10 Days – Pearl Of Vietnam

Morning, start a full day city tour beginning with Ho Chi Minh Complex which features the life of Ho Chi Minh, the nation’s founder. At the complex, visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum where the nation’s founder’s body is preserved (closed on Monday, Friday and through October - November) and the rural style 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, the Museum of Revolution, the Museum of Military History and the Museum of Ethnology. Go to 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. Next, 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.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Hanoi

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. On the way, 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. Stop half way to visit a handicraft workshop of fine clothes and embroidered paintings. 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. 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. The bay cruise will continue with up close sighting of Dinh Huong Island, Ga Choi Island, Dog Island, Sail Island, a visit to Sung Sot Cave and swimming stop at Titov Beach. Relax to enjoy the bay view at sunset, have dinner after, go fishing at 09:00 PM and spend a night on board.

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch/ Dinner

Accommodation: overnight on cruises in Ha Long Bay

Wake up at 06:30 AM and refresh your body and mind with a Tai Chi exercise on the sundeck. Tai Chi is an ancient internal martial art often practiced in soft and gracefully slow moves to enhance internal harmony and vitality. Have tea and coffee onboard before proceeding to Titov Islet or Soi Sim Island to trek and swim. Check out at 09:30, have a buffet brunch while cruising back to shore. Disembark at 11:00 AM to transfer to Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi for flight to Hochiminh Arrive in Hochiminh, welcome by our guide and transfer to Hue. Hotel check-in and time at leisure.

Meals: Brunch

Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Hochiminh

Morning, welcome by our guide and transfer to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels. The tunnels in Cu Chi district, 75 km Northwest of downtown Ho Chi Minh City, which were once a major underground hideout and resistance base of Viet Cong forces during the two wars against the French and later on Americans. The tunnels, entirely hand-dug, formed a highly intricate labyrinth-like network of interlinked multilevel passageways at times stretched as far as the Cambodian border and totaling over 120 km in length. Its complexity is 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. Afternoon, take a sightseeing tour of Ho Chi Minh City that includes the War Remnants Museum, which features a comprehensive collection of the machinery, weapons, photos, and documentation of Vietnam War with the both the French and Americans, former Presidential Palace and Ben Thanh market.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Hochiminh

Morning, pick up at your hotel and transfer about 136km to Vinh Long, a riverside town located in the Mekong Delta. Enjoy a boat cruise to the Caibe floating market with sellers and buyers bargaining and exchangeing goods from their boats, and then to Hoa Binh Phuoc islet where the maze o shady creeks will surely fascinate you. You will have a change to mighle with local peasants, learn the secrets of their bonsai gardening. Visit local homes where the famillies produce tiles and ceramics; drop into rice-paper kiln and coconut-candy kiln; and observe daily country life. A typical Vietnamese lunch at a local home will be arranged. Afternoon, drive to Can Tho & check in and free at leisure.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Cantho

Morning, depart Ninh Kieu wharf by shuttle-boat, you can see bustling activities along Can Tho riverbanks. Particularly, you may know how local people go fishing with plenty of fish traps and how they transport passengers as well as products by the waterway. Approaching Cai Rang floating market, you can reappear the selling activities in the past using a traditional “offering pole” exchanging consumer goods hanging on the pole for Mekong fruit and vegetables with local sellers. To understand more about lifestyle over here, keep on going into the small creeks called Rach Nho in which the Southern countryside can be seen clearly before cruising back to Ninh Kieu Wharf. Afternoon, transfer to Cantho Airport in Cantho for flight to Phu Quoc Island. Arrival Phu Quoc, meet our guide and transfer to hotel for check in.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Phu Quoc

Full day free at leisure.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Phu Quoc

Fullday free at leisure.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Phu Quoc

Leisure time until transfer to Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City for departure