Vietnam Explorer - 14 Days / 13 Nights

Welcome to Hanoi, Vietnam!
Upon arrival at Noi Bai airport, you are welcomed and greeted by the Custom Asia Travel tour guide and taken to your hotel by private transfer. The remainder of the day is relaxing or be on your own discovery.
- Located on the banks of the Red River, Hanoi capital is one of the most ancient cities in the world. Here, visitors are able to find well-preserved colonial buildings, old Buddhist pagodas, and unique museums within the city. The best way to explore its Old Quarter is on foot. This French-colonial city is also known for its delicious cuisines, vibrant nightlife, and souvenir shopping…

Meals: Not available

Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi

This day tour to learn about the capital city of Vietnam occupies your whole day with featured sites, including Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, his house-on-stilts, One Pillar Pagoda, Temple of Literature - Vietnam’s first university for the morning.
Your lunch today is served at a restaurant in town with local tastes.
In the afternoon, the tour continues with a visit to one of the following museums (you can pick the one you like): the Ethnology Museum, Army Museum, National Fine Arts Museum, Hanoi Hilton prison or Vietnam Women Museum).
Followed by a short walk or a cyclo ride in the Old Quarter.
End the day tour with a traditional Water Puppet show.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi

Depart Hanoi at 8:00 am. The morning drive takes you about 3,5 hours, through the fertile Red River Delta and onward the hilly area after Thai Nguyen City. The scenery along the way is beautiful with rice and other cereal fields, dotted with stilt-house villages. Arrive at Quynh Son village by noon.
A Vietnam lunch will be severed at a local stilt house. This is not only a chance to enjoy the local food but also a good time to interact with the host family.
After lunch and a short rest, take a short stroll around the village to learn the daily life of the Tay ethnic minority. Keep on walking to the foot of Na Lay mountain and start hiking up to the summit for admiring the dramatic panorama of the valley.
Getting back down and walk to the homestay for refreshing, rest and dinner.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Homestay at a local house

After the traditional breakfast, this morning we will embark on a 3,5-hour hike on a rural back road. Along the hike, you can have a close look at the local farming, enjoy the peaceful atmosphere in a good harmony of mountains, forests, and local life. At the end of the hike, get picked up by our private transport back to the family.
After lunch, make your way to the Red River Delta and pay a visit to a traditional pottery village where you will learn about the local techniques of making beautiful ceramic products.
Transfer to a typical Vietnamese family for another homestay night. Dinner with the host family.

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Homestay at a local house

Halong Bay, in northeast Vietnam, is known for its emerald waters and thousands of towering limestone islands. Designated a World Heritage site in 1994, the bay is a "must-see" place for any visitor to Vietnam, especially an overnight trip on a traditional wooden junk.
In the morning: Breakfast at the home-stay. Bid farewell to the host family afterward. 09:00 - Take the morning drive to the Halong pier.
In the afternoon:​ 12:15 - Board your boat and start the cruising itinerary with lunch and dinner aboard. Some interesting activities are available to include like kayaking, swimming, sunbathing on the sun deck. Overnight at an en-suite cabin on the boat.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Overnight on boat

Wake up early in the morning for sunrise and a view of Bay’s landscape with a cup of tea or coffee.
Join a taichi class (availability depends on the certain boat you take).
Further scenic cruise to other parts of the bay with a limestone cave visit. An early lunch is served on the way back to the pier.
Disembarkation by noon time and take the car transfer to the airport for a short flight to Hue.
Get picked up on arrival, transfer to the hotel, check-in and stay overnight at this last capital of Vietnam.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Hue is one of the main cultural, religious and educational centers of Vietnam. So far, Hue remains to be the only originally historical vestige city in Vietnam. Many of Hue’s attractions are found along the banks of the romantically named Perfume River
In the morning, breakfast in the hotel as usual. Drive to visit King Minh Mang's tomb & King Khai Dinh tomb.
Return to the city for lunch at a restaurant.
In the afternoon, discover the Ancient Citadel. The walk through the complex is very interesting and informative.
Followed by a short transfer to visit the charming Lady Pagoda (Thien Mu Pagoda). Setting on the bank of rivers, it gives you a great view of the Perfume River and the surrounding area.
Ending the day by boarding on a private boat, cruising on the romantic Perfume River back to the city center.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Hue

Ancient and peaceful, Hoi An has to these days well preserved its most sacred treasure, the centuries-old architecture. The town used to harbor foreign traders back in the 17-18th, and once is an important heavily-frequented trading port in Southeast Asia. ​
The morning drive to Hoi An via Hai Van Pass will occupy half of your day. There are a few stops for photo opportunities such as at Lang Co Beach, Hai Van Pass you may want to take
Arrive at Hoi An ancient town. Check-in your hotel. The remainder of the day is on your own discovery.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel in Hoi An

After breakfast, get picked up and make the way to the cooking class. Start the day at 8.15 a.m. visit Hoi An’s colorful market. Boarding the Red Bridge boat for a leisurely cruise (25 minutes) along the Hoi An River to the Red Bridge Cooking School. This is a chance to view the local river life. On arrival, explore the cooking school’s herb and vegetable garden, before learning about some of Hoi An’s and Vietnam’s well-known dishes. The cooking lesson runs for about 2 hours – each dish is first demonstrated by the Red Bridge chefs before you prepare the same dish yourself. After the lesson, you will enjoy your excellent work. In the afternoon, the tour guide will join you on a walking tour which offers you a chance to see how charming the Old Quarter area is. The sites include the Japanese Covered Bridge; Phuoc Kien Assembly; Tan Ky ancient house; Hoi An Culture and History Museum and Quan Cong temple. The evening is on your own discovery.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Hoi An

Breakfast at the hotel as usual.
This morning, take it easy to relax on the beach or doing some shopping in the Old Quarter.
Check out your hotel by noon.
In the afternoon, transfer to Da Nang airport for a short flight to Ho Chi Minh City.
Get picked up on arrival and rest for the remainder of the day.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City

The ‘rice bowl’ of Vietnam, Mekong Delta is carpeted in a dizzying variety of greens. It's a water world that moves to the rhythms of the mighty Mekong, where boats, houses, and markets float upon the innumerable rivers, canals, and streams that crisscross the landscape like arteries.
Depart for Mekong Delta at 8:00 a.m. The drive takes nearly 2.5 hours. Arrive at Ben Tre, embark on a motorized boat trip along the scenic Ben Tre River, viewing various local industries along the way. Have some stops to visit local workshops: making bricks by the kilns; Making coconut candy; Sleeping straw mats. Take a motor cart passing fruit and vegetable fields. Ride a short sampan boat on a small creek of water coconut trees. Lunch at a garden restaurant. In the afternoon, drive to Can Tho City which is considered as the capital of the Delta. Check-in your hotel. The evening is on your own discovery or just relaxing.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Can Tho City

Have you heard about A floating market in Mekong? The watery world of the Mekong Delta is home to many bustling floating markets. This day is when you can feast your eyes on many interesting things on the water at Cai Rang Floating Market.
In the morning, have breakfast at your hotel and check out. 08:00
Get to Ninh Kieu quay where you board a motorized boat to meandering through the market. Followed by a short ride to Ba Cong village to pay a visit to a family who specializes in making rice paper and noodle. Cruise back to the quay and make your way back to HCMC.
Lunch is at a restaurant on the way back.
Arrive at your hotel, the remainder of the day is for relaxation.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City

Today you will spend the whole day to visit the featured sites of Saigon and the famous underground tunnel network in Cu Chi.
In the morning, 8:00 start with a 1.5-hour drive to Cu Chi tunnels. Get an overview of Cu Chi by watching a documentary. Your guide walks you around to witness the traps, bunkers, trenches, and experience crawling a piece of the underground tunnels.
Drive back to the city for a set menu lunch at a restaurant.
In the afternoon, the city tour of Saigon consists of visits to the featured sites such as the War Remnants Museum; The former Presidential

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City

Palace; The Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Old Post Office.
End the day with a stroll through Ben Thanh Market.

Today is your last day of the trip in Ho Chi Minh City.
You are free at leisure or go to do some last shopping before getting picked up and take the private transfer to the airport for your departure flight.

End of service & Goodbye Vietnam

Meals: Breakfast