Saigon – Mekong Delta – Cu Chi – Da Nang – Ba Na Hills – Hoi An – Hanoi – Ninh Binh – Ha Long Bay
Ten days that start on the Tien River and finish among the limestone islands of Ha Long Bay. The delta comes first, then Saigon's museums and the tunnels at Cu Chi, then a flight to Da Nang for Ba Na Hills and an afternoon and evening in Hoi An. A second flight takes you to Hanoi, from where you have a full day at Hoa Lu and Trang An and six hours on the water in Ha Long Bay before you fly home.
Day 1
Met at the airport and driven to your hotel. The evening is free. The delta day that follows starts at 07h30, so your guide will confirm the pick-up time at check-in.
Meals: No meals included
Day 2
You leave for My Tho wharf at 07h30 and go out onto the Tien River by motorboat, past the fish farms moored along the bank and under the Rach Mieu bridge, the cable-stayed span between Tien Giang and Ben Tre, with the islands of Long, Lan, Qui and Phung around it. First stop is Unicorn Island: a honeybee farm, honey tea, then an electric cart to a fruit garden where seasonal fruit comes with southern folk music. A rowing boat takes over for the canals under the water coconuts. In Ben Tre you watch coconut candy made and lunch at 12h00, with an optional bicycle loop of the village after. Back via Vinh Trang Pagoda from 14h00, Saigon by 18h00.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 3
The city first, from 08h00: the War Remnants Museum, with its material from the First Indochina War and the war that followed; the Reunification Palace, where the events of 30 April 1975 played out; Notre-Dame Cathedral, built by French colonists between 1863 and 1880; and the Central Post Office beside it. Lunch is at a local restaurant, with time to rest afterwards. At 13h00 you drive out to Cu Chi: a short wartime documentary, then the tunnels themselves, steamed tapioca and pandan leaf tea to try, and an optional turn at the rifle range for a surcharge. Back at the hotel at 19h00 to check out for the Da Nang flight.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 4
Arrival in Da Nang, met at the airport and driven to your hotel. The day is free and nothing is scheduled: the Ba Na Hills departure the next morning is early, so most guests use the evening to eat near the hotel and turn in. Your guide confirms the pick-up window before leaving you.
Meals: No meals included
Day 5
Your guide picks you up in central Da Nang between 07h00 and 08h15; at 08h30 the bus stops at a craft village on the same road while the tickets are made up. From 09h45 the cable car, the longest single-rope line in the world, carries you up to the French Village. At 10h30 the Lunar Castle, Eclipse Square and the Mat Bay theatre, then buffet lunch from 11h45. The afternoon opens at 13h15 with mini shows, the golden Sun World globe and Fantasy Park; at 14h45 a short ride crosses to the Golden Bridge and the flower beds of Le Jardin. At 16h15 you head back through the Time Gate to the waiting bus.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 6
A 13h00 start again, this time south to Cam Thanh, where the fishing families work the nipa palm channels. You learn to handle a bamboo basket boat and try the fishing methods that go with it. From 14h30 the old town: Phuc Kien Assembly Hall and its family altar, an ancient house at Phung Hung or Tan Ky built by merchants who traded with buyers from all over the world, the Museum of Folk Culture and a performance of traditional music and dance. The Japanese Bridge, over 400 years old, comes with the story of the two communities it joined. Dinner is Hoi An food, and at 18h00 a boat on the Hoai River, a lantern on the water and the night market.
Meals: Breakfast, dinner
Day 7
The flight north from Da Nang to Hanoi. A private car meets you at the airport and takes you to your hotel, and the rest of the day is free. The Old Quarter is where most people spend the first evening; the Ninh Binh day that follows leaves at 08h00.
Meals: No meals included
Day 8
The bus leaves Hanoi at 08h00 for 110km of open country, with one break on the way. Hoa Lu at 10h15: the first capital of Vietnam, and the temples to the Dinh and Le kings that stand there now. At 11h30 you cycle the flat lanes between canals and villages, limestone towers on every horizon, then at 12h15 a buffet of goat, fried rice and other local dishes, vegetarian food always among them. At 13h00 a rowing boat takes you through Trang An, UNESCO-listed in 2014, and its Light, Dark and Cooking Wine caves. Mua Cave at 15h15 is almost 500 steps up for the view over Tam Coc. Back in Hanoi at 19h30.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 9
The limousine leaves at 08h30 for Quang Ninh, with a rest stop on the road, and you board at Tuan Chau Island just before midday. Lunch is Vietnamese, seafood included, and it is served under way while the boat works past the Incense Burner and Fighting Cocks rocks. Sung Sot Cave at 13h30 sits 25 metres above the sea; the chamber runs to 10,000 square metres and the lit path through it to 800 metres. Luon Cave at 14h45 is entered by kayak or bamboo boat, and Titop Island at 15h45 gives you the choice of the water or the climb. The sunset party is at 16h30, the harbour at 18h00 and your Hanoi hotel by 20h30.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 10
Breakfast, check out and a private car to Hanoi airport for your flight home.
Meals: Breakfast
The two domestic flights, Saigon to Da Nang on day 3 and Da Nang to Hanoi on day 7, are not included and are booked separately. The rifle range at Cu Chi carries a surcharge paid on site.
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