Explore the story of Vietnam on a journey shaped by private invitations, personal stories, and genuine insight. Led by your handpicked Signature Guide, travel from Hanoi’s historic heart into high mountain communities, where artisans, distillers, and hosts share knowledge rarely opened to outsiders. Walk ancient courtyards after hours, forage forest botanicals, trace textile languages, and gather around family hearths. The experience drifts south to Hoi An, where mercantile history and authentic cuisine bring the adventure to a close.
Venture to the very heart of each destination on our Signature Collection, where every journey is shaped by our unrivalled local connections and insider expertise. Step beyond the ordinary with private invitations, rare encounters, and experiences few will ever share. So when someone says, “I’ve been there,” you’ll simply smile, knowing you’ve experienced it differently.
Signature Experiences:
Unlock Vietnam’s first university after hours, exploring the Temple of Literature with a leading historian
Forage wild botanicals with Vietnam’s craft gin pioneer, learning H’Mong fermentation and distillation inside a mountain home
Join Lu female artisans to practise indigo dyeing and hand-spinning, sustaining ancestral textile traditions in Lao Chai
Signature Day: Experience our distinctive Signature Day, choosing between a cooking immersion, H’Mong textile workshop, Sky Road mountain hike, or Snow Shan tea harvest and ceremony
Signature Stay: Unwind at Topas Ecolodge with private stone bungalows overlooking terraced mountain valleys, part of this trip’s refined accommodation portfolio
Signature Guide: Let your handpicked Signature Guide lead you to the country’s soul — sharing their home, heritage, and heart
Activity Areas
Culture
New Cultural Holidays
Region & Country & City
Asia: Hanoi, Vietnam
Included in the Price
- Elegant, hand-picked hotels and a Signature Stay in Topas Ecolodge, a refined mountain retreat focused on sustainability - All breakfasts, five lunches, and six dinners, featuring restaurants that capture the authentic cuisine of Vietnam - Named Signature Guide with outstanding knowledge and guest satisfaction - Your preferred Signature Day experience, selected and prebooked ahead of travel - Gratuities for local support staff so every detail of your journey feels effortless - Comfortable transport, including private minimums and an internal flight - Complimentary transfers on arrival and departure, ensuring a smooth journey
Not Included In The Price
Map
Itinerary
Day 1 Settle into the rhythm of Hanoi | Welcome reception with a private Dan Do performance
Our journey begins in Hanoi, where tradition shapes daily life. Complimentary arrival transfers ensure a seamless arrival as you settle into your hotel overlooking Hoan Kiem Lake.
Those arriving early can join an optional excursion, stepping into a private Old Quarter townhouse to meet a descendant of Nguyen Mai Hanh, guardian of Hanoi’s silk flower tradition. In a hands-on session, learn how simple fabric is transformed into lifelike blooms, shaping and colouring your own silk petals to create a keepsake that carries this fading craft forward (available to prebook on request).
As evening falls, gather for our welcome reception at Co Dam restaurant. A private Dan Do performance recreates ancient forest soundscapes using bamboo and stone instruments, providing an intentional sensory reset, followed by a vegetarian tasting menu inspired by Champa temple aesthetics.
Overnight at La Siesta Premium Lakeside
Day 2 Move through old Hanoi | Unlock the Temple of Literature after hours
Begin on foot through the Old Quarter as morning life unfolds along historic guild streets. Pause for local snacks before stepping into the calm of a lesser-known temple courtyard.
Here, meet Master Hien, a respected Confucian teacher, for a private calligraphy workshop. This meditative practice explores philosophy through ink and movement, culminating in a personal brushstroke talisman to take home.
After free time for lunch, we walk to Giang Café for a private egg-coffee masterclass hosted by the founder’s descendants in the establishment in which it was created, revealing the origins of this iconic drink.
This evening, dine at KOTO, a pioneering social enterprise, where meals are prepared by at-risk youths. Each dish directly supports their education, turning a culinary experience into a direct catalyst for social change.
Signature Experience: Unlock the gates of Vietnam’s first university, the Temple of Literature. In this after-hours visit, we walk the courtyards with leading historian and director of the Institute of Vietnamese Studies, Professor Nguyen Quang Ngoc, whose scholarly insight reveals hidden details of this 1,000-year-old Confucian sanctuary that are lost to the daytime crowds.
Second night at La Siesta Premium Lakeside
Day 3 Travel from lowlands to highlands | Dine from regenerative forest gardens
Journey north to Thac Ba Lake for a meaningful visit to Lavie Vu Linh, a regenerative lakeside project uniting education, ecology, and cultural preservation. This is more than a lunch stop: your closed-loop, forest-to-table meal draws entirely from surrounding gardens, offering a clear expression of sustainable land stewardship.
Continue onward toward the mountains, arriving at Topas Ecolodge, our Signature Stay, set high in the Hoang Lien Son range. The afternoon is yours to settle into this elevated retreat, where sweeping valleys stretch below your private terrace.
As dusk approaches, experience a private Khen panpipe performance, music central to H’Mong spiritual life, believed to bridge earthly and ancestral worlds. Conclude the evening by joining the group for dinner at the lodge’s 360° Grill or dine at your leisure.
Overnight at Topas Ecolodge Premium
Day 4 Enter the Hoang Lien Son | Forage botanicals with a master distiller
Signature Experience: Follow Daniel Nguyen, pioneer of Vietnam’s craft spirits, into the remote village of Seo My Ty. Hand-forage wild botanicals alongside him, learning how altitude, soil, and season shape the character of his award-winning drinks. The immersion deepens inside a H’Mong elder’s home, where you take part in traditional fermentation and distillation methods rooted in daily mountain life. This is a rare entry into a closed lineage of knowledge, shared through practice rather than performance. A private family-cooked lunch follows, paired with a curated tasting of Daniel’s aged reserve, each sip reflecting years of patience and landscape.
This evening, dine in privacy at Topas Ecolodge, either beneath open stars or within a secluded restaurant space, preserving the valley’s quiet rhythm.
Second night at Topas Ecolodge Premium
Day 5 Cross mountain passes | Learn indigo and hand-spinning with Lu artisans
Signature Experience: Depart Sapa via the O Quy Ho Pass, stopping in Lao Chai village for an intimate introduction to the Lu people’s textile traditions. Join female artisans in indigo dyeing and hand-spinning cotton, supporting a women-led effort to preserve embroidery and silver-adorned design languages passed through generations.
Continue onward for lunch inside a Thai family’s stilt house, sharing a private home-cooked meal that offers a quiet window into valley life.
In La Pan Tan village, meet Giang A De, a pioneer of community-based tourism in Mu Cang Chai. Your visit culminates in a H’Mong blessing ceremony, hosted in a rotating home to ensure benefits are shared across the village. Contributions from this experience support education, libraries, and children’s spaces.
Overnight at Le Champ Tu Le Resort Hot Spring & Spa
Day 6 Signature Day | Connect through culinary heritage, textiles, mountain trails, or tea
Today is your Signature Day, where you can select an authentic, curated experience to connect deeply with Vietnamese culture. You could:
Master ethnic culinary traditions, collecting forest ingredients before wood-smoking buffalo and blending Cham Cheo inside a family hearth.
Decode H’Mong textile language, tracing ancestral symbols onto hemp using wax and indigo techniques.
Hike the Sky Road, climbing high ridges to Nam Kim village and sharing a mountain-top picnic above terraced valleys.
Harvest Snow Shan tea, joining a tea master for ceremony among centuries-old trees in Suoi Giang.
This evening, regroup for a firelit grilled dinner in a private space at Kuong Pha Restaurant, where open flame, herbs, and shared plates define the region’s cuisine.
Second night at Le Champ Tu Le Resort Hot Spring & Spa
Day 7 Journey to the Red River Delta | Rebalance with a personalised wellness treatment
Travel toward the Red River Delta, stopping at Thanh Chuong Palace for lunch and a private encounter with the artist known as Vietnam’s Picasso. Over tea, explore a personal landscape where ancient architecture and contemporary philosophy intersect.
Arrive at Senna Wellness Retreat near Bac Ninh, a hillside sanctuary designed as a reset point after a culture-rich journey. Enjoy a treatment from a choice of three wellness experiences, from energy-balancing rituals to deeper therapeutic massage, before settling into the calm of the retreat.
This evening, dine at Moc Restaurant, where Red River Delta flavours are perfected within an intimate setting. The night is accompanied by a private Quan Ho Bac Ninh performance, a UNESCO-recognised vocal tradition whose call-and-response songs reveal the region’s musical soul.
Overnight at Senna Wellness Retreat
Day 8 Slow into Hoi An’s evening light | Explore the Ancient Town with a scholar
Fly south to Da Nang before continuing to Hoi An. After time for lunch, step into the Ancient Town alongside Dr Quang Van Quy, scholar and deputy director of Hoi An Cultural Heritage Management & Preservation, his unmatched knowledge bringing this former trading port to life. You’ll also gain after-hours access with him to the Fujian Assembly Hall, uncovering layers of mercantile, spiritual, and architectural history.
As lanterns begin to glow, toast the evening with sundowner drinks atop Faifo Coffee, overlooking the tiled rooftops of Hoi An.
Your farewell dinner unfolds at La Table Hoi An, where acclaimed chef Pierre-Emmanuel Fritsch fuses local ingredients with French culinary tradition, an elegant close to the journey.
Overnight in Victoria Hoi An Beach Resort & Spa
Day 9 Say a fond farewell to Vietnam or extend your stay
Your final morning is left unhurried. Depending on your flight time, enjoy a relaxed breakfast, a final Vietnamese coffee, or a gentle stroll nearby before your complimentary transfer to the airport.
Those with more time may join an optional cultural visit with Bui Quy Phong, Hoi An’s last traditional paper mask artisan. In a quiet temple setting, observe his intricate process before creating your own ceremonial mask, carrying forward a theatrical art form now rarely practised (available to prebook on request).
This chapter may have come to an end, but Vietnam’s story continues – woven through memory, craft, and the relationships shaped along the way.
Alternatively, open a new chapter of discovery by speaking to your Signature Collection travel expert about extending your stay.
