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Heritage Cities & Tropical Escape (PREMIUM CLASS)

This premium program redefines luxury travel in Vietnam, offering exclusive access and unparalleled comfort. Journey from Hanoi’s cultural elegance to a seaplane flight over Halong Bay, then immerse in Hue’s imperial heritage and Hoi An’s timeless charm with private guided experiences. Your voyage culminates with a secluded island retreat and a private cruise through the Mekong Delta, ensuring every moment is curated for sophistication and personalization.

OVERVIEW

  • ROUTE

    Hanoi - Halong Bay - Hue - Hoi An - Nha Trang - Ho Chi Minh City

  • DURATION

    13 days

  • TRANSPORT

    Air-conditioned bus, 4 or 5 stars cruise, motorbike/cyclo, domestic flight (not included in the price)

  • LANGUAGE

    English (Other languages available: Spanish/Portuguese/Russian/France...for an additional fee)

HIGHLIGHTS

Hanoi’s Vespa or Cyclo Tour & Halong’s Seaplane Flight: Explore Hanoi’s Old Quarter on a private Vespa o Cyclo tour before witnessing Halong Bay’s grandeur from a luxury seaplane. This combination offers an elegant introduction and an iconic aerial perspective.

Hue’s Imperial Luxury & Hai Van Pass Journey: Cruise the Perfume River and savor royal cuisine in Hue. Then, embark on a scenic private Jeep tour across the legendary Hai Van Pass toward the ancient charm of Hoi An.

Hoi An’s Lantern Streets & Whale Island Retreat: Discover the lantern-lit magic of Hoi An’s Old Town. Afterwards, escape to the pristine seclusion of Whale Island for snorkeling and relaxation in a tropical paradise.

Saigon’s River History & Mekong’s Private Cruise: Journey by speedboat along the Saigon River to the historic Cu Chi Tunnels. Then, experience the lush Mekong Delta from the comfort of a private day cruise.

Curated Luxury Stays & Culinary Excellence: Enjoy handpicked luxury hotels and resorts with spa services in every destination. Indulge in fine dining on a Halong Bay cruise and authentic royal cuisine in Hue for a complete gourmet journey.

100% Price Beat Guarantee

  • Shared Twin/ Double/ Triple room with AC and private bathroom (5-stars hotel or depending on selection)
  • Transfers and private tours with live-speaking guides in AC vehicles
  • Meals as per program
  • 2 bottles of mineral water per day on the bus
  • Entrance fees
  • 24/7 support
From 2500USD/PERSON (group of 12 pax)
CONTACT US

ITINERARY

DAY 1: HANOI – ARRIVAL (B/-/-)

Welcome to Hanoi! Check in hotel. 

Overnight in Hanoi.

Take a walk through the Old Quarters that speaks about a history characterized by Chinese, French and Vietnamese influence. Most of the sights are easy to get around to here because it’s a compact area sharing space with street vendors, colonial buildings, Buddhist temples and the inevitable traffic. 

Absorb a slice of life, observing the many folks who go about their daily lives here and then make an exploratory foray into the Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first university, to understand the hierarchy of education in the old days. There’s still a lot to do in Hanoi and if the constant bustle makes you want to slow down a bit, amble around the Hoan Kiem Lake or participate in a Vietnamese Tea Tradition.

Optional Activities: Vietnamese Tea Tradition at Thưởng Trà, Guided bicycle tour across Red River and Rural Hanoi, Museum of Ethnology, Women’s Museum, Manzi Art Café.

Today we’ll be driving to Halong Bay. The drive is approximately 4 hours but an interesting one nevertheless allowing a sneak peek at the life of ordinary Vietnamese farmers, bent over a sea of green paddy fields. 

With picture postcard backdrops and emerald green waters sprinkled with sky-high islets, Halong Bay is perhaps the most photographed region of Vietnam, and not without reason. Step on board your cruiser, your accommodation for the night and get closer to these gigantic limestone monoliths that emerge out of the water like a primeval creature calcified for eternity. 

Depending on the weather, make ripples in the water as you swim up to some sandy banks or thread your way gently on your own kayak as you paddle through the limestone tunnels and the base of Karst Mountains. 

Lunch & Dinner on cruise.

Overnight on cruise.

Welcome the dawn as it coaxes you into wakefulness with a gentle bobbing of the waters and a mild sun that draws out the sampans, twisting and turning to seek the mornings catch. After breakfast, capture a few more memories of the bay and then head back to Hanoi where you can wander at will until we head to the airport to catch a domestic flight to Hue.

Dinner and overnight in Hue.

The cost of domestic airfare is not included in the current package. The final price for this airfare will be provided when you make your booking.

Freshen up and fortify yourself with breakfast before flinging yourself at a cruise along the Perfume River, unearthing as you do fantastic stories and myths that swirl along with its current. 

Observe Hue from the river, testing its rhythms from a distance and then approach it from closer, first, by visiting the Tu Duc Tomb that reveals secrets of the last Vietnamese Imperial Family traditions. Then the Thien Mu Pagoda, built in 1601, suffused in legends, but still relevant with modern associations that mark the site. 

Dinner. Overnight in Hue

Start the day early by entering the Imperial Citadel and then trudging deeper into its folds until you get to the Forbidden Purple City – a vestige of the last feudal dynasties and its architectural style dating back to the 1800s. While the crumbling ruins talk about the effects of time on its wall as well as the wars to which it was exposed – some more recent than others – it also speaks about the general history of the city and more intimately about the lives of the royals, their entourage and global influences that played part in shaping their destinies. Learn about these and other stories that make Hue not just a cosmetic delight but a cerebral one as well!

Lunch in Hue.

Later in the forenoon, drive to Hoi An (approximately 5 hours) via the coastal road making a quick pit stop at the fishing village of Lang Co and then driving through the Hai Van Pass that splits a blanket of green forest cover on either side and overlooks the spectacular and biggest natural lagoon in Southeast Asia.

Dinner. Overnight in Hoian

Optional Activities: Hoi An is well known for their high quality tailoring. You can get an entire new wardrobe made to your own choice of fabric and design. Ask your tour leader for recommended shops.

Slip on your walking shoes and grind them right down at the heels as you meander through the Old Town with your tour leader after breakfast. Unlike most other places in Vietnam, the Old Town allows you to breeze through the streets without having to spin away from a leaping traffic so take your time to wander through its languid quarters. 

Pass through the bright yellow buildings crisscrossed by lanterns and the perennial bougainvillea bushes that lodge themselves on the side streets and walls of this UNESCO world heritage site, and get a sense of history as you do it – Hoi An being a major international port during the 16th century that saw the passage of Japanese, Chinese, Europeans, Indians amongst others and continue to leave their mark in the old buildings, landmarks and gardens that dot the area.  

Dinner. Overnight in Hoian

Optional Activities: Cooking class Scuba diving (seasonal), Explore Hoi An rural life on bike, Lantern making, Noodle making with social enterprise for street kids, Kite making (suits family)

Start off from where you left yesterday because you’ve got the entire day to discover the charms of Hoi An on your own. 

As the evening settles in, wave Hoi An goodbye and prepare to go to Danang from where we board a domestic flight to Nha Trang. 

Dinner and overnight in Cam Ranh (Nha Trang)

Optional Activities: My Son Sanctuary, Bike Ride in Rural Hoi An

The cost of domestic airfare is not included in the current package. The final price for this airfare will be provided when you make your booking.

Change things up just a little and shift to a lower gear by getting off the grid and spending some time away from the crowd. Lie back in the secluded beaches of Whale Island where the clear blue water rushes at your feet and coconut trees whisper a gentle tune. 

Go wind surfing, scuba diving, snorkeling or swimming in the clear waters and share the watery expanse with some vivid marine life that burst through coral reefs in an explosion of colour. If you’re shy of getting your feet wet, trace your steps among some of the trails around the island and watch the landscape come alive from a vantage point. 

All in all, enjoy this little pocket of paradise and recharge your batteries before getting to Saigon. 

Dinner. Accommodation: Resort in Whale Island

Optional activities: Activities provided by the Island: Scuba,Snorkelling,wind surfing,hiking (free)or just chill under a coconut tree and drink beers

If you’ve missed out on the opportunity to access some of the activities on offer you’ve still got time to hop on board. Surf the transparent waters of the ocean or skim through the placid currents on kayaks. You have all the time in the world until late afternoon when we prepare to catch a flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Lunch. 

Arrive Hochiminh, transfer to check in hotel. Dinner. Overnight in Hochiminh. 

The cost of domestic airfare is not included in the current package. The final price for this airfare will be provided when you make your booking.

With the country’s association with the French, Dutch, and the Chinese it’s easy to see how the architectural influence has transposed themselves in many of the buildings around Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). 

Take a whirlwind tour of the city and explore its most important sites starting with the Central Post Office, an establishment that fuses gothic and renaissance elements in its architecture. Find out the city’s links with France as you observe the Notre Dame Cathedral rising neatly in the aptly named Paris Square. Tread through the rooms of the Reunification Palace, a Vietnamese construction that bears witness to Vietnam’s not so recent past and then stop by the War Remnants Museum that recalls the war with America through stock footages, photos, documents and equipment. 

Take a breather for lunch and then step right into contemporary history again by visiting and going deeper into the Cu Chi Tunnels, a network of underground channels that were built to escape detection from French and American troops and served as a veritable underground city during the war. Transfer back to Hochiminh. Dinner. Overnight in Hochiminh

Optional Activities: Street Food Tour on Motorbike, Craft Beer Tour on Motorbike

Drive out of Saigon after breakfast this morning and float down the iconic Mekong delta. Step on board your river cruise and watch life pass by along the banks and in the very river as the locals go about their daily work. Disembark and lose yourself for a moment amidst the farmers, artisans and charming little villages that get sustenance from the river and then clamber aboard a sampan to negotiate the narrower channels of the river to grab an offering of peace that only the countryside can provide. Transfer back to Ho Chi Minh City.

Dinner. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

It’s time now to bid farewell to your group leader and new friends but not without a backpack full of memories. Departure Transfers are included on the day. Please consult with your tour leader or the hotel desk to confirm the check out time.

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