Hanoi – Ninh Binh – Ha Long Bay – Ba Na Hills – Hoi An
The north comes first: Ninh Binh on day two and six hours on Ha Long Bay on day three, both run as day trips from the same Hanoi hotel. On day four you fly to Da Nang. Ba Na Hills follows, up by cable car to the French Village and across to the Golden Bridge, then a day at Cam Thanh and Tra Que outside Hoi An, on a bicycle and in a basket boat. Day seven is free before you fly home.
Day 1
A private car meets you at the airport. The guide comes to the Old Quarter hotel at 13h30 and the afternoon is on foot. Hoan Kiem Lake and Nam Huong Temple to begin, the legend of the returned sword, the turtle in its case, and The Huc Bridge over to Ngoc Son Temple if you want it. St Joseph's Cathedral at 14h30, with a banh mi from the stall beside it and a sugarcane juice or street coffee, then half an hour of your own among the shops. Train Street from 15h20, and the walk ends there at 16h00.
Meals: No meals included
Day 2
Breakfast, then out at 08h00 on the 110km road south through the rice country, with a break on the way. Hoa Lu at 10h15, where the temples of King Dinh and King Le, seventeenth-century work, stand on the site of Vietnam's first capital. Bicycles at 11h30 for the lanes along the canals, then a buffet at 12h15 with goat meat, fried rice and vegetarian dishes. At 13h00 you take a rowing boat into Trang An, listed by UNESCO in 2014 and used for Kong: Skull Island, through Sang, Toi and Nau Ruou caves. Mua Cave at 15h15, almost 500 steps to the top of Lying Dragon Mountain with Tam Coc below. You start back at 17h15 and reach the hotel at 19h30.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 3
The limousine leaves after breakfast at 08h30 for Quang Ninh, with a stop to stretch on the way, and you are aboard at Tuan Chau Island between 11h45 and 12h00. Lunch is Vietnamese, with seafood, served as the boat passes the Incense Burner and Fighting Cock rocks. Sung Sot Cave at 13h30: 25 metres above the water, 10,000 square metres of chamber and an 800 metre path lit with coloured lamps. Luon Cave at 14h45 by kayak or bamboo boat, then Titop Island at 15h45 to swim, sunbathe or walk up to the viewpoint. The sundeck party at 16h30 has red wine, fruit, cake and fries. Back at the harbour by 18h00 and at your Hanoi hotel at 20h30.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 4
Breakfast at the hotel and check out. A transfer takes you to the airport for the flight to Da Nang, where you are met on arrival and driven to your hotel. Nothing else is scheduled, so the rest of the day is yours. Lunch and dinner are not included on this day.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 5
Pick-up in central Da Nang between 07h00 and 08h15, with a stop at a traditional craft village on the same road at 08h30 while the tickets are arranged. You reach the entrance by 10h00 and take the world's longest single-rope cable car up to the French Village. From 10h30: the Lunar Castle, Eclipse Square and a film at the Mat Bay Theatre. Buffet lunch runs 11h45 to 13h00, then at 13h15 the short shows, the golden Sun World globe and Fantasy Park. At 14h45 a second, shorter cable car crosses to the Golden Bridge and the Le Jardin flower garden. Back to the cable car at 16h15 for the Time Gate, then the bus to your hotel. No shopping stop is built into the end of the day.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 6
At 08h30 you cycle out with the guide through the rice fields to the Bay Mau coconut water palms at Cam Thanh. From 09h30 you go in by basket boat, watch the net casting and the basket-spinning the boatmen perform, fold coconut leaves into animals with the villagers and hear the work songs of the central coast. At 10h30 comes Tra Que, one of the six old craft villages of Hoi An, and at 11h00 a glass of e water brewed from garden herbs. Then the beds: hoeing, planting, watering and harvesting as the village does it. Back at the house, a herbal foot bath and lunch: spring rolls, papaya salad, banh xeo with a turn at flipping them, morning glory with garlic, rice and dessert. At 13h00 you cycle back to your Hoi An hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 7
Nothing is scheduled after breakfast. The day is free for resting, for looking around on your own and for shopping. Tell us in advance if you would like a car and guide for part of it.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 8
Breakfast, check out, and a private car to the airport for your flight home.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 1 also runs in a version that ends with an egg coffee class at a local coffee house. The Hanoi – Da Nang flight on day 4 is not among the itinerary's inclusions; we quote it separately once your dates are set.
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