Romantic Vietnam 16 days

Welcome to your holiday with Your Vietnam Travel

Upon arrival at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, either Domestic or International arrival, after clearing all customs procedures, please proceed to exit gate and look for your guide who will be waiting at the lobby, holding the Your Vietnam Travel's signboard with your name on it. 

8.00 Sightseeing today includes explore Vietnam’s charming capital. With its wide tree-lined boulevards, French colonial architecture, peaceful lakes and ancient oriental pagodas, start a Hanoi’s key sites: the Ho Chi Minh Complex (Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and stilt house), the Presidential Palace, the nearby One Pillar Pagoda; the Temple of Literature; West Lake including the sedate Tran Quoc Pagoda; and one of the city’s museums (a choice between the History Museum and the Ethnology Museum). End the day’s explorations with a cyclo tour through the Old Quarter or enjoy a traditional water puppet show

Our guide and shuttle bus will pick you up at lobby of hotel at 8.00 – 8.20AM and start journey east to Halong Bay, through picturesque rice-farming villages of the Red River Delta, where we see every day Vietnamese village life. On arrival, we board a beautiful traditional junk and spend a full day and night cruising the bay’s 3000 magnificent limestone islets. In the evening when the boat is anchored in the middle of the stunning lagoon, we enjoy a wonderful seafood meal and later there is opportunity for an evening swim from the side of the boat. Spend the night on our luxurious boat

Awake early and participate in Tai Chi on the top deck or simply relax and enjoy the sunrise over the bay’s towering islands. Enjoy a morning cup of coffee or tea, before setting out to explore nearby islands by rowboat. Return to the junk for breakfast then take advantage of the sundeck and admire the amazing rock formations of Halong. Have brunch on board the boat before returning to Halong pier to get back Hanoi for your flight to Da Nang. Upon arrival Da Nang. Our driver will pick you up and transfer to hotel in Hoi An to check in. Overnight in Hoi An. 

Today, it is time for you to explore art and handicraft galleries, try on clothes tailor-made, relax at the riverside restaurants or take the short journey to the nearby beach. Overnight in Hoi An. 

This morning (afternoon), you will set out on a drive to the southwest of Hoi An to My Son Sanctuary for a My Son half day tour. This is where the Cham culture in Central Vietnam started in the 4th century, declined in the 13th century, and ceased to exist in the 15th century. The once capital of the Champa Kingdom dedicated to the worship of the god Shiva is now a cluster of partially ruined and heavily damaged Hindu temples, with only 20 left, due to age and bombing during the Vietnam War. This unique and majestic sanctuary stands as a witness to a glorious bygone era of the once-thriving Cham culture. Transfer back to Hoi An and free visiting a lovely old house, still occupied by the descendants of the merchants who built it over 200 years ago, before seeing the elaborate Japanese Bridge, a Chinese temple, the bustling market. Overnight in Hoi An.

Meeting point at (8.30 -13.30 or 13.30 - 19.30) with a welcome drink at Hai Café (98 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Hoi An Ancient Town) – our meeting point. Travel by minivan (10 minutes) to Tra Que Organic Village, and walk through the market gardens where local farmers work their fields using the traditional methods of hundreds of years ago - no electrical machinery here. We pick fresh saw-tooth coriander and Vietnamese mint for our cooking lesson later, before trying a special herbal drink at a local home. To the local village market and with shopping list in hand we purchase a range of local ingredients, including star anise, cardamom, sesame rice paper, water spinach and banana flower. Arriving at Red Bridge Cooking School we have a chance to freshen up before beginning our class. Working together with our Red Bridge Chef we learn the traditional ways of preparing and cooking Vietnamese food from scratch. Using the freshest ingredients and traditional Vietnamese utensils (still in use today) we cook 4 famous dishes, including the national dish ‘Pho’.

After the class we sit down and a chance to savour the dishes we have prepared.

Leisurely cruise (25 minutes) along the Hoi An River back to central Hoi An.

Leaving Hoi An, visit Marble Mountains and China Beach before continuing over the Hai Van Pass to Hue. Hue was Vietnam’s ‘Imperial Capital’, the former home to the Nguyen Dynasty that ruled over the country from 1802 until the last emperor abdicated in 1945. A visit to Hue wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Imperial Citadel which was modelled on the Forbidden City in Beijing. The Citadel was the centre piece of the royal empire, a massive moated palace that was extensively damaged during the Vietnam War. This afternoon take a cyclo ride to the Imperial Citadel, continue by coach to Thien Mu pagoda and enjoy a relaxing boat trip on the Perfume River. This evening partake in a cooking class focusing on select local dishes and cuisine originally designed for the Royal Courts of Hue.

Free at leisure until transfer to airport for flight to Ho Chi Minh. Upon arrival Ho Chi Minh, you will be welcomed by our tour guide/ driver and transfer to hotel for check in. Free & easy in your own way. 

Breakfast at hotel, meet our guide at 8.00 & start visiting to the most attractive places in Ho Chi Minh City including Reunification Palace - a special national relic for its historical and architectural values of Vietnam, and the War Remnants Museum. Next, we will explore a little bit about Notre Dame Cathedral and Old Post Office – the French building in Ho Chi Minh City.

Have a lunch at local restaurant before leaving the city for a tour to Cu Chi Tunnels - a man-made maze with the length of almost 250 kilometers. Also, the tunnels were used to serve as communication routes, storage facilities, hospitals and living quarters for Vietnamese fighters in the long period of war. If you are interested in, you can go into the tunnels to discover the harsh living conditions of those whose were used to live there. 

After that, taste the typical boiled tapioca and hot tea before you come back to Saigon.

After breakfast our guide and driver will pick you up to visit one of the must visited regions of the Mekong delta, we visit Cai be floating market, cruising among the local barges stuffed-full of fruits and vegetables. Visit some local workshops then enjoy a delicious lunch served at a local house in the cool shade of An Binh Island’s orchards. In the afternoon, take a traditional rowboat and venture deeper into the countryside, floating through narrow canals to enjoy the peaceful surroundings. Stop at a nursery garden to discover how farmers along the delta produce their world famous fruits and vegetables. The cruise ends around in Vinh Long. Get on bus and tranfer back to Ho Chi Minh. 

Morning flight to Phu quoc island. Upon arrival, transfer to hotel for check in. 

Free at leisure in Phu Quoc Island.

OPTIONAL TOUR: Phu Quoc South Explore Tour

After breakfast, tourists go to visit the attractions:

Pearl Farm: Learn about the history os pearl farming on Phu Quoc Island

Sim Wine factory: Local Wine production

Pepper Farm: Local family garden, pepper harveting

Fish Sauce Factory

Ho Quoc Pagoda: Buddhist temple

Sao Beach: Enjoy lunch (relax – swimming – sunbath)

Coconut Prison: War museum

Check in Sun Premier Village Primavera: Walking tour of Kiss Bridge and Clock Tower…

On the way back, those wish to stop at Sunset Sanato or Night Market in Duong Dong Town. (Entrance ticket fee & back by yourself at own expense.)

Free at leisure in Phu Quoc Island.

OPTIONAL TOUR: Phu Quoc 4 Island tour explore by Speed boat + Snorkeling and Take Cable car visit Hon Thom

Visit 4 islands in the south

Gam Ghi Island: Snorkeling at coral reef - Enjoy the beach

Buom Island (or Mong Tay Island): Snorkeling at coral reef

May Rut Island: white sand lagoon – unique chillout 

Having Lunch on the Island

Sea walker (pay by yourself): a new type of service, walk under the ocean, there are the fish flocks swimming & colorful corals reef of Phu Quoc

Speed boat arrive Thom Island: Enjoy waterpark – more than 20 modern games from the world’s leading manufactures.

Back on cable car (around 25 mins): Enjoy sunset & rides with a panoramic overall view of islands

Free at leisure in Phu Quoc Island.

Free at leisure in Phu Quoc Island until transfer to airport for flight back Ho Chi Minh to connect a flight back home. Tour ends