VIETNAM PORTRAIT

DAY 1 : HO CHI MINH (SAI GON) ARRIVAL (- / - / -)

Arrive at Tan Son Nhat International airport, welcome by our guide and transfer to hotel for check in. The distance is approximately 30 minutes

Your visa should be pre-arranged, or be sure that your visa-on-arrival letter is in your carryon luggage. Please go to custom desk as your first point of entry into the country and present these documents for visa upon arrival.

Ho Chi Minh City formerly named Saigon is the largest city and economic center of Vietnam always bustled with activities of modern life. It is where businesses converge and shoppers indulge themselves into unlimited choices. However the city also carries with it a rich historical legacy in contrast with its dazzling glamor.

Begin with the Reunification Palace which was formerly the South Vietnam President’s residence until the end of April 1975. Proceed to the War Remnants Museum featuring an extensive collection of exhibits of weaponry, photos and documentation on Vietnam’s wars with the French and American, Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, a neo-Roman cathedral built by the French with materials entirely imported from Marseilles, France. Move on to the City Hall and take a leisurely stroll down to the colorful Dong Khoi Street full of fancy shops, stylish café, restaurants and art galleries. Stop for sipping a cup of Vietnamese coffee at a rooftop café.

Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Ho Chi Minh City (3*, 4* or 5*)

DAY 2 : HO CHI MINH FULL DAY CITY TOUR & CU CHI TUNNELS – STORY OF WAR (B / - / -)

Morning, meet your guide and transfer about 75 km North-west of downtown Ho Chi Minh City. Discover the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, which were once a major underground hideout and resistance base of Viet Cong forces during the two wars against the French and the Americans. The tunnels, entirely hand-dug, formed a highly intricate network of interlinked multilevel passageways at times stretched as far as the Cambodian border and totaling over 120 km in length. Its complexity was beyond imagination containing meeting rooms, kitchens, wells, clinics, schools, depots, trenches and emergency exits all aimed for guerrilla warfare. The tunnels were deep and strong enough to withstand destructive bombings and self-contained enough to outlast prolonged sieges. Return to the city at noon time for a rest.

Afternoon, tour in the city starting with Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, a neo-Roman cathedral built over 130 years ago by the colonial French with materials entirely imported from Marseilles and stained-glass windows from Chartres.

Next, visit Sai Gon Post Office, a fine colonial building which was designed and built in the early 20th Century by the famous French architect Gustave Eiffel. Move on to Cho Lon or the city’s China Town where you will visit the Jade Emperor Temple (Phuoc Hai), a rare Taoist structure in Vietnam built in 1909 in dedication to the Lord of Heaven. It’s filled with smoky incense and fantastic carved figurines and still buzzing with worshipers, many lounging in the front gardens.

Meal: Breakfast

Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Ho Chi Minh (3*, 4* or 5*)

DAY 3 : HO CHI MINH - FULL DAY MEKONG DELTA (VINH LONG) (B / - / -)

Today, meet with your hotel to transfer about 136 km to Vinh Long, a riverside town in the vast Mekong Delta, the world’s largest delta. Embark a boat cruise to lively Cai Be floating market where sellers and buyers bargain and exchange goods from their boats. Proceed through a fascinating maze of shady canals to Hoa Binh Phuoc Island. Beautiful landscape of zigzag canals, lush vegetation, peaceful villages and activities of rural life will make you a delightful sight.

There on the island, visit some local farmers’ homes, interact with warmhearted hosts and learn about their trades of bonsai gardening, tile and ceramic production and rice paper and coconut candy making. After tour, we transfer back to Ho Chi Minh

Meal: Breakfast

Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Ho Chi Minh (3*, 4* or 5*)

DAY 4 : HO CHI MINH - DANANG - HOI AN ANCIENT TOWN (B / - / -)

Meet our guide & driver at the hotel lobby then transfer to airport for flight to Da Nang. Flight time is approximately 1hour and 15 minutes.

Transfer from Da Nang to Hoi An with a private vehicle and English speaking guide. The transfer from airport to hotel in Hoi An is approximately 40 minutes. Check in & relax.

In the afternoon, discover the charm of Hoi An recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, is now a peaceful town of exceptionally well-preserved architecture, lifestyles and traditions. The town exemplifies a fascinating fusion of cultures between Vietnam and the outside world including China, Japan, Thailand and the Philippines.

Your sightseeing will include the iconic 400-year-old Covered Bridge with a small temple attached to one side as a prominent example of Japanese architecture, the Museum of Trade Ceramics which is an elegant Vietnamese style wooden house built in 1858 showcasing antique ceramic artifacts, the 200-year-old Tan Ky House typifying an ancient Chinese merchant residence, the Ong Temple built in 1653 by Chinese settlers to worship Guan Yu, an ancient Chinese general whose character stands for loyalty, bravery and justice and the local market vibrant with colors and activities.

Return to your hotel

Meal: Breakfast

Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Hoi An (3*, 4* or 5*)

DAY 5 : HOI AN - HUE – CITADEL TOUR (B / - / -)

Morning transfer to Hoi An via the Hai Van Pass (Ocean Cloud Pass). Enjoy a stunning headland-and-bay panoramic view from the pass, which for miles hugs the mountainside along the shoreline and overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Stop on the way to visit Cham Museum, Marble Mountain & Lang Co Beach resort if time permitted.

Afternoon take full day tour of Hue City, the former Imperial Capital of Vietnam for the 1802- 1945 period and the last refuge of Vietnamese feudalism. The city’s beauty is characterized by a natural scenic landscape and an extensive variety of historical relics. Begin with Hue Citadel, a well-known UNESCO-recognized World Heritage Site which is a 520 ha fortress-like grand complex built in the early 1800s and featuring three enclosures separated by heavy ramparts namely Kinh Thanh Hue (Civic City) as the outer, Hoang Thanh (Royal City) as the middle and Tu Cam Thanh (Forbidden City) as the inner.

Continue to Khai Dinh Tomb, the burial site of Vietnam’s second-to-last king, and the most elaborate compared to other kings’ tombs. The tomb shows a vivid European influence in architecture despite its Asian style.

Next, visit Tu Duc Tomb, one of the Nguyen Dynasty’s finest architectural works nested in a pine forest where the 4th emperor of the Nguyen family was laid to rest. Last, shopping at Dong Ba market, which is the city’s traditional commercial center.

Meal: Breakfast

Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Hue (3*, 4* or 5*)

DAY 6 : HUE RIVER CRUISE - HA NOI (B / - / -)

Morning, we continue to take a boat cruise along the Perfume River to enjoy the open view of the river and its surroundings. Stop along the way and land on shore to visit two prominent historical landmarks namely the Minh Mang Tomb, where the 2nd Emperor of the Nguyen dynasty was buried, and Thien Mu Pagoda, an active Buddhist monastery overlooking the river from a vantage point with its origin dating back to 1601.

You are free until transfer to airport for flight to Hanoi. Flight time is approximately 1.5 hours.

Meet your driver for an airport transfer with a private vehicle and guide. The driving distance is approximately 45 minutes.

Arrival Hanoi airport, warm welcomed by our guide & driver then transfer to the city.

Meal: Breakfast

Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Ha Noi (3*, 4* or 5*)

DAY 7 : HA NOI OLD QUARTER TOUR (B / - / -)

The city tour begins with a visit to the Ho Chi Minh Complex which features the life of Ho Chi Minh, the nation’s founder. At the complex, visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where the nation’s founder’s body is preserved (closed on Monday, Friday and through October - November), the colonial Presidential Palace, originally the French Governor Office and a fine example of French architecture in Hanoi, and the rural style Ho Chi Minh’s house on stilts where Ho Chi Minh lived and worked.

Stop by one of Hanoi’s icons, the One Pillar Pagoda, built in the 11th Century in dedication to Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara or Buddha of Compassion and reminiscent of a lotus blossom rising from a pond. Continue to the Temple of Literature, known as the first university of Vietnam built in 1070 by the Ly Dynasty to honor Confucius, sages and outstanding Vietnamese scholars.

Afternoon, continue the tour to one of the following museums of choice namely the Museum of Fine Arts, the National Museum of Vietnamese History, the Museum of Revolution, the Museum of Military History or the Museum of Ethnology.

Next, head for Hoan Kiem Lake, the center point of Hanoi whose name “The Return Sword Lake” originated from a legend of a sacred sword and home to a rare endangered giant turtle species and visit Ngoc Son Temple on the lake. Take a one-hour cycle tour of the Old Quarter of Hanoi with its ancient streets representing traditional trades from the past. Finish the tour at the Thang Long Opera Theatre with a traditional Vietnamese water puppet show.

Meal: Breakfast

Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Ha Noi (3*, 4* or 5*)

DAY 8 : HA NOI - HA LONG OVER NIGHT ON BOAT - UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE (B / L / D)

Morning pickup at 8:00 AM from your hotel for transfer to Ha Long Bay, which is about 160 km or 3.5-hour drive away. The transfer is approximately 3 hours. You will see some rural areas of the Red River Delta with plenty of chances to take photos of Vietnamese farmers working in paddy fields and you may stop on the way to admire the local scenery.

Arrive in Ha Long City at 11:30 AM and check in aboard the booked junk right after the welcome drink is served. Start cruising while having lunch on board and enjoy the mighty bay view.

Arrive in Ha Long City at 11:30 AM and check in aboard the booked junk when your journey across Ha Long Bay starts. Ha Long Bay meaning Descending Dragon Bay in Vietnamese as legend has it that it was where a holly dragon landed down from sky. The bay, famous as one of the world’s wonders and heritage sites whose formation dates back 500 million years, consists of around 2,000 karst islands and islets scattered over an area of 1,553 km2.

After lunch, take a short trek to a nearby summit for a panoramic view of the bay dotted with golden sails, go swimming on a quiet beach or sunbath on the sundeck. Later in the afternoon, you will visit an interesting fishing village with an opportunity to interact with local people who have been living in the bay for almost three generations.

An optional kayaking trip is available weather permitting. Back onboard enjoy a lavish dinner and enjoy the bay view at sunset. Spend a night on board.

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Overnight on cruises in Ha Long Bay (3*, 4* or 5*)

DAY 9 : HA LONG - HA NOI (B / - / -)

In the morning, refresh your body and mind with a Tai Chi exercise on the sundeck at the break of dawn. Have tea and coffee onboard and continue exploring Ha Long Bay sailing across its 2000 islets and visiting some of its major highlights.

Normally, check out at 09:30, have a buffet brunch while cruising back to shore.

Disembark at 11:00 AM to transfer to Hanoi capital.

Meal: Brunch

Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Ha Noi (3*, 4* or 5*)

DAY 10 : HANOI DEPARTURE (B / - / -)

Free at leisure until meet our guide then transfer to airport for flight departure

Meal: Breakfast

End of the Tour