Grand Vietnam 22 Days - Viet International Travel and Trade Co., Ltd

You will be welcomed by ViTravel’s tour guide and driver at Noi Bai International Airport and be transferred to the city center for check-in your hotel. Free at your own leisure to explore the bustling Old Quarter.

Overnight in Hanoi. 

Breakfast is served at your hotel.

After breakfast at hotel, we will first take a visit outside of the Presidential Palace and Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum then stroll through the garden to the Ho Chi Minh Stilt House where Ho Chi Minh lived from 1958 until he passed away in 1969. This simple two-room dwelling has been preserved in the same condition as during his life and can be viewed through the windows. Continue to the special architecture 11th century One Pillar Pagoda which was rebuilt after being destroyed by the French in 1954.

Secondly, visit the Temple of Literature – The first royal academy in the country.

The Temple of Literature has a peaceful series of walled courtyards and graceful gateways, and this monument is one of the best-preserved examples of traditional Vietnamese architecture. Founded in 1070 and dedicated to Confucius, this was also the site of Vietnam’s first university. In one courtyard, giant stone tortoises bear steles on their backs, listing the accomplishments of graduating scholars.

Break for lunch at a local restaurant.

Thirdly, visit the Museum of Ethnology (Hoa Lo Prison if you visit on Monday) – one of the 25 most attractive museums in Asia. The museum was opened in 1997 to preserve and introduce most of the richest cultures, and traditions of 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam. It is a place which is combined with a very green and tranquil garden behind where you can see and learn more about some of the very popular architectures as King people’s traditional house, Ede tribe’s longhouse, Bana tribe’s communal house, Stilt house of Tay tribe…

Hanoi is a blend of long-established traditions and modern imprints of Western colonization. Tree-lined boulevards and colonial buildings give the city a touch of Western elegance, while crowded blocks of tiny old houses and narrow lanes full of daily life bear the charms of the past centuries. Take 45 minutes Cyclo Tour through the Old Quarter: Also known as the 36 streets, this bustling area of narrow streets is home to literally thousands of small businesses and shopkeepers. Originally each of the 36s names’ was related to the products being sold there. It’s a great place to explore on foot with numerous photo opportunities. Before coming back to your hotel, we will watch a water puppet show. Dinner is on your own arrangement.

Overnight in Hanoi. 

Breakfast is served at your hotel.

After breakfast, check out the hotel and meet our tour guide at your hotel lobby at around 8.00AM.

From your hotel in Hanoi or the airport, depart for Ba Be national park via Thai Nguyen, a province of tea plantations. Stop en route for shooting nice pictures. After that, keep going to Ba Be lake via Bac Kan province.

Stop in Cho Ra for lunch before heading to Ba Be lake.

Enjoy a 2-hour boat trip on Ba Be lake. The motorized boat will take you along the Nang river to get to Puong cave - a large cave 30m high, 300m long, is an interesting place in Ba Be National Park. Then heading to Pac Ngoi village where you will spend a night at a homestay of the Tay ethnic group (the Tay people are one of the 54 Vietnamese groups who still keep living a very traditional style).

This evening, you enjoy a delicious home-cooked dinner, prepared by the host and learn the food culture of Tay people.

Wake up early to visit the local market to see how the local people live.

After breakfast, drive to Ban Gioc waterfall. On this day you’ll take a scenic insightful day trip in the north of Cao Bang to the beautiful Ban Gioc waterfall on the Chinese border. This picturesque, cascading waterfall is 53 meters high and has an impressive span of 300 meters. The drive offers unique landscapes, limestone kart formations soar from the verdant rice paddies of the surrounding farms of local ethnic minorities. Along the way, you’ll see Tay, Hmong and Dzao ethnic minority groups. Heading back to Cao Bang, stop to explore the expansive 2, 144-meter Nguom Ngao Cave and its brilliant stalactites. Also, stop at Pac Rằng village to learn more about the daily life of the Nung people.

Return to Cao Bang.

In the morning, head to Ha Giang. The scenery is spectacular and the road runs along the sides of the mountains. Stop en route to take pictures of Ma Pi Leng pass, the most spectacular pass in Northeast Vietnam.

Upon arrival in Dong Van town, walk around the town and ancient village before check-in at your hotel. Lunch and dinner will be served at a local restaurant.

Overnight in Dong Van Town.

Today drive from Dong Van to Ha Giang city via Yen Minh & Quan Ba. The scenery is spectacular – a vast limestone mountain range and perpendicular walls of rock. You’ll call in at the infamous Vuong Palace, once the home of a high-ranking H’mong family during French colonial rule. Stop at Quan Ba twin mountain and heaven gate. Take pictures of Vietnam’s outstanding landscape.

Arrive at Ha Giang in the late afternoon and check-in at a homestay near Ha Giang. Dinner is served by the host.

Hike around the local village to enjoy the fresh atmosphere of the morning and rice fields. Continue to Thon Tha village. Only a total of 90 homes make up the whole neighbourhood, traditional stilt houses made from wood and bamboo and with a palm-thatched roof. Lunch is served at a local family with simple but healthy and delicious food.

Leave Ha Giang in the afternoon for Hanoi.

Arriving in Hanoi, check-in and free at leisure. Dinner is at your own cost.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Breakfast is served at your hotel.

Morning, our driver will pick you up at your hotel lobby and depart for Halong Bay. Sit back and enjoy the peaceful countryside symbolic of the Red River Delta. We will arrive at Halong Bay’s wharf around noon and board a cruise through the limestone cliffs and emerald waters of Halong Bay. Here we enjoy the striking scenery of this World Heritage Site. While being on board, we will be served fresh local seafood lunch followed by swimming and exploring some of the limestone caves in this area. Witness one of the world’s best sunsets before you sit down for a lush dinner. The captain then will anchor for the night nearby a remote island where you’ll have the option of night fishing or just sitting out on the deck and relaxing under the stars.

After waking up surrounded by the tranquil beauty of the bay, we have time for an early morning dip. Then it’s time for breakfast whilst you watch the sun rise over Ha Long bay. The cruise continues to move around the bay in order for us to discover more secluded areas; we then go kayaking and continue swimming around the bay. The boat will be near us at all times for those who prefer to relax on board. Around midday, the cruise’s shuttle bus picks up and transfers you back to Hanoi city.

Check-in and free on your own.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Breakfast is served at your hotel.

Today you are free at leisure until being picked up and transferred to the airport for your flight to Dong Hoi (Quang Binh province).

Upon arrival in Dong Hoi, meet our tour guide and we transfer to your hotel in Quang Binh. Check-in and enjoy your free time.

Overnight in Quang Binh.

Breakfast is served at your hotel.

8.30 AM, meet our tour guide at your hotel lobby and we transfer to Paradise cave. Paradise cave was discovered by scientists of the British Caving Research Association in 2005 and has a length of 31km, the longest dry cave in Asia.

You will be taken by the electrical car from the parking to the foothills of the cave (2km). You will go into the jungle, see many kinds of trees and hear the sound of animals. Explore the cave about 1km on the wood floor and see a lot of stalactites with different shapes.

With naturally primitive features Paradise Cave looks like a landscape painting, making it very attractive to visitors. There are a series of white crystal stalactites resembling glass pillars and many other spectacular formations.

Lunch is at your own cost (our tour guide can suggest you a restaurant).

After lunchtime, we visit Phong Nha Cave is considered the "First Cave wonders"

Take a boat about 5km along the Son River to Phong Nha Cave (river cave).

On Son river, you will see pictures of the girls, and the children having fun on the waterfront and have the opportunity to experience the daily life of the neighbourhood riverside village bearing the Vietnamese country soul.

Conquering the Phong Nha Cave: The longest wet cave, enjoy the scenery of spectacular limestone, underground river system and unique stalactite in the world. Caving Fairy & Imperial admire the beautiful stalactites blocks created by nature over thousands of millennia.

After that, we transfer back to your hotel to relax.

Overnight in Quang Binh.

Breakfast is served at your hotel.

After breakfast, check out the hotel and meet our tour guide at your hotel lobby. Today, we will transfer to Hue city. On the way, we stop to visit Vinh Moc tunnels- an underground refuge of the fishing village of Vinh Moc, located above the DMZ. In early 1965, America began a massive bombing campaign against North Vietnam with the code name "Rolling Thunder". The area above the DMZ became the most heavily bombed single piece of land on earth. Unable to live on the ground, the local inhabitants had to dig and move their homes into the ground. Vinh Moc tunnels are the best example of the tunnel system in the DMZ area. We visit the museum and then walk underground, starting with an entrance on top of the clay cliff and finishing with an exit overlooking a wild beach.

Arrive in Hue, check-in at the hotel and relax.

Overnight in Hue.

Breakfast is served at your hotel.

After breakfast at hotel, we set out for the exploration of Hue's famous highlights, starting with a boat trip on the Perfume River to reach the picturesque Thien Mu otherwise known as Heavenly Lady Pagoda. One of the most poignant displays here is the car belonging to a former monk, who in 1963, drove to Saigon and set himself alight to protest against the South Vietnamese regime and its treatment of Buddhists. We then disembark the boat for a visit to the elaborate tomb of former emperor Tu Duc, which was built between 1864 and 1867 by 3000 soldiers and workers. It includes fifty monuments surrounded by a 1500m long wall covering.

We then head back to Hue for your lunch at a local restaurant.

In the afternoon, we visit Hue Imperial City, the last royal city of Vietnam with various beautiful structures including the Flag Tower, Ngo Mon Gate, Nine Dynastic Urns, Nine Holy Cannons, Thai Hoa Palace and the Forbidden City or Tu Cam Thanh. Built-in the 19th century by the Nguyen dynasty, the City was home to the former Emperors of Vietnam from 1802 until 1945. We then do the walking and shopping in Dong Ba Market to enjoy the speciality of Hue city.

Overnight in Hue.

After breakfast at hotel, we bid Hue farewell and continue our southbound journey to the old trading town of Hoian via Danang. Along the way, we will stop at Lang Co beach for refreshments. From here we head up to the Hai Van pass, stopping at the top to take in the stunning views north over Lang Co beach and south over Danang city.

Upon arrival in Hoian, we take a walking tour to Hoi An Ancient Town – an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century. We start our day with the Japanese Covered Bridge – one of Vietnam’s most iconic attractions. Created by the Japanese living in Hoian in the 1590s as a way to reach the Chinese quarter across the water, the bridge is a beautiful historical piece of Japanese architecture. It would be a shortcoming without a visit to Tan Ky House - one of the many ancient houses that make up Hoian Ancient Town. Built two centuries ago with both Japanese and Chinese influences on architecture, this house has been preserved through seven generations. While walking, we will encounter pretty houses of Chinese merchants. Another must-see destination is Phuc Kiem Assembly Hall - an excellent work of architecture considered a heritage of historical significance. Built-in 1690, this Assembly Hall is in fact a temple dedicated to the sea goddess Thien Hau. Back to your hotel late afternoon.

Overnight in Hoian.

Breakfast is served at your hotel.

08.00 AM: Our local guide picks up you at the hotel lobby, you enjoy a cycling trip along country lanes at a peaceful pace viewing local life and pausing to see farmers toiling in their rice fields using centuries of farming practices. Peddle your way through palm forests, across bridges, and fields of water buffalo. Riding along country lanes at a peaceful pace viewing local life and stopping over to see farmers (If you can't cycle, we will arrange a car or minivan as an alternative)

9:00 AM: Take a short break with a local family at Cam Thanh Village before enjoying a 1.5-hour ride on Traditional Basket Boat (round boat) in the Water Coconut Palm Forest. Learn how to sail the basket boat and spend your time to catch fish and “purple crabs” in the Canal.

10:30 AM: Continue to drive to Tra Que Organic Vegetable Village where a large variety of vegetables is produced for the local community. At the village, you will be shown the environmentally sustainable practices which the local villagers have used for centuries and are still being used extensively today.

11:30 AM: Visit a local family and after a short, informative and fun cooking lesson, we sit down for a delicious lunch. Be back in town central to your hotel for relaxing.

Overnight in Hoian.

Breakfast is served at your hotel.

Today, you are free at leisure until being picked up and transferred to the airport for your flight to Ho Chi Minh city.

Upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh, meet our driver and we transfer to the hotel. Check-in and relax (We can arrange a Saigon jeep tour by night or a scooter evening tour… on your request).

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh.

Breakfast is served at your hotel.

8:00 AM: meet our tour guide at your hotel lobby and we visit the highlights of Ho Chi Minh city.

Start your tour with The Reunification Palace, which used to be the residence of the President of the Republic of Vietnam. On 30 April 1975, when a North Vietnam soldier set foot inside this building with a red flag in hand, the whole world knew that the Vietnam war ended.

The next stop is War Remnants Museum, on the way stop to visit Notre Dame Cathedral and Old Post Office, the 2 most famous and oldest of classical French colonial architecture construction was built more than 100 years ago. War Remnants Museum with many photographs from both Vietnam and US sources; US military vehicles like tanks, jets, and booms display outside.

Lunch is served at a local restaurant.

Afternoon, we continue the city tour by discovering the eastern side of the city. Giac Lam Pagoda, is the oldest one in Ho Chi Minh City with a huge Buddha statue system which was built in 1774. Then ride to Cho Lon (Big Market) and Thien Hau Pagoda which are located inside China Town, it’s a place of great historical and cultural importance with many temples, and pagodas in the surrounding area. Before the tour ends, we stop over for shopping at Ben Thanh Market in the city center.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Breakfast is served at your hotel.

9.00 AM, check out of the hotel and meet our driver to depart to Mui Ne beach. It takes about 5 hours to drive from Ho Chi Minh to Mui Ne. On halfway, we can stop for your short refresh.

Upon arrival in Mui Ne, you will check in and relax.

Overnight in Mui Ne.

Breakfast is served at your hotel.

Today you are free on your own. Mui Ne is very famous for watersports such as kitesurfing, windsurfing… Overnight in Mui Ne.

Breakfast is served at your hotel.

Today you are free on your own. Mui Ne is very famous for watersports such as kitesurfing, windsurfing… Overnight in Mui Ne.

Breakfast is served at your hotel.

12.00 PM, check out of the hotel and meet our driver to depart back to Ho Chi Minh city. It takes about 5 hours to drive to Ho Chi Minh from Mui Ne. On halfway, we can stop for your short refresh.

Upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh, you will check in and relax.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Breakfast is served at your hotel.

Free morning at your own leisure until the transfer to the airport for your flight departure.

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