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

 

Hanoi or “River-bound City” as its name literally means is Vietnam’s capital with a thousand-year-old history dating back to 1010. The city’s fascinating beauty which is characterized by unique cultural relics, ancient streets of antique houses, elegant French colonial buildings, tree-lined boulevards and romantic lakes has made it one of the most charming cities of Asia.

 

Meal: None

Overnight at hotel in Hanoi

Morning, take 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 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 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. 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.

 

Meal: Breakfast

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.

 

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

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 SoiSim 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 Hanoi.

 

Free at leisure until meet our guide then transfer to airport for flight to Da Nang.

 

Arrival Da Nang airport, you are transferred to Hoi An ancient town by private car & guide

 

Meal: Breakfast

Overnight at hotel in Hoi An

Morning, meet our guide at your hotel and transfer out for a full day city tour to 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, 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.

 

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.

 

Meal: Breakfast

Overnight at hotel in Hoi An

Free at leisure until transfer to Danang airport for flight to Ho Chi Minh.

 

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.

 

Meet our guide at your hotel and take a city tour to visit 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 and the Reunification Palace which was the former residence of the President of South Vietnam until end of April 1975. Move to 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 Last. 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 and continue to visit Cho Lon or the city’s China Town.

 

Afterward, stop for shopping at the French-built Ben Thanh Market which dates back to 1870 and whose main entrance clock tower has become a city’s symbol and where everything from clothes, sandals, lacquer are sold. Return back to your hotel.

 

Meal: Breakfast

Overnight at hotel in Ho Chi Minh

Vinh Long is the gateway to island life including Cai Be floating market, rural homestays and abundant orchards, which can be a highlight of a Mekong Journey. Today, meet with your guide at your hotel then transfer about 136 km to Vinh Long. The driving time is approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes. Vinh Long is not the largest town in Mekong Delta but as a major, noisy and chaotic transit hub. Embark a boat cruise to lively Cai Be floating market where sellers and buyers bargain and exchange goods from their boats. One thing you won’t see at other floating markets is the huge Catholic cathedral on the riverside – a memorable backdrop for photographs. Proceed through a fascinating maze of shady canals to Binh Hoa Phuoc Island. Beautiful landscape of lush vegetation, zigzag canals, 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. After tour, we transfer back to Ho Chi Minh.

 

Note: it’s best to arrive early in the morning to see Cai Be floating market in the busiest time when wholesalers on big boats moor and hang samples of their goods from tall wooden poles.

 

Meal: Breakfast

Overnight at hotel in Ho Chi Minh

Meet our guide & driver at the hotel lobby then transfer to Saigon airport for flight to Phnom Penh

 

Upon arrival Phnom Penh International Airport, you will be warmly greeted by our friendly local guide and driver to escort to your comfortable hotel for check in. The rest of the day is free on your own leisure and relax after a long flight.

 

Meal: Breakfast

Overnight at hotel in Phnom Penh

Breakfast is served at hotel. In the morning, start the tour by visit to the Royal Palace, serves as the residence of the King, a venue for court ceremony and as a symbol of the Kingdom. Inside the Palace grounds street sounds are silenced by the high walls and the royal buildings. Attached to the Palace compound, Wat Preah Keo Morokat (Silver Pagoda) is unique amongst pagodas; it is so named for its 5000 silver tiled floors. Continue to National Museum, one of Phnom Penh’s true architectural gems. It was designed in Khmer style in 1917 by famed French architect Georges Groslier & Ecole Des Arts Cambodgiens.

 

Afternoon, visit Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S21 prison). This prison was a high school, and used as a prison by Pol Pot’s security forces and became the largest center for detention and torture during the rule of the Khmer Rouge. Also, visit Russian Market (Psah Tuol Thom Pong), a lively outdoor market where you will find antiquities, silver and gold jewelry, gems, silk, kramas, stone and wood carvings, as well as T-Shirts, CDs and other souvenirs. If time and energy still permit, make a short stop at Wat Phnom Temple, a small hill crowned by an active Wat (Pagoda) marks the legendary founding place of the Phnom Penh. After finish visiting, transfer directly to Phnom Penh International Airport for departure to Siem Reap.

Upon arrival in Siem Reap, you will be greeted by local guide and driver to transfer to your comfortable hotel for check in.

 

Meal: Breakfast

Overnight at hotel in Siem Reap

After breakfast at hotel, today start your visit at Angkor Thom by starting from the Southgate to the famous Bayon temple, unique for its 54 towers decorated with over 200 smiling faces of Avolokitesvara. Continue visit to the Phimeanakas, the Royal Enclosure, the Elephants Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King. Continue visit to the temple of Ta Prohm, with enormous fig trees and gigantic creepers embracing themselves in the stone foundations of the structure giving the impression of man’s creation being reclaimed by the powerful forces of nature is an incredible sight.

 

Afternoon, continue tour to the most famous temple Angkor Wat, the World Heritage Site since 1992, famous for its beauty and splendor. Angkor Wat features the longest continuous bas-relief in the world, which runs along the outer gallery walls and narrates stories from Hindu mythology. Evening, visit Bakheng Temple and enjoy a spectacular sunset view from Bakheng Hills.

 

Meal: Breakfast

Overnight at hotel in Siem Reap

Breakfast at hotel, today you are free on your own leisure until the time that our driver and guide pick you up to transfer to Siem Reap Airport for flight to Luang Prabang

On arrival at the airport, you will be met and transferred to check in the hotel. The rest of the day is your own time at leisure.

 

Meal: Breakfast

Overnight at hotel in Luang Prabang

Today, you will first visit Royal Palace Museum, which hosts a range of interesting artifacts. We then embark on a leisure cruise upstream on the Mekong River, which also gives us a breathtaking view of the tranquil countryside, before reaching the mysterious Pak Ou Caves, two linked caves crammed with thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes left by pilgrims. Along the way, we stop at the village of Ban Xanghai, where they make the local rice wine.

 

On arrival back in the city, we will visit magnificent Wat Xiengthong with its roofs sweeping low to the ground, which represents classical Laotian architecture. Afterwards, we will visit the Traditional Art and Ethnology Center to learn about Laos’ many ethnic cultures. From there, we will transfer to visit Wat Prabath to admire the sunset; this is the really peaceful place to catch the last beauty of the day. The tour ends after a visit to the famous Night Market, where you can find a lovely collection of handmade textiles made by local and hill tribe people surrounding Luang Prabang.

 

Meal: Breakfast

Overnight at hotel in Luang Prabang

An early start gives you the fantastic opportunity to participate in the daily morning rituals of saffron-clad monks collecting offerings of Alms (ubiquitous sticky rice) from the faithful residents. This tradition is very unique in Laos, being the only Buddhist nation still preserving the procession. From there, we will take a short visit to the morning local market near the Royal Palace. At the market, you can find anything from rice, to fresh vegetables, to steamed fish, frogs, and anything else that might be the day’s catch, just set up on the ground, this is what the locals do every day. This is really the chance for you to get a real flavor of the local culture.

 

After breakfast at the hotel, we ascend the 329 steps to the top of Phousi Hill for a panoramic view of the city and the Mekong River. We then visit Wat Visoun, dating back to 1513 during the reign of King Wisunarat (Visoun), this is Luang Prabang’s oldest temple and was once home to the Prabang Buddhas. We then transfer directly to the beautiful Kuang Si Waterfall where you can cool off with a refreshing swim in the pools or walk along the forest trails.

 

Before returning to Luang Prabang, we stop to visit the Kuang Si Falls Butterfly Park (closed on Tuesday, and from 03rd May to 19th June every year), one of the must-visit spots, where you can have an optional 15-minute tour to learn about butterflies and local flora.Laos is also known for its traditional crafts, we will take a short visit to the Ock Pop Tock Living Craft Center, where you will have a short tour so you get information about Silk, about weaver, about the Women that work in the Centre.

 

We then transfer out to the airport to take the flight to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel.

 

Meal: Breakfast

Overnight in Vientiane

In the morning, we will first visit Wat Si Muang, which is very famous for its supernatural power. After that, we see the major sights of the capital; including the oldest Wat Sisaket, the temple with thousands of miniature Buddha statues and the former royal temple of Wat Prakeo, which previously housed the famous Emerald Buddha Image. On the way to Lao’s national icon, the famous and sacred structure of That Luang Stupa, we stop enroute to take some pictures of the imposing Patuxay Monument, which is well known as Vientiane’s own Arc de Triumph.

 

We are then free before transferring out to the airport to take the flight departure

 

Meal: Breakfast