DAY 1
Depart on your scheduled flight to Hanoi.
DAY 2
On arrival in Hanoi, transfer to your hotel, where three nights’ accommodation has been arranged. An elegant city, Hanoi is a pleasure to explore and is an excellent place to start any tour of Vietnam.
DAY 3
This morning, we have included a city orientation tour. You will see the recently restored Opera House and visits will be made to Hoan Kiem Lake, and the serene Temple of Literature. This will be followed by a walking tour of the Ancient Quarter, where homes and temples are dotted with shops – a true souvenir hunter’s paradise.
This afternoon we include a visit to Ba Dinh Square where silent sentries guard the marble and granite mausoleum where Ho Chi Minh, the former Vietnamese President, lies in state. You will see the simple cottage where he lived and worked, before continuing to the nearby Ho Chi Minh Museum. You will also visit the One Pillar Pagoda to hear the legend of its construction, before lunch at a local restaurant. This evening there will be an optional Water Puppet show, followed by dinner.
DAY 4
Today you are at leisure in Hanoi to make your own discoveries of this ancient city. Alternatively, why not take the optional full day excursion to beautiful Halong Bay? On arrival at the bay, you will take a four hour boat cruise, including seafood lunch, amongst the dramatic limestone peaks that rise out of the sea. You will also enter one of the vast caves of gigantic stalactites and stalagmites. The drive to Halong Bay is through rich green rice paddy fields. This evening, we offer the option to enjoy dinner at the Wild Lotus restaurant, one of the city’s superb Vietnamese eateries.
DAY 5
You will leave Hanoi behind this morning, as you fly to Danang. On arrival transfer to Hoi An for a three night stay. Hoi An is a delight – a picturesque, ancient riverside town and the most enchanting place on the Vietnamese coast. This afternoon we include a walking tour of its quaint streets, which includes the Japanese Covered Bridge and a Chinese communal house.
DAY 6
Today you are at leisure in Hoi An to explore the delights of the town for yourself. Alternatively, why not join our optional morning excursion into the countryside for an insight into the daily life of a typical village community. You will enjoy a bike ride through the village of Hoa Chau, shaded by a bamboo canopy, passing homes and gardens, a temple and a husking mill.
DAY 7
Free in Hoi An, or take our optional full day excursion to the stunning ancient ruins of My Son. Often referred to as the ‘Angkor Wat of Vietnam’, My Son was a major religious centre in the Champa kingdom.
DAY 8
Transfer to Danang airport this morning for your flight to Ho Chi Minh City, perhaps better known as Saigon. A city of amazing contrasts, in Saigon evidence of former French colonisation still remains and this combined with the culture of the predominantly Buddhist population and the booming free-market economy makes for a memorable visit. We include a sightseeing tour of the city this afternoon, visiting the former Presidential Palace, now known as Reunification Hall, the Notre Dame Cathedral and the beautiful Post Office building. There will also be the chance to walk along the famous shopping street of Dong Khoi, which used to be known as Rue Catinat – the centre of haute couture in Saigon. You will stop for lunch (included) in a local restaurant.
DAY 9
Today you are free to explore the delights of Ho Chi Minh City for yourself, or join our optional excursion to the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, an amazing series of underground passages first constructed in the late 1940s by the peasant army fighting the French and later extended by the Viet Cong rebels.
DAY 10
At leisure to take advantage of the hotel facilities or continue your discovery of Ho Chi Minh City. Alternatively, we offer a full day excursion deep into the Mekong Delta. The River Mekong descends for 3,000 miles from the Tibetan Plateau to the South China Sea, and is constantly busy with sampans, barges and houseboats. You will drive first to Cai Be, on the River Mekong, where you will board a boat to cross the wide river, and then cruise through every shade of green along narrow inlets and canals to a lunch stop at a farmer’s house. Visits will be made to local workshops along the way. Very little has changed over the centuries in this part of Vietnam, and everything and everybody has to travel by boat.
DAY 11
Transfer to the airport for your return flight to the UK.
DAY 12
Arrival in the UK.