Vietnam Heritage and Culture 13 Days

Arriving at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel. You’ll have time to relax after your journey.

In the evening, you’ll have tickets for a performance of traditional Water Puppetry. Your overnight stay will be in Hanoi.

You’ll have the whole day to explore Vietnam’s capital city. Your guide will take you to the Temple of Literature, the first university in Vietnam dating back to the 11th century, and a popular attraction, as is Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, his simple stilt house where he lived and worked, and the museum dedicated to his memory.

After lunch, you’ll call in at the serene Tran Quoc Pagoda, the oldest in Hanoi, on the banks of Hanoi’s Ho Tay (West) Lake. In the afternoon, you’ll cruise ride around the Colonial and Old Quarters on a cyclo to discover the city’s architectural mixture of French colonial style, social realism, pagodas and communal houses with many Chinese features, merchants’ residences, ‘tube’ dwellings, modern buildings and vernacular houses. You’ll spend the night in Hanoi.

We’ll arrange your programme to avoid the busy times at popular destinations, but if there’s anything you particularly want to see, let us know.

After breakfast in hotel, at 8.30AM you’ll leave for Ha Long Bay), one of the most spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Areas and the world’s largest marine limestone ‘karst’ landscape.

11:30 – 11:45: Arrive Tuan Chau Marina – Halong Bay.

12:00 – 12:30: Transferred by our transferring boat to Dora Cruise. Welcome to Cruise and enjoy
Welcome drink, meet the captain, crew to get a brief introduction about cruise and safety guidelines. Check-in your cabin.

12:45 - 13:00: Enjoy Vietnamese seafood and vegetarian lunch, while cruising in the magnificent Halong Bay, admiring the fascinating rock formations in the bay.

Continue cruising through Con Vit islet (Duck Islet), Thumb islet and Gia Luan Harbor were belonged to Cat Ba area.

Discover lagoon natural area belonged to Lan Ha Bay. Drop anchor for swimming or just simply sunbathe on our cruise (private, wild and fresh air). Heading back toward the sleeping area.

Do kayaking and swimming at Ba Trai Dao Beach area or Tra Bau area (upon the sea wave and wind)

30: Come back to our Cruise and participate in our sunset party with fruit, cake and tea. Take photos and relax.

18:00 – 18:15: Join cooking class guided directly by Chef of cruise. You have chance to practice Vietnamese traditional dishes such as spring roll or famous cuisine of Vietnam.

19:00: Time for dinner.

21:00: Evening entertainments: play game on the cruise: cards game, chess, listen to music, squid fishing and overnight on the Cruise. Overnight on board.

06:30: Early morning sun risers can enjoy Tai Chi lesson with fresh air on the sundeck.
07:00 – 7:45: Morning view of bay’s landscape with a cup of tea or coffee. Have breakfast.
08:00: Mingling yourself in the stunning views of the Bay and its dramatic limestone islets as wesail through the calm emerald waters heading Dark and Bright Cave (Hang Sang and Hang Toi)
Take your option either exploring the cave yourself on kayak or comfortably on local bamboo boat rowed by the locals.
09:30: Come back to Dora Cruise and check-out from the private cabin and enjoy a fantastic cruise
on the bay.
10:00: Have last lunch at the cruise.
11:30 – 12:00: Cruise are landing near Tuan Chau Harbor and transfer guest to Tuan Chau, tourist
say goodbye to sailors and finish the cruise.
12:00: Start from Halong bay to Hanoi.
15:30 – 15:45: Arrive in your hotel in Hanoi. Overnight in Hanoi.

After breakfast we depart to Ninh Binh to visit the Dinh and Le temples of the Ancient Capital Hoa Lu which are dedicated to King Dinh and King Le, the founders of the ancient capital during the 10th century.

12h30: Have lunch in the restaurant with a wide range of local foods.

In the afternoon, you will visit Tràng An which was recognized by UNESCO as A World Heritage Site in 2014. Trang An has a wonderful tunnel cave system so Kong’s Movie Group chose this place for the New Version of Kong in 2016 – “Skull Island”. With 2.5 hours for the boat trip, you will be persuaded by the beauty here.

End of the day you will return to Hanoi for overnight accommodation.

After breakfast, you will be driven to the airport for a morning flight to Danang.

On arrival, you will be welcomed by a local guide and driven to check-in your hotel in Hoi An. You will have leisure time and spend the night in Hoi An.

After breakfast, your guide will meet you to show you the Ancient Town and explain its considerable significance in the history of Vietnam. You’ll be free after lunch. You’ll spend the night in Hoi An.

The day starts with cycling the narrow roads through the countryside, passing by rice paddy fields, water buffalos, bamboo bridges and local farmers on their daily work. You’ll then board a boat to the mouth of the Thu Bon estuary where the river meets the Cua Dai Sea and cruise along the coastline observing the lives of the local fishermen.

After joining the fisherman to try your hand at catching fish in a traditional ‘Thung Chai’ basket boat, you will meander through the water palm coconut canal. During the American War, Viet Cong soldiers made use of this area as a highly effective hiding place from enemy attacks through their long struggle. Following an insightful visit to a local fishing village, you’ll be free to relax and enjoy a fresh seafood lunch before cycling back to your hotel.

Thung Chai Basket boats, similar in style to coracles in use throughout the ancient world, are widely used throughout Central Vietnam, and are highly suited to the local terrain and lifestyles of local fishermen due to their relative light weight and portability, often doubling as a carrier for various handy items. Circular and constructed of bamboo and tarred for waterproofing, these small boats can typically carry up to five people, and represent a fun-filled opportunity to touch the authentic rural soul of Vietnam. As a precaution, life jackets are provided for your safety during this excursion.

After breakfast you will be free until your driver arrives to take you to Danang airport to board the afternoon flight to Ho Chi Minh City.

When you arrive, a private car will be waiting to take you to your hotel in the city centre.

In the evening, you will have tickets of My Village show at Saigon Opera House. You will spend the night in Ho Chi Minh City.

My Village Show, or known as “Lang Toi” Show in Vietnamese, is a delicate combination between tradition and innovation, where poetic beauty of village life in Northern Vietnam is presented under a new bamboo circus approach. Farming, building activities, traditional games, and lifestyle of villagers are recreated by ancestral bamboo props, breathtaking circus performances and acrobatics, rhythmic dances and enchanting folk music from more than 20 exotic traditional musical instruments. If you are visiting Vietnam, you should not miss the chance to enjoy this stunning show.

After breakfast, your guide will arrive to show you around Ho Chi Minh City. You’ll visit the History Museum where there is a special exhibition of the 5th century ‘Oc Eo’ civilisation.

Your next visit will be the Museum of War Remnants provides a very partial, but riveting, perspective of the ‘American War’: not for the squeamish! The Binh Tay market and the China Town are worth a stroll to explore the local daily life and the culture mix.

You’ll also call in at the Jade Emperor Temple. It’s one of the best Taoist temples in Vietnam, with superb effigies, remarkable carved panels of the descent to Hell and somewhat incongruous terrapin and tortoise sanctuaries. You’ll then return your hotel for freshen up or wander around the huge Ben Thanh market, one of the liveliest areas of Ho Chi Minh City, is packed with every conceivable commodity. You’ll spend the night in Ho Chi Minh City.

After escaping from Ho Chi Minh City, you’ll travel to Cai Be where a Mekong River cruise will take you to visit the fruit orchards, a traditional family-run brick kiln, and some long established cottage industries. Later, a rowing boat will carry you through the maze of the Mekong Delta’s myriad channels to connect with the real life of the local people, visiting a local house and listening to live music performed by local artists. You’ll then drive deeper into the Mekong Delta to Can Tho. Upon arrival you’ll call in at the Munir Ansay – an ancient Khmer style pagoda renowned for its unique structural decorations. You’ll then continue to your hotel in Can Tho where you’ll spend the night.

Munir Ansay Pagoda has many statues and pillars with sophisticated decoration; the main gate was built in the shape of the towers illustrative of Angkor architecture.

After breakfast and a boat cruise, you’ll arrive at Cai Rang floating market on the Mekong Delta. Both the journey and the market provide insights into the rural Mekong Delta lifestyle. On your return to Ho Chi Minh City, you’ll stop by the beautiful and ancient Vinh Trang Pagoda, 3 km from My Tho centre. Vinh Trang Pagoda is renowned for its architectural mixture of Chinese, Vietnamese and Angkor styles. Located on a 2 hectare block with 5 buildings, 2 ornamental yards, 178 pillars and many valuable statues (especially the 18 arahants, wooden statues carved in 1907), the pagoda will give you a deeper look into the relationship between Vietnamese art and Buddhist beliefs.

You’ll arrive in Ho Chi Minh City in the late afternoon with time to freshen up in your hotel before the evening.

The day will be free until being picked up by your guide and driver to transfer to the airport for your departure flight.