TIME: 13 days 12 nights
TRANSPORT: By air, car, and cruise
ORIGIN: Ho Chi Minh City
DESTINATION: Cu Chi – Hanoi city – Ninh Binh – Halong bay – Hoi An – Da Nang – Hue – Buon Ma Thuot
Highlights – Ho Chi Minh City tour: History Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, Municipal Post Office, Chinatown (Binh Tay market), Thien Hau Temple – Cu Chi Tunnels – Visit highland villages of Buon Ma Thuot – Hoi An ancient town – Non Nuoc beach – Phong Nha cavern – Ha Long bay – Hanoi City tour – experience a cyclo ride
Day 1: Arrival – Ho Chi Minh City
Arrive Ho Chi Minh City. Pick up and transfer to hotel. Free at leisure. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City – Cu Chi & City tour (B)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning, transfer to Cu Chi to visit Cu Chi Tunnels, famed for its elaborate network of over 200km of three-story underground tunnels hand-dug by local people during the Vietnam War. Afternoon, take a city tour to visit History Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, Municipal Post Office, China town with Binh Tay market and Thien Hau Temple. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 3: Ho Chi Minh City – Buon Ma Thuot (B)
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Tan Son Nhat Airport for a morning flight to Buon Ma Thuot. Arrive in Buon Ma Thuot. Pick up and visit to Ethnographic Museum, the Ede village of Tur. Afternoon, transfer to Lak Lake to enjoy a dugout canoe ride on the lake and an elephant ride through M’nong villages of Yun and M’lieng. Overnight in Buon Ma Thuot.
Day 4: Buon Me Thuot – Da Nang – My Son – Hoi An (B)
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the airport for the flight to Da Nang. Arrive in Da Nang. Pick up and transfer to My Son to visit My Son Sanctuary, which is located in a lush green valley. Then, transfer to Hoi An ancient town. Visit Hoi An ancient town with Japanese covered bridge, Phung Hung ancient house, museum, market, shop… Overnight in Hoi An.
Day 5: Hoi An – Da Nang – Hue (B)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning, transfer to Da Nang to visit Cham Museum, Marble Mountain, Non Nuoc beach. Afternoon, transfer to Hue via Hai Van tunnel and Lang Co lagoon en route. Arrive in Hue. Free at leisure. Overnight in Hue.
Day 6: Hue (B)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning, visit Imperial and Dong Ba market. Afternoon, take a boat along Huong River to visit Thien Mu Pagoda and Hon Chen Temple. Visit Tomb of King Minh Mang. Overnight in Hue.
Day 7: Hue – Dong Hoi (B)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning, transfer to Dong Hoi. Arrive in Dong Hoi. Afternoon, transfer to Xuan Son ferry and take a boat trip on the Son river to Phong Nha Cavern which was recognized as World Natural Heritage site. Overnight in Dong Hoi.
Day 8: Dong Hoi – Vinh (B)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning free at leisure. Afternoon, transfer to Vinh. Overnight in Vinh.
Day 9: Vinh – Thanh Hoa – Ninh Binh (B)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning, visit to President Ho Chi Minh’s birth home in Kim Lien Village. Afternoon, transfer to Vinh Loc (Thanh Hoa) and visit the Ho Dynasty Citadel, a World Cultural Heritage site listed by UNESCO in 2012. Overnight in Ninh Binh.
Day 10: Ninh Binh – Ha Long (B)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning, transfer to Ninh Binh. Take a sampan ride to Trang An, known as Vietnam’s “Inland Ha Long Bay”. Paddle through nine enormous caves. Then, visit the Dinh and Le dynasty temples in Hoa Lu. Afternoon, depart for Ha Long. Overnight in Ha Long.
Day 11: Ha Long – Ha Noi (B, L)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning, embark a traditional-style wooden boat for a cruise around the wondrous Ha Long Bay, a World Natural Heritage site listed by UNESCO in 1994. Lunch of fresh seafood is served while cruising. Afternoon departs to Ha Noi. Enjoy water puppet show. Overnight in Ha Noi.
Day 12: Ha Noi – Bat Trang – Ha Noi (B)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning, take a city tour to visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum & Museum (closed on Friday & Monday), One-Pillared Pagoda, House on stilts. Afternoon, visit Literature temple, Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son temple and enjoy a cyclo riding in the Old Quarter. Overnight in Ha Noi.
Day 13: Ha Noi – Departure (B)
Breakfast at the hotel. Free at leisure for relaxing or go shopping until transfer to the airport for the departure flight. End of service.
NOTE: B – Breakfast / L – Lunch