The perfect way to see the key highlights of Vietnam in a concise 9-day luxury tour. From the beauty of Halong Bay to the fertile Mekong Delta
Personalised journeys from start to finish
Save an acre of rainforest each time you travel
Every detail taken care of
trip highlights
- Forget your skinny lattes and americanos, in Hanoi you’ll taste traditionally-prepared Vietnamese egg coffee in an atmospheric local café.
- Master the art of Vietnamese cooking, visiting a local market in Hoi An to talk to sellers and buy fresh ingredients that you’ll then use to whip up your own culinary masterpiece!
- Enjoy Saigon’s most extraordinary production, the A O Show! This breathtaking performance showcases the beauty and cultural richness of Vietnamese rural life through music, dance and acrobatics.
itinerary details
Arrival at Vietnam’s vibrant capital city, Hanoi. Depending on your time of arrival the rest of the day is yours to start soaking up the local culture. Pick up is included.
Spend the day cruising amongst spectacular seascapes, fringed by jagged karst formations jutting from emerald waters. Halong Bay, with its 1,600 islands and islets, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 and is a vision of awe-inspiring beauty. You’ll even explore one of the bay’s many caves. Spend a night onboard before returning to Hanoi the next day.
Exuding a wonderfully exotic aura, Hanoi is the perfect combination of old Asia and new bringing together all of the charms of a colonial past with a modern buzz in one fast-paced yet graceful city. Sightseeing today includes a wander through the Old Quarter’s atmospheric tangle of streets followed by a Vietnamese coffee at a café overlooking Hoan Kiem Lake. Visit the Ho Chi Minh Quarter, where you’ll pass Ho Chi Minh’s monumental mausoleum and Ho Chi Minh’s Stilt House and see One Pillar Pagoda and the Temple of Literature. Fly to Danang and transfer to the UNESCO-listed town of Hoi An.
Take a morning walking tour of charming Hoi An. A wonderfully laidback, graceful
and traditional place the streets of the town, lined with lanterns, shops and tailors, are a delight to wander. Visit a lovely old house, still occupied by the descendants of the merchants who built it over 200 years ago, before seeing the elaborate Japanese Bridge, a Chinese temple and the bustling market. Stop en route to visit Reaching Out, a social enterprise craft workshop, and watch the artisans at work. Vietnamese cooking is renowned across the world for its innovative use of fresh ingredients and spices – this evening, learn all about the local produce and the necessary skills in a hands-on cookery class.
Spend your day in Hoi An at leisure before flying to Saigon in the afternoon. A seamless blend of past and present, Saigon offers
a high-octane ride into Vietnam’s ever brighter future.
Journey to Ben Tre to take a cruise on the mighty Mekong. This area is known as the ‘Rice Basket of Vietnam’, the rich and fertile lands producing huge amounts of rice, coconuts, vegetables and tropical fruits. Paddle through the maze of palm-lined canals, getting a glimpse of daily life on the Mekong Delta, and enjoy a lunch of typical Mekong fare. Return to Saigon.
Contemplate the horrors of guerrilla warfare at the astonishing Cu Chi Tunnels, where you’ll see the legendary tunnel network used by the Viet Cong to infiltrate South Vietnam during the war. Following this, head into the centre of Saigon to see Notre Dame Cathedral and the neoclassical Central Post Office – both grandiose legacies of a colonial past. Also visit the Reunification Palace; and the chilling War Remnants Museum where the brutality of the war and its victims are well-documented. Finish up by browsing through the lively Ben Thanh Market. This evening enjoy a performance of the A O Show – a music, dance and acrobatic spectacular at the Saigon Opera House.
Spend your day at leisure before transferring to the airport for your flight back home.
