Day 1: Ho Chi Minh Arrival
Our tour guide and driver will pick you up at the airport and transfer you to hotel.
Today you are free to relax after long flight and explore Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City – Half Day City Tour (Breakfast and Lunch)
Morning Tour: 8.00-12:30
Our tour guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel.
Today we are visiting: The century- old Reunification Palace also known as Independence Palace, built on the sight of the former Norodom palace, a landmark of Ho Chi Minh City which witnessed the growth of Ho Chi Minh City during peacetime and throughout the Vietnam War until its end in 1975.
Continue seeing the beautiful structures from the French colonial times, including a stop at the impressive Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral, discover the magnificent neon-Romanesque architecture as you take in the tranquil atmosphere inside. At the opposite Central Post Office, one of the oldest buildings in Ho Chi Minh City, learn about this significant landmark – the busiest post office in Vietnam.
Next visit to War Remnants museum where the relics of the War are displayed in all their terrible glory.
Day 3: Saigon – Mekong Delta day trip (Ben Tre) – Saigon (Breakfast and Lunch)
7:30AM: Drive from Saigon through rice paddies and small villages to My Tho (70km)
Visit Vinh Trang pagoda –one of the most beautiful and famous landmarks in the region. Enjoy cruising boating & freely walking in Mekong Delta.
Drive back to Ho Chi Minh City for overnight.
Day 4: Ho Chi Minh City – Fly to Danang – Hoi an Walking Tour (Breakfast and Dinner)
After breakfast, you are transferred to the airport for your domestic flight to Danang. Your guide and driver will meet you at the airport and take you on the short drive to the sleepy riverside town, Hoi an. Take a half-day walking tour through the narrow winding streets of the ancient quarter, visiting Chua Ong Pagoda, the Chinese Assembly Hall, the 200-year old Tan Ky ancestral house and the famous Japanese Bridge.
Day 5: Hoi an – My Son Sanctuary (Breakfast and Lunch)
Day 6: Hoi an – Hue (Breakfast and Lunch)
Enjoy breakfast at the hotel then check-out and drive over the 500m-high Hai Van pass to Hue. Enjoy a stop at the scenic Lang Co Beach for a drink before continuing on to Hue – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Vietnam’s former capital. Spend the afternoon on a leisurely walking tour through the ancient city. Visit the Royal Citadel, the Imperial Museum, as well as the Mausoleum of King tu Duc (a replica of the king’s palace built for the next reincarnation of the king).
Day 7: Hue City Tour – Fly to Hanoi
Spend the morning on a private boat cruise down the romantic Perfume River to visit the Lady Pagoda (Thien Mu Pagoda), Dong Ba Market and the ornate Minh Mang’s tomb. Drive to the airport in the afternoon to catch your short flight to Vietnam’s capital city, Hanoi. Upon arrival, get transferred to your hotel in the city centre. Free at leisure.
Day 8: Hanoi Scooter tour combines with street food and drink (Breakfast and Lunch)
Day 9: Hanoi – Ninh Binh – Bai Dinh – Trang An (Breakfast and Lunch)
Arrive in Hanoi in the early morning then drive to Ninh Binh. Start the trip with a visit to the Buddha Sanctuary Place of Bai Dinh Pagoda to admire the biggest bronze Buddha statue in Vietnam with 10 meters in height, 100 tons in weight. Get knowledge of beliefs and religions in Vietnam.
Leave for Trang An eco-tourism attraction. You will be amazed by beautiful scenery while having boat trip through cave chains: Sang Cave, Toi Cave, Ba Giot Cave, Sinh Cave… Transfer to hotel in Ninh Binh for overnight.
Day 10: Ninh Binh – Halong bay (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner)
Day 11: Halong Bay – Hanoi – Fly to Luang Prabang (Breakfast and Lunch)
Day 12: Luang Prabang – Pak Ou Cave – City Tour (Breakfast and Lunch)
Take a morning cruise along the Mekong River, about two hours upstream from the centre of Luang Prabang, and discover the numerous Buddha images at Pak Ou Caves. Pak Ou (mouth of the Ou River) the Tham Ting (lower cave) and the Tham Theung (upper cave) are caves overlooking the founder’s name Mekong River. They are a group of caves on the right side of the Mekong River. It is then only a short distance from the caves to the village of Ban Xang Hai. We’ll stop here to learn about LauLao (Lao whisky) and LauHai (Lao wine). Back to the old town to visit Royal Palace Museum, was built between 1904 and 1909 during the time of French colonial occupation as the residence of the Laos Royal Family. Then head to Wat Xiengthong, once known as “The Temple of the Golden City”. It’s the most historic and enchanting Buddhist monastery in the entire country. Later of the day, climb on Phousi mountain for sunset over old town.
Day 13: Luang Prabang Cooking Class – Kuang Si Waterfall (Breakfast and Lunch)
Start the day by meeting at a restaurant and before transferring to the local market.
Learn more about the market while taking in the amazing sights, sounds and aromas of this busy place. We will have the opportunity to interact with the local sellers and purchase some of the ingredients to be used in the cooking lesson. You will be transferred to a picturesque lakeside pavilion where you will be introduced to the Laos kitchen. The chef will give you an introduction to all the fresh ingredients you have just bought from the market. Learn how to make Jeow, this is a spicy Laotian dipping sauce and Mok Pa, a popular fish dish steamed with herbs in banana leaves…. Enjoy the tastes of your newly discovered recipes for lunch.
In the afternoon we visit Kuang Si waterfall, on the way stop at Ban Ouay, Hmong Hill tribe. Continue driving to the beautiful Kuang Si Waterfall where you can splash around in the pools or walk along the forest paths, return to Luang Prabang.
Day 14: Luang Prabang – Fly to Pakse – Wat Phou – Pakse (Breakfast)
Enjoy your free morning until time to the airport for flight to Pakse, the commercial hub of Laos but it doesn’t lack of laid back ambiance. This quaint city is stop over for another adventure to Bolaven Plateau or 4000 island. Drive to Champasak to visit Wat Phou, the site originated long before Angkor. The complex you see today was built in the Angkorian period early in the 11th century, with additions constructed in the 12th and 13th century. After visiting Wat Phou, drive back to Pakse, on the way stop at Phou Salao to capture the best view from the big golden Buddha watching over Pakse and the Mekong River.
Day 15: Pakse – Don Khong – 4000 islands – Don Khong (Breakfast)
Breakfast at the hotel. Cruise along the backwaters to explore Siphandone. During the rainy season, the Mekong River reaches a breadth of 14 kms, the river’s widest reach along its 4,350 km journey from the Tibetan Plateau towards the East Sea (Bien Dong); when the river recedes, it leaves behind thousands of islands and islets.
Visit the surrounding islands of Done Khone and Done Det for a glimpse into the traditional lifestyle of the fishermen. Continue to Done Det Island and hike along its ancient railway built by the French in 1897 in order to bypass the powerful rapids when transporting goods from Cambodia. Continue to the Sumphamith Waterfall (Liphi Waterfall).
Leave Don Khone we cruise back to Ban Nakasang and head to Khon Phapheng, the largest cascade along the Mekong River. A fault line caused the cascade, which is 6 km wide at this point, and the astonishing force of the water has cut dramatic gorges through the brittle bedrock.
Stay overnight in Don Khong.
Day 16: Don Khong – Pakse – Fly to Siem Reap (Breakfast)
Today drive back to Pakse for flight to Siem Reap. Welcome to Siem Reap, the provincial capital and gateway to the ancient Angkor Temples. Upon arrival, driver and tour guide will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel for check-in. Siem Reap is elegant town. In the rest of the afternoon, orientation walking around the hotel area followed by the Phare show at Cambodia Circus Centre to expect the unexpected.
More than just a circus, Phare performers use theater, music, dance and modern circus arts to tell uniquely Cambodian stories; historical, folk and modern. The young circus artists will astonish you with their energy, emotion, enthusiasm and talent.
Day 17: Siem Reap – Angkor Temples (Breakfast and Lunch)
Day 18: Siem Reap – Tonle Sap Lake
Day 19: Siem Reap Departure
