Postcard From Vietnam

Arrival and welcome at the airport in Hanoi. Transfer to the city for hotel check in; rooms are available anytime after 1:30 p.m.  In the afternoon, take a walking tour to discover the colonial side of the city, the city’s traditional 36 streets in the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake vicinity. Meals are on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Full-day tour of Vietnam’s capital city, including Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum (closed Monday and Friday), a traditional stilt house, One-Pillar Pagoda, and the 1,000-year-old Temple of Literature, also known as the first university of Vietnam. In the afternoon, visit the Ethnology Museum (closed Mondays) and Tao Sach Pagoda. After that, take a stroll in Hang Be Market before attending a traditional water puppet show. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

You will take a day excursion to Ninh Binh, one of the most famous places in Vietnam thanks to its relics and impressive limestone formation. Visit 10th-century temples of Dinh and Le dynasties while enjoying the scenery that gave the area the nickname “Ha Long Bay of the rice paddies.” After lunch at a local restaurant, take a relaxing sampan cruise through the poetic landscapes of canals, rice fields, villages and limestone mountains to the less-visited Thung Nang – sunlight alley. Return to Hanoi at the end of the day. Dinner is on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

In the morning, we depart to Ha Long where we will arrive at noon. Board a beautiful wooden junk for an overnight Ha Long Bay cruise with an excellent menu of fresh seafood. Overnight onboard.  

All the junks we use on Ha Long Bay are well-equipped: air-conditioned cabins with two beds, private bathrooms and toilet. It is an ideal place from which to make full use of the bay: Observe fishing villages, swim in the sea, watch the sunset and sunrise -- or simply indulge yourself.

Set the alarm clock to enjoy a spectacular dawn over the bay. After breakfast onboard, return to the pier at noon. While returning to Hanoi, you will enjoy the lively villages and amazing natural scenery along the road. Make a stop en route to visit But Thap pagoda – 300 years old. Check in at the hotel. Meals are on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Early depart in the morning to Hanoi airport for your flight to Can Tho. Once there, you’ll be welcomed and transferred to the city. Depart to visit Binh Thuy temple and an ancient house dating back to 19th century which was used to make the film “The Lover.” In the afternoon, take a bike ride to explore the surrounding area.  Meals are on your own. Overnight at the hotel. 

In the morning, set out on a boat trip to the lively, colorful floating market of Cai Rang. Then, depart for Thoi Long, 30 km from Can Tho, where you take a bike ride to discover many local crafts: covered eggs, rice cakes, clay kiln manufacturing, junk building, basket weaving, blacksmithing, and more. You will have the opportunity to visit ancient houses, orchards and a local market where specialties of the region are traded: fish, turtles, snakes and mushrooms. Lunch at a local house. Return to the hotel in the afternoon. Dinner. Overnight at the hotel.

Transfer in the morning from Can Tho to Rach Gia, about a three-hour drive. Then, board an express boat to Phu Quoc Island, where you will arrive at around 4 p.m.  A driver will meet you and take you to the hotel. Check in at the hotel. Meals are on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

You have a free day without a guide or vehicle. Enjoy the beach. Meals are on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Spend another day at your leisure without a guide or vehicle. Meals are on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

The morning is free until you are transferred, without guide, to the Phu Quoc airport for your flight to Saigon. Welcome at Saigon airport and transfer to hotel for check in. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

Today, visit some historic landmarks of the city: the Old Saigon Post Office, Notre-Dame Cathedral, Dong Khoi street,  the War Remnants Museum and the ethnic Chinese district of Cho Lon with a bustling market and pagodas. In the afternoon, visit Kim Lien pagoda to meet up with a Buddhist monk who is a talented calligrapher. He will guide you in writing your our own calligraphy. A nice piece of calligraphy will be presented to you as a souvenir. Transfer to the Saigon airport for departure. Meals are on your own. The rooms are at your disposal until noon.