This tour includes the key highlights of Vietnam (HCMC and Hanoi) with a 6-day trip to the most interesting attractions of each city.
You will begin in bustling Ho Chi minh City (formerly Saigon), the country’s commercial center and home to a growing number of upscale restaurants and shops. You’ll visit Chinatown, the Thien Hau Pagoda, the Reunification Palace, the Opera House, and the Hotel de Ville. If desired, you can also visit the moving War Remnants Museum. Next, you will explore colorful outdoor markets and Dong Khoi Street, the city’s main shopping boulevard with shops selling clothes and accessories by new Vietnamese designers, hill tribe crafts, high-quality linens, and housewares. Next, you will take a day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels and watch an unusual, eclectic religious ceremony at the main temple of Cao Daism, a unique fusion of world religions. On another day trip, you will tour the narrow canals of the Mekong Delta to see a traditional side of Vietnamese life.
Next, you will fly to charming Hanoi, Vietnam’s artistic and intellectual capital. You will explore the fascinating Old Quarter and its hundreds of specialty shops selling silk clothing, lacquerware, embroidered linens, furniture, bamboo, cooking utensils, ceremonial objects and more. You will also be able to walk around Hoan Kiem Lake, ride a cyclo to dinner, and watch a performance at the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater. You will dine in French colonial villas converted into gourmet restaurants and enjoy people watching at stylish cafes. You can also shop for impressive modern art in the city’s many galleries, then visit Hanoi’s main cultural attractions, including the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, his House on Stilts, the One Pillar Pagoda, the Fine Arts Museum and the Temple of Literature. Alternatively, on a day trip, you can cruise among the dramatic limestone islands of Halong Bay.
You will be warmly welcomed on arrival at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat International airport by our guide and transferred to your hotel. You will have free time before a welcome dinner at Noir In the Dark Restaurant and an overnight stay in Ho Chi Minh City.
In the morning you will have a half day private excursion to the Cu Chi Tunnels which consist of more than 200km of underground tunnels. This main axis system has many branches connecting to underground hideouts, shelters, and entrances to other tunnels. The network included innumerable trap doors, specially constructed living areas, storage facilities, weapons factories, field hospitals, command centers and kitchens. Today the remaining tunnels have become a major tourist attraction, giving the visitor a unique experience and a feel for what underground life was like during the U.S.-Vietnam War.
In the afternoon you will take a private city tour of Ho Chi Minh City, the country's commercial center and home to a growing number of upscale restaurants and shops. You will visit Chinatown, the Thien Hau Pagoda, the Reunification Palace, the Opera House and the Hotel de Ville. If desired, you can also visit the moving War Remnants Museum. Next you will explore colorful outdoor markets and Dong Khoi Street, the city's most upscale shopping boulevard with fashionable boutiques and accessories designed by new Vietnamese designers, hill tribe crafts, high quality linens and housewares. You will stay overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
You will transfer to the airport for a flight to Hanoi, a city with rich history and culture, reflecting the strong architectural influence of China and France. In the afternoon, you will enjoy a one hour cyclo tour of Hanoi's vibrant Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake, the focal point of the city. Then, in the late afternoon, you will be enchanted by the stories told in the water puppet show, a must see in Hanoi! You will then stay overnight in this charming metropolis.
Today you will have a fullday city tour and shopping adventure in Vietnam's artistic and intellectual capital. You'll explore the fascinating Old Quarter and its hundreds of specialty shops selling silk clothing, lacquerware, embroidered linens, furniture, bamboo, cooking utensils, ceremonial objects and more.
Then, you can enjoy people watching at stylish cafes before shopping for impressive modern art in the city's many galleries. You will also visit Hanoi's main cultural attractions, including the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, his House on Stilts, the One Pillar Pagoda, the Fine Arts Museum, the Temple of Literature and the very impressive Museum of Ethnology.
IT is one of the finest museums in Vietnam, with many exhibits, pictures and model houses of the 54 ethnic minorities inhabiting Vietnam. You will then have an overnight stay in Hanoi.
In the morning you will drive to Halong Bay City, approximately 3 hours away. Once at Halong Bay City you will be welcomed on board for a fourhour cruise on the stunning bay, stopping along the way to visit one of the limestone caves in the area. As you are cruising, the boat crew will serve you a sumptuous local seafood lunch. Afterwards, you'll sail back to the harbor and rejoin your car back to head back to Hanoi for another overnight stay.
There is no activity planned for today, so you are free to enjoy souvenir shopping until transfer to the airport for your onward flight.
