Along Vietnam Coastline 16 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 Orientation (B, L, G)

Today, you will visit some highlights of Hanoi. You will first visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum’s complex including Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ho Chi Minh Museum, his simple house-on-stilt and the nearby One-Pillar Pagoda. You will then visit the oldest pagoda in Hanoi, Tran Quoc Pagoda.

After lunch, you will visit the Temple of Literature, the first university in Vietnam dating back to the 11th century. You will then drive to the excellent Ethnology Museum for an overview of Vietnam’s 54 distinct ethnic groups. You will finish your day by a visit to the centre of Hanoi including Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple. You will spend the night 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.

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Day 4: Ha Long/Cat Ba Island (Brunch, G)

In the morning, you will take another smaller boat and cruise to Cat Ba Island. You’ll dock at Cat Ba Island at around noon time. The rest of the day will be free. You will spend the night in Cat Ba Island.

Day 5: Cat Ba (B, L, G)

Today, your guide will take you to the National Park to hike through the forest. Although the distance is only about 18 km, it will take at least 6 hours to cover the undulating terrain. You’ll spend the night in Cat Ba town.

Day 6: Cat Ba Island/Hai Phong/Hanoi (B, L, G)

The morning will be free for you to relax on a nearby sandy beach or while away your time in the small seafront town. After lunch, you’ll board the hydrofoil trip to Hai Phong where a car and driver will be waiting to return you to Hanoi where you will spend the night.

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

Your morning will be free until your car arrives to take you to the airport for a noon flight to Danang. On arrival in Danang, you will visit the remarkable Hindu statuary in the Cham Museum before leaving for Hoi An. In the afternoon, 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/Nha Trang (B, DP)

Today, you will take a short flight to Nha Trang. On arrival, you’ll find a car and driver waiting to take you to your hotel, which will overlook the Bay. You’ll spend the night in Nha Trang.

Day 11: Full day private boat trip in Nha Trang (B, L, G)

After breakfast, a car will arrive to take you to board a boat for a whole-day cruise to some of the small islands in the bay. You’ll anchor off Mun Island for snorkelling and a glass bottom basket boat ride to see colourful corals and the mysterious marine life. You’ll then cruise to Tam Island for swimming or relax on the beach before heading to visit Tri Nguyen Aquarium on Mieu Island.

If you wish, you can join with other tourists to the ‘music entertainment’ with a wine and fruit party, followed by a seafood lunch on Tre Island. In the late afternoon, you’ll get back to the mainland and drive to your hotel. You’ll spend the night in Nha Trang.

Day 12: Nha Trang free (B)

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

Day 13: Nha Trang/Phan Thiet/Mui Ne (B, DP)

In the morning, you’ll drive from Nha Trang to Phan Thiet, then to Mui Ne beach, one of the best beaches in Vietnam and famous for its huge rolling dunes. There is a good range of hotels on the beach, some offering accommodation in bamboo villas and bungalows. Many have very attractive, well-kept gardens. Large trees and palms screen the hotels from each other creating a sense of seclusion. There are also plenty of restaurants along the beach road – a mixture of Vietnamese and international.

You’ll have time to relax, swim or sunbathe as you wish. Your accommodation will be in a hotel on the beach.