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This Vietnam trip is perfect for those who want to enjoy their travel slowly, gently meandering around the cultural highlights of this beautiful country.
Begin your Vietnam trip in Hanoi, the charming capital of Vietnam, discover its layers of history and explore exotic ancient monuments and remnants of colonial imperialism. Feel a tranquil Hanoi in the Ba Vi district, where you will find yourself surrounded by lush green rice fields, welcomed by warm-smile local people. Then embrace the spectacular nature in the mountainous hill town – of Sapa, hiking and exploring different minorities and its colorful market.
Take a Central Vietnam trip to Hoi An where the lovely town of Hoi An is set alongside Thu Bon river, find the fisherwomen and farmers in conical hats, and join them for their daily working day. With noteworthy culinary excellence, you can expect the finest Vietnamese food and learn how to cook them with a popular chef.
Head to the South on a slow train, perfect transportation to witness a real serene Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City will be the final port-of-call. Indulge the never-ending energy of Ho Chi Minh City on an Army Jeep Car and pay a respectful visit to significant wartime sites such as the War Remnants Museum, and the Independence Palace to learn about the devastating history of the Vietnam War. Amused by the cultural show of the Vietnamese bamboo circus. An awe-inspiring performance art demonstrates Vietnam’s peaceful country life versus the noise and irony of urbanization. Vietnam Trip Ends!
Your Vietnam trip begins with your arrival in Vietnam. Your private driver will meet and greet you at the airport. Our professional driver transfers you to your accommodation. Check in to the hotel and get over the jet lag. You can mooch through the streets of the city. Historic charm, architectural marvels, and product variety are splashed all over this area. After enjoying the first day yourself, return to the hotel for a relaxing sleep.
Overnight in Hanoi.
Have breakfast at the hotel then our experienced English Speaking guide take you to Ba Vi, a countryside located on the outskirt of Hanoi. The approximate travel time is one hour and 30 minutes.
Then arriving at Mr. Duoc’s house, house owners welcome you with fresh honey tea and green lentils or lotus seeds made by his family. Imagine a Vietnam in the old time of war through the stories of Mr. Duoc, who is not only a veteran who lives during those hard times but also a green tea expert. You will visit his tea plantation which is one of the largest in Ri village and join with locals in green tea processing. Afterward, have a Vietnamese cooking demonstration with another local host and then enjoy a home-cooked lunch in a lovely garden.
After that, you will wander around the village and mingle with local people. You will visit the local craftsman who has been skilled at making conical hats from a very young age and other workshops in the village to see how people there make tofu or shell the rice. As you meander through the countryside you will experience the friendliness of the local people greeting you along the way. Then join your guides for a leisurely cycling trip along the country roads. Observe traditional Vietnamese rural life as the local people work in the paddy fields. Along the way, watch out for a water buffalo plowing a paddy field while ducks swim across the top. Stop at another host family for foot bathing following the recipes of the Muong ethnic group and relaxing time before embarking on your private boat for a trip along the Da river.
Overnight in Hanoi.
Explore the Vietnam capital Hanoi, the trip 8:00 AM, your tour guide will meet you at the hotel lobby and take you to the key historic attraction of the city such as Hoan Kiem Lake; Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum; Vietnam Museum of Ethnology the Hanoi Temple of Literature – a rare example of Vietnamese architecture back to the 11thCentury. In the afternoon, immerse in the unique cultural experiences right in the heart of the Old Quarter. Lunch at a local restaurant then you will be transferred back to the hotel. Until 8:00 – 8:30 pm, our driver will pick you up from your hotel to the train station. Take a night train to Sapa.
Overnight on the train.
The day is devoted to a beautiful hike through the breathtaking scenery of Sa Pa valley. Start by road that descends in the wake of the street Cau May (6 km) En route, admire the rice terraces hidden behind the mist of the morning, a truly awe-inspiring sight.
Follow a small track and cross the Muong Hoa River and pass well-tended rice terraces on your way to the Black Hmong village of Lao Chai. Continuing through the colorful rice terraces you will reach the village of Ta Van Giay. As you continue your trek along the Muong Hoa River you will cross a small suspension bridge, roughly 2km from the settlement. Here you can discover a fascinating collection of rock carvings. These engravings depict some beautiful images of man, stilt houses, and some beautiful decorative patterns. We lunch at a home in the village. After lunch, the walk continues through a bamboo forest to Giang Ta Chai, a Red Dao ethnic minority village. After taking a rest nearby a waterfall to refresh, you start climbing uphill to a road where the car is ready for your journey back to Sapa.
Overnight in Sapa.
Have breakfast at your hotel. Your Northern Vietnam trip will be mostly driving downhill toward Lao Cai, before taking a left turn into a small paved road leading to Ta Phin village. Here you can experience the unmixed cultural life of the Black Hmong and Red Dao minorities, the 2 largest ethnic groups in the area. They live happily together while maintaining their tradition from generation to generation. You can recognize them by dressing because they are both very famous for handicrafts. You will enjoy walking among local people. The trip also offers you the opportunity to visit the local houses.
Overnight in Sapa.
You will meet a local guide and driver upon your arrival at your hotel in Sapa then start your drive to Can Cau market. The road is relatively flat from Lao Cai to Bao Nhai bridge. After crossing the bridge, we begin our journey uphill offering beautiful views over the valleys. You will leave the market for Bac Ha town for lunch. In the afternoon, you will take a walk to Ban Pho, a small village of Nung and Flower Hmong. The villagers grow vegetables and fruit trees. One of the most famous fruits of the area is the plum. Visit a local house and taste a cup of corn wine, another famous product of the village. Then go back to the hotel late in the afternoon.
Overnight in Sapa.
After breakfast, we take a short walk to visit the old castle of the former Hmong King. Then continue to visit Bac Ha market, the biggest Sunday market in the area. Every Sunday, the different and colorful ethnic minorities come all here to sell their homemade products or buy something for the family. They are Hmong, Phu La, Back Dzao, Tay, or Nung minorities. Some of these ethnic minorities can’t be met in any other areas. Your lunch will be provided in a local restaurant.
In the afternoon, we drive downhill towards Lao Cai for about half an hour. We stop on the way (before reaching Lao Cai) to take a short walk to Trung Do village inhabited by the Tay people. Tay villages are always set up at the foot of a mountain or along a stream and are named after a mountain, a field, or a river. Each village contains about 15-20 households. A large village is divided into many small hamlets. The houses are built on stilts or level with the ground.
Then our driver will take you to the train station. Take a night train back to Hanoi.
Overnight on the train.
Upon arrival, our driver escorts you to your accommodation. Have some rest and free time until you will be transferred to the train station. Take a night train to Hoi An.
Overnight on the train.
Upon arrival in Hoi An, our driver escorts you to your accommodation. Check-in at your hotel. Today you will have free time to explore Hoi An at your own pace, seeing what interests you. This ancient town is full of Japanese merchant houses and pagodas, temples, and antique warehouses. Or just lounge about in a laid-back riverside café on the bank of the Thu Bon River.
Overnight in Hoi An.
We will provide you with a close-up and intimate exposure to both the local farming and fishing communities. Accompanied by your tour guide, you commence the day leisurely cycling along country roads witnessing local Vietnamese rural life firsthand, discovering all manner of photo opportunities coming and visiting a beautiful organic vegetable village, watering and planting vegetables, hoeing soil with local farmers, riding a water buffalo in a rice paddy field; seeing ducks swimming along the rice farm or farmers tending their crops. The photo opportunities are endless. As well you will experience the friendliness of the local people greeting you along the way. Later you will board our boat for a river cruise to meet and engage with local fishermen and enjoy a hands-on experience of traditional net fishing.
You will also experience paddling the unique Vietnamese bamboo basket boat while the waterways of coconut palm paradise. This tour provides you with a cultural window into the ways of life of both our farming and fishing communities.
Overnight in Hoi An.
Have breakfast at your hotel then our driver will pick you up from your hotel. Then we start the day (8.15 am) with a welcome drink at Hai Café.
Visit Hoi An’s colorful market, and experience the amazing sights, sounds, and aromas of this busy market. We will have the opportunity to interact with the local sellers and learn about all the ingredients to be used in the cooking lesson later.
We board the Red Bridge boat for a leisurely cruise (25 minutes) along the Hoi An River to the Red Bridge Cooking School. This is a chance to view local river life, so make sure your camera is handy.
On arrival, we explore the cooking school’s herb garden, before learning about some of Hoi An’s and Vietnam’s well-known dishes. The cooking lesson runs for about 2 hours – the Red Bridge chefs first demonstrate each dish before we prepare the same dish ourselves. Included in the class is a brief introduction to Vietnamese food carving (plate decoration). After the lesson, we sit down and eat what we have cooked.
Bring your swimsuit and after the cooking tour has finished relax and enjoy free use of our 20-metre swimming pool – towels and showers provided.
Overnight in Hoi An.
Have some rest and free time until our driver transfers you to the train station. Take a night train to Ho Chi Minh City the biggest city in Vietnam, a long trip will arrive in the morning the next day.
Overnight on the train.
Today you will have free time to explore Ho Chi Minh City at your own pace, seeing what interests you. For today, in the evening, meet the musician, who is a famous traditional Vietnamese musical instrument maker who has been contributing his passion for traditional Vietnamese music. Having dinner with the family and enjoying a performance of the musician.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
Jeep pick you up at the hotel and begin the city tour.
The first stop on your tour Jeep will take you to go to visit the Independence Palace/the Reunification Palace. The palace is symbolic of the end of the Vietnam War during the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, when the North Vietnamese Army tank number 843 crashed through the gates of what was at the time the residence of the President of the Republic of Vietnam.
Next, you will admire the Museum of American War Crimes/the War Remnants Museum is the most popular museum in Ho Chi Minh City. It gathers a collection of machinery, weapons, photos, and documentation of Vietnam’s wars.
After the Museum, you will see Notre Dame Cathedral and the Old Post Office two of the best highlights of old Saigon architecture and are located next to each other and right in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City.
And then, Jeep will take you to visit some famous roads in Saigon such as Dong Khoi street, and Nguyen Hue street. Jeep go ahead to visit to Ben Thanh Market, a lively market in District 1, where your guide can help you barter for goods. And then, Jeep goes to Bui Vien street and goes back to your hotel.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh city.
Today you have a chance to see a unique show in Ho Chi Minh City. À Ố Show tells a captivating story of the transition from the peaceful life of the countryside to the fast-paced metropolitan life of modern Southern Vietnam. The soul of village life and, in stark contrast, familiar scenes from the city, are beautifully brought to life with bamboo. The stunning simplicity of the bamboo props frames an awe-inspiring circus featuring acrobatics, contortion, juggling, and stunting. Throughout the show, both traditional and modern music harmonize richly, performed live with 17 musical instruments. We will pick you up at 4:00 – 4:30 pm and transfer you to the Opera House. Enjoy the show.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
Relish a healthy breakfast on the final day of your trip. Complete the hotel check-out formalities after which you can visit the local markets and buy souvenirs for your loved ones. Later, proceed for departure and board your flight back home. Vietnam Trip Ends!
