Discover Vietnam 12 Days

Day 1: Arrive  Hochiminh –Free Evening 

• Welcome to Vietnam , driver and car will pick you up from the airport to transfer to the Hotel in center of HCM city, check in Hotel and take rest and discover Sai Gon night time by yourself.

Day 2 : Can Gio Mangrove Forest  –Scooter Food Tour Saigon Night Time (B/L/D)

• Morning – 08:00-08:15am – Our tour guides pick your hotel and head to Can Gio, otherwise known as “Monkey Island”.
• An early morning departure takes you on the one and a haft hour journey along a well-paved road to mangrove forest in Can Gio district located at the southeast of HCMC-VN. It was recognized as an international Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2000. With total area of 75.740 ha, it represents the largest rehabilitated mangrove forest in Vietnam.
• Start the visit of an exhibition of photos and models of natural landscapes, animals, and plants, etc. Continue with around 5 kilometers walking through the forest; observe and feed hundreds of long-tailed monkeys and other wild animals such as wild boars, deers, etc. Contemplate entire forest landscapes from a lookout tower, row yourself on kayak or cycle to sightseeing areas (optional). Then, board a speedboat for an interesting ride past villages, lush mangrove trees to a farm where locals feed blood cockle, oysters.
• One more thing to do in this trip is fishing!!! It will be amazing to learn and try how to catch mudskippers and spotted gobies. Finally, enjoy your “efforts” on the riverbank (optional cooking expense 40.000 vnd/kg). A delicious Vietnamese lunch will be prepared at a restaurant in the jungle. Afternoon Before heading back to Saigon, we can stop at mango gardens to buy some fresh mangoes & end the tour at approximately
• 5:00 PM: Arrive back to the Hotel
• 6:00 PM, tour guide will pick you up at your hotel to discover SaiGon by scooter
  (Tour starts at 6:00 PM and ends at 10:00 PM)
• Throughout 4 hours. Let’s do it in a unique way, by scooter. At night, treat your belly with 4 beers, 2 Saigon’s authentic foods and the best live music at 5 local places.
• Immerse yourself in the cultural trip with the tipsy feeling of beers, mouthwatering best local dishes, a mysterious ride on the back of our scooter and for sure, the tuneful melodies of music.
• After a fun ride on the back of the scooter, you will be taken to drink fresh beersat our first stop, you will choose your flavorite beer flavors.
• The we will ride you to the other side of Thu Thiem Tunnels for Saigon Skyline and enjoy the fresh cool breeze from the Saigon river.
• The second stop, we will eat Bánh Mì together (This food is listed as #1 street food that Vietnamese people eat almost every day because it is very convenient and delicious), while enjoying great talks together with our local tour guide.
• The next stops are scattered along district 10 to 3, you’ll taste the main meal of the night, which would be the #1 in the rating of Vietnamese traditional food. Hop on the scooter and get to the oldest residential apartments where we will sample the best Phở (beef noodle soup) of town in a local atmosphere.
• After finishing our delicious bowl of Phở, we will continue our adventure at Vietnamese special and typical sort of beer.
• The last top is at the live music place where we will have the tuneful melodies of music with local music bands while having another local beer. Then, we will take you back to your hotel.
• All of them would leave you the vacation full of unforgettable memories of Saigon!
•  

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Enjoy 4 Beers & 2 Foods;
• Non-tourist Destinations;
• The Ancient Apartment;
• Hidden Alleyways;
• Unique Local Foods For The Taste Of The Night;
• Panorama View Of Saigon’s Contrast From Nguyen Van Cu Bridge;
• Incredible Live Music;
• Explore 5 of Saigon’s Colorful Districts;
• Five Different Stops;
• Enjoy an Exciting Adventure on the Back of Scooter.

OUR MENU:

• Bánh Mì (Saigon Baguette)
• Phở (Beef Noodle Soup)
• Four Beers

Day3: Ho Chi Minh City Tour ( B,L,D)  

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is Vietnam at its most dizzying: a high-octane city of commerce and culture that has driven the country forward with its pulsating energy. A chaotic whirl, the city breathes life and vitality into all who settle here, and visitors cannot help but be hauled along for the ride.

From the finest of hotels to the cheapest of guesthouses, the classiest of restaurants to the tastiest of street stalls, the choicest of boutiques to the scrum of the markets, HCMC is a city of energy and discovery.

Morning – Pick up at your hotel. We will visits :

• Reunification Hall– which was the residence of the President Ngo Dinh Diem of the former South Vietnam until 1975 (1960s – Apr 1975s). You will see many interesting things such as formal meeting rooms, private bedrooms, war situation rooms 10 meter beneath earth’s level. This address today still holds many important functions in HCMC.
• Notre Dame Cathedral – (Located in the heart of the city, this cathedral was built by the French in the late 1877s. A large statue of the Virgin Mary greets you as you walk into this neo-Romanesque cathedral, adorned by two tall spires flanking either side).
• General Post Office  – which was designed by Gustav Eiffel, the Post Office is a testament to the French presence in the late 1800s. The look and feel of this grand building is like an elegant railway station).
• War Crime Museum– the museum tells the story of war from the Vietnamese perspective. Exhibits include photographs, machinery, and weapons that depict the harsh realities of war.

Noon time – Have lunch at a local restaurant.

  Afternoon – We will visits :

• Thien Hau Temple – one of the most important pagodas in the city, this richly decorated temple is dedicated to Thien Hau, the Goddess of the Sea and patron of sailors. She is said to travel over the oceans on a mat and ride the clouds to wherever she desires.
• China town– settled in the late 18th century, this labyrinthine section of Ho Chi Minh City bustles with restaurants, temples, exotic stores, and markets and Binh Tay market -this is the main marketplace in China Town, where a great deal of wholesale trading occurs. Experience the commotion of this integral part of the citys daily business.

16h30: Finish tour, transfer back to the hotel. Take time to shower, around 5:30PM, tour guide will pick you up to take dinner on cruise and see Nightlife in this city.

• 18:00pm:Enjoy Water Puppet Show

“Water puppetry is a tradition that dates back as far as the 11th century when it originated in the villages of the Red River Delta area of northern Vietnam.

The puppets are made out of wood and then lacquered. The shows are performed in a waist-deep pool. A large bamboo rod supports the puppet under the water and is used by the puppeteers, who are normally hidden behind a screen, to control them.

• 19:15 pm:Experience the cyclo trip around the downtown area, and then head towards the dock for boarding the junk to start your dinner. Cruise on Saigon River to explore the Saigon nightlife.
• 21:15 pm – 21:30 pm:Come back to your hotel. End the trip.

Day 4 : Cu chi Tunnel and Mekong delta (B/L)

• 07:30 am – Pick up at your hotel going to Cu Chi, it’s about 70-90 km from HCMC. Reach Cu Chi, tour guide will take you to watch a propaganda film a wartime propaganda film showing how local guerilla fighters were “American Killing Heroes” (a short introductory video showing how the tunnels were constructed)
• We then spend the next hour exploring the maze of tunnels in Cu Chi. Also on display are various mantraps and the remains of an American tank as well as numerous bomb craters made by 500 pound bombs dropped by B52 bombers. Visit the weapon factory, special kitchen where the smoke comes out is way far from the cooking place etc.
• And after over o­ne and half hour bus drive passing rice field. Lunch there, Take motorboat on the Tien River to the Unicorn Island. O­n the way, you can see Dragon, Phoenix and Turtle Islands. You are going to enjoy the Southern Vietnamese Folk Music, it is performed by the local people who are living on the Island. After visiting the Coconut Candy Mill, enjoying honey tea and the amazing rowing boat trip o­n the small canal, you should not miss. Before you are in Ben Tre province – “the country of coconut “, to see a typical agriculture model call “Garden – Pond – Cage”. Boat trip back to My Tho City. Heading back Ho Chi Minh City by bus.

Day 5 : HCM-Danang – Son Tra-Marble Mountain- Hoi An (B/ L/D)

7h00 AM: After breakfast at the hotel, the driver will transfer you to the airport, you will check in to fly to Da Nang – the beautiful city of central Vietnam.

Flight time:

-Morning arrive Da Nang : Car & HDV pick you up at Da Nang  Airport to have lunch with famous specialties of Da Nang: Pork rice paper, Beo cake, Quang noodles. ( or vegetarian). Check in hotel to rest.

– Afternoon: Depart for a tour of Son Tra Peninsula – known as the green lung of Da Nang, is the common home of many rare animals such as brown-shanked douc langur, wild cat…, continued Continue to visit Linh Ung Pagoda – is one of the four very spiritual towns of Da Nang, where there is the tallest statue of Ba Buddha 65m in Vietnam with a very unique architecture overlooking the big sea. The car takes you to visit the scenic Marble Mountains – with 5 mountains Kim – Moc – Thuy – Fire – Tho. This place has the beauty of nature, history, culture and poetry. Continue to visit Hoi An Ancient Town – Asia’s leading beautiful ancient city, which preserves almost intact with more than 1,000 architectural monuments from streets, houses, assembly halls, communal houses, pagodas. , churches, ancient wells… to traditional dishes.

– Evening: Dinner at a restaurant in Hoi An. You are free to walk around the Old Town at night, especially if on the 14th or the 1st day of the lunar calendar, the Old Town will turn off the electricity and only light up with lanterns, the scene becomes quiet and gentle. feels very peaceful.

Day 6: BA NA HILLS  (B/L/D)

Breakfast.

      8:20am  Depart for Ba Na Hill tourist area , where you discover unexpected moments of seasonal change of Spring – Summer – Autumn – Winter in the summer. 1 day, where you experience the largest indoor game complex in Vietnam. Sitting on the world’s longest cable car (nearly 6,000m), visiting flower gardens, wine cellars, Linh Ung Pagoda, Shakyamuni Buddha Dai.

– Lunch: Lunch Option Buffet at Ba Na

– Afternoon: Continue to visit the French Village – considered as a miniature Europe in the heart of the city. The most special is to visit and take photos of the Golden Bridge – with a unique architecture with giant hands supporting the Golden Bridge reaching out to greet him in the evening, creating a beautiful sunset scene.

  – You take the cable back to Da Nang to swim in My Khe beach, one of the few most beautiful beaches on the planet.

– Evening: Dinner at restaurant. Overnight at hotel in Da Nang.

Day7 :Bay Mau Coconut Forest – Hoi An – Fligth to Hanoi  (B/L/D

Breakfast

10h00 visit  Bay Mau coconut Forest , Have a local lunch. After that,  you’ll explore the water coconut forest on bamboo basket boats. You’ll learn to paddle bamboo basket boats from the local people as well as watch bamboo basket boat performance, crab catching, boat racing.

 Back to Da Nang, you buy specialties as gifts at the Central Specialty Supermarket (Chosen by the Department of Tourism as a safe shopping destination – Quality – Reasonable price).

 Have dinner at restaurant. Free in night time.

Day 8 :  Free Da Nang – My Khe Beach – Fligth to Hanoi   B/L/ )

Breakfast. You are free to rest at the hotel and free to swim in My Khe beach or choose Option Mikazuki, a Japanese-style indoor water park complex (expenses excluded according to the published price).

Lunch at restaurant.

Farewell to Da Nang airport , take flight to Ha Noi.

Arrive Hanoi, driver pick you up from the airport transfer to the Hotel, check in hotel and rest.

Day 9  : Ninh Binh –Mua Cave ( B/L)

Highlights

 Ninh Binh Town is far from Ha Noi about 90 km in the south where has so many beautiful famous landscapes such as: Mua Cave means dancing cave, this is a great place with trekking activate to conquer Mua mountains where You will have an impressive overview and beautiful photos of limestone mountains, Ngo Giang river & rice fields in Tam Coc & Trang An in Ninh Binh. Let’s come and experience ….. Trang An Eco-Tourism Complex is a complex beauty – landscapes called as an ‘outdoor geological museum’ with numerous caves, mountains, valley water, trees and the historic relic. Trang An cave ecosystem almost belongings to Hoa Lu District and a part of northwest city of Ninh Binh province.      

• 8h00 – 8h45: Pick up at your hotel then depart to Ninh Binh on the way you can see the picture of rural in VietNam with fertilizer green fields, buffalos are eating grass, ducks are swimming…10h45 arrive at Hoa Lu Temple – the first capital of Vietnam was buit from 10 century. You will spend few minutes for overview.
• 11h00: Arrive Mua cave which is constructed following the model of “miniature Great Wall” in China with nearly 500 steps up to mountains to conquer. You will spend about one hour to do hard trekking up to the top of the mountain for overview the impressive panoramic view of Tam Coc, Trang An & Ninh Binh city.   
• 12h30: Get on bus to Restaurant, then have lunch with special Vietnamese foods.
• 13h30: Depart to visit Trang An Eco-tourism, take boat trip to visit cave complex: Sang Cave, Toi Cave, Ba Giot Cave, Nau Ruou, Sinh Cave, Si Cave…etc.
• 17h00: Getting on the car return to Hanoi.
• 19h00 – 19h30: Back to Hanoi drop you back your address Tour ends.
• Evening is free

Day 10: Halong Bay-Lan Ha Bay by Lacasta cruise 5 start ( B/ L/D)

• 7:45 – 8:15: Get picked up from your hotel (In Hanoi Old Quarter area and not included in cabin rate).
• 8:15 ~ 11:30: Follow the newest highway connecting Hanoi and Hai Phong.
• Upon arrival at Station number 17 – OVERNIGHT CRUISE PORT, Tuan Chau Maria, Ha Long passengers will be welcomed by receptionist at La Casta’s waiting lounge.
• 11:30 – 12:00: After taking a rest, our high speed tender will transfer you to the main boat (Around 25 minutes).
• Get onboard and warmly welcome from La Casta crew team with welcome drink. After that, you will be given a short briefing about La Casta Cruise and safety guideline at our restaurant. Complete the check-in procedure and check-into our suite cabins.
• 13:00: Enjoy a lunch in the restaurant. La Casta Cruise start to depart for the voyage to discover the Lan Ha Bay.
• 15:45: Visit the Ba Trai Dao area and the natural lagoon of Lan Ha Bay – this area includes the beach breaths a romantic atmosphere and three smaller islets like three giant peaches on the sea. You can join with our activities such as: kayaking, swimming, sightseeing and explore the Ba Trai Dao area.
• (In unfavorable weather conditions, to ensure the safety of our guest, this destination would be change into Dark and Bright cave- famous for the pristine natural beauty and poetic, attractive seascape of Lan Ha Bay. You can join with our activities such as: kayaking, sightseeing on the bamboo boat, … – This is the best time for you to enjoy bamboo boats or swimming which is an interesting activity to discover the truest beauty of the stunning limestone structure and the blue sky of Lan Ha Bay).
• 17:30 – 18:30: Come back to our La Casta cruise and enjoy the pre-dinner sunset party with Happy Hour Promotion (buy 1 get 1 free with some kinds of drinks) at the bar while watching the view of the bay at sunset.
• 18:00: Join a cooking demonstration, our chef will guide you how to make some simple signature Vietnamese dishes.
• 19:30: Enjoy special seafood and typical Vietnamese food on the cruise.
• 21:00: Evening entertainment: Squid fishing, karaoke… Overnight on the La Casta Cruise.

Day 11: Lan Ha Bay- Ha Noi (B/L)

• 6:15:Wake up early, join the Tai Chi session on sundeck area, enjoy the fresh atmosphere and watch the sunrise in Lan Ha Bay.
• 7:00 – 7:45:Have breakfast. Admit morning view of bay’s landscape with a cup of tea or coffee.
• 08:00:Stroke the stunning views of the Bay and it’s dramatic limestone islets
  Visit the famous Tra Bau, it’s time for freely kayak and explore thelandscape, or swim…
• 09:00:Back to your cabin, relax and check carefully all the luggage before leaving your cabin.
• 09:30:Check-out and enjoy a fantastic cruise on the bay for room service. Complete check out procedure and enjoy your brunch at La Casta cruise.
• 10:30:Enjoy the brunch at restaurant.
• 11:30:Disembark at Tuan Chau harbor, we hope you have enjoyed your time with us and wish you a safe onward journey.
• Around 15H00 will arrived Hanoi, checkin your hotel, evening is free time.

• * Because of cruising conditions, the program may be changed slightly due to specific weather or tide conditions without prior notice to visitors. Wi-Fi is available although internet connectivity is limited due to the geography of Ha Long.
• IMPORTANT NOTES:
• Program & activities:
• The itinerary can be changed without prior notice
• The time line of this itinerary is not exact, actual timeline will be informed on cruise before departure
• All activities are included and optional. You can stay on the boat and relax instead of joining outside activities.
• Food & beverage on board:
• All meals on board are included as clearly stated in the program
• Standard menus onboard are served for all customers. If there is a special food request, please inform us at least 24 hours before departure.
• Personal documents and belongings:
• Not to be missed: Valid ID card/Passport (necessary for check-in) 

Day 12 : Hanoi City Tour- The end the tour (B/L)

Hanoi, located on the banks of the Red River, is one of the most ancient capital in the world, where travelers can find well-preserved colonial buildings, ancient pagodas, temples and unique museums within the city centre

ITINERARY:

• 00- 8.30: Get picked up by our friendly guide and start to explore Hanoi City
• 45: Arrive at Tran Quoc Pagoda located on Golden Fish IsLand in West Lake
• It is the oldest pagoda in Ha Noi built in the 6th century.
• 30: Visit Ho Chi Minh complex, you have a chance to see the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh then walk around the garden to see 2 houses where he lived & worked from 1954 to 1969. Then visit One Pillar Pagoda where worships the Godess of Mercy – It is the most unique padoga in the world
• Should dress modestly by covering from shoulders to knees when visiting Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, temples, pagodas…
• Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum is closed on Mondays and Fridays.
• Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum is closed at least 2 months (15thJune -15thAugust) for the annual maintaining but still can take picture Mausoleum and visit around that area
• 15: Visit Vietnam Ethnology Museum to learn about the culture of 54 ethnic groups living in the whole country of Vietnam
• Special Note : we will visit Women Museum instead of Ethnology Museum closed on Mondays
• 45: Have lunch at our restaurant. You have an opportunity to enjoy Vietnamese cuisine
• with 8 delicious dishes.
•  
• 00-14.15 : Continue to visit Temple of Literature – the first university of Vietnam, established in the 11 century
• 15: Leave for Hoa Lo Prison Museum which originally used by the French colonists in Indochinafor political prisoners, and later by North Vietnam for U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. During this later period, it was known to American POWs as the “Hanoi Hilton
• 15 -16.30: Tour finishes.

SPECIAL NOTES:

• Should bring the necessary things such as : cash, cellphone or camara, raincoat/ umbrella ,sun block …( depending on the weather)
• Option Cyclo Ride/ Puppet Show will be done in the end of the tour.
• Tour may finish a bit earlier or later in some cases
• The order of the itinerary can be changed depending on our guide’s arrangement

Day 13 : Departure – The end the tour (B)

• After breakfast , Driver and car will come to your hotel and pick you up to transfer to the airport, the end the trip 12 days in Vietnam, Thank you so much and see you again.