Day 1: Hanoi - Arrival
Arrival at Hanoi airport. Welcome by Vietnam Evasion driver, then transfer to the hotel.
The rest of the day is free for rest and personal discovery at your own pace.
Our hotel is located in the heart of the old quarter in the center which allows us to stroll easily for a complete change of scenery by immersing us in the lively and populous streets.
Night at the hotel
Day 2: Hanoi (B)
The whole day is dedicated to the visit of Hanoi, a fascinating city with many facets.
We visit Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum where the father of the nation rests and the One Pillar Pagoda.
Let's continue by the Temple of Literature, the first national university, where we discover the Mandarin competition and Confucianism.
Then, the Ethnography Museum (closed every Monday) which presents the traditions, cultures and traditional dress of the 54 ethnic minorities in Vietnam. This visit gives us a general overview of the peoples in Vietnam before seeing them in reality in the mountains.
A walk in the streets of old Hanoi lined with small typical houses with lively activities that allows to see the daily life of the locals.
In the evening, attend the water puppet show, a typical art born in the 11th century in the Red River Delta.
Night at the hotel
Day 3: Hanoi – Mai Chau (B, L, D)
Departure for Xam Khoe via Mai Chau (Xam Khoe is 25 km from Mai Chau, still authentic and much less touristic).
This valley surrounded by green mountains and dotted with lake, rice fields, rivers and houses on stilts of the Thai minority, is an excellent breath of fresh air.
Lunch at a local's house in the village.
Afternoon:
Walking tour (2h) in the villages, meeting people, discovering the daily life and the beautiful landscapes: green rice fields, karst mountains in the shape of "hump, sugar loaf" covered with lush vegetation, fertile crop fields, fish farming and garden...
In the evening: participation in the folkloric dance and music show presented by the villagers.
Night at homestay
Day 4: Mai Chau – Ninh Binh (B, L)
Transfer to Ninh Binh
This trip allows us to observe the landscapes, the Vietnamese countryside and the activities of the local daily life.
Visit of the Dinh and Le temples in the ancient capital Hoa Lu
Then, we embark on a small rowing boat (1h30 of boat) to discover the caves of Tam Coc. We pass under the successive tunnels carved by the passage of water. Fairy-like atmosphere in the middle of the peaks and limestone sugar loaf, a natural landscape made of karstic mountains overhanging an exceptional aquatic landscape.
Then bike ride through villages, between rice fields and a limestone forest around Tam Coc to Hai Nham, Thung Nham and then the Thai Vi temple.
Night at the hotel
Day 5: Ninh Binh – Lan Ha Bay (B, L, D)
Morning departure for Cat Ba Island via Hai Phong
For the cruise, we do not propose the Halong Bay cruise, too touristic, but we propose to do it in Lan Ha Bay, very little frequented, much wilder and as beautiful on a small comfortable junk.
Around noon, boarding on a traditional junk for an extraordinary excursion to Lan Ha Bay from Cat Ba, outside the traditional circuits. Lunch is served on board while the junk sails along the turquoise water. Visit the floating villages of fishermen, islands and islets, "sugar loafs and peaks" of all shapes and sizes emerge from the emerald water surface.
During this cruise, we discover this immense chaos of karstic mounts, caves, lagoons with all these ghostly forms that we see from far away.
We kayak in a quiet place between the limestone creeks.
At the end of the afternoon, the boat drops anchor to spend the night in the bay in a quiet place away from the tourist crowd. It is then possible to take a bath in the middle of the sea or on a beautiful quiet isolated beach or to rest on the upper deck.
Dinner is taken on the junk in the middle of an idyllic landscape.
Night on board
Day 6: Lan Ha Bay – Hanoi – Night train to Hue (B, L)
Morning: We wake up early to watch the sunrise over Lan Ha Bay.
Then we will continue our cruise in this bay by sailing through the thousands of "sugar loaves" emerging from the waves. We will have the impression to be in a world of fossilized animals millions of years ago.
Bike ride in the beautiful village Viet Hai on a small path between fields and limestone peaks.
Return of the cabins around 10:00 am.
Early lunch in the form of brunch on board.
We disembark in the late morning, transfer to Hanoi station.
Night on train in soft sleeper (4 persons/cabin)
Day 7: Hue (B, L)
Arrival in Hue in the morning, welcome by the guide and driver at the station, transfer to the city center for breakfast.
Full day escape from Hue, former capital of Vietnam where the Nguyen dynasty ruled from 1802 to 1945.
Its monuments were recognized by Unesco as World Heritage in 1993.
Visit of the Imperial Citadel which was the witness of the great historical events of the country, the reflection of the imperial life. The architectural complex we visit: South Gate, Palace of Supreme Harmony, Forbidden Purple City, The Mieu Temple, 9 dynastic urns...
Visit of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts
By noon, we propose you to taste Hue's specialties: banh it, banh bao, banh nam, chao tom, bot loc... in a family restaurant and frequented by the locals.
Then the Nam Giao mound where the sovereigns came to make sacrifice to the Heaven and the Earth
Visit of a small conical hat factory.
And then, visit the mausoleum of King Tu Duc, with traditional style in harmony with nature, the 2nd residence of the king and the mausoleum of King Minh Mang, one of the most surprising architectural constructions of the imperial tombs.
Night at the hotel
Day 8: Hue – Hoi An (B, L)
Excursion by traditional boat on the Perfume River, stop at the Thien Mu pagoda (pagoda of the Celestial Lady), built in 1601 and symbol of the city of Hue, then continue to Thuy Bieu village, known by the grapefruit gardens.
A bicycle ride in the village will allow you to discover the life of the people.
Back to Thuy Bieu village for the water massage with medicinal plants.
And then, we follow a cooking class under chef's information.
Lunch with self-made dishes.
Then transfer to Hoi An.
Arrival at the end of the day.
Rest of the time at leisure
At nightfall, with the lanterns illuminated, Hoi An offers a different face that should certainly not be missed.
So we have to go for dinner and then walk in the old town. The streets are illuminated by thousands of lanterns hanging on the windows and trees. The river that runs along the city is covered with floating candles and the Japanese bridge is also surrounded by bright colors. We are like in another world.
Night at the hotel
Day 9: Hoi An (B, L)
Morning visit of the city:
Classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999, Hoi An, formerly called Faifo, was a very active port where Chinese and Japanese had their quarters. Portuguese, Dutch and French merchants came to trade in the 17th and 18th centuries. Its architecture remains unchanged and continues to defy time.
We visit the old houses, the Japanese covered bridge, the Chinese temples, the market.
Afternoon: we propose another authentic discovery in the back country:
Bike ride in the countryside between rice fields to Tra Que herbal village, a charming village which is less than 3 km from Hoi An city center, then continue by the local path to the surrounding villages. Let's continue to drive on a small dike road and towards the fresh water coconut reserve of Bay Mau.
We take a one hour boat ride between the coconut trees. We are now in the middle of a typical "Mekong Delta" atmosphere. Surprising.
And then we participate in crab fishing.
The rest of the time is free to relax on the beach at your own pace.
Night at the hotel
Day 10: Hoi An – Flight to Sai Gon (B)
Free time until transfer to Da Nang airport, flight to Sai Gon, welcome by our driver on arrival, transfer to hotel.
Rest of the time free for your personal discoveries at your own pace.
Night at the hotel
Day 11: Sai Gon - Cu Chi Tunnels - Sai Gon (B)
Transfer to the suburbs of Sai Gon, visit the Cu Chi tunnel network which played a great role in the Vietnam war. They are located northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, about 40 kilometers away. They were dug in the late 1940s by determined but under-equipped fighters against French and then American forces with artillery, bombers and chemical weapons.
Stretching over some 40 kilometers, these tunnels allowed Viet Cong-controlled areas to communicate with each other when they were isolated in American or South Vietnamese areas.
They also served as shelters for the population during air attacks.
Return to Sai Gon.
Visit of the Central Post Office built by Gustave Eiffel, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Fito Museum (of traditional medicine), and the War Remnants Museum.
Night at the hotel
Day 12: Sai Gon – Cai Be - Can Tho (B, L)
Transfer to Cai Be in the Mekong River, Mother River, where we start the moving adventure in this amazing world half-terrestrial, half-aquatic.
Board a boat for a cruise on the Mekong River observing the river activities.
The boat then heads towards the workshops of local products (candies, coconut sweets, rice cakes and popcorn, rice alcohol, honey tea) and enter the small canals of the delta covered with green vegetation.
Visit a large orchard where we taste exotic fruits.
In the afternoon, board the boat and continue the cruise to Vinh Long where we meet our driver to drive us to Can Tho.
Visit of the ancient Binh Thuy house
Night at the hotel
Day 13: Can Tho – Sai Gon (B)
Early in the morning, we take the boat to participate in the Cai Rang floating market, the largest and most lively floating market in the Mekong Delta. The setting is beautiful: hundreds of motorized sampans filled with rice, fruits, and handicrafts gather to trade and sell. We leave the market, then take a bike ride on the small local road to meet the people, discover their daily life and visit a large orchard where we taste exotic fruits.
Bike ride (1h30-2h) in the countryside through typical villages, outside the traditional circuits to discover the landscape, the local daily life and contacts with people.
Return to Sai Gon
Night at the hotel
Day 14: Sai Gon - Return flight (B)
Free time until our driver transfers you to the airport for your return flight.
