The city tour begins with a visit to the Ho Chi Minh Complex which features the life of Ho Chi Minh, the nation’s founder. At the complex, visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where the nation’s founder’s body is preserved (closed on Monday, Friday, and through October - November), the colonial Presidential Palace, originally the French Governor Office and a fine example of French architecture in Hanoi, and the rural style Ho Chi Minh’s house on stilts where Ho Chi Minh lived and worked. Stop by one of Hanoi’s icons, the One Pillar Pagoda, built in the 11th Century in dedication to Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, or Buddha of Compassion, and reminiscent of a lotus blossom rising from a pond. Continue to the Temple of Literature, known as the first university of Vietnam built in 1070 by the Ly Dynasty to honor Confucius, sages, and outstanding Vietnamese scholars.

Afternoon, continue the tour to one of the following museums of choice namely the Museum of Fine Arts, the National Museum of Vietnamese History, the Museum of Revolution, the Museum of Military History, or the Museum of Ethnology. Next, head for Hoan Kiem Lake, the center point of Hanoi whose name “The Returned Sword Lake” originated from a legend of a sacred sword and home to a rare endangered giant turtle species and visit Ngoc Son Temple on the lake. Take a one-hour cycle tour of the Old Quarter of Hanoi with its ancient streets representing traditional trades from the past. Finish the tour at the Thang Long Opera Theatre with a traditional Vietnamese water puppet show. 

Meal: Breakfast

Overnight at a hotel in Hanoi

In the morning, our guide and driver will be waiting for you at the hotel lobby then transfer to Sapa through the expressway. This Vietnam’s longest expressway opens, cutting Hanoi-Lao Cai travel time in half. The time to Sapa is shortened to 4-5 hours, making your journey faster, safer, and much more comfortable than by train.

Afternoon, your guide takes you about 3 km out of Sapa through a hilly landscape to Cat Cat village, home of Hmong ethnic minority people. The traditional trades of brocade making and silver and bronze smith are still practiced nowadays by villagers after numerous generations of their ancestors. You can see the Hmong women by their looms weaving fabrics. We drive to the Silver Waterfall where a French-built hydropower station has been in service since 1920  (best in the rainy season from May to November). Take a short walk to the waterfall where a great view is offered of the surrounding mountains and the lush forests of Hoang Lien National Park. Along the way, your guide will explain about this special part of Sapa, where many tree species are grown such as plum and peach trees. Continue by car up to Heaven's Gate where you can see Fansipan Mountain, ‘the roof of Indochina’ at the height of 3143 meters above sea level.

Meal: Breakfast

Overnight at a hotel in Sapa

Today we leave Sa Pa early in the morning to travel by car for about 2.5 hours through winding mountain roads to Bac Ha Market. You’ll have an opportunity to discover the big outdoor market known as the venue for the largest fairs in the region and watch the colorful market lively with minorities of various groups buying and selling assorted goods including handicrafts, working tools, and livestock.

Afternoon, continued to travel by car for about one hour to Trung Do village, a settlement of the Tay ethnic minority people. Take a leisure ride on a cart pulled by a water buffalo around the village and observe hospitable villagers with their peaceful lifestyles. From the village, embark on a boat to cruise down the Chay River and enjoy sighting the magnificent mountainous landscape along the way. Disembark and refresh with a cup of tea before transferring back by car to Hanoi

Meal: Breakfast

Overnight at a hotel in Hanoi

In the morning, transfer from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay. The transfer is approximately 3 hours. You may stop on the way to admire the local scenery. 

Arrive in Ha Long City at 11:30 AM and check in aboard the booked junk when your journey across Ha Long Bay starts. Ha Long Bay means Descending Dragon Bay in Vietnamese as legend has it that it was where a holly dragon landed down from the sky. The bay, famous as one of the world’s wonders and heritage sites whose formation dates back 500 million years, consists of around 2,000 karst islands and islets scattered over an area of 1,553 km2.

After lunch, take a short trek to a nearby summit for a panoramic view of the bay dotted with golden sails, go swimming on a quiet beach, or sunbathe on the sundeck. Later in the afternoon, you will visit an interesting fishing village with an opportunity to interact with local people who have been living in the bay for almost three generations. An optional kayaking trip is available weather permitting. Back onboard enjoy a lavish dinner and enjoy the bay view at sunset. Spend a night on board.

Meal: Lunch, Dinner

Overnight on cruises in Ha Long Bay 

In the morning, refresh your body and mind with a Tai Chi exercise on the sundeck at the break of dawn. Have tea and coffee onboard and continue exploring Ha Long Bay sailing across its 2000 islets and visiting some of its major highlights. Normally, check out at 09:30, and have a buffet brunch while cruising back to shore. Disembark at 11:00 AM to transfer to the Hanoi capital. 

On the way from Halong to Hanoi, you will stop to visit But Thap Pagoda - the country’s cultural historic relic. The pagoda was built under the dynasty of King Tran Thanh Tong (1258-1278) and rebuilt in 1647 in the Le Dynasty. Admire the magnificent architecture of the most typical pagoda in Vietnam with 4 hundred years of statues.

When you arrive at Hanoi International Airport, check-in board and take a flight to Da Nang

Arrive at Da Nang International Airport, meet our guide & driver then transfer to the hotel in Hoi An for check-in.

Meal: Brunch

Overnight at a hotel in Hoi An

Morning, city tour to discover the charm of Hoi An as a renowned World Heritage Site. Once a bustling maritime commercial port of Asia between the 15th and 19th centuries, Hoi An is now a peaceful town of exceptionally well-preserved architecture, lifestyles, and traditions. After receiving a brief introduction to the history, shape, and color of traditional lanterns, start a walking tour around the town to see its highlight sightseeing including the town’s iconic 400-year-old Covered Bridge with a small temple attached to one side as a prominent example of Japanese architecture, the Museum of Trade Ceramics which is an elegant Vietnamese style wooden house built in 1858 showcasing antique ceramic artifacts, the 200-year-old Tan Ky House typifying an ancient Chinese merchant residence, the Ong Temple built in 1653 by Chinese settlers to worship Guan Yu, an ancient Chinese general whose character stands for loyalty, bravery, and justice and the local market vibrant with colors and activities. 

Afternoon, take a boat cruise on the Thu Bon River to enjoy the countryside landscapes and land in Kim Bong village where carpentry has been practiced since the 16th Century as the village’s trademark to visit some old-fashioned boatyards using timber as the main material. Afterward, moved on to Thanh Ha village to see its traditional ceramic production trade still alive and thriving despite the 500-year passage of time. Return to hotel.

Note: Hoi An is famous for speedily tailor-made clothes with 4 to 24 hours for tourists.

Meal: Breakfast

Overnight at a hotel in Hoi An

Morning, transfer to Da Nang airport for a flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Flight time is approximately 1.5 hours.

Meet your driver for an airport transfer with a private vehicle and guide. The transfer distance is approximately 30 minutes 

Meal: Breakfast

Morning, meet your guide and transfer about 75 km northwest of downtown Ho Chi Minh City. Discover the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, which were once a major underground hideout and resistance base of Viet Cong forces during the two wars against the French and the Americans. The tunnels, entirely hand-dug, formed a highly intricate network of interlinked multilevel passageways at times stretched as far as the Cambodian border and totaled over 120 km in length. Its complexity was beyond imagination, containing meeting rooms, kitchens, wells, clinics, schools, depots, trenches, and emergency exits all aimed at guerrilla warfare. The tunnels were deep and strong enough to withstand destructive bombings and self-contained enough to outlast prolonged sieges. Return to the city at noon time for a rest.

Afternoon, tour in the city starting with Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, a neo-Roman cathedral built over 130 years ago by the colonial French with materials entirely imported from Marseilles and stained-glass windows from Chartres. Next, visit the Sai Gon Post Office, a fine colonial building that was designed and built in the early 20th Century by the famous French architect Gustave Eiffel. Move on to Cho Lon or the city’s China Town where you will visit the Jade Emperor Temple (Phuoc Hai), a rare Taoist structure in Vietnam built in 1909 in dedication to the Lord of Heaven. It’s filled with smoky incense and fantastic carved figurines and still buzzing with worshipers, many lounging in the front gardens. 

Meal: Breakfast

Overnight at a hotel in Ho Chi Minh

Meet our guide & driver at the hotel lobby then transfer to Ho Chi Minh Airport for the flight

Meal: Breakfast