16 Days Vietnam Explorer

Pick up at the airport and then transfer to the hotel by private car with an English speaking guide. Free time.

Overnight at a hotel in Hanoi.

Experience the rich culture of Hanoi. Spend time at the Temple of Literature, One Pillar Pagoda and the Presidential Palace. Visit the Vietnam History Museum and the Hanoi Opera House. Stroll around the Old Quarter and end the day watching a performance of a traditional Water Puppet Show. The evening is free to discover the city at your own way.Night in Hanoi 

Morning: 7.30 am departure to Mai Chau. On the way to Mai Chau, pay a Visit to Hang Pagoda (Ancient Cave pagoda) to enjoy peaceful scenarios and to get a better understanding of the most popular religion - Buddhism. Visiting a Muong ethnic minority village to see stilt-house and their lives. 12.30 am lunch at a restaurant.

Afternoon: 1.30 pm drive to MalChau.  0vernight stilt house - Lac village (Mai Chau guesthouse). Go shopping around Lac Village. Walking through some White Thai villages to see people making traditional dresses and stools.  

Dinner  and overnight at a stilt house. (Optional – Mai Chau Hideaway) http://www.maichauhideaway.com/ 

Am : Breakfast. Short walk to the Muong minority village. Walking through plum & peach gardens to contemplate peaceful scenery. at 12.30 am lunch at the village then transfer to Ninh Binh, Check in Hotel and overnight in Ninh Binh.

Today, you will visit the glimmering Bai Dinh pagoda complexes, the largest pagoda, not only in Vietnam but also in Southeast Asia. Scenically set on the foot hill of Dinh Mountain surrounded by amazing views of the exquisite river valley below and the limestone karsts dotted around which will take your breath away. These pagoda complexes stunningly boast an array of the most massive and magnificent architecture of Vietnamese tradition refined ever built that it takes a full day to explore all. So you will visit some of the highlights that owned the national: 500 stone statues of “La Han” (Arhats), 2 huge bronze bells, one weighs 27 tons, other weighs 36 tones and Three bronze statues of Tam The (50 tons each) then have buffet lunch with Vietnamese Cuisines in our restaurant.

In the afternoon, you arrive at Trang An Wharf – the most exciting boating trip with sampan boats through caves and visit stunning river surrounded by Limestone Karsts with rich fauna and flora. Then reach Halong bay. 

Overnight at hotel in Halong 

AM: breakfast then transfer to boat station, embark a day trip boat for a cruise on Halong Bay. Fresh seafood lunch is served on board while cruising among hundreds of islets to discover unspoilt pockets of Halong Bay.

The boat stops for a visit to the Halong Bay’s largest cave of Sung Sot (Amazing Cave).

After the visit,– Make a stop at Titop Island where you can enjoy a swim or climb to the top of the mountain for a panoramic view of Halong Bay and wonderful photo shoots.

Pm: Transfer back to Haoi .Late this afternoon we caught the train to the old imperial city of Hue. 

Overnight on train - soft sleeper first class. SE1 at 19h30 pm. 

Arriving in Hue at around 9:00 a.m. Pick up and transfer to hotel to leave the luggage (Check in hotel at 14h00) 

Then, the driver and guide will take you to the boat landing on the river to make a trip on Perfume river for visiting Thien Mu pagoda. Along the river on a dragon boat you will enjoy the tranquil feeling with two sides of the green banks’ river and see the daily life of local people.  Have a break for lunch at a restaurant.

This afternoon you will continue to visit the mausoleums of Nguyen’s Kings like Tu Duc tomb,  AndKhai dinh tomb, and are back at the hotel around 5.00 pm. 

Overnight at a hotel in Hue.

Breakfast then  you will be transferred back to Hue city center to visit the Imperial Citadel where Nguyen Dynasty ruled between 1802 and 1945 with numerous of attractive places to see like Flag Tower, Noon Gate, Nine Dynastic Urns, Nine Holy Cannons,Thai Hoa Palace, and Forbidden Purple City. Thai Hoa Palace. Transfer to Hoi An . Spent time in LangCo beach enroute, taking photographs from HaiVan Pass ( The pass of Sea and Cloud). Cham Museum in Danang then  visit Marble Mountain and enjoy sea/sun bathing in DaNang beach. Arrive Hoian. Overnight in Hoi An.

In the morning, We will arrange a boat trip on the Thu Bon River to visit handicraft villages ( Thanh Ha pottery village, Kim Bong carpentry village). Continue to visit Lantern village . Here you will have a brief introduction into the history, shape, and color of the lanterns, as well as the many stages of making them. You can make your own lantern and keep it as a souvenir.

Continue half day to explore Hoi An town: the Japanese Covered Bridge-the symbol of Hoian. Step back in time to discover the Chinese street with stunning PhucKien Hall and Phung Hung old house typical of Hoi An original architecture. We then visit Hoi An vibrant market and ancient port to explore the rhythm of local daily life and savor the true color, flavor and taste of the oriental. Finally, we visited Phuc Thanh Pagoda – the oldest pagoda in Hoi An built in 1454 with Chinese bronze. Drop off at the hotel. 

Overnight in Hoi An.

Being transferred to the airport for the flight to the Beach City of Nha Trang. Pick up and transfer to a hotel in Nha Trang. Short visit to the Po Nagar Cham Tower, LongSonpagoda . Relax and free time at the beach. Overnight at the hotel.

8:00 AM Start from your hotel to Cau Da port in the morning. The Oceanographic Institute near the Nhatrang Port is the first place to visit where you can see the full collection of sea creatures of Nha Trang bay before embarking & cruising to the islands. Many sea species of Nha Trang/Khanh Hoa province make a small ocean world there. Mun Island is the best island for snorkeling where you can see lots of colorful corals and fish. You will also be able to see caves in which the sea swallows make their nests from the boat. Then relaxing, swimming & doing water sports or other activities at Mot Island, Tranh Beach Island or on a small island called “Mini beach”. Taking a fresh lunch at the island or Con se tre village. On the way back you will visit a fishing village before going to the shore. 

Overnight in Nha Trang 

Dalat – the jewel of the Central Highlands. It is featured by a park-like environment, with lovely temperature 15°-24°C and sunlight all year round, which create numerous waterfalls, pinewood hills, lakes and evergreen forests and gardens.

Start from Nha Trang around 8.00 am. Take a new road to Dalat city, namely the city of Eternal Spring and drive over a very beautiful Khanh Le Pass. Don't forget to take a short stop for photos. Upon arrival, you will first visit Datanla waterfalls on the way, about 5 km away from Dalat city center, thenTuyen Lam Reservoir, Truc Lam grandiose Temple. Having lunch, then taking the horse cart round the hilly roads of Dalat to the graceful Xuan Huong Lake in the center of the city is highly recommended. 

Dinner at a local restaurant. Evening, if you like to hike around by yourselves, remember that coffee and cake in Dalat are some of the best in Vietnam and easily to be found in any finer cafes.  

Overnight in Dalat.

After breakfast, you will go on a half day tour around Dalat city. Visit the Summer Palace of Bao Dai, the last King of Vietnam, Dalat Flower Garden & Crazy House. Time is on your own to explore Dalat by yourself before transferring to Dalat airport for flight to HoCHiMinh. Pick up at HoChiMinh airport and transfer to the hotel. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh.

Experience the very best of Ho Chi Minh City on a half-day city tour. Soak up the history of Dong Khoi Street, home to several colonial-style buildings. Visit the Reunification Palace, also known as the Independence Palace, and the poignant War Remnants Museum. In the afternoon experience the Cu Chi Tunnels, an incredible underground network of tunnels, rooms, and passageways used by Vietnamese soldiers. 

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh

After Breakfast, transfer to My Tho – The first bustling town of Mekong Delta. Boat cruise along the Mekong River to visit the orchards on the Thoi Son islet. Enjoy tropical fruits of the season, visit Honey-bee farm and Coconut Candy Workshop; Continuing by hand-oared sampan ride along the canals. Lunch . Visit Vinh Trang Ancient Pagoda before driving back to HoChiMinh. 

Overnight at hotel 

Free time until transfer you to the airport for your flight out of Vietnam. End tour.