Highlights of Vietnam
Duration: 8 days
Highlights: Start in Hanoi, visit the UNESCO World Heritage site Halong Bay, discover the ancient town of Hoi An, explore the Ch Chi Tunnels in Ho Chi Minh City.
This itinerary is perfect for the first-time visitor to Vietnam, who only has a week to explore the highlights of this beautiful country.
Itinerary
Day 1 - Arrive Hanoi
Upon arrival in Hanoi you will be greeted by your representative and transferred to your hotel. The remainder of your day and dinner will be yours to enjoy at your leisure but
if you require any advice of where to go and what to do, please be sure to consult with your Destination Specialist.
Overnight: Hanoi
Day 2 - Hanoi
After breakfast at the hotel, your guide will collect you for a day of intriguing sightseeing, beginning at the Ho Chi Minh City Mausoleum. The vast tomb stands just over 70
feet tall and 135 wide and contains the embalmed body of the revolutionary leader who played a key role in the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and with
the Viet Cong during the war with anti-communist forces.
Your next stop will be at Ho Chi Minh City’s stilted house. Built using the finest wooden materials in 1958, the simple two-story wooden house is where legendary leader Ho
Chi Minh City once lived. The stilted house is surrounded by banyan, frangipani, Poinciana and milkweed trees and sits next to an elegant carp-filled pond.
Next, move to One Pillar Pagoda. Built in the 11th century by King Ly Thai To, the pagoda known to locals as “Chua Mot Cot” is one of Vietnam’s most iconic temples. The
king built the temple to offer thanks to the deity he believed helped his wife give birth to his son.
Your tour of Hanoi continues at Quoc Tu Giam, a Confucian temple otherwise known as Temple of Literature. Recognized as Hanoi’s first university, the temple was also built
in the 11th century during the reign of King Ly Nhan Tong and is featured on the back of the 100,000 dong banknote. The temple, which hosts the Imperial Academy, has
educated Vietnam’s royalty and members of elite society for nearly 700 years.
Proceed to the Quan Thanh Temple (Temple of the Northern Spirits), also known as “Tran Vo” or “Tran Vu” and often incorrectly called the “Pagoda of the Grand Buddha”.
Located between the two lakes, the temple was established during the Ly Dynasty (1010 to 1225 AD) and was dedicated to Tran Vo (God of the North), whose symbols of
power are the tortoise and the snake.
After lunch at local restaurant, round out your day of discovery with a last stop at Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts, Vietnam’s foremost art museum. The museum’s
exhibits showcase artwork from every historical period of the country and consist almost exclusively of politically correct folk art, sculptures, engravings and lacquer ware by
contemporary artists.
Dinner and the remainder of your day will be enjoyed at your leisure, however feel free to ask your guide for a local restaurant recommendation.
Overnight: Hanoi
Meal Plan: B,L
Day 3 - Hanoi - Halong Bay
Once you have enjoyed breakfast at your hotel your guide will collect you and take you on a four-hour transfer to Halong Bay (approx. 170km away), one of Vietnam’s
UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Discover the splendors of Halong Bay on a wooden junk that combines classic beauty with modern comfort. As you cruise through the bay, feast your eyes and stomachs
with a vista of majestic limestone karts jutting out from azure waters like dragon’s teeth as you tuck in to an exceptional seafood lunch.
In the mid-afternoon arrive at a village of floating houses anchored to the karsts of a sheltered cove. Several similar floating villages can be found throughout the bay but the
settlement you will visit is unique in that it is the only buoyant settlement with a school and museum.
Enjoy leisure time aboard the traditional junk. You can perhaps enjoy a swim or kayaking (optional) and simply relax and enjoy sunset views from the junk’s sundeck before
enjoying a wonderful dinner service under the stars.
Overnight: Halong Boat
Meal Plan: B,L,D
Day 4 - Halong Bay – Hanoi – Danang - Hoi An
As an extra incentive to rise early, you will be offered the opportunity to enjoy a sublime sunrise while partaking in a Tai Chi class on the deck followed by a plentiful
breakfast service. Explore a beautiful nearby cave before cruising back to the port, arriving at approximately 10.30 to transfer back to Hanoi.
After a short chance to relax, transfer to the airport for your onward flight to Danang where you will be met and transferred to your hotel in Hoi An before spending the
remainder of the day at your leisure.
Please note: itinerary is subject to change depending on weather conditions.
Overnight: Hoi An
Meal Plan: B,L
Day 5 - Hoi An
Enjoy a leisurely start to the day and breakfast at leisure with the morning yours to spend enjoying the hotel’s amenities. In the late morning your guide will collect you and
take you to a local restaurant for lunch.
This afternoon, take a walking tour of Hoi An and discover the historic town which used to be a prosperous seaport city during the 16th to 18th centuries. Visit the Hoi An
Market, a hive of activity with stalls overflowing out into the streets with all kinds of exotic goods for sale. The locals stock up on food and buy plants here, with kumquat,
peach and apricot trees being especially popular.
Next, visit the Old House of Tan Ky, Fukien Assembly Hall and the 400-year-old Japanese covered bridge. Travellers can also visit a local studio where residents produce
lanterns. Here guests can learn to make a lanterns under instruction from the experts, and take home the handmade lantern as a special souvenir.
Later on, take a boat trip on Thu Bon River which connects Hoi An with Cua Dai Beach to catch a glimpse of everyday local life in this area before returning to the hotel in the
late afternoon to spend the remainder of the day at your leisure.
Overnight: Hoi An
Meal Plan: B,L
Day 6 - Hoi An - Danang – Ho Chi Minh City
After breakfast at your hotel you will be transferred to Danang airport for your onward flight to Ho Chi Minh City before setting off to look around the many fascinating parts of
the city, including the Reunification Hall or Presidential Palace, the Historical Museum (closed on Monday) or War Remnants Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral.
Reunification Hall is one of the most a historic landmarks in Ho Chi Minh City and was built on the site of the former Norodom Palace. Designed as the Presidential Palace
during the Vietnam War, it was where the official handover of power took place during the Fall of Saigon in 1975. The building is preserved almost as it was under the old
regime with elegant interiors decorated with fine Vietnamese arts and crafts. One of the many attractions within the building is the underground Command Post of the
now-exiled president.
Continue on to the History Museum (Closed on Monday), set in the Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Built in 1929 by the Societe des Etudes Indochinoises, it was known as
‘Musée Blanchard de la Bosse’ until 1956, when it was renamed the Saigon National Museum. In 1975, it was expanded, renovated and renamed the Historical Museum.
The Museum now houses an excellent collection of artefacts illustrating the evolution of Vietnamese culture from ancient times (approximately 300,000 years ago) up to the
1930s, when Vietnam’s Communist Party was founded.
If the History Museum does not enliven your interest, you may opt to visit to the War Remnants Museum. Over the years, the museum has held a number of colorful names,
primarily as it contains exhibits relating to the American phase of the Vietnam War. Among the at-times grisly items on display are an American tank, infantry weapons, war
photographs, the original French guillotine brought to Vietnam in the 20th century, and even a once-operational UH-1 "Huey" helicopter.
Make a brief photo stop at the Notre Dame Cathedral in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. It has a neo-Romanesque façade and two bell towers tipped with iron spires that reach
a height of 190 feet, dominating the skyline. Here you will also have the opportunity to briefly visit the classic 19th century French colonial Post Office. The largest post office
in Vietnam, it is an important communications hub for most of the city’s inhabitants. Inside, the building has huge vaulted ceilings with vast maps of Vietnam on both sides of
the main hall.
Return to your hotel and enjoy the remainder of the day at your leisure.
Overnight: Ho Chi Minh City
Meal Plan: B
Day 7 - Ho Chi Minh City
After breakfast at your hotel your guide will collect you from your hotel and take you on a drive to the Cu Chi Tunnels.
The Cu Chi Tunnels are an incredible network of hundreds of miles of narrow tunnels that were built during resistance to the French colonisation and utilised extensively
during the Vietnam War. The (sometimes claustrophobic) tunnels give an amazing insight into life during the war. Enjoy a guided exploration of the complex network,
discovering underground storage rooms, make-shift hospitals and sleeping quarters used to evade enemy bombings.
Return to Ho Chi Minh City for lunch at local restaurant and spend the afternoon at leisure.
Overnight: Ho Chi Minh City
Meal Plan: B,L
Day 8 - Depart Ho Chi Minh City
Depending on your flight schedule, you will be able to enjoy breakfast at your hotel and spend some time relaxing at your leisure before your transfer to Tan Son Nhat
Airport for your onward flight.
Meal Plan: B