Your Vietnam journey begins with your arrival in Hanoi. Your private driver will meet you at the airport, holding a signboard with your name. He will escort you to your accommodation right in the heart of the city, with the fascinating Old Quarter at your fingertips. You can easily explore the city at your own pace or relax at the hotel after the flight.
Overnight in Hanoi.
Today you will have a full-day exploration of a unique Asian city with tree-lined boulevards, French colonial architecture, peaceful lakes, and oriental pagodas and temples dating back thousand years ago.
The guide will pick you up at your hotel from 8:00-8:45 am. Start your exploration by visiting the Ho Chi Minh complex, including Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, the final resting place of Vietnamese great father and President Ho Chi Minh’s stilt house, where he lived and worked from 1958 to 1969. Then visit Ho Chi Minh Museum where you will learn about his devotion to Vietnam. Then continue to Tran Quoc pagoda, a Buddhist temple, and national heritage, lying on one side of West Lake.
Then proceed to the Ethnology Museum (apply on Sun, Tue, Thu & Sat). Here you will find the diversity of the culture of 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam.
Have lunch at a local restaurant. After lunch, drive to the Temple of Literature, which is the first university in Vietnam. It is an ancient architecture, constructed in 1073 to worship Confucius and the Chu Van An – headmaster of the Imperial College – representing the high moral philosophy and ethics of Vietnamese education. After an amazing time in the Temple of Literature drive back to Hoan Kiem Lake to visit Ngoc Son Temple and see the Vietnamese and French architecture around the lake. Tour ends.
Overnight in Hanoi.
Today you will experience the ancient culture and history of Vietnam together with seeing the stunning landscape and beautiful scenery when we travel to Ninh Binh. Your guide will pick you up from your hotel around 7:30-8:00 am and depart to Ninh Binh province.
The first destination to visit is Hoa Lu ancient capital. Here you will explore the outstanding architecture of King Dinh and King Le temples, the first emperors of ancient Vietnam.
Then move to Tam Coc wharf, where you will have lunch with Vietnamese food. And then board the rowing boat and cruise along the river through the limestone caves. After the boat trip, you will take a cycling trip around the idyllic village through the rice fields to explore the surrounding sceneries.
Then come back to the shuttle bus to return to your hotel in Hanoi.
Overnight in Hanoi.
In the morning, check out of the hotel, and get picked up by the Cruise team. Take the most scenic route to reach Halong Bay, taking you across the Red River Delta with emerald green rice paddies stretching for as far as the eyes can see.
On arrival at the pier, you will board the cruise and enjoy the fantastic views of limestone rocks and the karst grottoes. Have an utterly delicious seafood lunch and enjoy the time at the sundeck exploring the Bay.
The cruise will stop in a secret place where you will spend time kayaking or swimming, so you can explore the karst grottoes closer. Towards the evening, you will return to the boat for an early dinner, followed by some time at leisure. You can optionally attend the activities taking part on the boat or just relax.
Overnight on cruise.
Note: In case of bad weather (the boat is not allowed to push off or not allowed to overnight in the sea), the Ha Long bay tour could be cancelled without notice. We will consider other replacement tour or refund based on the specific circumstances.
Rise early today to view the sunrise at the wonder of nature with breakfast served in the dining room. A Tai Chi class on the sun deck will awake your mind and muscles.
Then head off to visit the limestone cave full of stalagmites and stalactites. After your exploration return to the boat to check out and enjoy the brunch while the cruise is sailing back to the harbor. Later you will be transferred to Hanoi to have some rest. Then our driver will meet you and transfer you to the airport for your flight to Ho Chi Minh. Upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh, you will be transferred to your accommodation in the city centre.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh.
Kick start your day with a hearty breakfast, and a trip to Mekong Delta follows. The guide will meet you at the hotel lobby around 7:15-7:30 am, and you will head to My Tho, which lies on the left side of the Mekong River.
Upon arrival, board the sampan and cruise down the river around the four beautiful islands, known as Dragon, Unicorn, Phoenix, and Tortoise islands. Stop at Unicorn Island, walk around the country lanes and see the orchards. Visit fruit plantations and enjoy tropical fruits and folk song music performed by the local people.
Then take a hand-rowed sampan through Thoi Son canal and immerse yourself in the beauty of the countryside. Visit family workshops and honey-bee farm, and taste some honey tea and coconut candies.
Refuel yourself with a traditional Vietnamese lunch, and later cycle around the Tan Thach village, and meet the local villagers to experience the local daily life in the Mekong Delta. If you are not keen on a cycling trip, enjoy a cool breeze and a relaxing time in a hammock. Afterwards, you will get back to your accommodation.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh.
Relish a healthy breakfast on the final day of your trip to Vietnam. Complete the hotel check-out formalities, after which you can visit the local markets to buy souvenirs for your loved ones. Later your private driver will transfer you to the airport to take your flight back home.
Trip Ends.
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Overall was good. I am thankful for your effort to help me whenever I contacted.
We extended two days for a private trip to Sapa. We intended to take a private car but was suggested to take a sharing bus instead to save the budget. They’re right. The bus was convenient even though the distance was quite long. About 5 hours but we were still comfortable. The first day of trekking was quite long and we had to ride a bike at the end. The weather has changed during a day like four seasons of a year (the guide said that). Our guide was helpful. He knew everything there to suggest us good restaurants and local market to buy souvenir. All hotels and cruise during the trips were situated in good locations. Staff was nice. Our cruise didn’t flow Halong bay but Lan Ha. They were similar. Outdoor activities were great. Good sundeck. Mekong was great as well.
The first hotel was not clean. The washroom has a lot of hair on the floor. After we reported, we had a free upgrade to better room as a compensation. They remained it for call 2 as well. Good listener. We felt fine after all. Vietnam World Tour even upgraded the cruise cabin with balcony for us. Other things were good as their promise. I highly recommend this agent. They were supportive and reliable.
We changed Hoa Lu into Bai Dinh day tour. We had a wonderful time visiting Bai Dinh Pagoda and a relaxing boat ride in Trang An. The guide was helpful, brought us so much info and personal insights about the places. Thank David for updating my trip daily. Everything was like his description. Before the trip, I had asked him many enquiries but he was always willing to answer.
Everything went as planned. The one time a hotel had no record of our booking, they just contacted our tour Rep and it was cleared up.
