10 Days - VIETNAM INSIGHT

DAY 01: ARRIVAL HANOI
Upon arrival, be met and transferred to your hotel. Tour begins with the Vietnam History Museum (closed Mondays and Fridays) followed by Hoan Kiem Lake. Then, take a rickshaw ride through the alleys of the Old Quarter.

DAY 02: HANOI (Breakfast, lunch included)
Enjoy another full day in Hanoi. In the morning, visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (open in the morning only and closed Mondays and Fridays), his Former Residence and Temple of Literature – the first University in Vietnam as well as the capital of Vietnam about 1000 years ago. In the afternoon, visit the handicraft villages such as the pottery and silk weaving villages which have been practicing the trade for more than a century.
Tonight, be treated to a water puppet show, a performing art unique to Vietnam.

DAY 03: HANOI - HALONG BAY (Breakfast, lunch, dinner included)
This morning, drive about 3 hours through rustic Vietnamese countryside to Halong Bay, one of the 5 UNESCO World Heritage sites. With hundreds of giant limestone peaks jutting out of the water of the Bay of Tonkins – it’s indeed an impressive sight.

In the afternoon, take a cruise on the bay with seafood lunch on board. Spend the night in Tuan Chau Resort, on board Emeraude cruise or your private traditional junk cruise.
(All meals included for overnight in Emeraude cruise or private junk boat)

DAY 04: HALONG BAY - HANOI (Breakfast included)
Continue cruising along the Halong Bay and drive back to Hanoi in the afternoon (if you are staying in Tuan Chau Resort or Emeraude cruise, you will drive back to Hanoi in the morning). Check into your hotel.

DAY 05: HANOI - HUE (Breakfast included)
Early this morning, be transferred to the airport for short flight to Hue. Be met upon arrival and transferred to your hotel. Hue was the former Imperial capital of Vietnam and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This afternoon, visit the Imperial Citadel with the Forbidden Palace and the Royal Tomb of Tu Duc.
 

DAY 06: HUE - DA NANG (Breakfast included)
Drive about 3 hours to Da Nang. The drive is lovely along the South China Sea Coast and over the Hai Van Pass (Pass of the Clouds). You will spend some time at the Cham Museum in Da Nang. Upon arrival, check into your hotel.
 

DAY 07: DA NANG (Breakfast included)
This morning, drive about 1 ½ hour to visit My Son, one of the most important Cham site in the country and another of Vietnam’s UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In the afternoon, enjoy a walking tour of Hoi An, a lovely riverside old township with narrow streets and old buildings and another site that has been added to UNESCO’s list. It is also a great place for ethnic crafts.
 

Be met upon arrival and transferred to your hotel. This afternoon, enjoy a tour covering Thien Hau Pagoda, the former Presidential Palace, the History Museum, lacquer ware workshop and the War Crime Museum.
 

DAY 09: HO CHI MINH CITY (Breakfast, lunch included)
Make a full day trip to Cu Chi Tunnel – an amazing complex system of underground tunnel constructed during the Vietnam war by the Vietcong and Tay Ninh with the interesting Caodai temple. The religion combines Buddhism, Christianity and Taoism while the temple itself is rococo extravaganza combining the architectural idiosyncrasies of a French church and a Chinese pagoda. Visit also the Tiger Balm Garden and Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum.