Deluxe Vietnam

Pick up at the airport and transfer to your hotel for check-in and relax. Overnight in Hanoi.Reception at the airport. Transfer to the hotel and check-in. The rest of the day is at leisure.

After breakfast, spend a day touring the capital. Visit Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and his personal residence, the One Pillar Pagoda and the Tran Quoc Pagoda. End the morning with a visit to the Museum of Women. In the afternoon, visit the Temple of Literature, the first University for the sons of mandarins. Follow this with a walking tour through the old quarter of the city. Visit a local house and take your time talking with the hosts and learn about their family’s life and history. Continue to Ngoc Son Temple nearby Hoan Kiem Lake. End the day with a leisurely ride on a rickshaw around the city and through its hidden alleyways. Overnight in Hanoi.

After breakfast, ready for an unforgettable trip to the magnificent Halong Bay embarking on a cruise from Lan Ha Bay. Upon arrival, welcome onboard and check in to your cabin. You will have some time to relax before having lunch while the cruise makes it way deeper into the bay. You will also enjoy different dramatic karst formations that sometimes seem as though they are floating in the sky which will inspire and delight you.This route is one of the highlights of the cruise as the area still keeps its untouched beauty. In the afternoon, enjoy an excursion to a serene area with pristine beaches, spectacular beauty, and home to many fascinating islands. For those who love adventure, try on kayaking experience and for those who love the water, just simply immerse in the crystal clear waters of the bay. (Program might change slightly depending on the specific cruise and the weather) Return the cruise, relax or enjoy exotic spa treatments (own expense) in the extraordinary surroundings, especially as the sun goes down and as time appears to stand still. Traditional cooking demonstration on the sundeck with chef is available for those interested in learning Vietnamese dishes while the cruise continues sailing to the overnight area. Enjoy a delicious dinner on board. End the first day with a peaceful overnight stay onboard. Note: Your tour guide will be replaced by a local guide on board during your cruise.

Begin your day with a relaxing morning Tai Chi Class instructed by a specialist on the deck while seeing the sunbeam dancing on the emerald water across the bay as the cool fresh breeze creeps into your face and hair. Enjoy your breakfast onboard while cruising back. Relax onboard or take part in an interesting excursion to visit the mysterious caves on the bay (Program might change slightly depending on the specific cruise and the weather).

Hoi An’s food is about simplicity and it is as local as it gets. Today let’s explore Hoi An with its stunningly rich gastronomy history and culture in the morning, escorted by trainees / graduates at STREETS - an NGO-Social Enterprise that prepares vulnerable, orphaned, out-of-school, and disadvantaged youth for professional careers in the hospitality and tourism industry. The experience focuses on the culture of noodles and noodle making in Hoi An and throughout Vietnam. Enjoy the market tour to learn about Vietnamese ingredients from fresh vegetables to live seafood. After that, visit a local noodle stall, learn how noodle is made, taste the authentic flavors and hands-on making your own lunch – the famous local My Quang. In the afternoon, enjoy a walking tour in the old town. Explore the remnants of the town’s trading days and its Old Quarter with 850 magnificent old structures still line the streets; the old tile-roofed shop houses, shady pagodas and colorful communal halls. Visit Phuc Kien Pagoda and the Japanese wooden bridge. Overnight in Hoi An.

After breakfast, transfer to Danang Airport for a morning flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). On arrival, proceed to your hotel and check in. In the afternoon, enjoy a full day exploring the city. Visit the former Presidential Palace, or as it is known today - the Reunification Palace. Then head to the historical heart of the city and visit the Notre Dame Cathedral (outside visit only due to its renovation). The red bricks of the cathedral walls were originally from Paris, France. From there, take a short walk to the old Central Post Office. After that, visit the best-preserved buildings from the colonial era, the Opera House and the Hotel de Ville now home to Saigon’s municipal authorities. Continue to Catinat building. Built in 1927, in an art deco style, it has once again become a hub for fashion conscious Saigonese and contains many designer boutiques, galleries, restaurants and cafés. Overnight in Saigon. *Optional: cocktail tasting at Saigon’s best local pubs Pick up at your hotel, stop at a cozy speak easy bar to enjoy dinner paired with signature cocktails, and have a chat with the mixologist who are always enthusiastic of what they are doing. This bar is one of the stand-out young start up business in town. After dinner, you will be driven around some local corners where they can capture the local night life, our guide can also give some suggestions for other hidden cocktails bars specialized in Gin or Whisky or mixed.

Pick up at your hotel in Saigon, head to Tien Giang Province for a wonderful excursion in Mekong Delta. Board on a wooden cruise crossing 2 branches of Mekong River and heading to Long Thanh village. Make a stop to visit a local factory to see how coal is made from coconut hard-shell then back to the boat and continue your cruising trip to Tam Hiep Island. Upon arrival at the island, stretch your leg a bit before starting your biking trip on small village paths through huge orchards to reach a special farm where the local farmers plant only the creepers (called La Sam in Vietnamese). With the guidance of the farmers, pick some leaves, try making the herbal jelly yourself and enjoy it later. After this interesting activity, head to a honey bee’s farm and observe the process of making longan honey. Enjoy a cup of tea with honey and lime juice before enjoying a cruising trip on the rowing boat to go deeper into the countryside via smaller canals. After lunch, visit some other local workshops to see how coconut candies are made and enjoy traditional music before ending your trip in Mekong. Drive back to Saigon and arrive in the late afternoon. Overnight in Saigon.

After breakfast, relax until transfer to the airpot for your departure flight.