Vietnam Discovery: Lanterns, Cooking, Sunset Kayaks & Halong Bay Cruising

Welcome to Vietnam! Upon arrival, meet our team at the airport and drive to city center, all domcument will be sent to you in this day (tour program, domestic flight tickets, all contacts in details). Free time for relax after a long flight. Overnight in Saigon.

Breakfast at hotel. We start this day tour by a visit to The Reunification Palace. This is one of the most important buildings in the city. Continue to Notre Dame Cathedral and The Post Office Center for the best examples of classical French colonial architecture in Saigon. War Remnants Museum, which formerly known as the Museum of American War Crimes.

Enjoy lunch at local restaurant. Head to the Cu Chi tunnels - an underground tunnels network constructed by Vietnamese fighters during their struggle for independence. Arriving tunnels, a short introductory video showing how the tunnels were constructed will be given. We then spend time exploring the maze of tunnels including innumerable trap doors, storage facilities, weapons factories, field hospitals, command centers and kitchens. These tunnels consisted of many ‘moving parts’ making them a livable structure for long periods of time. We then drive back to Saigon and end the Cu Chi Tunnels tour at late afternoon. Free time in the evening for relaxing. Overnight in Saigon.

Breakfast at hotel. A trip to Mekong Delta offers a glimpse into the unique and distinct agrarian life of the vibrant southern Delta region. We will enjoy a cruise along Mekong River to one of the Islands (located in the town of My Tho) where we will be entertained with traditional music while enjoying some tea sweetened with bee's honey and seasonal fresh fruites. We will then take a paddle-boat to cruise through the narrow canals of the Mekong. The paddle-boat ride provides an interesting look into local cottage industry of making coconut candies. Go around the island by rickshaw to see the life of local people before returning to Saigon. Overnight in Saigon.

Breakfast at hotel. Check-out and transfer to airport for fly to Danang (Central of Vietnam). Upon arrival, meet and great service at the airport with our team. Take a short drive to the riverside town of Hoi An (30-miuntes). Upon arrival, enjoy lunch at local restaurant then you will set off on a walking tour to explore this World Heritage Site. Highlights include an ancient merchant house, the Phuc Kien Assembly Hall, the 400-year-old Japanese Covered Bridge, and the vibrant riverside market. Check-in hotel and relax. Free time in the evening. Overnight in Hoi An.

Breakfast at hotel. Depart to the home of lantern craftsman. Here you will have a brief introduction into the history, shape and color of the lanterns, as well as the many stages of making them. Then you will learn how to practice hands-on through each stage of lantern making under the guidance of the enthusiastic craftsmen: from bending it into frame, cutting cloth, sticking and completing lanterns. You can make your own lantern and keep it as a souvenir. Enjoy lunch with Cao Lau, Banh Mi which are traditional cuisine in Hoi An. Relaxing at your hotel.

Sunset Kayak Tour will begin at 14:00. The tour starts up with pick up from your hotel to our kayak station in Cam Thanh. After a briefing on paddle safety and the area you will be kayaking, we’ll set off to paddle along the cocopalm forest and local villages and up to the Lantern Town. Connect with nature, immerse ourselves in life on the river and enjoy amazing landscapes as we paddle into the sunset. Trip ends after 3-hours. You’ll have time for refreshment at a local cafe near the town center before getting a transfer back to your hotel. Free time for relaxing. Overnight in Hoi An.

Breakfast at hotel and meet Footsteps's Team at hotel lobby. Depart to Tra Que Herb village by bicycle. Tra Que is a charming little village of Hoi An, the village is named after the sweet scented vegetables that spice up the everyday meals of the Pho Hoi people. En route, tourists have time to take photos of farmers, buffaloes, duck farms... Take a short stroll around the vegetable garden and listen to the history of the village. Then join gardening activities in preparing the land, fertilizing with seaweed, raking the ground, sowing, watering, picking vegetables... After spending time with the farmers, enjoy foot soak and foot massage before getting to preparing lunch with a local family. Join cooking with “Tam Huu” spring roll, “Banh xeo” - a local pancake. Bid farewell to your host family before back to your hotel. End the tour.

Breakfast at hotel. Free time for relaxing until transfer to airport for fly to Hanoi. Upon arrival Hanoi, meet and great services at the airport with Footsteps's Team. Drive to city center. Check-in hotel and relax. Overnight in Hanoi.

Breakfast at hotel. Considered charming colonial city, tourists would find Hanoi very typical feature of oriental city alive with its tree-lined boulevards and lakes and its blend of French, Chinese and Vietnamese architecture. Hanoi is the jewel of Asia. A cyclo trip will bring you to charming "36 streets and 36 wares" of the fascinating Old Quarter. Meet your tour guide. Start the trip with Tran Quoc pagoda, a Buddhist relic and national heritage lying on the West Lake. Visit Ho Chi Minh’s complex (outside), the final resting place of Viet Nam’s greatest father; his house-on-stil and One pillar pagoda – modeled after a lotus flower, a symbol of Hanoi. Arrive Ethnology museum to learn about cultures of 54 ethnic groups living in Vietnam. Have a rest and enjoy lunch in a local restaurant in Hanoi Old Quarter. After lunch, process to visit Temples of Literature - constructed in 1070 - dedicated to Confucius, sages and talented scholars. It is the most famous temple in Hanoi, also functioning as Vietnam's first university. Leave for a legendary Hoan Kiem lake and Ngoc Son Temple. Drive back to hotel and drop off. Free time for relaxing in the evening. Overnight in Hanoi.

Breakfast at hotel. Guide & driver will pick you up at your hotel, then leave by coach to Hoa Lu. Visit the historic capital of Vietnam and the famous ancient temples of Le and The Dinh Dynasties. Then our vehicle will transfer you from Hoa Lu to Tam Coc for lunch at noon. After lunch, take a boat trip to visit Tam Coc to see the beauty of the karst formations as you pass along their base and row into one of the many caves carved through the limestone in Tam Coc. Drive back to Hanoi in the afternoon and drop off at your hotel. Free time for relaxing in the evening. Overnight in Hanoi.

After breakfast at hotel, check-out hotel. From Hanoi, head East for more than 3 hours to Halong Bay, the pride of the Gulf of Tonkin, a Natural World Heritage as designated by UNESCO in 1994 and 2006. The road will pass by the Red River delta with green paddy fields and rural villages, where hard-work farmers are busy with their farming jobs, ploughing buffaloes or planting seedling. Upon arrival in Halong, we’ll take a big boat to cruise the Bay to discover the magnificent beauty of this “Descending- dragon” bay, created by thousands odd-shaped limestone rocks and karst grottoes. After a lunch of fresh seafood on board, we can visit the Surprising Grotto, stop for swimming, passing floating villages and approach islets to enjoy their beauty in close distance. Evening attend activities on the boat or relax at your own leisure. Overnight on the boat.

Itinerary is subject to change without prior notice

In the morning, doing exercise morning on Sundeck, enjoy light breakfast with coffee, tea, seasonal fresh fruit and bread before keep going to visit Halong Bay, passing by many other rocks, Islets as well as fishing villages. Brunch (lunch) will be served on board before disembarking time. Return to Hanoi, arrive at your hotel in Hanoi in the late afternoon. Check-in hotel. Free time in the evening. Overnight in Hanoi.

Highlight: Airport transfer / Breakfast at hotel. Free time until transfer to airport for flight back home. Tour ends. Thank you and see you in the next trip. 

Pick up time will be 03 hours before in advance for international flight