14 DAYS – VIETNAM SCENIC

Arrive at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, welcome by our guide and transfer to your hotel. 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. Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Ho Chi Minh

Morning, meet our guide at your hotel and transfer about 75 km Northwest of downtown Ho Chi Minh City. to visit 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. Afternoon, tour in the city starting first with the Reunification Palace, which was formerly the South Vietnam President’s residence and symbol of the Southern Administration’s reign until end of April 1975. Next, stop at Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, a neo-Roman cathedral built over 130 years ago by the colonial French with materials entirely imported from Marseilles. Call in 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. Meals: Breakfast Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Ho Chi Minh

Morning, pickup at your hotel to transfer about 136 km to Vinh Long, a riverside town in the vast Mekong Delta, the world’s largest delta. Take 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 HoaBinhPhuoc 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 warm-hearted hosts and learn about their trades of bonsai gardening, tile and ceramic production and rice paper and coconut candy making. A typical Vietnamese lunch at a local home will be arranged. Meals: Breakfast Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Ho Chi Minh

Morning, transfer to Dalat - a city of cool climate and romantic landscape with mountain, pine hills, waterfalls, flower gardens and ethnic minority villages, an ideal place for golfing. On the way, our group will stop to visit Pongour waterfall a grandiose waterfall of the Southern highlands. Located about 50 km south of Dalat, it is regarded as one of the most beautiful and imposing falls in the West Highland with about 40 m in height and over 100 m in width. Surrounded by 25 ha unspoiled forest, the waterfall slips into numerous sandstone stepping from top to bottom. Its massive water powerfully falling down seven floors produces sonorous sounds that can be heard from miles around. Arrival Dalat, check in and free at leisure. Meals: Breakfast Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Dalat

Morning, enjoy airy space at RoBin Hill, Dalat Cable Car Station to get the panorama view of the Dalat City and enjoy the marvelous sight of the pine forested valley. Another option is to take the cable car descending down 300 meters to visit to Tuyen Lam Lake featuring Truc Lam Zen Monastery - the biggest Zen University in Viet Nam with the quiet scenery of beautiful flower garden. Keep driving southward, you can choose to visit Prenn waterfall where to try elephant riding or Datanla waterfall with magnificent view and can be approached by the roller coaster. On the way back to Dalat City center, we visit the Bao Dai King’s Summer Palace (Bao Dai is the last Emperor of Vietnam). Afternoon, continue to Valley of Love with many beautiful love-signs, flowers, and pine hills scenery. If you love artwork, XQ Embroidery village is a worthy place to see many miraculous hand-made embroidery works and find out how they made. Keeping on visiting a giant golden statue of Sakyamuni Buddha. Continuously, The Cock Church is the biggest church in Dalat city which was designed and built by Frenchman. Free to enjoy the artichoke tea, jams at Dalat’sSpecialities Showroom. Meals: Breakfast Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Dalat

Morning, leisure time for sightseeing and shopping until transfer to airport for flight to Da Nang. Arrive in Da Nang, welcome by our guide and take a quick tour of Da Nang City including the Museum of Cham Sculpture and Marble Mountains before transferring to Hoi An. Once a bustling maritime commercial port of Asia between 15th and 19th centuries, 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. Meals: Breakfast Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Hoi An

Morning, discover the charm of Hoi An as a renowned World Heritage Site. Once a bustling maritime commercial port of Asia between 15th and 19th centuries, Hoi An 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. Highlights for sightseeing include the town’s 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 and 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. Afternoon, take a boat cruise on the Thu Bon River to enjoy the countryside landscapes. Land on Kim Bong village where carpentry has been practiced since the 16th Century as the village’s trademark to visit some old-fashioned boatyards using timber as the main material. Move on to Thanh Ha village to see its traditional ceramic production trade still alive and thriving despite the 500-year passage of time. Meals: Breakfast Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Hoi An

Morning, meet our guide at your hotel and transfer about 40 km West of Hoi An to visit My Son Sanctuary, another UNESCO-recognized world heritage which was once a religious center of Cham people where royal ceremonies and burials were performed. The site now is a colony of partially ruined Hindu temples from the total of 70 constructed by Cham Kings between the 4th and the 14th Centuries in dedication to god Shiva. It is regarded one of the foremost Hindu temple complexes in Southeast Asia and is often compared with other temple heritages of Southeast Asia such as Angkor in Cambodia, Ayuthaya in Thailand or Borobudur in Java. Afternoon, transfer to Hue 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. Arrival Hue, take a boat cruise along the Perfume River for sightseeing and visiting two prominent historical landmarks namely Minh Mang Tomb, where Minh Mang, the 2nd Emperor of the Nguyen dynasty was buried, and Thien Mu Pagoda, a Buddhist monastery still in use with its origin dating back to 1601. Meals: Breakfast Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Hue

Meet our guide at your hotel and take a 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 KinhThanh 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, stop for shopping at Dong Ba market. Afternoon, transfer to Phu Bai International Airport for flight to Hanoi Arrive at Noi Bai Airport, welcome by our guide and transfer to hotel for check in. Meals: Breakfast Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Hanoi

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, transfer in a private coach about 100 km South of Hanoi (2.5 hour drive) to Hoa Lu District, NinhBinh Province. Discover the first capital of Vietnam, which was founded in the 10th Century by the Dinh Dynasty as a stronghold against the Northern invaders and shortly later was inherited by the Le Dynasty. Visit the two old temples one dedicated to Dinh Tien Hoang, the only king of the Dinh Dynasty and also Vietnam’s first emperor and the other to the succeeding kings of the Le Dynasty. Afternoon, continue to visit TrangAn tourist attractionhas over 310 species of higher plants, many algae and fungi. In particular, there have some rare woods and amount of valuable trees using for food, medicine. In addition, there has about 30 species of mammals, 50 species of birds, dozens of species of reptiles and some rare animals such as: chamois, leopard, phoenix… take boat trip to visit cave complex: Sang Cave, Toi Cave, Ba Giot Cave, NauRuou in mystery and wildness, see scenery of mountain and rivers Ha Long on land of NinhBinh. 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 holy 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

Early risers can enjoy the splendid yet tranquil view of the bay at the crack of dawn. Breathe the sea’s fresh air, feel the morning breeze and hear the sounds of birds above. Have breakfast and cruise to visit Human head shaped island and Tortoise Island. Continue to cruise into Bai Tu Long Bay to discover the adjacent bay of “The Little Dragon Bowing to His Mother” as it is named. Check out and have lunch on board while heading to shore. Disembark and transfer back to Hanoi. Evening at leisure. Meals: Breakfast Accommodation: Overnight at hotel in Hanoi

At leisure until transfer to airport for departure