Explore Vietnam

Arrive at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport mid-morning. After clearing immigration and customs, you will be met and transferred to your hotel.

Hanoi, the ancient capital has risen again. The city’s centre is an architectural museum piece, its blocks of ochre buildings retaining the air of a provincial French town in the 1930s. The hotel is in the heart of the city, near the famous Opera House and the park surrounding Hoan Kiem Lake, one of the lakes that give Hanoi a sense of light and space.   Along side magnificent buildings the urgent task of day-to-day survival seem to co-exist with an unhurried contentedness and frugality.  The remainder of the day is at leisure.  In the evening enjoy a welcome dinner and a traditional Water Puppet show performed with music, using a pool of water as a stage. These puppet shows of folkloric stories were traditionally performed outdoors, staged on the surfaces of ponds and rice paddies. Water puppetry or Roi Nuoc" in Vietnamese, began as a form of local entertainment, or art form as early as the 10th century and was further developed during the re-generation of arts, which boomed during the Tran Dynasty] D Hilton Opera Hotel (5-star)

This morning take a walking tour of Ba Dinh Square, a popular complex of cultural and historic sites including Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum (also called Lang Bac or Luminous Mausoleum), opened in 1975, the year Vietnam was reunified.  [In the tradition of Lenin and Stalin before him, the final resting place of Ho Chi Minh is a glass sarcophagus set deep in the bowels of a monumental edifice that has become a site of pilgrimage]; the Presidential Palace; and One Pillar Pagoda (the Chua Mot Cot), a miniature pagoda once called the Temple of Love, was built in 1040 on a pillar constructed of a single large tree trunk.

Following time for lunch on your own, embark on an orientation tour of this French accented city with broad tree-lined boulevards and colonial architecture.  Pass Hoan Kiem Lake and the Temple of Literature, founded in 1070, four years after the Norman invasion of England, by Emperor Ly Thanh Tong, who dedicated it to Confucius in order to honor scholars and men of literary accomplishments.  Later walk the narrow streets of the divers Ancient Quarter.  B Hilton Opera Hotel (5-star)

This morning cruise along Hue’s Perfume River to peaceful Thien Mu Pagoda, a Buddhist monastery that is among the city’s most important monuments. Also visit the palatial Tomb of Minh Mang, with its pavilions and courtyards modeled after the Ming Tombs of China. Enjoy lunch at local restaurant. In the afternoon visit the Tomb of Tu Duc, with its own lake and lovely grounds.  The majestic and serene tomb of Emperor Tu Duc is set amidst frangipani trees and a grove of pines, and enclosed by a stonewall.  Tu Duc designed the exquisitely harmonious tomb, which was constructed between 1864 and 1867, for use both before and after his death.  Also visit the Tomb of Khai Dinh.  The gaudy and crumbling tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh, who ruled from 1916 to 1925, is perhaps symptomatic of the decline of Vietnamese culture during the colonial period.  It was constructed between 1920 and 1931 in a garish style inspired by Vietnamese and European art. B, L Saigon Morin Hotel (4-star)

Encounter the spectacular scenery of Cloudy Pass on this morning’s journey south to Da Nang. The drive is one of the most attractive in Vietnam, skirting the broad coastal plain, which is fronted by miles of clean sandy beaches and backed by the craggy spine of the central highlands. In Da Nang, tour the famed Cham Museum celebrating the Cham peoples’ Hindu legacy with a fine collection of sculpture and artifacts dating from the 7th to 15th centuries.  Then check-in at your hotel overlooking China Beach.

Depart for nearby Hoi An (WHS), once the most important seaport in Vietnam, where a succession of Dutch, Chinese, Portuguese, and Japanese traders helped to build an architecturally diverse and colorful village where many ancient traditions still hold sway. Because no cars are allowed in town, the streets belong to pedestrians and cyclists. Enjoy a walking tour of the ancient town, nestled on the banks of the Thu Bon River, 3 miles (5 km) inland from the coast.  This charming old town was once a flourishing port and meeting place of eastern and western cultures in central Dai Viet under the Nguyen Lords.  Hoi An’s ancient past is superbly preserved in its architecture where the old quarter is a fascinating blend of temples, pagodas, shrines, clan houses and shop houses Return to your hotel for the evening. B Furama Resort (Garden view room) (4-star)

Transfer to the Da Nang Airport where you will board your flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) [flight approximately one hour].  On arrival, we travel by coach south to the Mekong River town of Cai Be. Here we board a motorized sampan for an introduction to river life, including a close-up look at the floating market where farmers display their goods from bamboo poles suspended over their boats. Cruise along the upper reaches of the Mekong, exploring the maze of tributaries and inlets that lead to tiny settlements and villages.

After lunch at a local farm, continue cruising to the beautiful island of Vinh Long. From here we travel by coach and ferry to the river port of Can Tho.  Check-in to your hotel and have dinner.  B, L, D Victoria hotel (4-star)

Rise early for today’s journey by boat to the bustling floating market at Cai Rang on the Mekong’s lower reaches. After this scenic excursion we visit the excellent Mekong Museum. Lunch at local restaurant.  This afternoon is at leisure.  B, L Victoria hotel (4-star)

This morning, travel overland to Cu Chi, a small community located to the northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, which has gained notoriety for its a 75-mile-long underground network of deep tunnels, (now part of Greater Ho Chi Minh City), which provided shelter and was an effective source of infiltration for the Viet Cong during the later years of Vietnam War.  You will have the opportunity to explore these ingenious mazes below ground or to view excavated areas from above. The afternoon will be at leisure in Saigon.  B Sofitel Plaza Hotel (4-star)

Transfer to Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat International Airport where you will board your flight home.

OR

Continue on for the Post Tour Extension to:  CAMBODIA’S ANGKOR WAT COMPLEX - Click here for details about the extension.