Vietnam discovery – 14 days

On arrival at Noi Bai international airport, welcome by our guide and driver, transferred to your hotel in the city center. Leisure time for relaxing after your flight. Stay overnight at your hotel in Ha Noi City.

After breakfast at the hotel. Enjoy a full day in Ha Noi.

Visit the Ho Chi Minh Complex, including the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the Presidential Palace, Ho Chi Minh's house on stilts and the One Pillar Pagoda. Next head to the Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first university (Almost 1000 years old). Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant. After lunch, visit the Museum of Ethnology, Hoan Kiem lake, Ngoc Son temple and enjoy a 1 hour cyclo tour of the old quarter of Hanoi with its busy streets full of shops offering bargains. Dinner at your expense. After dinner you will be transferred to the train station for departure to Sapa on the night train. Stay overnight in an air-conditioned soft sleeper cabin.

Arrive at Lao Cai station at around 6:00am. Transfer from Lao Cai Station to Sapa. Enjoy breakfast and start our trek downhill to Y Linh Ho village in the Muong Hoa Valley. Stroll through rice paddies and small hamlets to witness the lifestyle of hill tribes in the area. Time to speak to local people in Lao Chai village. Continue roaming through villages and rice terraced fields to Ta Van village, home of Dzay ethnic people. Enjoy a picnic lunch along the way and continue on to the base of Sapa valley which is well known to be the most beautiful valley in the area. Head back to Sapa in the afternoon. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Sapa.

Breakfast at the hotel. Start a downhill trek to Cat Cat village, home of the Black H'Mong tribe. Enjoy a nice waterfall in Cat Cat village and beautiful scenery along the way. You will be taken by Jeep back to Sapa. Check out of the hotel. Have lunch at the local restaurant. After lunch, go by car to a village to visit the home of the Red Dao people, stroll around the village to explore the customs, daily life and weaving techniques of the Red Dao people. Transfer to Lao Cai for an overnight train back to Ha Noi. Stay overnight in an air-conditioned soft sleeper cabin.

Arrive Hanoi in the early morning, pick up and transfer to the hotel in the old quarter for shower and breakfast. Pick up from your hotel in Hanoi. Drive to Halong City through paddy fields in the Red River Delta. Stopover on the way for a refreshment break. Board the Junk and enjoy a welcome drink on arrival, check in to your cabin. Enjoy a sea seafood lunch served on board. Cruise on the Bay and enjoy beautiful views of this world natural heritage site with limestone cliffs growing up from the green tranquil water. See Dinh Huong Island, Ga Choi Island, Dog Island and Sail Island. Visit the Vung Vieng fishing village by local rowing boat (01 hour) or Kayak into the village then return to the vessel for your leisure or join one of the following optional activities: Sunbathing, traditional massage, swimming etc Have dinner and relax in the quiet and calm of the Bay. Overnight on board.

6:00 - 09.00 Taking part in Tai Chi class on the sundeck (duration about 30 minutes)

Coffee, tea and pastries… for breakfast are served in the dining room with morning view of bay’s landscape.
Transfer by tender to Sung Sot Cave. Walk up about 100 steps to the cave entrance. It takes approximately 45 minutes for cave visiting. Return to the boat by tender.

9:00 - 11:30 Check out

Have a set menu brunch while cruising back to the Tuan Chau Wharf. Relax on the sundeck or in the dining room enjoying the bay scenery as approaching the wharf.

11:30am Transfer by tender to Tuan Chau Wharf. Say goodbye to the crew. Back to Ha Noi. Transfer to Noi Bai airport to board flight VN 1545 to Hue (20.10-21.20pm). You will be picked up and transferred to your hotel. Dinner on guests account. Stay overnight at your hotel in Hue City.

After breakfast at your hotel, enjoy a morning boat trip on the Perfume River. Visit the royal tomb of Emperor Tu Duc, Thien Mu pagoda and the mausoleum of Emperor Minh Mang, set in gardens and lakes. In the afternoon, visit Dong Ba market and the Imperial Citadel from where the Nguyen Dynasty ruled between1802 and 1945, and the ruins of the Purple Forbidden City. Enjoy a night boat trip on the Perfume River, highlighted by a performance of Hue folk music. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Hue city.

Have breakfast at your hotel before departing for Hoi An. Stop for photo opportunities and sightseeing at Hai Van pass, Lang Co beach and Marble mountain. Lunch at the local restaurant. In the afternoon, roam around town and visit the Japanese Covered Bridge, a Pottery Museum, Old House of Tan Ky, the Cantonese congregation, silk street of Hoi An and Danang-style temples and pagodas. Dinner at your expense. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Hoi An.

After breakfast at the hotel, depart for My Son to visit the Cham Holy land (World Heritage listed). Spend over an hour driving to My Son, a World Heritage. Located in a lush valley, My Son was a capital and religious center of Cham people, now remaining with red brick towers and sanctuaries. My Son, 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 was built from the 7 to 13 centuries.  Return to Hoi An. Have lunch at the local restaurant, leisure time in the afternoon for your own activites. Dinner on guest’s account. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Hoi An.

Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer to Danang airport to board flight VN 1307 to Ho Chi Minh City (8.00-9.10am).

On arrival at Tan Son Nhat airport, you will be picked up and transferred to your hotel. Take a sightseeing tour to Reunification Palace, which was the former residence of the until the end of April 1975. Visit some fantastic French colonial structures including the Notre Dame cathedral and the Old Central Post Office. Lunch at the local restaurant. Next, head to town and visit Thien Hau & Quan Am pagodas. After seeing the Emperor Jade Pagoda and the War Remnants Museum we end the city tour with a trip to Ben Thanh markets, where anything and everything is up for sale. Dinner on guest’s account. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Ho Chi Minh City.

After breakfast at your hotel, head west to Cao Dai Headquarters. On arrival, attend the fantastic mid-day temple service where followers fill the hall wearing colorful robes, a symbol of the curious combination of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. Lunch at the local restaurant. On the way back, visit Cu Chi Tunnels, an underground network of tunnels constructed by Vietnamese fighters during the struggle for independence. The tunnels contained hospitals, accommodation, etc. and were used as a military base for the Vietcong during the American war. Return to Ho Chi Minh City. Dinner on guest’s account. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Ho Chi Minh City.

Breakfast at your hotel. Depart for Cai Be by air-conditioned private car. Board a Mekong sampan. Welcome aboard with a complimentary drink. Cruise down the river and explore the lively Cai Be floating market. Cruise through the intricate maze of waterways to visit handicraft villages, meet local people, be invited inside their homes and sample various tropical fruit. Next the sampan sets sail to Can Tho via Tra On. Take a leisurely cruise along the Mekong River to Mang Thit whilst enjoying aperitifs and a magnificent sunset over the river. Dinner and stay overnight on board.

Wake to the sounds of the Mekong Delta coming to life at the start of another wonderful day. Take a leisurely cruise up the Bassac River (Hau Giang River) and enjoy the amazing scenery. On arrival at Can Tho, explore Cai Rang market, one of the liveliest floating markets in the Mekong Delta where hundreds of small boats laden with fruit jostle for space as owners attempt to sell their goods. Cruise along a palm-shaded canal to see traditional-style houses in which the local people live as well as lush orchards, busy ship-building yards and bustling markets where they make their livelihoods. It is now time to disembark from the boat. You will be met by a car and taken to lunch in a local restaurant. Lunch is at your own expense. Return to HCMC with a stopover at the bonsai gardens in My Tho. Arrive back in Ho Chi Minh City late afternoon. Dinner at your own expense. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice inHo Chi Minh city.

Breakfast at your hotel. Enjoy free leisure time until your transfer to the airport for departure. End of services. Finish your Vietnam discovery tour.