Itinerary
- Day 1
Hanoi
Your guide meets you at the airport and drives you into the city center. After checking into your hotel, the rest of the day is open. Hanoi's streets have this interesting mix of old and new, so just wander around and get a feel for things. Your guide can point you toward good restaurants if you want dining ideas, or you can explore on your own.
Optional Activities
- Explore Hanoi at leisure
- Visit local Vietnamese restaurants (guide can recommend Michelin Guide-listed options)
- Day 2
Hanoi
This morning you'll start with Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and his traditional stilt house. Then head to the One Pillar Pagoda and the Temple of Literature. After lunch, you'll take a cyclo ride through the Old Quarter where street vendors and shops line the narrow streets. The ride takes you to Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple. Later in the afternoon and evening, you're free to do whatever interests you.
- Meals
- Breakfast
Included Activities
- Visit Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum
- Visit Ho Chi Minh's traditional stilt house
- Visit One Pillar Pagoda
- Visit Temple of Literature
- Cyclo ride through Old Quarter
- Visit Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple on Jade Island via The Huc Bridge
Optional Activities
- Further exploration of Hanoi in the afternoon
Landmarks Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum One Pillar Pagoda Temple of Literature Hoan Kiem Lake Ngoc Son Temple The Huc Bridge - Day 3
Hanoi to Ha Long Bay
After breakfast you'll head to the airport for a seaplane flight to Ha Long Bay. The flight itself is scenic, and once you arrive, you transfer to your cruise. Lunch is served while you take in the limestone pillars. During the afternoon, you'll bike around Viet Hai Village on Cat Ba Island. Back on the cruise, there's a cooking class followed by dinner with views of the landscape all around you.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch (Delicious lunch on cruise with views of limestone pillars and hidden coves), Dinner (Fine dining course meal)
Included Activities
- Seaplane transfer to Ha Long Bay
- Speedboat transfer to cruise
- Visit Viet Hai Village
- Bicycle exploration of Viet Hai Village
- Traditional Vietnamese cooking class on cruise
- Fine dining course meal
Landmarks Ha Long Bay Cat Ba Island Viet Hai Village 
- Day 4
Lan Ha Bay
Start early with Tai-Chi on deck and breakfast. You'll hike through Cat Ba National Park (a UNESCO biosphere reserve) looking for rare species, then visit Trung Trang Cave to see the stalactites and stalagmites. Lunch happens back on the cruise. The afternoon gives you choices: relax, go swimming, try kayaking, or book a spa treatment. Dinner is a multi-course meal served on board.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (Luxury course meal)
Included Activities
- Tai-Chi session on deck
- Hiking in Cat Ba National Park
- Visit Trung Trang Cave
- Return to cruise for lunch
Optional Activities
- Relax on deck
- Swimming at natural beach
- Kayaking
- Spa treatments
- Steam bath
- Sauna
Landmarks Cat Ba National Park Trung Trang Cave 
- Day 5
Lan Ha Bay to Hanoi
Begin with Tai-Chi and breakfast on deck. The morning takes you to Ao Ech for swimming and kayaking at the Kong: Skull Island filming location. You'll spend the afternoon relaxing on deck with views of Lan Ha Bay as the cruise heads back. After arriving in Hanoi and checking into your hotel, there's time to walk around. This evening you'll catch the water puppet show, a cultural performance that's quite well-known here.
- Meals
- Brunch
Included Activities
- Tai-Chi session on deck
- Swimming and kayaking at Ao Ech
- Cruise back to shore with deck relaxation
- Water puppet show
Optional Activities
- Explore Hanoi at leisure
- Visit Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
- Visit Hoa Lo Prison
Landmarks Ao Ech Vietnam Museum of Ethnology Hoa Lo Prison - Day 6
Hanoi to Hoi An
You'll fly to Da Nang and then travel to Hoi An. Once there, a cyclo ride takes you through the Ancient Town with its 1,107 wooden buildings blending Vietnamese and international styles. You'll see the Japanese Covered Bridge, the Chinese Assembly Hall, Tan Ky Ancient House, and the old Chinese neighborhood. By evening the streets fill with lanterns, and that's when you'll explore on your own.
- Meals
- Breakfast
Included Activities
- Cyclo ride through Ancient Town
- Visit Japanese Covered Bridge
- Visit Chinese Assembly Hall
- Visit Tan Ky Ancient House
- Visit ChinaTown
Optional Activities
- Explore Ancient Town at leisure in evening
Landmarks Hoi An Ancient Town Japanese Covered Bridge Chinese Assembly Hall Tan Ky Ancient House 
- Day 7
Hoi An
Today you're going countryside around Hoi An. Pick either a bike ride or private car to reach Tra Que Vegetable Village, which has supplied organic vegetables to the area for 400 years. You'll see rice fields, rivers, and water buffaloes. At a local family home, you'll join a cooking class and prepare traditional lunch using vegetables you pick yourself. The afternoon is free for a massage, foot bath, or browsing local ateliers for custom clothing.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch (Traditional Hoi An lunch prepared during cooking class using freshly picked vegetables from the village)
Included Activities
- Visit Tra Que Vegetable Village
- Cooking class with local family
- Prepare traditional Hoi An lunch with freshly picked vegetables
Optional Activities
- Bike ride through countryside
- Private car tour through countryside
- Massage and foot bath treatments
- Visit ateliers for custom-made garments
Landmarks Tra Que Vegetable Village - Day 8
Hoi An
Hoi An is yours to explore however you like today. There are more than 30 lantern-making workshops where you can make your own and take part in a 400-year-old craft tradition. Or you might watch the sunset on a river cruise along the Thu Bon. The white sand beaches at An Bang and Cua Dai are also nearby if you want to relax by the water. The whole day is flexible based on what appeals to you.
- Meals
- Breakfast
Optional Activities
- Traditional lantern crafting at one of 30+ workshops
- Sunset cruise on Thu Bon River
- Beach relaxation at An Bang Beach
- Beach relaxation at Cua Dai Beach
- Explore Hoi An at leisure
Landmarks An Bang Beach Cua Dai Beach Thu Bon River - Day 9
Hoi An to Quy Nhon
Leave early from Da Nang Station for a six-hour luxury train ride to Quy Nhon. From your seat you'll see ancient Champa Kingdom ruins, rice fields, and coastline. A three-course gourmet meal, drinks, snacks, and a 15-minute massage are included during the journey. When you arrive, you transfer to your beach resort. The rest of the afternoon is for sunbathing, swimming, or just settling in and relaxing.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch (Three-course gourmet meal on train with free-flow drinks and snacks)
Included Activities
- Six-hour luxury railway journey from Da Nang to Quy Nhon
- Three-course gourmet meal on train
- 15-minute massage treatment on train
- Transfer to luxury beach resort
Optional Activities
- Sunbathing at resort
- Swimming at resort
- Explore resort surroundings
Landmarks Champa Kingdom ruins 
- Day 10
Quy Nhon
Quy Nhon's waters are full of marine life and corals. You can book snorkeling trips from the resort and head out by boat to secluded islands. If snorkeling isn't your thing, the Twin Towers (Thap Doi) are just two kilometers away and are historic Champa ruins from the late 1100s to early 1200s. The architecture shows some similarities to Angkor. The rest of the time is free to use the resort's beaches and facilities however you like.
- Meals
- Breakfast
Optional Activities
- Snorkeling excursions to secluded islands
- Visit Twin Towers (Thap Doi)
- Explore marine ecosystem
- Explore resort and beaches
Landmarks Twin Towers (Thap Doi) - Day 11
Quy Nhon
Wake up and watch the sunrise over the ocean with fishing boats passing by. Spend the day relaxing however you prefer, maybe reading or getting a massage at the resort. By evening you'll have a romantic candlelit dinner on the beach. The meal focuses on fresh seafood from the local waters and courses are served as the sun sets and colors fill the sky.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Dinner (Romantic candlelit dinner on the beach featuring fine seafood from the ocean of Quy Nhon)
Included Activities
- Romantic candlelit dinner on the beach
Optional Activities
- Watch sunrise over ocean
- Read or relax
- Massage at resort
- Day 12
Quy Nhon to Ho Chi Minh City
You'll fly from Quy Nhon to Ho Chi Minh City, a place that's changed dramatically from its past into a busy commercial center full of modern buildings and bustling streets. The day includes stops at Ben Thanh Market, Reunification Palace, and Notre Dame Cathedral, each showing different sides of the city's culture and history. That evening there's a luxury cruise along the Saigon River with a fine Eurasian dinner as the city skyline lights up around you.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Dinner (Fine Eurasian dinner on Saigon River cruise)
Included Activities
- Visit Ben Thanh Market
- Visit Reunification Palace
- Visit Notre Dame Cathedral
- Luxurious cruise along Saigon River
- Fine Eurasian dinner on river cruise
Landmarks Ben Thanh Market Reunification Palace Notre Dame Cathedral Saigon River 
- Day 13
Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho
Head out into the Mekong Delta, the area known as Vietnam's rice bowl because of all the rice paddies, orchards, and gardens. At Cai Be you'll board a private sampan for a slow cruise through small canals where you can see how locals live. Stop at cottage industries to watch people make coconut candy and pop-rice. Lunch is in a colonial-style villa by the river. The afternoon continues with cruising to Vinh Long, visiting orchards on An Binh Island, checking out a century-old brick kiln, and seeing traditional brickmaking before ending in Can Tho.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch (Lunch in exquisite colonial-style villa set in lush tropical garden by the river, featuring Mekong specialties)
Included Activities
- Private sampan cruise through Mekong Delta waterways and canals
- Visit local cottage industries
- Taste freshly made coconut candy and pop-rice
- Lunch in colonial-style villa by river
- Visit An Binh Island orchard
- Pick seasonal fruits from trees
- Visit hundred-year-old brick kiln
Landmarks Mekong Delta Cai Be An Binh Island Vinh Long - Day 14
Can Tho to Ho Chi Minh City
This morning starts before sunrise at Cai Rang Floating Market. You'll go by sampan through the lively trading area where vendors hold up long poles to show what they're selling. Breakfast is a bowl of hu tieu eaten right on the boat, the same noodle dish Gordon Ramsay has talked about. Stop at a noodle oven where locals teach you to make fresh rice noodles. You'll also see Binh Thuy Ancestral House, which shows life from the 1800s when it was home to a wealthy merchant family. After that you head back to Ho Chi Minh City with the afternoon free.
- Meals
- Breakfast (Bowl of hu tieu (noodle soup) enjoyed onboard sampan at floating market)
Included Activities
- Visit Cai Rang Floating Market
- Sampan boat cruise through floating market
- Visit noodle oven for rice noodle-making lesson
- Visit Binh Thuy Ancestral House
Optional Activities
- Explore Ho Chi Minh City at leisure
- Visit ChinaTown
- Visit War Remnant Museum
- Visit Central Post Office
Landmarks Cai Rang Floating Market Binh Thuy Ancestral House War Remnant Museum Central Post Office - Day 15
Ho Chi Minh City (Departure)
Your time in Vietnam wraps up today. After breakfast, there are no scheduled activities, so the morning is completely yours. Whenever you're ready to go, your driver will take you to the airport for your flight home. Safe travels.
- Meals
- Breakfast
Optional Activities
- Free morning exploration
