Itinerary

1. Day 1- Ho Chi Minh Arrival

   • Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)! Breeze through the first few minutes of Ho Cho Minh City (Saigon) by getting to your hotel with the help of our representative. Hit the sack if you’re a bit jet-lagged or go for a wander if you’re not. Bounce some questions off your tour leader when they meet you at 6 pm and lick your chops thereafter, over a welcome dinner before you get down to business tomorrow.

2. Day 2- Saigon

   • Head north of the city to the Cu Chi Tunnels to discover the remains of what is an intricate network of channels beneath the ground – an ingenious method by the Viet Cong to escape detection from their enemies. 
   • Take the opportunity to crawl through a section of this tunnel and relive the lives of thousands of soldiers and peasants who spent their time trying to create a parallel city, complete with kitchens, war rooms and bunks. 
   • Return to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to explore the city centre at leisure and in the evening, become part of the moving scenery as you jump on a scooter, hopping off only to chomp at bits and pieces of the street food fare.

3. Day 3- Hoi An

   • Follow your tour leader through the charming old quarters of Hoi An bedecked with colourful lanterns, old buildings that skirt the streets in yellow uniformity and the Thu Bon River that glides its way lazily through the area. An important port during the 15th century, Hoi An has been heavily influenced by its many trade partners including the Chinese, French, and Japanese – a claim substantiated by many examples of colonial buildings and temples that sprout here as well as its beautiful centrepiece, the Japanese Covered Bridge. 
   • Cup your ears closer to the walls, squint your eyes hard enough and you can almost reach back in time and see merchants and workers bent at work in some of the old houses that served as a trading post for news, silk and other valuables. 
   • Discover these and then some more; and if you still have some time in hand, saddle up and hit the rural patch on a push bike, leaving the sounds of the city to enter a world that hasn’t changed in many respects.

4. Day 4- Hoi An

   • Today is a free day but there’s no shortage of what to do. Toss up between ambling through the Old Quarter again or letting your feet lead you up to a lantern-making school. If that’s not your thing, try some scuba diving or end up investing some of your time in making noodles – a social enterprise that reaches out to street children. If that doesn’t work for you either, engage with one of the nifty tailors in town who’ll take your measurements, guide you through the fabrics and help you add to your wardrobe in a matter of hours. 
   • Later in the afternoon, join the local boatmen as they take you down the Thu Bon River and witness some of the fishing techniques applied to make their catch. Top it all off by enjoying a barbeque right by the banks of the river!  

5. Day 5- Hue

   • All aboard the train to Hue today (approximately 5 hours) via one of the most beautiful coastal lines in Vietnam, as the train passes the east coast of marble mountains. 
   • Once you get to Hue, step out of the hotel and make for the Imperial City-which houses the Forbidden City, a place whose walls admitted none but the royal family and whose confines therefore, held for ages a mystery for the common people. 
   • Walk among the buildings, which now show evidence of the Vietnam War with its bullet holes and sunken walls and thank the stars that this treasure wasn’t completely destroyed.

6. Day 6- Thanh Toan Bridge - Tu Duc Tomb

   • Following an early breakfast, drag your leg over a cycle saddle and peddle on to discover the quiet charms of Hue. Listen to the crunch of sand and gravel as you stop by the Thanh Toan Bridge that adorns a rural landscape. 
   • Spend some time at the local market close by and then make a turn for the Tu Duc Tomb which tells a tale of royal excesses in nevertheless beautiful surroundings that are splayed with ancient buildings and lotus pads straddling a lake. 
   • Delve deeper into history here before returning to Hue.

7. Day 7- Hanoi

   • Shake yourself awake this morning and pack your bags. With breakfast under your belt, take a flight to Hanoi. Leave thoughts of checking in for later and head out immediately to get a sense of life in the Old Quarter. 
   • Saunter along the Hoan Kiem Lake where joggers and Tai Chi practitioners add movement to the classical sentry-like Temple of Jade Mountain. 
   • Walk past the many colonial buildings – a throwback to the French influence, Buddhist temples and pagodas of which the Bach Ma Temple-dating back to the 11th century, is the oldest. Snake your way through a local market and when you’ve seen it all, head back to the hotel to check in and recharge your batteries. 
   • Later in the afternoon, head back to the hip cafes and bars that share space with the old buildings and perhaps even book a water puppet show to finish off the day on a grand note.

8. Day 8- Halong Bay

   • Drive to Ha Long (approximately 4 hours) this morning and step on board your cruiser for an overnight stay. Stare goggle-eyed at the karst formations that spike the skies and emerge in gargantuan splendour as far as you can see. If the weather gods are indulgent, go for a swim or paddle your kayak through the tunnel-like formations and caves that have been sculpted by years of erosion. Live it up today, get fed on board, relax and give into this day that charms like no other.

9. Day 9- Hanoi

   • Wake up to the rocking motions of the sea and the tranquil silence broken only intermittently by the sampans that wriggle their way out, leaving a rippled trail in their wake as they go about hunting for their first catch of the day. 
   • Have breakfast on board and catch a few more idle hours in this idyll before setting off to Hanoi again where you have the day to yourself until we catch up for dinner to say our final goodbyes.

10. Day 10- Hanoi Departure

    • It’s time now to bid farewell to your tour 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.