10 Days: Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Ho Chi Minh City, Mekong Delta, Nha Trang

Tour overview:

Blessed with a ravishing coastline, emerald- green mountains, breathtaking national parks, dynamic cities, outstanding cultural interest and one of the world’s best cuisines, Vietnam has it all. In this tour where city and sea meet, you can sink your toes in the white sandy beaches of Nha Trang and take a cyclo ride through the Old Quarter of bustling Hanoi.

Day 1 - Arrive Hanoi

Arrive in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. You are welcomed at the airport and escorted to your hotel.

Overnight in Hanoi.

-Hotel check-in time is around 14.00

Day 2 - Hanoi City Tour

Start your day off by exploring Hanoi’s illustrious history. In the morning, visit the imposing marble edifice housing the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (Closed on Mondays & Fridays) before moving onto his wooden stilt house and the One Pillar Pagoda. You will then explore the first university of Vietnam, the Temple of Literature, which is imbued with the profound philosophies of Confucianism. 

In the afternoon, visit the Hoan Kiem Lake and the Ngoc Son Temple. A one-hour cyclo tour of Hanoi’s Old Quarter allows you to catch a glimpse of ancient Hanoi and learn about traditional Vietnamese architecture. The tour includes a stop at an ancient Vietnamese “long house.” In the evening, take delight in watching a traditional water puppet performance whose origin dates back over a thousand years. (B) 

Overnight in Hanoi.

Day 3 - Hanoi / Ha Long Bay

Head to Ha Long Bay. You will board a junk for a cruise among the hundreds of islets of Ha Long Bay. Enjoy a seafood lunch and a swim (if weather permits) before visiting a grotto of gigantic stalactites and stalagmites. Drop anchor in the late evening for an overnight stay among the dramatic limestone peaks rising out of the sea. (B/L/D) 

Overnight on board.

Day 4 - Halong Bay – Hanoi – Flight to Ho Chi Minh City

Spend the morning cruising through the limestone cliffs and emerald waters of Ha Long Bay before returning to the wharf. Return to Hanoi and transfer to the airport for your flight to to Ho Chi Minh City. Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to the hotel. (B) 

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh.

Day 5 - Ho Chi Minh – Cu Chi tunnels – City tour

In the morning you will visit the amazing Cu Chi Tunnels where Vietnamese guerrillas built a labyrinth of narrow tunnels as hideouts during the war. Return to Ho Chi Minh City in the afternoon for a half-day city tour. Highlights include the Reunification Palace (photo stop), the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Central Post Office, Chinatown, the Binh Tay Market and either the Thien Hau Temple or the Quan Am Pagoda. (B)

Note: Notre Dame Cathedral is under renovation till 2027. Visit will be arranged outside

OPTIONAL TOUR:

Dinner On Saigon River Cruise

Evening, embark on a lovely dinner cruise along the Saigon River. Experience the vibrant Ho Chi Minh City at night when you join the Saigon River cruise for a memorable two-hour dinner cruise on Saigon Princess Cruise (3-course Fusion set menu). Step on the cruise and listen to the sounds of Saigon! On board the cruise, you will experience completely new things, in a cool evening in Saigon, enjoy gastronomic food on one of the most authentic vessels on the Saigon river, enjoy special performance, and admire the shimmering scenery along the banks of the Saigon River. After dinner, transfer back to your hotel. 

Services included: English speaking guide, transfer, 3-course Fusion set menu dinner, water during transfer.

Services NOT included: Other expenses not mentioned in the itinerary.

Day 6 - Ho Chi Minh – Mekong Delta – Ho Chi Minh City

Breakfast at hotel. 

Depart for Ben Tre – the heart of Mekong Delta. Upon arrival in Ham luong Pier in town or Chet say pier (5 km from center), boating on Ben Tre River – one of tributaries of Mekong river- go along mangrove trees growing up ashore of waterway. Witness lively activities of town market on land and transferring on waterway as fishing boats, coconut cargo boats. Discover handmade local workshops and country in Nhon Thanh village.

Boating on river to traditional brickwork to see how to make bricks by hand. Turn on Cai Son canal winding through coconut jungle, visit coconut workshop, have a look stages of coconut processing from husk off, prize out to peel out by hand. Go on small waterway and stop at coconut candy workshop, have a look them making candy by hand, try some sweet, enjoy some fruits and listen to local music as well. Go on by boat and step ashore and take a shortwalk to farmer house who making sleepmats.

Hop on tuktuk through coconut grove, Nhon Thanh – Thuan Dien village, deeping on coconut jungle in country. Keep going by rowing boat on shady palm tree canal in Cai Tac pier. Stop for lunch at local restaurant by river.

Go back by boat and drop tour off at Chet Say pier. Drive back to Ho Chi Minh. (B/L) 

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

OPTIONAL TOUR:

A O Show

Experience local Vietnamese culture and theater entertainment at its best with entry tickets to the Vietnamese Bamboo Circus - À Ố Show at the Saigon Opera House in Saigon. Vietnamese Bamboo Circus combines a new circus, unique live music, and creative use of bamboo to form an awe-inspiring performance art. This art genre displays the deeply rooted beauty of Vietnamese culture, which transcends language allowing thousands of audiences all over the world to enjoy it. Inspired by the charming beauty of Southern Vietnamese culture, À Ố Show represents a contrasting portrait of village and city, a transformation from peaceful life to bustling urbanization with a delicate touch of humor and live music from folk instruments. Since 2015, the show has been on several tours in Europe, and other countries such as Brazil, Oman, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Saudi Arabia. À Ố Show is the first show from Vietnam to perform at the Sydney Opera House in June 2019. 

Services included: English speaking guide, transfer, show ticket (Ooh class), water during transfer.

Services NOT included: Other expenses not mentioned in the itinerary.

Day 7 - Ho Chi Minh City / Nha Trang

You will be transferred to the airport for your flight to the coastal city of Nha Trang. Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. (B)

Day 8 - Nha Trang

Enjoy Nha Trang’s turquoise waters and white sandy beaches with a morning boat cruise to offshore islands in Nha Trang Bay. In the afternoon, visit the Po Nagar Cham Towers, the Dam Market, the Nha Trang Stone Cathedral or the Long Son Pagoda where the giant Sakyamuni Buddha statue sits on the top of the hill. (B)

Day 9 - Nha Trang

The day is at your leisure to explore the city at your own arrangements. (B)

Day 10 - Depart Nha Trang - Ho Chi Minh City

Free time until your transfer to the airport for your return flight home. (B)