DAY 1: HANOI ARRIVAL
Upon arrival at Hanoi Airport, after collecting your baggage, exit the airport to meet your local guide. He/she will be holding a sign with your names on it. From the airport, you will be privately transferred to your selected hotel. You are free at your leisure in the rest of day. Relaxing at hotel or walking around Hanoi Old Quarter – a network of narrow alleys and shop houses. Hanoi Old Quarter is consider a great place to watch local life and shopping
Meal: Not included
Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Hanoi.
DAY 2: HANOI CITY TOUR WITH MUSEUM
Morning, you'll head out with your guide and begins with a visit Ba Dinh Square to see Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, the museum to his life and the simple cottage where he lived and worked, along with his "house on stilts" and his final resting place; and take in Hanoi's famous One-Pillar Pagoda, constructed in 1049 to resemble a lotus blossom. Continue visit Imperial Citadel of Thang Long- is an intriguing relic of Vietnam’s history and, signifying its historical and cultural importance, was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010. Have lunch at restaurant.
This afternoon, visit Vietnam Military Museum where display system of Vietnam Military History Museum includes outdoor and indoor system with the area of 3.200 m2 with 2.500 artifacts. Go inside infamous Hoa Lo Prison (“Hanoi Hilton”), where Senator John McCain and Douglas “Pete” Wilson were once imprisoned, and continue to the Temple of Literature, which dates back to 1070 and is dedicated to the cult of Confucius before come back to hotel and enjoy the rest of day at your leisure.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch,
Accommodation: Overnight on Halong bay cruise
DAY 3: HANOI – HALONG BAY/ OVERNIGHT ON CRUISE
Morning pickup at 8:00 AM from your hotel for transfer to Halong Bay, which is about 160 km or 3.5-hour drive away. The transfer is approximately 3 hours. You will see some rural areas of the Red River Delta with plenty of chances to take photos of Vietnamese farmers working in paddy fields and you may stop on the way to admire the local scenery.
Arrive in Halong City at 11:30 AM and check in aboard the booked junk right after the welcome drink is served. Start cruising while having lunch on board and enjoy the mighty bay view.
Arrive in Halong City at 11:30 AM and check in aboard the booked junk when your journey across Halong Bay starts. Halong Bay meaning Descending Dragon Bay in Vietnamese as legend has it that it was where a holly dragon landed down from sky. The bay, famous as one of the world’s wonders and heritage sites whose formation dates back 500 million years, consists of around 2,000 karst islands and islets scattered over an area of 1,553 km2.
After lunch, take a short trek to a nearby summit for a panoramic view of the bay dotted with golden sails, go swimming on a quiet beach or sunbath on the sundeck. Later in the afternoon, you will visit an interesting fishing village with an opportunity to interact with local people who have been living in the bay for almost three generations. An optional kayaking trip is available weather permitting. Back onboard enjoy a lavish dinner and enjoy the bay view at sunset. Spend a night on board.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Overnight on cruise in Halong
DAY 4: HALONG BAY – HANOI
Wake up with Tai Chi exercises on the sundeck and continue cruising the Bay. Enjoy breakfast buffet in the restaurant, then visit the limestone grotto. Enjoy lunch on board and disembark in Halong City around 12.00 noon and private transfer to Hanoi airport. Say goodbye to the crew then transfer to Hanoi. Arrive at your hotel in the late afternoon.
11:00: Transfer back Hanoi by private vehicle. Arrive in Hanoi around 17.00, drop you at hotel and free at your leisure in the evening.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Hanoi.
DAY 5: HANOI – HUE/ MORNING FLIGHT
After breakfast, you will be picked up at hotel and priavate transfer to Noi Bai airport for flight to Hue.Uppon arrival in Hue, local guide welcome you and transfer to hotel for check in, leave luggage and settle in and free few hours before start Hue city tour.
In the afternoon, enjoy a half-day city tour to visit Hue Citadel - Vietnam’s former imperial capital and recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. With an area of 500ha and a system of three circles of ram parts, namely from outside to inside: Kinh Thanh Hue (Hue Capital Citadel), Hoang Thanh (Royal Citadel) and Tu Cam Thanh (Forbidden Citadel), Hue Citadel is the result of the interminglement of many architectural trends: European and Asian, as well as ancient and modern, then visit Khai Dinh Tomb - one of the famous tombs in Hue, Khai Dinh Tomb is considered outside of traditional architectural lines of Nguyen Dynasty by the unusual, the unique, and the extravagant. It covered many architectural trends between European and Asian, as well as ancient and modern. Continue journey to Dong Ba Market, free for shopping and purchase traditional gift. Drive back hotel, you are free time in the evening.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Hue.
DAY 6: HUE – DMZ – HUE
Morning, after breakfast, start the tour to Quang Tri province, 100 km from Hue City. Quang Tri is considered as a fire and sword land during the Vietnam War. The principal stop of the tour is Truong Son cemetery, this is the largest soldier's cemetery in the DMZ area, dedicated to the estimated 25,000 men; women and children who died on the Truong Son Trail (or Hochiminh Trail). There are more than 10,000 graves in this 16-hectare cemetery, arranged in 5 geographical regions, subdivided according to native province, and centred around memorial houses listing every name and grave number in the sector. Around other 10,000 bodies were never recovered, but they are commemorated here as if they were. Each grave announces a
liet si (martyr) with as much information as known such as name, date and place of birth, date of enrolment, rank, and the date they died. After visiting Truong Son ceretery, take a lunch at local restaurant.
Afternoon continue to visit LaVang Holy land by Ben Hai river - an important landmark in the partition of the country followed by Geneva Accords of 1954. This also made the Vietnam‘s Demilitarized Zone (V-DMZ) and the division of Vietnam in 1954 into North and South by Hien Luong Bridge. Drive back Hue city and drop you at hotel.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Hue.
DAY 7: HUE – DA NANG – HOI AN
Have breakfast at hotel and then depart to Hoi An via the Hai Van Pass (Ocean Cloud Pass). Enjoy a stunning headland-and-bay panoramic view from high above the pass, which for miles hugs the mountainside along the shoreline and overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The mountain range has created a barrier to the cold airstreams from the north which often results in thick cloudbanks over the peaks. The pass has been a strategic military focal point during Vietnam's turbulent history and from the top there are views of the curve of Da Nang Bay. Stop in Da Nang visit Cham Museum- it is the largest collection of Cham sculpture and artwork in the world. Have lunch at restaurant in Da Nang. Then you will be transferred to Hoi An. Arrive in Hoi, check in hotel and free at your leisure in the afternoon for discover Hoi An town.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Hoi An.
DAY 8: HOI AN ANCIENT TOWN WALKING TOUR
Morning, our guide meet you at the hotel in Hoian then transfer out for a city tour to visit the ancient architecture of Hoian - a fascinating combination of Vietnamese traditional characters with Chinese and Japanese influence. There are plenty to see in this delightful town, some of which are the famous Japanese Covered Bridges; the Pottery Museum; the 200-year-old Tamky House; the Chua Ong Pagoda; the vibrant market. Lunch then enjoy a boat trip on the Thu Bon River, which also gives you a chance to admire the spectacular countryside and explore a handicraft ceramic village and boat building yards.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Hoi An.
DAY 9: HOI AN - DANANG – HO CHI MINH HALF DAY CITY TOUR / MORNING FLIGHT
Have breakfast at hotel, then you are transferred to Da Nang airport for flight to Ho Chi Minh city.
Welcome to Ho Chi Minh city, after collecting your Pass General Post Office and the late 19th century Notre Dame cathedral, located in a peaceful part of the city.
In the afternoon, take a half day city tour to visit War Remnants Museum, which features a comprehensive collection of the machinery; weapons; photos; and documentation of Vietnam's wars with both the French and Americans. The tour continues to the Reunification Palace, which was the former residence of the President of Southern Vietnam until end of April 1975. Afterwards, stop at Ben Thanh market for shopping.
Meal : Breakfast
Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Ho Chi Minh city
DAY 10: CAO DAI TEMPLE - CU CHI TUNNEL
Morning, transfer to Tayninh for 60 miles northwest of Saigon to visit Great Temple or Holy See, the center of the intriguing Cao Dai sect. Cao Dai is a syncretistic Vietnamese religious movement that incorporates aspect of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and even Catholicism. Cao Dai Temple (as it is more commonly known) was built in 1933 in a unique architectural style reflecting its blended traditions. Have lunch at local restaurant.
Afternoon, take a tour to visit Cu Chi Tunnels. The Vietnamese are proud of their resolve in their prolonged history of struggle against invading armies, and the story of the people of Cu Chi is indicative of that spirit. The residents of Cu Chi then took their war underground, literally, developing a network of tunnels that, at its height, stretched as far as Cambodia and included meeting rooms, kitchens, and triage areas. Drive back to Ho Chi Minh city, drop you at hotel and you are free at your leisure in the evening.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation : Overnight at hotel in Ho Chi Minh city.
DAY 11: HO CHI MINH – LONG TAN CROSS – NUI DAT BATTEL SITE – VUNG TAU
At 7:30 am, you will be picked up at hotel and transferred to Ba Ria town to get Travel permit to the Long Tan site. Our first stop is the sight of the former Nui Dat Task Force Base in the Hoa Long village. Little remains of this camp except the columns of the main gate. The former runway is now a wide street in the local village and the old heli-pad is now a soccer field. Next visit Nui Dat Kindergarten which is built by Australian Veterans for children in the village. We drive past the location of the Horseshoe (access not permitted these days due to mining activity) to the Discourtesy Rubber Plantation. Continue to Long Tan village to visit the Long Tan Cross Memorial, which was re-built by Australian veterans for soldiers in the battle of Long Tan in 1966; then travel to The Horse shoe- fire support base; Long Phuoc Tunnel, Minh Dam hill (no longer the ‘Secret Zone’) called Long Hai hill.
Later on, we transfer to Ba Ria town for our lunch at local restaurant ( your own payment) and then keep driving to Vung Tau city to visit Radar Hill Vung Tau by cable car, you will have very nice view of whole city from the top of the hill, enjoy the beautiful scenery on the hill with a nice lake, flower garden. Travel to the Back Beach – the site of an Australian logistics group and the Peter Badcoe Club and Harold Holt Pool (nothing remains at all). The area is now dominated by a massive war memorial, the airport area (many will remember as the home of ‘Wallaby Airlines’ and our ‘hueys’), the ever bustling town centre and the market area.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Vung Tau
DAY 12: VUNG TAU - HO CHI MINH
This morning is free at leisure. You can hire bicycle to discover Vung Tau city by yourself or sunbathing at beatiful Vung Tau Beach. Enjoy lunch at local restaurant. Then visit
The White Palace, also named as Villa Blanche which was built in 1897 for Indochina governor. Next we visit
the Statue of Jesus Christ on the top of Small Mountain. The statue is 32 metres high, standing on a 4 metres high platform, for a 36 metres total monument height with two outstretched arms spanning 18.3 metres , there is a 133-step staircase inside the statue. Continue visiting to The
Old Vung Tau Lighthouse and
Nirvana Temple which is also known as the Pagoda of the Lying Buddha . We then transferred back & arrive in Ho Chi Minh City around 17:00
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Ho Chi Minh city
DAY 13: HO CHI MINH DEPARTURE
Today is your last day. You are free to chill out and relax. Depending on your departure flight, our guide and driver will pick you from hotel to airport in time for next destination. End trips and we wish to serve you in the next time.
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