Hanoi – Ninh Binh – Ha Long Bay – Da Nang – Ba Na Hills – Hoi An – Ho Chi Minh City – Cu Chi – Mekong Delta
Ten days that begin in the Old Quarter of Hanoi and end on the water at Ben Tre. Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay both run as day trips from Hanoi, so you unpack once in the north. An evening flight then moves you to Da Nang for Ba Na Hills and Hoi An, and a second flight south for the Cu Chi tunnels and the Mekong Delta.
Day 1
A private car meets your flight and takes you to your hotel in the Old Quarter. The walk starts there at 13h30. By 13h40 you are at Hoan Kiem Lake and Nam Huong Temple, with The Huc Bridge and Ngoc Son Temple as an optional crossing; your guide tells the story of King Le returning the sword and points out the preserved Hoan Kiem turtle. At 14h30 you carry on to St Joseph's Cathedral for the French Gothic front, banh mi from the stall beside it and sugarcane juice or street coffee, then half an hour of your own in the boutiques. At 15h20 you walk to Train Street, and the afternoon ends there at 16h00.
Meals: No meals included
Day 2
The bus leaves at 08h00 for the 110km run south, with a short break on the way. At 10h15 you reach Hoa Lu, Vietnam's first capital, where the Dinh and Le king temples date from the seventeenth century. At 11h30 there is easy cycling on rural lanes beside the canal network, through villages ringed by limestone. Buffet lunch at 12h15 runs to goat, fried rice and other local dishes, and vegetarian food is always on the table. At 13h00 a rowing boat carries you into Trang An, UNESCO-listed since 2014, through Sang, Toi and Nau Ruou caves. At 15h15 you take the Mua Cave steps. The bus turns for Hanoi at 17h15 and drops you at 19h30.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 3
A limousine collects you at 08h30 for Quang Ninh, stopping once on the way. You board at Tuan Chau Island between 11h45 and 12h00, and lunch is Vietnamese and seafood-heavy, served while the boat passes the Incense Burner and Fighting Cocks rocks. At 13h30 you walk Sung Sot Cave, 25 metres above the sea, 10,000 square metres of chamber and a lit 800-metre path. At 14h45 Luon Cave by kayak or bamboo boat; at 15h45 Titop Island to swim or climb. Back aboard at 16h30 for the sunset party on the sundeck, ashore by 18h00, your Hanoi hotel at 20h30, then the 22h00 flight to Da Nang.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 4
The flight from Hanoi lands late, so this day is deliberately empty. A private car meets you, takes you to the hotel and your guide sees you through check-in. The rest is free time in Da Nang and dinner is included. Nothing else is planned, which matters here: Ba Na Hills tomorrow starts before 08h00, and the Hoi An day after that runs into the evening.
Meals: Dinner
Day 5
Pick-up from your hotel in central Da Nang between 07h00 and 08h15, with a stop at a traditional craft village on the way while the guide arranges tickets. From 09h45 you ride the world's longest single-rope cable car up to the French Village. At 10h30 come the Lunar Castle, Eclipse Square and a film at the Mat Bay theatre, and buffet lunch runs from 11h45 to 13h00. The afternoon is mini shows, the golden Sun World globe and Fantasy Park. At 14h45 a short second cable car sets you down at the Golden Bridge and the Le Jardin flower garden, and from 16h15 you head back via the Time Gate. No shopping stop at the end.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 6
A 13h00 pick-up, then Cam Thanh coconut village, where you learn the local fishing methods and how to turn a round bamboo basket boat among the water palms. At 14h30 you move into the old town: Phuc Kien Assembly Hall with its painted gates, dragons and family altar; a two-hundred-year-old merchant house, Phung Hung or Tan Ky; the Museum of Folk Culture; a performance at the Traditional Performing Arts House. Then the Japanese Bridge, built four hundred years ago to link the Japanese and Chinese quarters, and the craft shops and side lanes around it. Dinner is Hoi An specialities. At 18h00, a boat on the Hoai River, a paper lantern, and the night market afterwards.
Meals: Breakfast, dinner
Day 7
You fly south to Ho Chi Minh City and a private car takes you from the airport to your hotel. Nothing is scheduled after that, and no meals are included. An early night is worth having: the Cu Chi tunnels tomorrow start at 07h00 and the Mekong Delta the day after at 07h30. If you would rather have the afternoon and evening filled, tell us before you travel and we will build it into the day.
Meals: No meals included
Day 8
Out at 07h00 for Cu Chi. The site is the underground network the Viet Cong used through the war: field hospitals, weapon workshops and command posts dug beneath the surface. You go down into sections of it, follow the concealed passages and see how people lived there for years at a time. There is a firing range where you can shoot an AK-47, optional and at your own cost. Then back to Ho Chi Minh City for a late lunch at a restaurant. The day finishes at 17h00, with a drop-off at Ben Thanh Market or at the office, whichever suits you.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 9
After breakfast you are driven to My Tho wharf, where a motorboat takes you out on the Tien River past the floating fish farms and under the Rach Mieu cable-stayed bridge, with the four islands Long, Lan, Qui and Phung around you. You stop at Unicorn Island for a honeybee farm and honey tea, then an electric cart runs you to a fruit garden for seasonal fruit and southern folk music. A rowing boat threads the small canals under the water palms. Across in Ben Tre you visit a coconut candy workshop, and at 12h00 the boat carries you to lunch. At 14h00 you head back to My Tho, stopping at Vinh Trang Pagoda, and reach Saigon by 18h00.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 10
Breakfast at the hotel, check out, and a private car out to the airport for your flight home.
Meals: Breakfast
The itinerary turns on two domestic flights: Hanoi to Da Nang at 22h00 on day 3, and the onward flight to Ho Chi Minh City on day 7. Neither fare is included; send us your preferred times and we will set the ground days around them. Day 1 runs in two versions, the full walking tour as described or a shorter walk ending with an egg coffee class at a local coffee house.
Send your dates, the number of travellers and the hotel standard you want. We confirm availability and send a full quotation — no payment is taken online.
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