Essence of Vietnam

Welcome to Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City. You will be met on arrival and transferred to your hotel. In your free time, we encourage you to head out and get your first taste of what Ho Chi Minh City has to offer.

This morning you will head out of the city to the nearby Cu Chi Tunnels. Cu Chi is the name of the district that covers the extensive network (approximately 200 kilometres) of underground tunnels dug by the Viet Minh and later expanded by the Viet Cong. The tunnels contained hospitals, accommodation and schools, and were used for refuge, storage and as a military base for the Viet Cong close to Ho Chi Minh City. A section of the tunnels has been widened to allow visitors to enter and get a feel for what the life underground must have been like (please note that this will be hot and sweaty, and claustrophobic for some). You will then return to Ho Chi Minh City for an afternoon tour of the city, where daily life plays out on the streets and the dynamic atmosphere is a fascinating blend of old and new, East and West. Your leader will take you to the Reunification Palace, formally the Presidential Palace and the site of South Vietnam’s surrender in 1975, before visiting the War Remnants Museum. This illuminating museum features equipment and vehicles from the Vietnam War, and here you can gain a deeper understanding of the how the Vietnamese view the war.You will also visit the Notre Dame Cathedral, Old Saigon Post Office and Dong Khoi Street (formerly Rue Catinat) absolutely nice choices for a free stroll. 

The rest of the evening is free - perhaps explore the food stalls at Cho Ben Thanh market.

This morning you will leave Ho Chi Minh City and fly north to Da Nang(approximately 1 hour). You will have the chance to enjoy some spectacular scenery on the drive(approximately 1 hour) including the sensational Marble Mountains. The five peaks, limestone with marble outcrops, are seen to epitomise the five elements: fire, water, earth, wood and metal. The history of the mountains is rich - the Champas once used them for religious purposes, and in more recent times they were a haven for the Viet Cong. You will arrive in Hoi An in the afternoon, when you can settle in for your two-night stay in this atmospheric old town.

Today, explore some historical sites in the small town of Hoi An, including the Japanese Bridge, the renowned Chinese Temple and Vietnamese former merchants’ houses. After that, you will learn about how to make a lantern through a visit to the home of a craftsman, exploring the authentic rural life, and you are able to keep the lantern you make as a souvenir.

Today, transfer from Hoi An to Da Nang, then fly to Hanoi. And then under your guide’s introduction, you are going to visit the Presidential Palace, Ho Chi Minh’s house on stilts and Pillar Pagoda. After that, experience the buzz of Hanoi in the Old Quarter by rickshaw, where you can see, hear, smell the life of the busy Vietnamese. Finally, watch a water puppet show in the tranquil Hoan Kiem Lake, which people use water as the stage for the puppets and tactfully hide the puppet strings and puppeteers’ movements.

After breakfast, you will take a private transfer for about 3 hrs to Halong City, where you will begin your one and a half days' Halong Bay cruise. You will board the tradtional Vietnamese junk in the afternoon and cruise around the Halong Bay's limestone islets and caves doted the sea and see the sun set over the clam waters at the deck. Enjoy a wonderful dinner at evening. All meals are included during your stay on board. There are also a variety of optional activities waiting for you. Such as swimming, kayaking, diving...etc. 

Wake up early this morning to catch the sunrise over the bay with a Tai Chi lesson on the sundeck. Continue cruising and you can choose either kayak or traditional rowing boat to around discovering local life on the waters. Disembark at Tuan Chau International Passenger Port at around 11:00, where your guide and driver will wait you and drive you back to Hanoi (about 4hrs). On arrival, Your guide will take you to hotel and check in.

Your Vietnamese adventure will come to an end after breakfast this morning. After checking out, set apart to the airport for your international flight.