Embark on a highlights-packed adventure in Vietnam, getting to the soul of the country with authentic experiences chosen by our local experts. Navigate Hanoi’s Old Quarter, cruise Ha Long Bay in a junk boat, uncover imperial history in Hue and stroll through Hoi An’s historic trading streets, before finishing in electric Ho Chi Minh City. Along the way, your tour leader helps you understand what makes Vietnam so special through their personal stories, cultural insights and insider tips.
Activity Areas
Cultural Heritage
Culture
Region & Country & City
Asia: Halong Bay, Hanoi, Vietnam
Included in the Price
All accommodation: 8 Comfort nights (6 hotel, 1 boat), 1 Simple night (sleeper train) - Eight breakfasts, one lunch and two dinners - Immersive itinerary with all transport and listed activities - Expert tour leader to enhance your adventure - Arrival and departure transfers
Not Included In The Price
Request a single room if required, purchase travel insurance and arrange any visas and vaccinations. Also, check out Discover Laos in Comfort, Highlights of Northern Thailand and Highlights of Cambodia, which you can combine with this adventure.
Map
Itinerary
Day 1 Start in buzzy Hanoi • Tuck into Vietnamese food for a welcome dinner
Begin your adventure in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, where street food reigns supreme and the history of the city can be read in the architecture.
You’re met at the airport and transferred to the hotel. Around 6pm, say xin chào to your tour leader and fellow travellers, when we gather as a group for the first time to get to know each other and learn more about the adventures ahead.
Your tour leader then ensures a big Vietnamese welcome by arranging dinner at a great local restaurant.
Want to explore Hanoi further? Secure pre-tour hotel nights through your sales representative.
Day 2 Tour the historic highlights of Hanoi
Explore the best of Hanoi after breakfast, travelling by minibus with some walking involved.
Guided by our tour leader, we visit the Temple of Literature (built in 1070, it housed the first university in Vietnam) and walk around the atmospheric Old Quarter. The rest of the day is free to enjoy at leisure – speak to your tour leader for expert insight on where to go.
Day 3 To mystical Ha Long Bay • Cruise and stay on an authentic junk boat
Visit an icon of Vietnam today: Ha Long Bay, a World Heritage site where some 3,000 limestone peaks break through emerald waters to create a mystical landscape. To get there, we rise early for the approximately four-hour drive; upon arrival, board a junk boat, which is also our home for tonight.
After launching, we enjoy a seafood lunch on deck and drift among the forested pinnacles. We also stop at a beach where we can hike up to a viewpoint (it’s quite steep but the views are worth it), plus there’s time for a swim in a small sectioned-off area. Additionally, an optional kayaking trip (extra cost) may be available depending on weather conditions.
Back on board, pull up a chair on the top deck and watch the sunset together, perhaps with a cold drink from the bar. When it’s time for bed, we have the comforts of twin-share cabins with private bathrooms.
Day 4 Scenic cruise around Ha Long Bay • Return to Hanoi • Sleeper train to Hue
Continue to cruise around beautiful Ha Long Bay, admiring those limestone pinnacles once more, before returning to port mid-morning.
We then have a four-hour drive back to Hanoi, where we have a little free time, before transferring to the train station. Here, we board the Reunification Express for our overnight train ride to Hue, 428mi (688km) to the south.
Day 5 Arrive in Hue • Explore the Imperial Citadel and Forbidden Purple City of Hue
Arriving mid-morning in Hue, we transfer to our hotel to freshen up. In the afternoon, we visit the Imperial Citadel, the standout attraction in the city. Inside its 6mi (10km) long walls are the palaces and halls of the Mandarins, and the remains of the Forbidden Purple City, where only the emperor, his eunuchs and concubines were allowed.
The Forbidden Purple City was almost destroyed during the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War, but the foliage-covered ruins are still atmospheric, and the bomb holes a testament to the destruction wreaked upon the country.
After, enjoy the rest of the day at leisure. You may want to join an optional cruise along the Perfume River, admiring the historic sites of the city, as you listen to traditional Hue music.
Day 6 To Hoi An, via the Hai Van Pass • Explore the Old Town
Leaving Hue, our 81mi (130km) drive passes through the beautiful Lang Co peninsula, between a crystalline lagoon and the Eastern Sea, and then passes over the Hai Van Pass (Pass of the Ocean Clouds) where the views are stunning.
Arriving in Hoi An, we enjoy a walking tour of the Old Town, the original European trading port in Vietnam. It’s now a living museum with wooden merchants’ houses and pagoda-style temples. It is also a marvellous place to wander and enjoy the thriving riverside market and great silk clothes shopping.
After, explore Hoi An at leisure or join an optional tour to the 1,000-year-old Ba Le Well, which contains the water needed to make authentic cao lau noodles.
Day 7 Free day in Hoi An • Optional activities include Tra Que village cooking class
We have a free day to enjoy Hoi An at our own pace, with our tour leader on hand to help us choose from the optional activities.
For a closer connection to the region’s food, you can visit Tra Que, a vegetable-growing village on the outskirts of Hoi An. Here, residents welcome visitors into their herb and vegetable gardens for hands-on activities, before a local chef guides you through a cooking class using fresh village produce.
Alternatively, join a Hoi An street food adventure, combine cycling with a boat ride and dinner, or take a day trip to My Son Sanctuary. The UNESCO-listed collection of Hindu temple ruins provides an insight into the architecture and spiritual life of the Champa Kingdom.
Day 8 Fly to Ho Chi Minh City • Tour the city highlights
Bid farewell to Hoi An and transfer (40-50 minutes) to Da Nang Airport, where we catch our flight to Ho Chi Minh City, an absorbing metropolis where scooters pack the streets and temples stand alongside modern developments.
This afternoon’s walking city tour includes a visit to the Ben Thanh Market, Notre Dame Cathedral and War Remnants Museum. The museum has an interesting photographic record of the Vietnam War but please be aware that some of the images are very graphic.
Day 9 Free day in Ho Chi Minh City • Optional morning visit to Cu Chi Tunnels
Today is a free day to explore Ho Chi Minh City before we gather for one final evening together.
This morning, you may wish to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, a subterranean network that stretches some 155mi (250km) over three levels. Though construction started in the late 1940s, they became infamous during the Vietnam War, when Viet Cong fighters used them to hide, spring surprise attacks through trapdoors, and store food and weapons. Now, they provide an extraordinary look into the hardships faced throughout the war. Alternatively, visit the Reunification Palace or simply soak up the vibrant energy of Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 10 End the adventure in Ho Chi Minh City
The trip ends today after breakfast and there’s a free transfer for you to the airport. If you’d like to extend your adventure, speak to your sales representative about booking additional accommodation or joining one of our other adventures in Southeast Asia, perhaps Discover Laos in Comfort or Treasures of Northern Thailand.
