Authentic Vietnam: Tour & Travel 18 Days - Private 18 Days 17 Nights

8.00: Start a short walk from Hau Thao Village to Giang Ta Chai, to further area of Sapa to sea wild scenery, quite villages with green fields on the way. You will reach the village Dzay, H’mong minorities from where you can enjoy views over endless rice paddies. Continue our trek to another trail through rice paddy fields with some houses. Their house  is normally built of land and  has no windows because of the cold in the winter. It is possible to stop by a primary school (close at weekend and summer time) for a quick visit. Transfer to Hanoi by shared sleeping bus (6 hours) to back to Hanoi.

Arrival in to Hanoi at around 22.00, tour guide will pick up and transfer to hotel for check in. Overnight in Hanoi.

Includes: Transport; English speaking guide; meals: breakfast and lunch; all entrance fees; sleeping bus from Sapa to Hanoi.

08.00: Meet your tour guide at your hotel. We will drive around 2.5 hours to Hoa Lu - the historic capital of Viet Nam and the famous ancient temples of the Le and the Dinh Dynasties. You can see the royal citadel where the emperors lived and know more about part of feudal dynasties and historical periods in Vietnamese history.

Then you will have buffet lunch featuring Vietnamese cuisine in a local restaurant.

Continue to take a boat trip on Tam Coc, which is known as “Ha Long Bay on land”. You will have a chance to see views of majestic limestone cliffs and three mysterious caves, as well as countryside with peaceful streams, local houses, rice paddiesand deserted green fields.
Come to hotel for check in, then you will have free time to take a rest, see local market or take a free biking trip to see a peaceful village, to Thai Vi Temple, Bich Dong Pagoda or Mua Cave (Dancing Cave). Overnight in Tam Coc 

Includes: Hotel; transport; English speaking guide; meals: breakfast and lunch; all entrance fees, bike

08.00: Our tour guide and car pick you up from your hotel, transfer to Ha Long Bay.

08.30: Departure to Ha Long Bay for 4,5hours, including a short break on the middle way and depends on the traffic 

12.00: Arrive to Tuan Chau Harbor, 12:15 Welcome to cruise and enjoy Welcome drink, get a brief introduction about cruise and safety guidelines. Check-in your cabin.

12.30: Enjoy Vietnamese seafood and vegetarian lunch, while cruising in the magnificent Halong Bay, admiring the fascinating rock formations in the bay.

15.00: You at Tung Gau Area. The airy and fresh air, cool breezes, blue sea and sky, and natural seascape will captivate any visitors setting foot here. Especially, Tung Gau of Lan Ha Bay is extremely suitable for enjoying kayaking and swiming and then Visiting Halong Pearl Farm Village

17.30: Come back to our cruise and relax.

19.30: Time for dinner enjoying special food on the cruise.

21.00: Evening entertainments: play games on the cruise: cards game, chess, karaoke, squid fishing, and overnight on the cruise.

Includes: Cabin on cruise, Transport; English speaking guide; meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner; kayaking; swimming; all entrance fees

06.30: Early morning sun risers can enjoy Tai Chi lesson on sundeck.

07.00: Morning view of bay’s landscape with a cup of tea or coffee. Have a breakfast.

08:00: Arriving Sung Sot Cave (Amazing Cave) and joining with guide to visiting and explore the cave

10:00: Check-out and enjoy a fantastic cruise on the bay. Join cooking class guided directly by our chef cruise. You have chance to practice Vietnamese traditional dishes such as spring roll or famous cuisine of Vietnam.

11:00: Enjoy the lunch on cruise.

12:00: Our cruise are landing in Ha Long Bay Harbor, tourist say goodbye to sailors and finish the cruise.

12:30: Return to Hanoi by shuttle bus.

14:30: Stopover in Hai Duong Province to visit a ceramics workshop.

16:00 – 16:30: Arrive in Hanoi. Free at leisure or you can arrange your own dinner

Then, guide transfer you to Noi Bai Airport for fly to Hue. Tour guide in Hue pick up and transfer to hotel for check in. Overnight in Hue

Includes: Hotel; transport; English speaking guide; meals: breakfast and lunch; all entrance fees

08.30: Our tour guide will pick you up at hotel for Hue city tour. We start to visit Thanh Toan Bridge - The only other tiled roof bridge in Vietnam aside from the one in Hoi An. This wooden arch bridge has been built for the local villagers who are out for farming and fishing. The old bridge served and still serving the local villagers on their daily life needs. The bridge connects the local market and the village houses. 

Visit Minh Mang tomb - The tomb of the most beloved Emperor of Nguyen dynasty. Minh Mang Tomb is considered as the most majestic of all of the Royal Tombs. The impressive architecture that complements with the nature gives you a good impression of the Emperor who lives within the walls of the 18 hectares tomb.

Continue to Khai Dinh tomb - The smallest but the most expensive tomb of all. Every corner of the tomb is very detailed which reflects how luxurious the emperor was. Lunch in a restaurant that serves Western, Asian and Vietnamese food.

Afterward, we keep going to Citadel - Imperial City, which is the home of Vietnam's last royal dynasty - the Nguyen Dynasty. This is the highlight of the tour. You will learn the rise, struggles and fall of the Nguyen Dynasty and how it affected the whole country. 

We will take a short stop in Thien Mu Pagoda - the oldest pagoda in Hue city. Then, get on a dragon boat cruise to see the sunset on the way back to the city. 

After the tour, drop you off at your hotel in Hue. Overnight in Hue.

Includes: Hotel; transport; English speaking guide; meals: breakfast and lunch; all entrance fees

Breakfast at hotel.

08.00: Pick up and transfer to Hoi An along Highway No1 which links Hanoi in the North to Sai Gon in the South of Vietnam. This driving is reputedly by the beautiful landscapes in all Vietnam, taking you past coastal fishing settlements, most notably Lang Co with its stunning lagoon backdrop. The driving also takes you over Hai Van pass (or "pass of the ocean clouds"). Lunch will be served in a local restaurant in Hoian.

In the afternoon: take a visit of My Son Sanctuary which was once an imperial city during the Champa dynasty, between the 4th and the 12th centuries. It comprises many Champa temples, in a valley roughly two kilometers wide, surrounded by two mountain ranges. It was the site of religious ceremony of kings of the Champa dynasty, and was also a burial place of Champa royals and national heroes. Spend about 1.5 hour to see a large complex of religious relics that comprises more than 65 architectural works. In 1999, UNESCO labeled the Cham architecture in My Son as a World Cultural Heritage Site. Overnight in Hoi An

Includes: Hotel; transport; English speaking guide; meals: breakfast and lunch; all entrance fees

08.00: Picking you up at your hotel by mini- van, we will bring you over the countryside where bike are available to ride (If you don't know how to ride bicycles, you can take an optional choice with scooter "XE OM" services and pay extra about 120,000 VND ~ 6 USD).

You start the day by cycling to the local farmer in Cam Thanh Ecological village. Here you are greeted by a local host and then you join with them how to grow wet rice with their family.

Starting farming work like plough and raking with buffalo, riding water buffalo, learning how to transplant rice, flooding farm, grinding rice, pounding rice.

After then, our guide and van will bring down to a local fishing village. You will be boarded on boat.

Joining to go fishing with local fishermen at Phuoc Hai local fishing boat to experience local cast net CHAI.

Continue to visit water coconut palm jungle, enjoying the basket boat and visiting the water coconut palm forest.

Learn how to learn origami such as grasshoppers, flowers, rings, caps, bracelets toys made from water coconut leaves...,

Having fun to catch crab around the water coconut palm forest and after then boarding back boat, morning time you will get lunch and afternoon time you will get dinner on boat, and cold beer or soft drink we will bring you back to your hotel. Free and easy visit Hoi An in afternoon. Overnight in Hoi An.

Includes: Hotel; transport; English speaking guide; meals: breakfast and lunch; all entrance fees

08.00: Take a short visit Hoi An Ancient Town

You will be collected at your hotel lobby, start taking a tour around the town: Walk to the ancient city, visit the Kwan Temple, Phuc Kien Chinese Assembly Hall, Tan Ky Old House, Japanese Cover Bridge and Historic & Cultural Museum in Hoi An. Then you have a traditional music performance & visit Hoi An’s handicraft workshop before coming back to the hotel.

Keep going to transfer to Kon Tum (288km). On the way, we will stop some times for short breaks and taking photo, a light lunch or enjoy more natural and historical tourist attractions such as: the major Dakto Battlefield during the American war, Charlie Hill, small waterfall, rice fields or Cham Tower. After having lunch, you will keep going to KonTum and arriving around 18.00 at your hotel in Kon Tum

Includes: Hotel; transport; English speaking guide; meals: breakfast and lunch; all entrance fees

Breakfast at hotel.

08.30: We will do a a venture out to visit Gia Rai villages. The Gia Rai hill tribe group believes in the existence of genies and hold rituals connected to this faith. The group is a matriarchal society, in which the women are free to choose who they marry. The husband lives with the wife’s family and inheritance is passed on to the daughters. Each village has a communal house called a rong, a central stilt house with a tall, steeply pitched thatched roof. No nails are used in the bamboo construction.

In the afternoon, we will take a transfer with about 1hour, driving to visit the Sodra people in Kon Ray and Kon Bil Villages. Their homes are long stilt houses built out of bamboo and straw, secured with rattan. Keep driving to a Jo Long hill tribe village called Kon Du, catching glimpses of hand weaving on giant looms or the eerie wooden statues in the cemeteries.  

After checking in of the hotel, drive 30-minutes to the Bhanar Village of Kon Ko Tu. On arrival, start a 4-km trek from Kon Ko Tu Village along the Dak Bla Riverbank, where local villagers are hard at work tending buffaloes, preparing crops for harvest, and transporting their produce to the village market. Return by a pirogue to Kon Ko Tu village.

Tonight’s dinner is a local treat, including a Gong show and Xoang dancing and the chance to sample some local rice wine. Overnight in a homestay

Includes: Hotel; transport; English speaking guide; meals: breakfast and lunch; all entrance fees

Check out and drive back 30-minutes to Kon Tum to explore the town’s old wooden church. It is an interesting blend of hill tribe and European architecture, Bishop’s House, Orphanage, Bana Village – one among the first minority groups in Central Highlands admiring the beautiful Rong house, Iron Suspension bridge, and Kontum Prison.

Depart from Kon Tum to Buon Ma Thuot in 5hrs, passing by countless coffee, rubber, and pepper plantations.

Close to Buon Ma Thuot, stop to enjoy the scenery and panoramic views of the lowland country. The region is inhabited by Jarai hill tribe, the largest ethnic group in the Central Highlands with an estimated population of 330,000 people.

After checking in the hotel, visit the local market with a huge array of fresh food, if time permits. It is a must to have some coffee on this journey. Buon Ma Thuot has lovely outdoor coffee shops to blend in with the locals and laze away the evenings. Overnight in Buon Ma Thuot

Includes: Hotel; transport; English speaking guide; meals: breakfast and lunch; all entrance fees

Breakfast at hotel. Transfer to the airport for your flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Arrive in Ho Chi Minh City, transfer to the restaurant for lunch. After lunch, check in and free at leisure.

In the afternoon, visit Central Post Office, designed by Gustave Eiffel, and Notre Dame Cathedral, inspired by its counterpart in Paris.

Next, visit the moved War Remnants Museum which presents a partial, but riveting, view of the American war, as it is known in Vietnam.

Continue your city tour with a visit to District 5, formerly known as Cho Lon or Chinatown. Cho Lon, or ‘big market’, with its congested streets is where most of the city’s ethnic Chinese population lives. The district lives up to its name in the form of Binh Tay wholesale markets. Founded in 1778 the market sells a stunning array of goods and produce, ranging from fish to incense.

We will finish our city tour with a stop at the Thien Hau temple, otherwise known as ‘The Temple of the Heavenly Lady’, to marvel at its intricate friezes and coils of incense. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Includes: Hotel; transport; English speaking guide; meals: breakfast and lunch; all entrance fees

Depart Ho Chi Minh City around 8.30 for a scenic morning drive to Cai Be. From Cai Be, take a boat trip along the mighty Mekong River and its tributaries to view the daily lives of people who work and play on the waterways of the Mekong Delta. The trip includes a visit to the floating market at Cai Be, and a family-run business producing pop rice, coconut candy, rice paper- a key ingredient in Vietnamese cuisine.

Lunch is on an island mid-river, in a local house set amongst fruit orchards and bonsai trees and then followed by a performance of traditional Vietnamese music.

Continue to Vinh Long by sampan boat, and proceed by car to Can Tho for overnight. Stay overnight in Can Tho.

Includes: Hotel; transport; English speaking guide; meals: breakfast and lunch; all entrance fees

After breakfast, 8.00 take a boat trip to explore the picturesque tributaries of the Lower Mekong River (Bassac River), then visit Cai Rang floating market, which are the best in the region. You will probably have tried Vietnamese vermicelli soup, so now go and see how it is made. Then wander around the village and talk with the local people. Learn how to cross a "monkey bridge" which is built from a single bamboo.

Break for lunch.

Proceed to Chau Doc. Overnight in Chau Doc.

Includes: Hotel; transport; English speaking guide; meals: breakfast and lunch; all entrance fees

After breakfast, take a nice boat trip through the floating village to visit a fish farm to see how the Mekong Delta people raise fish in their floating houses. Visit the Cham minority with their traditional weaving village, followed by a local Islamic Mosque. Trip back to Ho Chi Minh City. Check in hotel & have rest.

In the evening, meet up again with our tour guide and driver to have a farewell dinner for us to say thank you again for joining our tour and we can share our experience we got together during the tour. 

Spend the last night at the hotel before your departure next day.

Includes: Hotel; transport; English speaking guide; meals: breakfast and lunch; all entrance fees

Breakfast at hotel. Free at your own time until the driver meets you then transfers to the airport for your flight home or next destination. Tour ends.

Includes: Airport transfer; meals: breakfast