Vietnam Heritage Tour 10 Days

Day 1: Arrival at Hanoi (D, GP)

Arriving at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel. After a short rest, you will have a cyclo ride around the bustling streets of Hanoi and discover the city’s architectural mixture of French colonial style, pagodas and communal houses with many Chinese features, merchants’ residences, ‘tube’ dwellings, modern buildings…

In the evening, you will enjoy a water puppet show – an art form unique to the rural Northern Vietnam culture. After the show, you’ll have dinner at a restaurant in a restored French colonial building. You will spend the night in Hanoi.

Day 2: Hanoi’s tangible and intangible heritage (B, L, G)

An all-day tour of Vietnam’s thousand-year-old capital city, possibly including the Ethnology Museum and the Art Museum. In the afternoon, you’ll visit the stilt house of a famous Vietnamese artist to view his antique collection and restoration work. Next, you’ll meet another talented painter who will enjoy showing you his lacquer and oil painting artwork. Your guide can then show you the bustling Old Quarter. Apart from its maze of small streets, it’s an architectural pot-pourri – traditional tube houses, religious buildings, colonial houses, artisans’ dwellings and modern concrete constructions. Your overnight stay will be in Hanoi.

Day 3: Hanoi/Ha Long (B, L, D, G)

After breakfast at hotel, you’ll leave for Ha Long Bay, one of the most spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Areas and the world’s largest marine limestone ‘karst’ landscape. There you’ll board your boat, a wooden junk built in a traditional style. The boat cruise will take you to visit Sung Sot Cave (Amazing Cave) which is considered one of the biggest and finest caves in the Bay. The boat will then stop at a beach for you to swim before continue cruising to a quiet area for the night. All your meals will be provided on board, usually based on fresh seafood, and you’ll sleep in a twin cabin with an en-suite toilet and shower.

Day 4: Ha Long/Hanoi (Brunch, G)

You’ll spend the morning cruising Ha Long Bay, followed by brunch just before docking around noon and leaving for Hanoi. The rest of the day in Hanoi will be free at your leisure. You will spend the night in Hanoi.

Day 5: Hanoi/Hue (B, G)

Your morning will be free until your car arrives to take you to the airport for a noon flight to Hue. Arriving in Hue, you will visit the Imperial Citadel of Hue and the local Dong Ba market. You’ll spend the night in Hue.

Day 6: Hue (B, L, D, G)

After breakfast at hotel, you will take a short cruise along the Perfume River to visit to the Thien Mu Pagoda. From there, you’ll continue by boat to the Royal Tombs of Emperor Minh Mang, one of the most beautiful and majestic Royal Tombs. You will then return to Hue by car and have lunch in local restaurant.

In the afternoon, you will one of city’s ‘garden houses’, talk to a cup of green tea with the owner, also, a famous historian and then return to your hotel to freshen-up. The dinner today will in a pleasant surroundings of another garden houses where you will enjoy some of the most typical dishes of Hue’s cuisine. You’ll spend the night in Hue.

Day 7: Hue/Danang/Hoi An (B, L, G)

In the morning, your car will arrive to drive you to Danang via the high mountain pass of Hai Van. You will then visit the remarkable Hindu statuary in the Cham Museum before leaving for Hoi An. After lunch, you’ll have a guided visit the 400-year old Japanese Covered Bridge, the Phuc Kien Assembly Halls…in the Ancient Town of Hoi An. You’ll spend the night in Hoi An.

Day 8: Hoi An/My Son/Hoi An (B, G)

Today, you will visit the World Heritage ‘My Son Sanctuary’. Your guide will show you the remains of the remarkable towers constructed by the Cham builders, many centuries ago – their origins and purpose have yet to be fully explained. Although, their towers were badly bombed in the American war, but are still impressive, as is its remote valley setting. The complex is set in a quiet, richly forested area bisected by a clear stream. However, the tree cover is not complete and the valley acts as suntrap, so good sun protection is important.

You will then return to Hoi An and have the rest of the day free to wander around the ancient town. You’ll spend the night in Hoi An.

Day 9: Hoi An free (B)

The day will be free for strolling in the town, lazing on the beach, or whatever takes your fancy. You’ll spend the night in Hoi An.

Day 10: Hoi An/Danang/Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City departure (B, DP)

You will be free until your car arrives to take you to the airport for flight to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City in good time to connect your departure flight. Tour ends.