WILMA AND FAMILY'S PLAN: VIET NAM ITINERARY 30D29N IN THE NORTH, CENTRAL & SOUTH

Welcome to Ha Noi! The capital city of Viet Nam. Get picked up by our local driver from the airport. Transfer to your hotel. Hotel check in!

Overnight in Ha Noi!

Discover Hanoi like a true local! Our Food Tour is not just about indulging in the city’s iconic dishes—it’s a journey through its culture, history, and hidden treasures that most tourists miss.

🌟 What’s on the Menu?

Savor Hanoi’s most beloved dishes, all carefully selected to showcase the city’s culinary excellence:

• Phở: Vietnam’s world-famous noodle soup.
• Bún Chả: Grilled pork and vermicelli, a dish that captivated even President Obama!
• Bánh Mì: A perfect blend of French and Vietnamese flavors in a crispy baguette.
• Nem Rán: Crispy spring rolls with delightful fillings.
• Cà Phê Trứng: Hanoi’s signature creamy egg coffee.

Dessert: End with a choice of chè or fruit yogurt for a sweet finish.

🚂 Unique Highlight: Train Street Experience

Overnight in Ha Noi

06:20: Our limousine bus will pick you at the address on Tran Quang Khai street and depart to Sapa following Noi Bai – Lao Cai highway. Along the way, you will have a chance to enjoy the beauty

of northwestern mountains, terraced fields sparkling in sunlight or dim in thick fog. Have two short-breaks in 30 minutes for each and then continue the trip to Sapa.

13.00 – 13:30: Arrive in Sapa, eat lunch and check in at the hotel.

14:30: You will start hiking to Cat Cat Village which is occupied by the Black H’mong tribe. Here, you can see the hydroelectric power station which was built by the French in the twentieth century. You will experience the tribal way of life of ethnic minorities while enjoying wonderful views of the terraced rice paddy fields and the waterfall in Cat Cat village. Visitors will also understand culture, unique customs, traditional crafts such as weaving, touching carved silver, forged agricultural tools…  Come back to the hotel.

After dinner, you are free to explore the charm of Sapa by night, enjoy roasted corn, baked eggs beside charcoal fire or go shopping. Especially on Saturday night, we highly recommend a stop at the Love Market – one of the unique cultures of ethnic minorities in northwest Vietnam. Overnight at hotel in Sapa.

Overnight in Sapa

Morning Activity: Fansipan Mountain (Indochina’s Highest Peak) Car and tour guide take you to Fansipan Cable Car Station to start the journey to conquer Fansipan

Take the cable car to the summit (~15 minutes).

This is the world’s most modern 3-wire cable car system with a cabin that can accommodate up to 30 visitors. Then continue conquering to the top of Fansipan at 3.143m higher from sea-level, the roof of Indochina.

Visit the Buddhist pagodas and viewpoints.

Lunch: Local restaurant in Sapa town.

Afternoon Activity: Rong May Glass Bridge

Drive to O Quy Ho Pass – one of Vietnam’s highest and most scenic mountain passes.

Stop at Glass Bridge (Cầu Kính Rồng Mây) for panoramic views and the thrilling glass-bottom skywalk.

After dinner, you are free to explore the charm of Sapa by night, enjoy roasted corn, baked eggs beside charcoal fire or go shopping. Especially on Saturday night, we highly recommend a stop at the Love Market – one of the unique cultures of ethnic minorities in northwest Vietnam. Overnight at hotel in Sapa.

Overnight in Sapa

Having a free day in Sapa. Free to explore.

Overnight in Sapa

Morning: Breakfast and check out!

9:00 Depart from Sapa to Hanoi

Late afternoon: Arrive back in Hanoi.

Overnight in Ha Noi

8:00: Our tour guide will pick you up from your hotel. We take you to Ninh Binh province which is far from Hanoi city about 120 km.

9:30: Have a short break for 20 minutes to relax

10:30: The first destination in this trip is visit Hoa Lu ancient capital. This is the first capital of Vietnam. Come to visit Hoa Lu, you will learn about why the capital was moved to Hanoi nowadays. You are impressed on an outstanding architecture when entering temples of King Dinh and King Le, the first and second emperors of ancient Vietnam, built in the 17 century. Try to feel ancient atmospheres in Hoa Lu ancient capital.

11:45: Having lunch in local restaurant.

13:00: Visit Trang An which was recognized by UNESCO as The world Heritage Site in 2014. Trang An has the wonderful tunnel cave system so that Kong’s Movie Group chose this place for New Version of Kong in 2016 – “Skull Island “. Boat trip to visit Trang An to see the amazing beauty of this landscape with many caves such as: Sang Cave (Light Cave), Toi Cave (Dark cave), Nau Ruou Cave (Cooking Wine), green river and natural view.

15:30: Get on the van to go to Mua Cave (Dancing Cave). Walk up almost 500 steps, you can reach to the top of Lying Dragon Moutain, have an amazing panoramic view of Tam Coc from here.

16:30 – 17:00 Finish Ninh Binh tour.

Overnight in Tam Coc

Having your free day in Ninh Binh. Free to explore Tam Coc town

Overnight in Tam Coc

7:30: Get picked up by driver and transfer to Ha Long.

11:30 Arrive at Tuan Chau harbor, check in at the waiting room.

12:00 – 12:30PM: Get on Tender Boat to Cruise and enjoy Welcome drink, meet the captain, crew to get a brief introduction about cruise and safety guidelines. Complete check-in procedure.

13:00 – 13:15: Enjoy Vietnamese seafood and vegetarian lunch, while cruising in the magnificent Halong – Lan Ha Bay, admiring the fascinating rock formations in the bay.

15:00: You can choose to relax on the sundesk or explore Ba Trai Dao – Tra Bau area and the natural lagoon of Lan Ha Bay and experience kayaking here.

17:30 – 18:00: Come back to our Cruise and participate in our Sunset party. Take photos and relax.

19:00: Dinner is served at the restaurant. After dinner, you can join the squid fishing program, relax on the sundeck, enjoy a glass of wine at the bar…

Overnight in Verdure Lotus cruise

06:00 – 06:30: Taichi on the sundeck, sightseeing sunrise.

06:30: Cruises continues to passing amazing karst towers. Tea, coffee and light breakfast is served with fresh air and peaceful surroundings.

08:30: ​Discover Cat Ba Island- Lan Ha Bay on the hidden route.

You will be transferred to the day tour cruise to visit the bay to go further than Lan Ha Bay. You start the journey to discover Viet Hai village – a peaceful village with extremely beautiful scenery by bike, through vast rice fields. You stop to rest and visit the old house made from straw, mud, bamboo … find out the lives of local people.

12:00:​ Return to the day tour cruise. You will be served lunch with a variety of dishes at the restaurant.

02:00 pm​ The cruise takes you to the pristine beach area – Ba Trai Dao beach. This is the most beautiful beach in Lan Ha Bay with nature amazing white sand, very quiet and less tourists, you are free to swim here.

04:30 pm ​Return to Cruise. You will be watching the sunset fall on Lan Ha Bay, immersed in soothing or vibrant music, sipping a cocktail.

05:30 pm – 06:00 pm​ Come back to our cruise and participate in our Cooking Class. Take photos and relax with “Happy Hour”: Promotion for drinks.

07:00 pm​ Enjoy dinner at a restaurant on Cruise.

08:30 pm​ Enjoy the nightlife of Ha Long Bay from the deck. Immerse yourself in music, enjoy a glass of cocktail from the bar, sing karaoke and relax on the cruise. Otherwise, you can fish squid with the sailors or simply relax in the room and watch Ha Long Bay from the balcony.

Overnight in Verdure Lotus cruise

06:15-07:00: Have breakfast. Morning view of bay’s landscape with a cup of tea or coffee.

07:00: Visitors Dark and Light Cave. Here you can freely kayak or bamboo boat to explore the landscape, or immerse yourself. in the cool, clear blue water of this place.

09:30: Back to your cabin, take relax and check carefully all the luggage before leaving your cabin.

10:00: Check-out from the private cabin and enjoy a fantastic cruise on the bay for room service. Complete check-out procedure. Enjoy lunch at the restaurant while the cruise is returning to the harbour.

11:00: You take the high-speed canoe back to Tuan Chau port. Return to Hanoi

15:30 Arrive to Hanoi.

Special notes: Itinerary maybe changed due to bad Weather, tidy or others issues. Timing on it same to be not absolutely fixed.

Overnight in Hanoi.

On this day, catch the night train to Hue. The journey about 14 hours.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Arrive to Hue. Hotel check in. Free and easy afternoon.

Overnight in Hue

Morning: Visiting by Boat

8:00 AM – Pick up and transfer to the pier.

• Board a dragon boat and cruise along the Perfume River.
• Visit Thien Mu Pagoda – the iconic symbol of Hue.
• Explore an Old Garden House with traditional Hue architecture.
• Discover the historic Imperial Citadel (arrival around 10:30 AM).

12:00 PM – Lunch in Hue

• Return to the city center.
• Enjoy a set menu of Hue specialty dishes.

Afternoon: Visiting by Bus

• Visit Minh Mang Tomb – the majestic royal mausoleum surrounded by nature.
• Explore Khai Dinh Tomb – a unique blend of Eastern and Western architecture.
• Stop at the Incense and Conical Hat Village – see how locals make traditional incense sticks and conical hats.
• Climb to Vong Canh Hill – enjoy panoramic views of the Perfume River and royal tombs.

End of Tour

4:30 PM – Return to the city center

Overnight in Hue

In the afternoon, with rustic landscapes and peaceful atmosphere, visiting Tam Giang Lagoon, especially in the afternoon will bring you out of the stressful life of a busy city. You can also discover the value of a simple life, and get closer to nature and friendly people in the countryside. Chuon Lagoon is a part of Tam Giang Lagoon system. You will have change to see activities catching fish, shirmp and the life of local people. They live on boat. The boat is their house. When you come here, they always smile and welcome to you. You will have change to experience sit on the boat and catching fish, shrimp… with local people. They will teach for you how to throw the nest to catch the most many fish, shrimp. The sunset here is beautiful. I’m sure you will feel comfortable and interesting in experience trip come to here.

Nothing is more special then enjoy the delicious seafood in the middle of the largest lagoon and enjoy the wonderful sunset. Back to the hotel.

Overnight in Hue

Check out hotel. Bus picks up to Da Nang.

Overnight in Da Nang

We’ll pick you up at the hotel heading to restaurant for lunch and transfer you to Da Nang city (around 30km). First, you will visit Monkey Mountain. A giant statue of Lady Buddha with a beautiful background such as mountains and a huge garden of bonsai would draw your attention. You will definitely get lost in the garden of heaven with gripping stories when gently walking and enjoying a fresh breeze.

Discovery the Marble Mountains and stop for a walk along the site to see local factories of stone sculptures – the most impressive handicrafts village in Da Nang. – Check in the Marble Mountains by climbing up to the top (elevator is optional). Here we will see beautiful pagodas which were made in the 19^th century by the last dynasty of the Viet Nam monarchy, and visit Huyền Không or Tàng Chơn caves.

– Keep going to see the biggest fascinating cave named as Âm Phủ cave. You will learn interesting philosophies of Buddhism and take photos with amazing natural creations.

After finish the tour.

Overnight in Da Nang

Check out hotel. Driver picks up to Hoi An.

Overnight in Hoi An

In your journey to discover Vietnam, give yourself a try to become a professional chef under our guidance. This is a great experience from going to the market to choose food and preparing and trying your hand at cooking Vietnamese cuisine.

08:30- Local guide pick up at the hotel.

– Go to market with our chef (about 30 minutes)

– We will have a chance to see and experience the noise as well as directly contact sellers.

In addition to this, we will show the ingredients for use in our lesson.

09:15 Transfer to Cam Thanh village by car or boat on the way, you can explore the beautiful views of the Vietnamese countryside, and see the water and coconut trees growing together.

– Enjoy your time with basket boat rowing through the coconut jungle forest 11:00 Enjoy a welcome drink and take a rest at our restaurant, then join the cooking class. Our chef will teach you how to cook some local food. After the lesson, enjoy what you have cooked.

13:00 Return to your hotel.

Overnight in Hoi An

7:30-8:00 Our guide picks you up at your hotel and departs to My Son Sanctuary – The World Cultural Heritage.

9:30 Arrive at My Son and we’ll have 2 hours to discover the site by walking through the landscape, learning histories with our local English-speaking guide, and enjoying the Champa’s traditional performances.

11:45 Get back to the minivan and move to a local house to learn how to make rice paper, you will enjoy your own hand-making product later on!

12:30 Back to the van and have lunch at another local house, relax with cold herbal tea, nice food, and fresh air.

13:00 Take a boat trip to Hoi An with the nice and cool breeze onboard, and beautiful river scenery on the biggest river in Central Vietnam named Thu Bon River.

13:30 Arrive in Hoi An, we will drop you off at your hotel. Tour ends!

Overnight in Hoi An

Check out hotel. Driver picks up to train station in Da Nang.

Overnight in Nha Trang

08:30 AM – Pick up at hotel & transfer to the pier

09:00 AM – Speedboat to Mun Island, snorkeling & coral reef exploration

11:00 AM – Visit Mot Island / Tam Island, relax & swim

12:30 PM – Enjoy seafood lunch on the island

02:00 PM – Leisure time: swimming, relaxing, or join water sports (optional)

03:30 PM – Return to the pier & transfer back to hotel

Overnight in Nha Trang

Take train from Nha Trang to Sai Gon. Welcome to Sai Gon aka Ho Chi Minh city – the biggest city in Viet Nam. Get picked up by our driver. Transfer to the hotel. Hotel check in!

Overnight in Sai Gon

Private Sai Gon “Foodie” By Night Motorbike Tour

Pick-up: 5:30-6:00 PM Drop-off: 8:30-9:00 PM

What you’ll do

• Hop on motorbike and head to the seafood haven! Taste mouthwatering dishes with clams, squid, and scallops, spiced to perfection. Sip a cold   beer or soda for an extra kick!
• Feel the wind as we pass iconic bridges like Bason Bridge and immerse yourself in the lively vibe of Ho Chi Minh City while riding to district 3 for a fresh Banh Mi!
• Enter Saigon’s hidden alleys for Banh Xeo or Banh Khot! Try sizzling cakes and mini pancakes. Pile on fresh veggies and dip in sweet and sour fish sauce for crunch and flavor!
• Take a leisurely walk and snap nice pics at Ho Thi Ky Market, a vibrant flower market.
• Satisfy your sweet tooth with creamy avocado cream, a delightful Vietnamese dessert. Don’t miss tasty Banh Trang Nuong (Vietnamese pizza) or Bo La Lot (Vietnamese Grilled Beef Wrapped in Betel Leaves)!
• Get back to the hotel with great memories of amazing flavors and unforgettable moments of our motorbike food tour!

Overnight in Sai Gon

Get picked-up at your accommodation in the city center and drive to Cu Chi, around 65km. On the way to the Tunnels, visit the handicapped handicraft workshop.

Watch a documentary film about the Vietnam War. Discover special constructed living areas with kitchens, bedrooms, storage, weapons factories, field hospitals and command centers helping whoever lives inside Cu Chi tunnels meet their basic needs.

Discover many hidden lefts behind trap doors and dangerous traps within the maze-like tunnels and learning more about the handmade weapon and traps used during the Vietnam War. Seeing huge bomb craters and the mere 10–13 feet thick level of upper soil can support the bearing weight of a 55-ton tank and the explosive damage of bombs left from the war.

Break at the shooting range to shoot some real guns with Ak47, M16, M30, M60 (shooting fee is paid separately from the trip).

Highlight of the trip is to crawl and experience the underground town of Cu Chi Tunnels. This is the best part of the trip when you crawl into it to feel how it was like in the war. Guests who have claustrophobia be not afraid of crawling inside, you still can see it from above the ground.

Taste the pandan tea and tapioca (guerilla’s food during the war) before heading back to Saigon.

Overnight in Sai Gon

07:30: Pick up at your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City and start the trip to Cai Be. Upon arrival in Cai Be, have a boat ride to the remaining site of a renowned wholesale floating market on the Tien River many years ago. This site entitles you to learn something about the local trading habit that has changed due to the age of modern society when more terrestrial transportation and high techniques of agriculture have dominated everywhere. There, you can realize how diverse the area is and how rich orchard gardens are, which makes it the basket of fruit in the lower part of the Mekong River.

Ramble in small villages where you will uncover the beauty of an ancient house and learn about the indigenous culture. Make a short visit to a small family business where the locals make coconut fudges and crispy rice popcorn. Savor delicious fresh fruit and feel the slow rhythms of Southern Vietnamese folk music – a kind of music entwined with the life and culture of the Mekong Delta people. Paddle through small canals – an exciting experience since you can look around, unwind, and soak up the wonderful atmosphere of the Upper Mekong Delta. Additionally, after arrival on Tan Phong Island, immerse yourself in nature’s tranquility.

At lunch time, you not only enjoy luscious food but also get closer to the locals as it is a chance to learn how to prepare Vietnamese specialties. The meal is cooked on your own and served in the heart of the local garden.

Cycle on the village path through orchards. Meet the local islanders to learn more about the local daily life in the Mekong Delta. Visit Ba Kiệt’s ancient house.

Take a boat ride back to Cai Be and meet your bus for the trip to Can Tho City. Proceed to Can Tho City

Overnight in Can Tho.

Have breakfast at the hotel. You can take a leisurely boat ride to explore the picturesque tributaries of the Lower Mekong River (Bassac River), then visit Cai Rang Floating Market, the most vibrant floating market in the area.

Walking tour of the local noodle factory. Visit Munir Ansay Pagoda – Khmer temple, famous for its unique structure. Then, move by boat to the Con Son tourist area, visit the fruit plantation, and enjoy seasonal fruits.

Have lunch and return to Sai Gon.

Overnight in Sai Gon

Pick up 8:00 AM at the meeting point 229 Pham Ngu Lao Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City

At the meeting point, you will board a transit vehicle that will take you to a comfortable sleeper bus station for your journey to Mui Ne. Upon arrival around 11:30 AM, you will have 1 hour and 10 minutes to enjoy lunch and refresh yourself before starting your Jeep tour.

12:45: We will pick you up at our office then heading to the Fairy Stream.

13:15 Visiting Fairy stream (Suoi Tien) Leave your shoes on the rack then walk through the entrance gate. You’ll be wading in ankle-deep cold water all the way to the natural stream and here you will see all the sand blocks with many different colors where the small stream running through the middle and here you will have a chance to ride the ostriches riding (pay extra).

14:45 Visiting the fishing village, observing the daily lives of the local fishermen.

15:45 Visiting White sand dunes, activities can be taken: riding quad-bikes over sand dunes (additional charge).

17:00 Visiting Red sand dunes, slopes are less steep than the White sand dunes, great opportunity for taking the photo as red colour of the sand is great contrast to background scenery and observing the spectacular sunset over the sand dunes is a amazing view.

18:10 After the sunset, returning back to our office. We will enjoy a local food for dinner, then the bus will come and take you to Ho Chi Minh around 18:30. You will reach the same meeting point office around 22:00.

Overnight in Sai Gon

Having your free day in Sai Gon. Free to explore Ben Thanh market, Landmark 81, or historical sites in the city…

Overnight in Sai Gon

Check out hotel. Driver picks up to the airport. Fly to home!

Trip ends. See you next time!

Note: Driver picks up 3,5 hours before your departure flight!

Thank you for travelling with Jenny From The Blog!!!