DAY 01: Ha Noi Arrival
Arrive Noi Bai international airport. After completing immigration formalities and clearing customs you will be met by our guide outside the baggage claim area who will escort you to a private waiting vehicle for your transfer to your hotel (35 km | Approx. 45 minutes). Our guide will be holding a welcome board with your name. Check in hotel, you're handed a welcome drink at the check-in desk. Free your time at leisure. Overnight in Ha Noi.
Day 02: Hanoi Full Day Private Touring of Old Quarter & City
This morning we continue our look at Hanoi by visiting the Ho Chi Minh Quarter. We begin at the Old Citadel, walking along beautiful tree-lined boulevards until we get to Ba Dinh Square, site of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and where Ho Chi Minh first declared independence from French rule in 1945. Ho Chi Minh is without question one of the great figures of twentieth century history and this morning we’ll take time to visit the ‘Ho Chi Minh Quarter’ for a look at the life of the father of modern Vietnam. We visit the humble house on stilts from which ‘Uncle Ho’, as he is affectionately known, ruled Vietnam until his death in 1969. Continue on to the intriguing Ho Chi Minh Museum, an amazingly surreal exhibition of the life of Ho Chi Minh, set in the context of major events of the twentieth century and Vietnam’s struggle for independence. We’ll also view the Presidential Palace (cannot presently go inside Palace) and One Pillar Pagoda. The nearby Temple of Literature - Vietnam's first university now dedicated to Confucian worship provides great insight into these ancient beliefs. After lunch at a local restaurant, Continue to visit Fine Arts Museum, and the Vietnam Military History Museum.
Ending the day, visit to the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” - Hanoi’s former central prison made famous first for the incarceration of the leaders of Vietnam’s National Liberation movement and later US Air force pilots shot down over North Vietnam. The site of the prison was recently developed, however one wing has been retained as a museum.
Enjoy evening Water Puppets Traditional Theater Performance. The performance runs for approximately 50 minutes
Day 03: Hanoi - Halong Bay Cruise
This morning we journey east (approximately 170km or 3 hours) to Tuan Chau, the gateway to Halong Bay. En route we pass fields of busy workers farming their rice using traditional methods of cultivation. Halong Bay achieved international fame as a key location in the French film ‘Indochine’ starring Catherine Deneuve. The bay has assumed an important position in Vietnamese legend for many centuries however and continues to capture the imagination of visitors. On arrival transfer to the port and board your boat for the cruise out to the Bay, enjoying a fresh seafood lunch on board along the way. Considered Vietnam’s greatest natural wonder, Halong Bay boasts over 3,000 islands that jut out of the sea to provide a spectacular natural environment. We visit some of the beautiful cave and islets around the bay, then enjoy a sumptuous dinner on board before retiring to bed.
Day 04: Halong Bay - Hanoi
After breakfast, continue cruising amongst the many spectacular islets and visit several more fascinating grottoes. Finally leave the bay and head back towards Tuan Chau wharf. Drive back to your hotel in Hanoi.
Hanoi Dinner with a Local Family
This evening you will have the chance to visit and eat with a local family in Hanoi in their own household. You will be picked up this evening at your hotel to the local family's house in Hanoi. On arrival the owners will show you around the house and photos dating back generations. They will explain to you the function of the alter or ancestor room, a common trait in nearly all Vietnamese households. There will often be many family members in the household and during your tour of the house a traditional dinner is being prepared which you are free to join in to help prepare or observe. You shall then enjoy a traditional Vietnamese dinner as the hosts introduce each famous dish.
After dessert you may wish to enjoy a cup of tea with the family and look through some old family photo albums or hear some traditional folk stories or traditional instruments.
Day 05: Hanoi - Fly to Danang - Hoi An
Our guide and driver will meet you in the hotel lobby for your onward transfer to the airport. Take a short flight to Da Nang.
Upon arrival, travel to Hoi An which was Vietnam’s most active trading center over many centuries and the Old Town has been largely preserved. On arrival in Hoi An, you will be guided on a walking tour through the quiet streets of enchanting Hoi An. You will visit a traditional ancient house, the Hoi An Museum, a Chinese Assembly Hall and the Japanese Covered Bridge before returning to your hotel.
Day 06: Morning Hoi An Market Tour
Begin your journey today with a walking tour of town visiting the colourful Tan An local Market where we meet and chat with stall holders about their food. Your trip then continues along both main streets and back streets, discovering out-of-the-way producers and street vendors making and selling a wide variety of exotic foods, some which can only be found in Hoi An. Your journey will conclude at the Hoi An Ancient House of Gia Dinh where you shall enjoy refreshments and taste a wide selection of these local delicacies bought directly from the vendors - many of whom we saw or met on the tour. The purpose of our tour is to give you a safe opportunity to try the foods of the local Hoi An people - it is ensured the food is handled hygienically and provide a comfortable venue for the tastings. The benefit also goes back to the vendors as you will be buying directly from them.
Day 07: Hoi An – Hai Van Pass – Hue
This morning you will be met at 9.00am at your hotel in Hoi An by your guide and begin your journey north towards Hue. The drive takes you over the spectacular Hai Van Pass and offers superb views along the coast on clear days.
Arrive in Hue by mid-afternoon (stopping for lunch en-route or on arrival into Hue depending on time).
This afternoon, enjoy a half day tour to explore The Citadel and the emperor’s tombs and see why this city has been an inspiration to Vietnam's most respected poets.
Day 08: Hue
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This morning you will be met at your hotel at 8.30am for a full day city tour of Hue. You will visit the impressive home of the Nguyen Dynasty emperors - the Citadel. Much of the Citadel was destroyed during the Tet Offensive in 1968 but is gradually being restored. Also visit the tombs of the fourth emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty, Tu Duc and the second last emperor, Khai Dinh. This afternoon travel by Dragon boat along the Perfume River to the much-revered Thien Mu Pagoda, Hue's oldest and most beautiful. You will also have the chance to visit Dong Ba market before ending back at your hotel for a free evening
Day 09: Hue fly Saigon
Our guide & driver will meet you in the hotel lobby for your onward transfer to the airport.
Free your time in Saigon
Day 10: Saigon City & Cu Chi Tunnels Full Day
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Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam’s commercial capital and a city of extraordinary energy. Nowhere is Vietnam’s rush to modernize more visible. Despite this, Saigon, as it is still known, is a friendly and welcoming place with many reminders of its turbulent past and a palpable momentum towards the future. This morning begin a walking tour of Saigon’s famous and historic city landmarks. The walk will take you through the heart of the city along Dong Khoi Street (formerly Rue Catinat), past the Rex Hotel, Ho Chi Minh Square, Municipal Theatre and Notre Dame Cathedral. Then take a tour of the Reunification Palace (formerly the Presidential Palace) and War Remnants Museum.
After your lunch, Transfer to the Cu Chi Tunnels. The tunnels are located in an area known during the Vietnam War as the “Iron Triangle” on account of the strength of its communist insurgency. Established as a means of waging guerrilla war against superior French and later American fire power; the tunnel network stretches over 250kms and extends to three levels underground, providing a remarkable insight into the method and determination of Communist forces during the Vietnam War. Return to Saigon by late afternoon.
Day 11: Mekong Delta Full Day
Meet your guide in the hotel lobby of the hotel to transfer to the dock where you will board your speedboat for your trip to the Mekong Delta. Known as the ''rice bowl' of Vietnam, the Delta is the most fertile region in the country and the main producer of rice and tropical fruits. The trip to the delta will take approximately 1 hour and thirty minutes where you will view some beautiful scenery and have numerous photo opportunities as you see life along the river whilst departing Vietnam's most populated city. The first 20 minutes of the trip will take you through
some urban areas where you shall see life along the river in a city with a population in excess of 10 million people.
Upon arrival in the Delta you will begin with a visit to a local riverside market to see some of the Delta's local products. From here you will visit a local village with some nice examples of local and colonial architecture. In the village you will also visit a local pagoda, various workshops and travel down narrow verdant canals. New routes through the Delta are constantly being explored so the route will vary from day to day. Very few tourists take the routes you will be taking today. From here you shall enjoy a nice traditional Vietnamese lunch in the local pagoda prepared by the chef from Saigon who comes with you on the boat. After lunch you will return to Saigon arriving mid-afternoon.
Day 12: Saigon - Fly to Siem Reap
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Our guide and driver will meet you in the hotel lobby for your onward transfer to the airport. Take a flight to Siem Reap.
Upon arrival in Siem Reap you will be met and transferred to your hotel. This afternoon, you will visit Prasat Kravan Temple. Built in the first half of the tenth century (921) and completed during the reign of Harshavarman 1, this Hindu based temple has sculptures on the interior of two of the five towers depicting Vishnu and his consort, Lakshmi; the scene in the central tower is the most impressive one! The carvings in this temple are more commonly found in Cham Temples and are rare in Khmer architecture.
In addition, you will see the East Mebon Temple. The sculpture work at the East Mebon is exceptional and it’s thought the temple was moated and reached by boat. It includes two-meter-high free-standing stone elephants at corners of the first and second tiers. And lastly, Pre Rup Temple, built in the second half of the tenth century by the King Rajendravarman and dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva around 962. The temple’s name is a comparatively modern one meaning "turn the body". This reflects the common belief among Cambodians that funerals were conducted at the temple, with the ashes of the body being ritually rotated in different directions as the service progressed. Most of these temples pre-date, or were built around the same time as the famous Angkor Wat complex you will experience tomorrow. Return to your hotel by late afternoon.
Your guide and driver will pick you up early evening to enjoy dinner and a traditional Khmer ‘Apsara’ show this evening.
Day 13: Sunrise at the Temples of Angkor Wat & Ta Prohm Temple
The temples of Angkor represent 600 years (802-1432) of Khmer civilization - one of Asia's greatest Kingdoms. We dedicate the whole day to exploring the most magnificent of the Angkor temples. We begin with a pre-dawn departure (4.30 to 5.00 am depending on the time of year) by Tuk Tuk from your hotel for sunrise at Angkor Wat.
Enter the temple grounds in darkness (please bring a flashlight) from the little-visited eastern side. .Soak up the atmosphere of dawn at Angkor, from the edge of one of the ancient library pools. We then explore the interior of the great temple, spending a thorough two hours discovering the corridors, central chambers and upper terraces of this truly great temple. Your expert local guide will decipher the myriad of stories behind the longest stretch of bas-relief
carvings in the world, and give you an insight into life during the height of the Khmer empire. We end our touring at Angkor with breakfast outside the temple (take away, from your hotel), and a short rest. Continue the morning by driving through Angkor Thom city and visit the temple of Bayon before moving on to Preah Khan temple, a ruined but highly atmospheric mélange of tree roots and crumbling stone structures. Construction of this site was commissioned by the great ‘temple builder’ Jayavaraman VII (in honor of his father) and a visit to this smaller site makes for an interesting contrast with the more imposing Angkor Wat. Preah Khan is currently being restored by the World Monument Fund and in places is in remarkably good condition. At the end of the morning return to your hotel for lunch and a swim, and in the afternoon visit Banteay Kdei temple, a setting for the movie ‘Lord Jim’ and currently under restoration by a Japanese university. We end the afternoon with a visit to jungle-enveloped Ta Prohm, one of
the most atmospheric of all temples in Angkor and sister site of Preah Khan. Once home to 2,740 monks, Ta Prohm today looks much as it did in the early 1850s, when French explorer Henri Mouhot ‘rediscovered’ this crumbling site.
At the end of the day, we catch a final sunset glimpse of Angkor Wat, then return to our hotel. Today is a long but fulfilling day which will leave you with lifetime memories of some of the most impressive monuments built by mankind.
Day 14: Boeng Mealea and Banteay Srei Full Day Temple Touring
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Today we visit three of the most interesting temples outside Angkor Thom city. Departing your hotel at 8.00 am, you begin with a drive for two hours hour through scenic rural Cambodia to Boeng Mealea temple. En route we stop at Dom Deak town for a wander through a typical Cambodian village market. Mid-morning we arrive at King Suryavarman II’s eleventh century Boeng Mealea temple – a prototype for the more famous Angkor Wat. Boeng Mealea stands almost forgotten in jungle and getting to the site is quite an adventure in itself. Isolated during
Cambodia's civil war, Boeng Mealea was under the control of the Khmer Rouge for decades but has since been ‘de mined’ and travelers can now safely visit this temple. It is the largest temple outside the main Angkor complex and in places it is remarkably intact, but in other places utterly destroyed; tree roots envelop many of the temple walls and doorways. The atmosphere here is eerie, but a welcome contrast to the more visited temples closer to Angkor
Wat. Boeng Mealea shares many characteristics with Angkor Wat, but on a smaller scale. It has three encircling galleries, the same four gates and entrances, and a pair of interior libraries. It differs from Angkor Wat in having only one central tower instead of the famous five towers of Angkor Wat. Close out the morning with a picnic lunch before heading to the intricately carved and well-preserved Temple ‘Banteay Srei’. The detailed reliefs on this smaller sandstone structure are regarded as the finest, most skillfully crafted in Cambodia. Banteay Srei has only been accessible since the late 1990s, when the Khmer Rouge left the area. We end our day with a brief stop at well preserved Banteay Samre, a laterite structure which once featured internal moats. Late afternoon return to town after a memorable days exploration and bid farewell to your guide today.
Day 15: Siem Reap Departure
Our guide and driver will meet you in the hotel lobby for your onward transfer to the airport in
plenty of time for your individual flight home.
