Tour Style: Nature, Culture & History Tour

Tour Start: in Ha Noi / Tour End: in Ho Chi Minh

Routing: Hanoi - Ha Long Bay - Danang - Hoi An - Ho Chi Minh - Mekong Delta

Trip duration: 10 Days 9 Nights

Group size: 2 - 15 pax

Day 1: Hanoi Arrival - Welcome dinner (D)

Our driver and guide will welcome you at the airport and take you to the hotel where you can store your luggage. A cyclo tour will take you through all the hustling streets of Hanoi Old Quarter. During the ride, you will be immersed in the busy and ancient vibes of the daily life of Hanoi that lasts for decades. The bustling narrow streets will show you thousands of businesses and shopkeepers. The famous term "36 streets" is used to describe the quarter of the city that once welcomed plenty of artisans and traders from villages around Ha Noi 2000 years ago. The streets were named for what they sold since the businesses of the same category would gather on one street, this makes Hanoi a very interesting visit to travelers. After that, you will have a welcome dinner at a local restaurant.

Overnight in Hanoi

Day 2: Hanoi half-day city by Vintage Russian Jeep (B, L)

Before the tour, our experienced guide will provide you a mini briefing on orientation & safety introduction, then start our adventures. Our tour will cover 3 parts of Hanoi:

1. Backstreet Ride:

We will drive through a maze of alleyways known ONLY to locals, make contact with people, and get to know the behind-the-scenes stories.

2. French & Old Quarter:

Hanoi is nicknamed "Little Paris" since, in the late 1800s, the French razed old Vietnamese buildings and replaced them with majestic French-style houses.

Our jeep will take you through the green boulevards of Indochina's capital, where you can see the influence of French architecture. The embassy area, Hanoi Opera House, Long Bien Bridge, and other Hanoi landmarks will be passed through.

3. The Great Westlake: Getting to know the new parts of Hanoi

Westlake, Hanoi's largest lake, is known as the city's "air conditioner." Due to the lake's unique "Feng shui" location, dozens of spiritual sites have been created all around it. Our knowledgeable tour guide will explain everything and take you around the city.

- Zipping around the West Lake, passing through the city's most peaceful areas, with ancient villages nestled around the West Lake, Truc Bach Lake

- A frantic Hanoi with thousands of skyscrapers in the city's new areas

- In Hanoi, I was able to experience different aspects of life as well as the contrast in harmony.

We not only take you on an exciting journey through Hanoi traffic, but we also introduce you to traditional Hanoian cuisine.

Then our driver will take you back to your hotel, the rest of the day is your free time.

Day 3: Hanoi - Spectacular Ha Long Bay (B, L, D)

After your breakfast in the hotel, our guide and driver will escort you to Halong Bay, one of the great natural of the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Upon arrival, the boat crew will welcome you and transfer you to the junk for check-in and enjoy a cruise around Halong Bay with a delicious local seafood lunch served on board. At the same time, you can behold thousands of limestone islands and grottoes rising from the clear, emerald water. After lunch, you’ll join some activities on the boat to discover the beauty of the bay, such as visiting a cave, kayaking, or swimming in the sea before getting back to the junk for relaxing and dinner. In the evening, you can join night fishing with locals. Overnight on board.

Day 4: Ha Long - Hanoi - Fly to Da Nang - Hoi An (B, Br)

In the morning, your breakfast will be served while floating on the sea to explore the beauty of Halong Bay before disembarking time. Joining some more activities on the boat and then checked out the cabin. The early lunch will be served before getting back to the main dock and transferring to the airport in Hanoi and taking a flight to Da Nang.

Arrive in Da Nang, our driver and tour will welcome you and take you to your hotel in Hoi An for overnight.

Day 5: Hoi An - Cooking class - Half-day city tour (B, L)

After breakfast, our driver and tour guide will transfer you to Tra Que Village for a cooking class. Our classes are hands-on, allowing you to fully engage in the process. Each three-hour session fosters a friendly, social atmosphere where everyone works as a team. The class begins with a chef’s introduction and demonstration, followed by hands-on preparation of four Vietnamese dishes in groups. Chefs are always available to guide and assist you. In the end, you will enjoy the meal you have made. You’ll also receive the recipes to recreate the dishes at home.

After that, we will go back to Hoi An ancient town. Take a walk around Hoi An Town to see remarkably well-preserved traditional houses that have withstood 200 years of weather and war. Visit a Japanese Covered Bridge, which was first constructed in the 1590s by linking it with the Chinese quarters. Following Tran Phu Street, we will get to The Assembly Halls. There are 4 Assembly Halls in Hoi An, and each of those Halls belongs to a Chinese community that has its own beliefs, different assembly halls worship different gods and goddesses.

Then we will go back to your hotel, and relax.

Day 6: Hoi An: Traditional craft villages - Coconut Jungle (B, L)

After breakfast, you will be picked up at your hotel to the boat station. Take a boat and then begin the tour of traditional villages. The first destination is Kim Bong carpentry village, established in the 15th century. From the 16th century, Kim Bong was famous for home appliances, shipbuilding… products. The village made a significant contribution to the development of the Hoi An trading port. Nowadays, skillful craftsmen turn to making handicraft products. Although the product is more simple and plain, it still shows the skill and talent of the craftsman. Then we go to Thanh Ha Pottery village, established in the late 15th century, which was once listed as a “National native product.” Thanh Ha village used to produce bowls, jars, roof tiles, and lining brick… to distribute to Hoi An and other nearby areas. There was a time when the village was nearly forgotten, however, with efforts from the heart of the craftsman, the village gradually recovered. You will have a chance to hear the story of the craftsman, watch the process of making a pottery product, and even more excited is to try to make a product of your own.

Get the special bamboo basket boat on Cua Dai River, explore the Seven hectares of water palm forest, learn how to catch purple crabs…

Then our driver will transfer you back to your hotel.  

Day 7: Hoi An free time (B)

This day is your free time to leisure.

OPTIONAL: BA NA HILL COMPLEX - $80/PAX

Day 8: Hoi An - Fly to Ho Chi Minh - Street food tour by Vespa (B, D)

Start your day on the right foot with a delicious breakfast to get you going. Then, your driver will take you to the airport, where you will take a flight to Ho Chi Minh City.

Upon arrival in HCMC, our driver and tour guide will transfer you to your hotel for check-in, and put your belongings off.

In the evening, we will discover the most interesting thing in Vietnam: street food. At around 6:00 AM, our tour guide will be at your hotel lobby, get your helmet, and begin your tour by Vespa. First of all, we will go to Ho Thi Ky Flower Market walking all around and enjoying street food (BBQ, skewers, mixed rice paper, fruits…) inside the market. Then we will go straight to Chinatown, we will stop at a Vietnamese Chinese Herbal tea shop and visit Cha Tam Church (a 300 years catholic Church). From here you can choose so many things: Dumpling in a local shop, Pho, Broken rice, Banh Xeo, Pancake with egg… Then we will be back to Nguyen Hue walking street. You might get tired already, so we will have a beer/juice or smoothies in Bui Vien walking street or you can join a sky bar in De Tham. Back to your hotel and finish your day.

Day 9: Ho Chi Minh - Mekong Delta - Ho Chi Minh (B, L)

After having breakfast, we travel to Hung Vuong Pier in Ben Tre. Take a boat at Ben Tre River for sight-seeing lively activities along the river such as fishing, and water transfer. We will stop at the most popular places for handicraft workshops including a craft brickyard where the locals still use centuries-old traditional methods to handmade bricks, process coconut into many different forms, and weave mats with the aid of dried reeds and a huge loom. A local Xe Loi (motorized rickshaw) will take us into a tropical garden where we can taste the exotic tropical fruit and enjoy our homemade lunch. Spend the rest of the afternoon lounging on a sampan boat rowing through Ben Tre’s iconic backwaters with water palms and coconut trees.

Day 10: Ho Chi Minh - Departure (B)

Our driver and tour guide will escort you to the Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN) for your flight home. This is the end of the journey, we hope this trip gave you memorable experiences and a milestone in your relationship with your significant other. Thank you for traveling with FTrip Vietnam!

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