Travel dates from January 2023 to December 2023 – Your choice of departure date
Package Includes:
- All transfers and quality air-conditioned vehicles
- Accommodation at 3 or 4-star hotel/cruise selected including daily breakfast with double/twin room
- Domestic flights from Hanoi - Da Nang - Ho Chi Minh
- International flight from Ho Chi Minh - Siem Reap
- Tour with a local English-speaking tour guide
- Meals as mentioned in the program (Breakfast: B; Lunch: L; Dinner: D)
- Airport transfer at destination
- Cooking demonstration
- Sunset party/welcome drink
- Basket boat tour
- Boat trip in Mekong/Tonle Sap lake
- Entrance fee for all destinations as tour itinerary indicated
- Bottle of water available on the coach
Package Excludes:
- Domestic and international airfares
- Drinks and other meals not indicated in the program
- Visa to Vietnam and Cambodia
- Travel Insurance
- Personal expenses
- Tipping
- Single supplement
- Early check-in and late check-out
- Any additional expenses caused such as natural calamities (typhoons, floods), flight delays rescheduling or cancellations, any accidents, medical evacuations, riots, strikes etc.
Itinerary:
Day 01: Fly to Hanoi
Welcome to your holiday with Your Vietnam Travel
Upon arrival at Noi Bai International Airport, either Domestic or International arrival, after clearing all customs procedures, please proceed to the exit gate and look for your guide who will be waiting in the lobby, holding the Your Vietnam Travel signboard with your name on it.
Day 02: Hanoi City Tour – Hop On Hop Off (B)
Departure times: 8.00am, 8.30am, 9.00am, 9.30am to 5.00pm
- Depart at Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square (Mon-Fri)
- Depart at Hanoi Opera House (Sat-Sun)
Enjoy a unique experience in Hanoi with a special combo including Hanoi City Tour Hop-On Hop-Off with a 4-hour valid ticket. Hanoi City Tour Hop-On Hop-Off has 15 stops going through more than 20 famous attractions, allowing travellers to explore and experience the city in their way.
Visitors will go through:
- Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square – Hoàn Kiếm Lake (Mon-Fri)
- Hanoi Opera House – (Sat -Sun)
- Le Thai To’s Statue
- St. Joseph’s Cathedral
- The Flag Tower of Hanoi
- Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
- Quan Thanh Temple
- Tran Quoc Pagoda
- Cua Bac Church
- The Imperial Citadel of Thang Long
- One Pillar Pagoda
- The Temple of Literature
- Hoa Lo Prison Relic
- Museum of Vietnamese Women
- Hanoi Opera House
- Hanoi Post Office
Day 03: Hanoi – Halong Bay – Overnight Cruise (B/L/D)
Our guide and shuttle bus will pick you up at the lobby of the hotel at 8.00 - 8.20 am and start the journey east to Halong Bay, through picturesque rice-farming villages of the Red River Delta, where you see everyday Vietnamese village life. On arrival, you board a beautiful traditional junk and spend a full day and night cruising the bay’s 3000 magnificent limestone islets. In the evening when the boat is anchored in the middle of the stunning lagoon. You can enjoy a wonderful seafood meal and later there is an opportunity for an evening swim from the side of the boat. Spend the night on a luxurious boat.
Day 04: Halong Bay – Hanoi (B/L)
Awake early and participate in Tai Chi on the top deck or simply relax and enjoy the sunrise over the bay’s towering islands. Enjoy a morning cup of coffee or tea, before setting out to explore nearby islands by rowboat. Return to the junk for breakfast then take advantage of the sundeck and admire the amazing rock formations of Halong. Have brunch on board the boat before returning to Halong pier to get back to Hanoi.
Day 05: Hanoi – Fly to Da Nang – Hoi An (B)
Morning flight to the airport for flight to Da Nang. Upon arrival, a driver will pick you up and transfer you to the hotel in Hoi An for check-in. Overnight in Hoi An.
Day 06: Hoi An (B)
Today, it is time for you to explore art and handicraft galleries, try on tailor-made clothes, relax at the riverside restaurants or take the short journey to the nearby beach. Overnight in Hoi An.
Day 07: Hoi An – Tra Que Village – Basket Boat Tour (B/ Light lunch)
08:30 - Depart from your hotel. Your guide will meet you in your hotel lobby then you will cycle around Hoi An towards the Tra Que vegetable village - about 150 farmers and 400 owners live there and cultivate about 20 types of vegetables and herbs such as mint, lettuce, basil, cilantro, broccoli and many more. From the more than 40 hectares of land 8 tons of Village Tra vegetables are sold every year. The vegetable growers do not use pesticides or GMOs, using natural fertilizers instead, including seaweed found in the river and harvested by gardeners every morning.
10:00 am - During the walk, you will cross vast rice fields in the countryside and a quiet road, far away from the tourist trails. You will see the activities of the inhabitants through the villages of Hoi An.
11:00 am - Walk in Tra Que vegetable village and meet local people working in the garden.
The local farmer will teach you all about cultivation methods and how to protect developing vegetables from insects as well as join the farmers in preparing gardening activities such as raking the ground, sowing, watering greens, transplanting and tending greens.
12:00 pm - Continue riding through paddy field, Ba Le market, kindergarten ... until reaching Van Lang fisherman village and Bay Mau coconut water forest - about 7 hectares, surrounded by mangrove forests, canals, and houses covered by coconut water leaf. This place had ever been a refuge for people and local soldiers during the Vietnam War. Nowadays, it is famous for providing the most seafood products.
You will be warmly welcomed by Mr Han, enjoy a taste of green tea and stroll through the village. You will row a basket boat within the hands of skilful locals and discover techniques of traditional fishery in the water coconut forest.
1:30 pm - Back to Mr Han’s family where you will enjoy a foot bath with medicinal herbs, and traditional therapeutic practice before getting ready to prepare lunch with a local family. Lunch will feature many local delicacies, such as Tam Huu spring rolls, Banh Xeo local pancakes, grilled fish in banana leaf and others.
2:30 pm - After lunch, enjoy your free time and rest before returning to your hotel at approximately 4.00 pm.
Day 08: Hoi An – Fly to Ho Chi Minh (B)
After breakfast, transfer to the airport for the flight to Ho Chi Minh. Upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh, you will be welcomed by the tour guide/driver and transferred to the hotel for check-in. The rest of the day is free at your leisure. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh.
Day 09: Ho Chi Minh City – Cu Chi Tunnels (B)
Breakfast at the hotel, meet the guide at 8.00 am and start visiting for a tour of Cu Chi Tunnels - a man-made maze with a length of almost 250 kilometres. Also, the tunnels were used to serve as communication routes, storage facilities, hospitals and living quarters for Vietnamese fighters during the long period of war. If you are interested, you can go into the tunnels to discover the harsh living conditions of those who were used to living there.
After that, taste the typically boiled tapioca and hot tea before you come back to Ho Chi Minh.
Day 10: Ho Chi Minh – Mekong Excursion (B/L)
After breakfast, at 7.00 am meet our guide and driver at the hotel lobby.
Take a smooth one-and-half-hour bus ride through rice field scenery along National Highway 1 bringing you to the beautiful rural district of Trung Luong.
On arrival at My Tho, take a leisurely cruise on the Tien River to view the four beautiful islands known as Dragon, Unicorn, Phoenix and Tortoise islands.
Enjoy lunch at the local restaurant, then visit the coconut candy mill and take an amazing rowing boat trip along the small canal on a hand-rowed sampan under the shadow of the water coconut trees along natural canals. Then enjoy seasonal fruit & honey tea to the sound of "Southern Vietnamese folk music", performed by locals.
Meet on the bus and return to Ho Chi Minh City. This trip provides a fascinating insight into daily life in the Mekong Delta and you are guaranteed to take home your own private collection of beautiful memories.
Day 11: Ho Chi Minh – Fly to Siem Reap (B)
Free at leisure until transfer to airport for flight to Siem Reap. Upon arrival in Siem Reap, you will be welcomed by the tour guide/driver and transferred to the hotel for check-in. Free and easy in your own way.
Day 12: Angkor Tour (B/L)
Drive to Angkor Thom which was the masterpiece of King Jayavarman VII. Following the occupation of Angkor by the Chams from 1177 to 1181, the new king decided to build an impregnable fortress at the heart of his empire.
Begin to visit Bayon Temple. At the exact centre of Angkor Thom, this is an eccentric expression of the creative genius and inflated ego of Cambodia’s most celebrated king.
Continue to visit the Terrace of the Leper King. Along the Terrace of Elephants, originally used as a viewing gallery for the king to preside over parades, performances and traditional sports. At the southern end lies the Baphuon, once of the most beautiful temples at Angkor, dating from the reign of Uditayavarman 1 in the 11th century.
Journey out to the mother of all temples, Angkor Wat. Believed to be the world's largest religious building, this temple is the perfect fusion of symbolism and symmetry and a source of pride and strength to all Khmers.
Overnight in Siem Reap.
Day 13: Pink Temple & Life on Tonle Sap Lake (B/L)
Beat the crowd early morning by 7.00 am; visit the picturesque Ta Prohm that had nearly disappeared into the jungle and remains overgrown, an oddly haunting and exotic scene. The magnificent roots of a tree, pushing between the huge stone blocks of the temple in a sort of embrace, evoke feelings that you may remember forever.
Drive to the rural outskirt 35km from the Angkor area to visit the smallest, but magnificent, Banteay Srei built in the 10th Century and dedicated to Shiva. The temple was the birthplace of Khmer classical-style architecture and the bas-relief work is the best example of Khmer classical art remaining. The pink sandstone structure bears a series of striking and beautiful sculptures, lintels, pediments and friezes. Khmers say the temple must have been carved by women for the details are too fine for the hands of a man. On the way back stop at Pradark Village, where you will see the villagers making palm sugar, a handicraft for selling to tourists. It’s a nice chance for you to see the local people living in the countryside.
We will enjoy a boat ride on the Tonle Sap Lake. This is the largest permanent freshwater lake in South East Asia and flows into the Tonle Sap River, joining the Mekong in Phnom Penh. We will see a fishermen's "floating village" with floating schools, floating police stations, etc. It is the same as a big village floating on the lake, and the "village" moves from place to place following water levels and currents. Then ARTISAN D’ANGKOR developed the ambitious belief that it is possible to revive ancient Khmer Arts and Crafts while improving the lives of thousands of people living in rural areas.
Overnight in Siem Reap.
Day 14: Siem Reap Departure (B)
Free at leisure until transfer to the airport for your flight back home.
Accommodation:
Accommodation is based on the room type as an indication. Higher room grades can be arranged subject to availability and additional charge and customers are advised that in some cases the selected hotels are fully booked, Your Vietnam Travel will offer alternative accommodation in a hotel of equal category
3-Star Hotel:
- Hanoi - The Au Cuer Hotel (deluxe room)
- Halong - Le Journey Cruise (deluxe cabin)
- Hoi An - Kiman Hoi An (superior room)
- Ho Chi Minh - Blue Diamond Hotel (superior room)
- Siem Reap - Ladear Angkor Hotel (deluxe room)
4-Star Hotel:
- Hanoi - Bendecir Hotel (premier room)
- Halong - La Pandora Cruise (deluxe cabin)
- Hoi An - Lantana Hotel (superior room)
- Ho Chi Minh - Harmony Hotel (deluxe room)
- Siem Reap - Tara Angkor Hotel (superior room)
