Explore – Experience Vietnam Like a Local 17 Days

Day 1: Hello Hanoi Vietnam – Xin Chao Hanoi Vietnam (Welcome dinner)

Tour team will welcome you at the airport and transfer you to hotel. 

Check in hotel and your time for relaxing after long flight.

You are free until 5:00 PM, we will arrange Cyclo tour for one hour around the old quarter and you will take a short walk to see the old quarter.

19:00 PM: Our team will meet you and take you to the restaurant for dinner.

Day 2: Hanoi Fabulous Food and Sights by Scooter (4 Hours) (Breakfast and lunch)

In the morning 8:30 AM: Our scooter drivers will pick you up at your hotel to start a tour to visit Hanoi city.

Firstly, you will go to a very famous coffee shop to enjoy Egg coffee.
Next, our drivers will take you to the Hanoi Opera House built in 1911 to take some photos together as a little memory of Hanoi.

After that we take you to local markets to see people selling everyday essentials.

Joining to Motorbike Tour, we will take you around the small alleys to visit the old houses and daily life of urban people that are very little known by tourists when visiting Hanoi.

Apart from the small alleys, we will take you through the most highlight places such as: Train Street, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Huu Tiep Lake (B52) where vestiges of war are left here.

A must-see place is the historic Long Bien bridge designed by Daydé & Pillé company (French company), the same one that also built the Eiffel tower in Paris. The bridge has witnessed two fierce resistance wars of the Vietnamese people. They are the war against the US and the French. Let take some more photos here for your memory. Tour ends at your hotel.

Notes:

• Please keep in mind that we do not go inside the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum on “Hanoi City sights and street food” tour. This attraction requires a lot of time to fully appreciate so we recommend that you visit them on your own so that we can make the most of time you have with us.
• The above itinerary is subject to change, based on the day’s weather and traffic conditions.

Day 3: Hanoi – Sapa by bus (330 km) (Breakfast)

 7.00 AM: Our driver will pick you up at your hotel for Sapa.

13.00 PM: Arriving at Sapa Town with colorful traditional costumes of H’mong, Dzao, Tay and Dzay ethnic minorities. 

This afternoon you are free to explore Sapa town, if the weather is clear, you can take cable car to visit Fansipan Peak.

Day 4: Visit traditional villages for local experiences (Breakfast, lunch and dinner)

9:00 AM: Our tour guide will take you to villages where the home of Red Dzao and H’Mong, Dzay ethnic minorities.  Overnight at homestay.

Day 5: Sapa – Hanoi (Breakfast)

11:00 AM: Our bus will pick you up at your hotel to Hanoi. You will arrive in Hanoi about 6:00 PM.

Day 6: Hanoi – Ninh Binh (Breakfast and lunch)

7:45 AM:  Our guide and driver will meet you at your hotel start 110kms, your journey through verdant landscape of country side.

10:00 AM – Arriving Glimmering Bai Dinh pagoda complexes, the largest pagoda, not only in Vietnam but also in Southeast of Asia. Scenically set on the foot hill of Dinh Mountain surrounded by amazing views of the exquisite river valley below and dotted and the limestone karsts dotted around which will take your breath away.

13:30 PM – Leaving for the Trang An Grottoes, an out-standing natural beauty of majestic limestone massif at 20 square kilometer rise dramatically out from rice paddy fields. Deep into the linked chains of towering mountain are pristine places of mystical valleys, numerous fresh water ponds, and jungle.

17:00 PM: Check in homestay.

Day 7: Ninh Binh – Halong Bay (Breakfast, lunch and dinner)

8:30 AM: Our shuttle bus will pick you up and transfer to Halong Bay

11:45 AM:  Arrive at Halong, you are welcomed by our crew and boarding to check in and have lunch while cruising to see the beauty of Halong Bay and Lan Ha Bay.

15:30 PM:  You will join some cruise’s activities, such as:  kayaking, swimming, cooking class…

Enjoy sunset party on boat is an ideal time for photography enthusiasts to capture the stunning moment of sunset.

19:00 PM: Enjoy a romantic dinner on cruise.

Day 8: Halong Bay – Hue (Breakfast, lunch)

6:30 AM -7:30 AM: Breakfast is served on boat.

After breakfast, we will join cruise’s activities and having lunch.

11:40 AM: Disembark and move back the port and get on bus to Hanoi airport for your flight to Hue.

Day 9: Hue City Tour (Breakfast, lunch)

8.00 AM: Our guide and driver meet you at the hotel and transfer you to the boat landing for a leisure boat trip along the Perfume River to visit the towering Thien Mu Pagoda, one of the most famous Vietnamese landmarks.

We then take a short drive into a lush valley of the river where seven tombs were built for seven Nguyen Emperors. We will visit two of the tombs: Minh Mang Tomb and Khai Dinh Tomb to help you understand more about Royal’s life and architecture.

Day 10: Hue – Hoi An (Breakfast)

After having breakfast, our bus will pick you up for Hoi An. 

Arrive in Hoi An, check in homestay to relax. 

Day 11: Explore Hoi an Countryside by Vespa or Jeep (Breakfast and Lunch)

8:00 AM: Our Vespa or Jeep car will pick you up at your hotel and begin the trip to visit a local farm, learn about rice, vegetable, and cereal crop cultivation, and experience the daily life of local farmers. Discover traditional occupations in the countryside, such as weaving, rice-wine making, and woodcarving. Learn about newer industries like bird’s nest farming and aquaculture.
Head to a local family’s home for a delicious home-cooked meal, providing you with a unique insight into the lives of middle-class Vietnamese people. Reflect on your experiences and the new friendships formed during your day in the countryside.

Day 12 & Day 13: Hoi an Free Days (Breakfast)

These free days, you are free to explore Hoi An by your own. Maybe browse the cobbled streets and art galleries or hire a bike and cycle through rice paddies out to Cua Dai Beach. Maybe browse for paintings, ceramics and colourful cloth lanterns in the town’s markets and preserved Chinese shophouses. If you’re craving a new look, you could pay a visit to one of the hundreds of tailors and get something special made. Hoi An is also known for its delicious regional food, so be sure to enjoy a meal at a riverside restaurant or perhaps partake in a cooking class.

Day 14: Hoi An – Ho Chi Minh city (Breakfast)

Today take a short, early morning flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Formerly known as Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City has a fascinating history and is arguably Vietnam’s capital of commerce and culture. After landing, take a sightseeing tour around the city. Visiting the Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral and the Opera House, then stop in at the War Remnants Museum to discover some of the sobering stories of the 20-year-long Vietnam/American War.

Day 15: Overnight in Mekong delta (Breakfast, lunch)

7:45 AM: Our driver will pick you up to Mekong. On the way you will get a chance to view the beautiful scenery as we go past the stunning rice fields.

Upon arrival at Cai Be, take a relaxing boat trip on the Mekong River to enjoy the fresh air and the charming stilt house at the river bank. Then, visit the authentic life of the locals and challenge yourself to bargaining at cottage handicraft shops. Take an adventurous sampan ride in palm shaded canals. Arriving at one of the villages, the locals will serve you with fresh honey tea and tropical fruits whilst they will perform their traditional folk. 

Day 16: Mekong Delta – Ho Chi Minh City (Breakfast, lunch)

After breakfast, you will take a bicycle to visit the villages to see the daily life of people.

Having lunch before going back to Ho Chi Minh.

Day 17: Ho Chi Minh – Departure (Breakfast)

Today you are free until our driver comes to pick you up for your flight home.

Notes: 

• If this tour itinerary is NOT suitable for your plan, prices or any changes…. we will recreate the new tour program for you.
•  If you wish to spend more time in Ho Chi Minh City or any places on tour, we’ll be happy to organise additional accommodation (subject to availability).

 Thank you very much for choosing Asia Eyes Travel!