to Heho. Arrival the Heho airport, drive (60 km-1½ hrs) to Pindaya. And visit to Pindaya Cave, these caves are ensconced in a limestone ridge overlooking the lake. Inside the cavern there are more than 8000 Buddha images – made from alabaster, teak, marble, brick, lacquer and cement – and are arranged in such a way as to form a labyrinth throughout the various cave chambers. SHWE U MIN PAYA: this is a cluster of low stupas just below the ridge near the Pindaya Caves. Stay overnight in Pindaya.

Day 15

Pindaya – Inlay lake

After breakfast, drive to Nyaung Shwe, gate way to Inlay Lake. Arrival, take an excursion by boat on Inlay Lake [about 54 hrs ], to see the Intha-fishermen rowing with their legs, Pagoda on artificial islands in the lake, floating gardens and floating market [ on market's day only ], continue to Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, one of the main principle shrines in Myanmar and dating back to the 18th century; the Nga Phe Kyaung Monastery, famous for its jumping cats trained by monks and the weaving village of Inpawkhon. Stay overnight on the Inlay Lake.

Day 16

Indein sightseeing, Fly back to Yangon

After breakfast, you have a chance to study more the life style of leg-rowing Intha people. Enjoy a boat tour to Indeinn at the western end of the Lake where you can watch the farmers cultivate their products. Visit the 16th century pagoda complex of Indeinn. To get experience the life style of lake dwellers their way of maneuvering with one leg rowing. The net they use to cast down for fishing in shallow water is also something interesting to attract the tourists. In the evening, transfer to airport and fly back to Yangon. Upon arrival, transfer for dinner. After that, back to hotel. Stay overnight in Yangon.

Day 17

Yangon

After breakfast. We will start our Yangon sightseeing tour includes the city center where Sule Pagoda located to see the bustling life of Yangon and City Hall. Then visit Bogyoke Aung San Market (former Scott’s Market), where one can buy many items in one place. This Market was built in British colonial times and has a colonial shape. The tour continues to “Chaukhtathgyi Pagoda” it is the fourth largest colossal reclining image in Myanmar and 67m long. In the evening, visit the most magnificent and spectacular religious edifice, Shwedagon Pagoda before the sun set and enjoy the beauty stupa while it changes the shining of gold in different tones according to the radiant of the setting sun. back to hotel. Stay overnight in Yangon.

Day 18

Yangon – departure

Time at leisure to pursue individual interests until your transfer to the airport. Your guide will pick you up the hotel and accompany you to the airport. Depart from Yangon. End of services. Finish your 18 day tour to Vietnam Myanmar

Price & Bookings

Tour Price Includes :

  • A/c private car/van/minibus for pick up, transfer & sightseeing as per program.
  • International  flight : Hanoi – Yangon ( Economy class )
  • Domestic flights : Ha Noi – Hue; Da Nang – HCMC ( Economy class ).
  • Domestic flight : Yangon – Bagan; Madalay – Heho; Heho – Yangon ( Economy class )
  • English speaking tour guide.
  • Private boat trip on Halong bay.
  • Private boat trips in Hue & the Mekong Delta.
  • Private boat trips in Inlay Lake.
  • All entrance fees & cyclo tour.
  • Hotel accommodation based Twin/Double share basis.
  • Half board package meals indicated as : B = Breakfast; L = Lunch; D = Dinner.
  • Approved letter of arrival for Vietnamese visa.

Tour Price Excludes :

  • International flight to/from Vietnam
  • Travel insurance.
  • Drinks & other meals not mentioned in the program.
  • Personal expenses.

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