Vietnam Discovery

A driver welcomes you at Noi Bai Airport and takes you to your Hanoi hotel (about 35 minutes ⚑). After check-in and a break, a guide takes you on a half-day city tour: Ba Dinh Square and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (from outside), Tran Quoc Pagoda on West Lake, the Temple of Literature, and Hoan Kiem Lake with its red bridge. Overnight in Hanoi.

Be picked up from your hotel or private address by shuttle bus, with a short break on the way ⚑ (pickup time not stated). Transfer by tender from Tuan Chau marina to your cruise, where a welcome drink and safety briefing await. Enjoy a Vietnamese seafood lunch while sailing past the Con Vit islets and through Lan Ha Bay, then go kayaking and/or swimming in the Ong Cam area. Back on board, join a spring-roll cooking demonstration and the complimentary sunset party on the sundeck with local wine and fresh fruit. After dinner, choose between a fishing excursion, a movie, the bar, wifi or games. Overnight on the cruise.

Watch the sunrise over the bay with a light breakfast, tea and coffee, then visit the Dark and Bright Cave and nearby islets by local rowing boat. Return to the cruise to relax before check-out, with lunch on board. Take the tender to Tuan Chau marina and the shuttle bus back to Hanoi, then fly to Da Nang ⚑ (flight not stated) and stay overnight there.

After an early pickup from Da Nang city centre, head to Ba Na Hills at 1,487 m. Ride the cable car to the top for views, then continue to the Gare Marseille station to see the Golden Bridge, Linh Ung Pagoda, Le Jardin D’Amour gardens and the Debay wine cellar. Ride the cable car up to the French village and Fantasy Park and have lunch, then enjoy some free time before returning to the cable car station and Da Nang city centre. The Wax Museum and the wine cellar are not covered by the Ba Na Hills ticket and cost extra. Overnight in Da Nang.

After lunch ⚑ (lunch not stated as included), your driver and guide pick you up in Da Nang. Paddle through the Thu Bon River by basket boat and explore the Bay Mau Coconut Forest, watching a basket boat performance, trying paddling yourself and seeing a traditional fishing-net throw. Return to Hoi An ancient town for its lantern-lit streets and dinner at a restaurant, then take a 10 to 15 minute boat trip on the Hoai River to join the lantern release. Return to your Da Nang hotel for the night ⚑

Fly to Ho Chi Minh City ⚑ (flight not stated), the country’s largest city and a hub of commerce, finance and culture. Visit Independence Palace (Reunification Palace), built on the site of the former Norodom Palace, then see French colonial landmarks including Notre Dame Cathedral and the Central Post Office ⚑, followed by the War Remnants Museum. Check in at your hotel and rest before dinner. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Be picked up at your hotel for the drive to Cu Chi (about 1.5 hours by bus). Watch a short film on how the tunnels were built, then explore the tunnel network: living areas with kitchens and bedrooms, weapons workshops, field hospitals, command centres and hidden trap doors. Try tea and cassava, the guerrillas’ wartime food, then have lunch at a local restaurant and continue to My Tho. Take a boat trip on the Tien River past islands along its banks (Dragon, Unicorn, Phoenix and Tortoise ⚑), cruise a small canal by sampan, cycle briefly around the village, visit a coconut candy workshop with seasonal fruit and honey tea, and listen to Southern Vietnamese folk music performed by locals. Return to Ho Chi Minh City for the night.

After breakfast at the hotel, enjoy some free time until check-out, then transfer to the airport for your departure flight ⚑