Itinerary
- Day 1
Ho Chi Minh City
You'll land at Tan Son Nhat International Airport and head to your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. Check-in happens around 2:00 PM, so depending on when you arrive, you can either take it easy or wander the streets a bit. The colonial architecture and local markets around the city are worth checking out if jet lag isn't hitting you too hard.
Optional Activities
- Stroll through Ho Chi Minh City streets
- Discover colonial architecture
- Explore local markets
Landmarks/POIs Tan Son Nhat International Airport - Day 2
Ho Chi Minh City to Cu Chi Tunnels
After sleeping in, you'll get picked up for a 1.5-hour bus ride to Cu Chi Tunnels. A video gives you background on the tunnel systems, then you walk through living areas, kitchens, and command centers to understand how people lived there. Try some traditional tea and cassava, and if you're interested, there's an optional shooting range. It's a pretty immersive look at guerrilla life during the war.
- Meals
- Breakfast
Included Activities
- Watch introductory video about tunnel construction and wartime survival
- Explore tunnel systems including living areas, kitchens, and command centers
- Taste special tea and cassava (traditional guerrilla food)
- English-speaking guide tour
Optional Activities
- Try the real shooting range
Landmarks/POIs Cu Chi Tunnels - Day 3
Ho Chi Minh City to Hoi An
After breakfast, you'll transfer to the airport for your domestic flight to Da Nang, then a private driver takes you to Hoi An. Once you check in, spend the afternoon relaxing or heading to the beach if you want. Later, explore Hoi An Ancient Town with its lantern-lit streets and silk shops along the river. There's a free traditional theatre performance at 9:00 PM, or you can release a candle lantern into the river if that appeals to you.
- Meals
- Breakfast
Included Activities
- Explore Hoi An Ancient Town with lantern-lit streets
- Browse lantern market and silk shops
Optional Activities
- Attend free outdoor traditional theatre performance at Nguyen Thai Hoc street square (9:00 PM - 10:00 PM)
- Release candle lantern into the river
Landmarks/POIs Hoi An Ancient Town Nguyen Thai Hoc Street Square - Day 4
Hoi An
Starting at 9:00 AM, you'll join a lantern-making workshop at a local studio. You'll learn why silk lanterns matter culturally, then make your own by picking the shape and color, building the bamboo frame, stretching silk over it, and adding decorative tassels. Herbal tea keeps you company while you work. You take home both your handmade lantern and a bonus one your instructor made. The rest of the day is yours to do whatever you like.
- Meals
- Breakfast
Included Activities
- Lantern-making workshop with English-speaking instructor
- Learn cultural significance of silk lanterns
- Choose lantern shape and silk color
- Assemble bamboo frame and decorate
- Traditional herbal tea and bottled water
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Optional Activities
- Relax at resort
- Explore Hoi An Old Town independently
- Stroll along lantern-lit riverside streets
Landmarks/POIs Hoi An Ancient Town - Day 5
Hoi An to Hanoi
You've got a relaxed morning before heading to the airport for your flight to Hanoi. A local guide meets you when you arrive and gets you to your hotel, with check-in around 2:00 PM. After you settle in, at 6:00 PM you'll join an evening food tour through the Old Quarter, sampling 6-7 authentic Vietnamese dishes like Pho, Banh Mi, and Vietnamese coffee. It's a good way to dive into the local food scene.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch (Hanoi walking food tour - 6-7 authentic Vietnamese dishes including Green Papaya Salad, Beef Pho, Crispy Vietnamese Pancake, Steamed Rice Rolls, Street-Style Grilled Pork Skewers, Sweet Rice Donut, Vietnamese Dessert, Vietnamese Sandwich, Grilled Pork with Noodle, Fried Spring Rolls), Dinner (Hanoi walking food tour - 6-7 authentic Vietnamese dishes)
Included Activities
- Walking food tour through Hanoi's Old Quarter
- Sample 6-7 authentic Vietnamese dishes
- Visit local markets and narrow alleys
- Experience Hanoi Train Street
- English-speaking guide
Landmarks/POIs Hanoi Old Quarter Hanoi Train Street - Day 6
Hanoi Countryside Tour
Your guide picks you up at 8:00 AM with a private car for a countryside trip. You'll meet Mr. Duoc at Ri Village, a Vietnam War veteran who owns a tea farm, and learn about tea harvesting and how it's traditionally made. Then you head to Moc Village where Mrs. Chin teaches a cooking class and you prepare lunch together. Walking around the village, you see how locals make tofu and conical hats, cycle through paddy fields, and get a traditional herbal foot bath before driving back to Hanoi around 4:00 PM.
- Meals
- Breakfast (Welcome drink and local fruit at host's home in Ri Village), Lunch (Vietnamese dishes prepared during cooking class in Moc Village)
Included Activities
- Welcome drink at host's home in Ri Village
- Tea farm visit and harvest learning
- Traditional Vietnamese tea production workshop
- Cooking class in Moc Village with Mrs. Chin
- Village exploration and local lifestyle visits
- Cycling through paddy fields
- Traditional herbal foot bath ritual
- English-speaking guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Landmarks/POIs Ri Village Moc Village - Day 7
Hanoi to Ha Long Bay
Your cruise guide picks you up at 8:00 AM from the Old Quarter. After a 20-minute break halfway, you arrive at Tuan Chau Harbor at 12:00 PM to check in. Lunch is traditional Vietnamese dishes while you cruise past Ha Long Bay's rock formations. The afternoon brings a visit to Sung Sot Cave and then Titop Island where you can enjoy views or swim. Back on the cruise, there's a sunset party and fresh noodle cooking class at 6:00 PM, followed by barbecue dinner and a herbal foot bath.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch (Vietnamese traditional dishes while cruising Ha Long Bay), Dinner (Barbecue Dinner overlooking Ha Long Bay)
Included Activities
- Welcome drink on cruise
- Lunch with Vietnamese traditional dishes while cruising Ha Long Bay
- Visit Sung Sot Cave (Surprising Cave)
- Titop Island visit with viewpoint and beach swimming
- Sunset Party
- Fresh noodle roll cooking class
- Barbecue Dinner overlooking the bay
- Natural herbal foot bath
- English-speaking local guide
Optional Activities
- Squid fishing
- Karaoke
- Relaxation on sundeck
Landmarks/POIs Ha Long Bay Sung Sot Cave Titop Island Tuan Chau Harbor - Day 8
Ha Long Bay to Hanoi
You're up at 6:00 AM to catch the sunrise from the sundeck, then enjoy buffet breakfast with morning tea or coffee. At 7:45 AM you visit a pearl farm to see how pearls are farmed and retrieved. Kayaking through Ha Long Bay starts at 8:30 AM. You check out at 9:30 AM and cruise back with lunch on board at 10:45 AM, arriving at Tuan Chau Harbor at 12:00 PM. The bus takes you back to Hanoi with a stop at 2:15 PM, and you're at your hotel by 3:30 PM.
- Meals
- Breakfast (Buffet breakfast), Lunch (Lunch while cruising back to Tuan Chau Harbor)
Included Activities
- Sunrise viewing from sundeck
- Buffet breakfast
- Ha Long Bay Pearl farm visit
- Pearl farming and retrieval process learning
- Kayaking in Ha Long Bay
- Lunch while cruising back
- English-speaking local guide
Landmarks/POIs Ha Long Bay Ha Long Bay Pearl Farm Tuan Chau Harbor - Day 9
Hanoi Departure
You'll have your final Vietnamese breakfast and finish packing. Before heading to the airport, take a walk or pick up last-minute souvenirs from nearby markets if your flight time allows. Your private driver takes you to Noi Bai International Airport for your outbound flight. Safe travels with all those Vietnam memories.
- Meals
- Breakfast
Optional Activities
- Shop for last-minute souvenirs at nearby markets
- Take a stroll around Hanoi
Landmarks/POIs Noi Bai International Airport
