Itinerary

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Day 1:

Our driver will meet you at the airport on arrival and transfer you to your hotel. You will then receive your Route Book with useful information and restaurant recommendations for your trip and your eSim.

Night in Hanoi.

Day 2:

Our local guide will meet you at your hotel around 9am. Soak up the atmosphere of Hanoi’s 36-corporation district on a cyclo tour. Visit the Tran Quoc pagoda on the shores of the great Ho Tay lake. After lunch, discover the Temple of Literature, enjoy a visit to the Women’s Museum, where traditional women’s costumes are showcased to remarkable effect. At the end of the day, enjoy a puppet show on the water.

Night in Hanoi, lunch included.

Day 3:

Free day in Hanoi, with our local recommendations in our Road Book.

Night in Hanoi.

Day 4:

Our English-speaking guide will meet you at your hotel in Hanoi around 8am to take the road to Mai Hich via the village of Hoa Binh. Stop at the top of the pass for a panoramic view of the Mai Chau valley. Continue on to the village of Mai Chau, home to the region’s ethnic minority, the White Thai, whom you’ll meet for lunch. Cycle through the rice fields to discover the villages of the region and the daily life of the White Thais. Continue to Mai Hich by car before a 2-hour walk through the rice fields to your host’s home for dinner and overnight.

Night in Mai Hich, lunch and dinner included.

Day 5:

After breakfast, at around 8:30am, leave your hosts for PuLuong. Discover the local way of life on a 2 to 3-hour walk through rice paddies and small paths used by farmers, then enjoy lunch (not included) à la carte in a local restaurant overlooking the Pu Luong valley. Continue your walk for another 1h30 or so to reach the guesthouse in Huyen Ba Thuoc, offering a panoramic view of Pu Luong for the night. Relax before cooking dinner with your host. Then overnight at your host’s home.

Night in Pu Luong, breakfast and dinner included.

Day 6:

After breakfast, departure by car to discover a local waterfall. Relax by the water’s edge, then take a 1-hour walk before lunch with a local. Enjoy a ride on a bamboo raft, atypical of the region, before setting off for Tam Coc, where you’ll arrive in the late afternoon.

Night in Tam Coc, breakfast and lunch included.

Day 7:

Early departure from the hotel around 8am, with our English-speaking guide. Join the superb Van Long nature reserve and discover its magnificent landscapes as you cruise along the water on a small sampan, admiring its bird populations. Then on to Hoa Lu, the former imperial capital, with its temples and pagodas nestling in the shade of ancient trees. After lunch, discover another architectural marvel, the Bai Dinh Pagoda. This is the largest Buddhist complex in Southeast Asia, steeped in spirituality. Enter through the impressive Tam Quan gate before admiring the site as a whole, with its immense golden Buddha statues, grottoes and temples, surrounded by lush vegetation.

Night in Tam Coc, lunch included.

Day 8:

Departure from the hotel around 9am, with our English-speaking guide to the village of Tay Phu and visit the local market. Then discover the making of Bánh Chưng, a traditional dish for theTết festival in Vietnam. After lunch with local people, meet families still practicing local crafts: making rice noodles, water hyacinth baskets, rush mats, tofu… You’ll have the opportunity to discover and participate in their activities, while providing them with support and additional income. At the end of the day, take a bike ride along the dike, in a peaceful setting far from cars and surrounded by flowers, before returning to the hotel.

Night in Tam Coc, lunch included.

Day 9:

Departure by minibus around 7am for the port of Ha Long. Start your cruise with lunch on board, amidst the impressive rocky peaks of Tu Long Bay. In the afternoon, a kayak trip immerses you in the magnificent scenery of the bay near Cap La Island. At the end of the day, admire the magnificent sunset over the bay before dinner. Then try your hand at squid fishing after dinner, or relax with a board game.

Night in Tu Long Bay, lunch and dinner included.

Day 10:

If you’re an early riser, enjoy the sunrise over the bay with a Tai Chi session before breakfast. After breakfast, discover the Thienh Canh Son cave. Return to the boat for check-out and lunch, then back to the port to take the road to Hanoi, arriving around 3 pm. In the evening, night train to Hué.

Night in train, breakfast and lunch included.

Day 11:

Our English-speaking driver will meet you at the station and transfer you to your hotel. Around 10am, departure with our English-speaking guide to discover Dong Ba market. At the end of the morning, a small boat awaits you on the lagoon for a boat trip. You’ll discover the local fishing industry, before enjoying a seafood lunch. End your day with a visit to the charming village of Thanh Thuy, with its rural museum and picturesque wooden bridge covered in tiles.

Night in Hué, lunch included.

Day 12:

Our English-speaking guide will meet you at the hotel around 9am to take you to the port and board a traditional dragon boat. Sail along the Perfume River to the marvellous Thien Mu Pagoda. Afterwards, take the road to visit the Imperial City. After lunch, set off into the Hué countryside to discover the history of Tu Duc’s tomb and to wander the paths of its gardens amidst water features. After a photo break in the incense village, return to the hotel.

Night in Hué, lunch included.

Day 13:

Free day in Hué with recommendations from our Road Book.

Night in Hué.

Day 14:

Departure from your hotel around 9am with our English-speaking driver. Take the road to Hoi An and enjoy a photo break by the Lang Co lagoon. Then, from the Cloud Pass, contemplate the region’s sumptuous landscapes, with their lush forests and panoramic sea views. Then stop off at Marble Mountain and venture up this lonely sugar loaf on the southern edge of Danang, home to a complex of caves and pagodas, before arriving in Hoi An.

Night in Hoi An.

Day 15:

Depart from your hotel around 9am with our English-speaking guide for a bike ride through the surrounding countryside and rice paddies. Take a basket boat to the village of Cam Thanh and discover the nipa forest, 3km from town, which invites you to take a walk in the green. After lunch, discover the Thanh Ha pottery village, known for its five hundred years of handicraft production. Finally, visit the old town with its Chinese communal houses and local market.

Night in Hoi An, lunch included.

Day 16:

After breakfast, at around 9am, our driver and English-speaking guide meet you at your hotel for a visit to the ancient sanctuary of My Son. After an hour’s drive through the countryside and rice paddies, the “little Angkor of Vietnam”, built by the Cham people in the 4th century and lasting until the 13th century, is revealed to you in its natural setting. It showcases the vestiges of this civilization in a very natural setting. Return to Hoi An after lunch.

Night in Hoi An, lunch included.

Day 17:

Relaxing day in Hoi An.

Night in Hoi An.

Day 18:

Daytime transfer to Danang airport for flight to Hô Chi Minh, then transfer to hotel.

Night in Hô Chi Minh.

Day 19:

Our English-speaking guide will meet you at your hotel around 9am. Start the day by immersing yourself in the atmosphere of Chinatown. Venture among the stalls of the Soai Kinh Lam fabric market, then visit the Thien Hau Pagoda, known as the Pagoda of the Celestial Lady, protector of sailors and fishermen. Visit a temple dedicated to the founder of goldsmiths, then the Church of Saint Francis. Built in the late 19th century, this church is famous for its Chinese inscriptions on precious wooden plaques. In the afternoon, after lunch, discover traditional Asian medicine with a visit to the Fito Museum, then explore the streets of District 10 before returning to the hotel.

Night in Hô Chi Minh, lunch included.

Day 20:

Depart Ho Chi Minh around 8.30am with our English-speaking guide for Tien Giang province to discover the cocoa plantations. Discover the farm and the chocolate preparation process, from harvesting the pods to making a chocolate bar. Take time to taste the different products of this artisanal factory, then have the chance to pick cocoa beans, plant new ones and/or make your own confectionery. After lunch, return to the homestay and meet your host, then explore the surrounding area by bicycle to soak up the Mekong landscape before dinner and an overnight stay.

Night in Mekong Delta, lunch and dinner included.

Day 21:

After breakfast, off to Ben Tré province in the Mekong Delta. This town on the banks of the Mekong is brimming with diverse local activities, which you’ll discover on a boat trip. Visit a brickyard, discover a coconut candy-making workshop, admire the meticulous work of mat weaving and visit a bonsai village before lunch, then return to Vinh Long for the night and dinner with local people.

Night in Mekong Delta, lunch and dinner included.

Day 22:

Transfer to Phu An Jetty at 8:30am. Watch the locals go about their daily business and stop at various points along the river to discover some of the region’s cottage industries, including coconut candy and puffed rice production and an ancient house in Dong Hoa Hiep village as well as a clay pot factory. Lunch is served on board during the cruise to Binh Minh, then enjoy shore excursions to discover how local people make their living, and stop off to visit a Cao Dai temple. Return to the sampan and enjoy the sunset as Song Xanh continues its journey to the Hau River. Dinner and overnight on board.

Night onboard Song Xanh, lunch and dinner included.

Day 23:

Wake up at 6am to visit the famous Cai Rang floating market. Discover the hustle and bustle of the market as traders offer their wares on the waterway vying for the attention of potential buyers. Breakfast is served on board as the Song Xanh sails to the market among local barges laden with delta fruits and vegetables. Continue your cruise to Can Tho and disembark at the Victoria Hotel’s private jetty at around 9am, before transferring to a homestay.

We pick you up by pirogue at the meeting point. Visit the “local market”. Phuong, your English-speaking guide, and cousin Hao will be your private guides for the day. To date, no travelers have visited this colorful, cheerful and lively market. It’s fun to stroll through the alleys overloaded with goods, and to observe the surprise of the locals. Lunch on site. Then off to visit our friend who makes woven bamboo baskets along the river. A truly precious skill. We continue our journey to a charcoal factory on the banks of the river. Families live on the premises. Explanations and surprising encounters! Then it’s back home through the mangroves. Dinner and evening with the family.

Night in Can Tho, breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Day 24:

After breakfast, departure for a morning of countryside exploration on a scooter as a passenger. The rice miller. This machine, straight out of a Tim Burton film, will show you what goes on upstream before that little grain of rice ends up on your plate. Lunch en route. Stop at a granny’s house where she makes brooms from coconut stems, entirely by hand… Then a visit to Dèp, our friend who makes incense sticks, on the other side of the river. Return home through the rice paddies. Dinner and evening with the family. If you wish, we’ll teach you to play Tien Len, a very popular card game here and/or kaaraooooké… A fun evening guaranteed!

Night in Can Tho, breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Day 25:

Breakfast followed by a walk along the river. Then it’s off to school. Just like in the old days… it smells of dust inside the books with their horny pages, and the fine sand of the playground turned over by those restless little feet takes us back a few years. A Vietnam version of Tom Sawyer’s school. A visit to a blacksmith by the river. Knives, sickles and machetes hold no secrets for him. Lunch en route or at our place, then a stroll in our fruit garden behind the house and/or an introduction to coconut massage oil. Dinner and overnight stay.

Night in Can Tho, breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Day 26:

Transfer to Hô Chi Minh during the day.

Night in Hô Chi Minh.

Day 27:

Free day in Hô Chi Minh with the recommendations of our Road Book.

Night in Hô Chi Minh.

Day 28:

Transfer to Hô Chi Minh airport during the day for your return flight.

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