JANETTE GILLON'S PLAN: VIETNAM ITINERARY 19D18N IN NORTH, CENTRAL & SOUTH

Welcome to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) – the largest and most populous city in Vietnam.

Get picked up by our driver.

Transfer to the hotel.

Check in and have rest!

Overnight in Saigon.

08:00: Get picked-up at your accommodation in the city center and drive to Cu Chi, about 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 Saigon.

Having a free day in Saigon to explore this city on your own.

Overnight in Saigon.

Check out hotel in Saigon. Driver picks up to the airport. Fly to Da Nang.

After you land at Da Nang airport, driver will pick you up at the airport and transfer you to Da Nang city (around 30km).

Firstly, having lunch at local restaurant (pay by yourself). Then he will transfer you to 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.

Next, visit 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 19th century by the last dynasty of the Viet Nam monarchy and visit Huyen Khong or Tang Chon caves.

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

At the end driver will drop you at your hotel.

Overnight in Hoi An.

08:30 Our guide picks you up at your hotel and departs to My Son Sanctuary – The World Cultural Heritage.

09:30 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.

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

13:30 Arrive in Hoi An, tour guide will drop you off at your hotel.

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.

Having a free day to explore this charming town on your own.

The heaven of shopping and tailoring all in here Hoi An.

Overnight in Hoi An.

Check out Hoi An hotel.

Driver picks up to Hue by private car.

On the way, he will stop to visit some beautiful attraction such as: Hai Van pass is an approximately 21km long mountain pass on National Route 1A in Vietnam. It is the natural border of Thua Thien Hue Province and Da Nang City, one of the most scenic hillside roads in Vietnam.

And sightseeing Lap An Lagoon, Lang Co beach, with more than 10km long white sand beach and blue sea water, Lang Co beach is an ideal place for relaxing and taking photos.

Overnight in Hue.

07:30: Picking up at your hotel in Hue by our local driver and tour guide.

You will visit the Khai Dinh Tomb, the tomb had elements of Eastern art mixed with Western designs.

Then heading to Tu Duc Tomb, this tomb (completed in 1867) is the most popular, imposing and impressive of the royal mausoleums, designed by Emperor Tu Duc himself before his death.

The next is Minh Mang Tomb which is different from the rest of imperial tombs because of its architectures. Minh Mang tomb offers a balance of nature and structures that is unmatched among tombs in Hue. This balance between landscape and buildings reveals a lot about personality of Minh Mang emperor and characteristics during his reign.

13:30: Having a nice lunch with Hue cuisine at the restaurant.

14:00: You will continue visiting Hue Imperial City – the palace of 13 Nguyen Kings with

Ngo Mon Gate, Library, Thai Hoa Palace, Nine Dynastic Urns, etc.

15:30: Visiting Thien Mu pagoda associated with culture and history of Hue.

17:00: End of the trip, get back to hotel.

Overnight in Hue.

Have breakfast at your hotel in Hue, checkout the hotel and the driver will pick you up to the airport to Hanoi.

Arrive Hanoi. Get picked up by our driver from the airport. Leave your luggage at the hotel and meet Jenny. Starting the trip to explore Hanoi old quarter with your local friend. Visiting Hanoi 36 streets, hidden gems, the places which is only locals know…

Check in train street famous place you can’t miss when visiting Hanoi. Along the trip Jenny will take you to local places to enjoy our Hanoi authentic street foods.

She is taking you to Hoan Kiem Lake where you will find the greatest “bánh mì” place in town. After that, you will visit to one of the original egg coffee based in Hanoi from 1946.

The next stop is an ancient cuisine alley where you can try the truly authentic version of “bún chả” and spring rolls – Hanoian specialties. Later on, you will pass by few interesting streets in the old quarters which are still devoted to their original trades to get to try Hanoian savory pan cake and Vietnamese steamed rice rolls.

Overnight in Ha Noi.

Having breakfast. Spend the morning to visit Quang Phu Cau incense village

08:30: Driver picks you up at your hotel and head out of Hanoi by car

09:30: Arriving in Quang Phu Cau. By the time we arrive, the villagers have already set out incense to dry in various formations and we’ll get pictures of people working among this sea of red. We will have time to capture a variety of shots of the workers in action.

We also venture further into the village workshops, shooting images of the incense-making process, including bamboo chopping, dipping the sticks in dye, and the creation of incense paste. We’ll take more images of the friendly locals who have worked on producing incense in this village for generations. We leave the village at noon, as the workers are preparing for lunch and head back to Hanoi for lunch.

Go back to the city keep visiting Tran Quoc Pagoda located on Golden Fish Island in West Lake. It is the oldest pagoda in Ha Noi built in the 6th century.

The next stop is Temple of Literature – the first university of Vietnam, established in the 11th century.

Then, Hoa Lo Prison Museum which originally used by the French colonists in Indochina for political prisoners and later by North Vietnam for U.S. prisoners during the Vietnam War. During this later period, it was known to American POWs as the “Hanoi Hilton”.

Overnight in Ha Noi.

08:00: 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.

09:30: 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 17th century. Try to feel ancient atmospheres in Hoa Lu ancient capital.

11:45: Have buffet lunch in the restaurant with a lot of local foods goat meat, fried rice… Vegetarian food is always available in the buffet lunch.

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 bus to go to Mua Cave (Dancing Cave). Walk up almost 500 steps, you can reach to the top of Lying Dragon Mountain, have an amazing panoramic view of Tam Coc from here.

16:30: Finish Ninh Binh tour. Enjoy the night in Tam Coc.

Overnight in Tam Coc

07:30 – 8:00: Bus pick you up from homestay in Tam Coc.

11:00 – 11:30: Arrive to Pu Luong.

11:30: You arrive at your accommodation, followed by free time to explore the beautiful retreat, with its captivating panoramic views and tranquil setting

12:00: It is time for a delicious lunch then check in your room.

14:30: Start 2,5 hours for trekking tour around beautiful valley of Pu Luong.

This is a common and easy walk around the most beautiful valley of rice terraces around of Inh La Home.

We start to descend into the beautiful valley where you walk around tumbling rice terraces. Then we will walk through small paths shrouded in vegetation to slowly reveal a picturesque Uoi village sitting at the base of a towering mountain. Your camera will not be able to sit still when you see the panorama view of the village from above.

Continue walk down hill to Uoi village then hiking to Leo village. If time permits, we will visit a local family where we can learn about their traditional brocade weaving (not guaranteed).

On the way we can see local people work on the field and see daily life of them when we are walking through their villages.

17:30: Back to Inh La home then you have time for swimming pool and relaxing before enjoying dinner at the restaurant of Inh La home.

Overnight at Inh La Home Pu Luong.

You can get up early to enjoy sun rise and see the clouds fly over the valley if weather is good.

07:30: Have breakfast

08:00: Get on the car to go to the Hieu waterfall.

08:30: Arrive to the fall we walk along the Hieu water fall to see different levels of the fall. Then you can enjoy the swimming at the fall if the weather is not too cold.

10:00: Back to the car then the diver takes you to Ten Moi bridge where you start trekking 3 kms along Cham River you also get into bamboo jungle.

11:30: Arriving at a local fisherman’s house, you have a short rest to gear up for the bamboo rafting. Float along the calm river and enjoy the views, in between learning how to paddle and steer your handcrafted rafts.

12:00: Having lunch on the bamboo raft.

12:30: Arriving up stream of Cham River, you disembark to visit burning cave. The cave has no light inside so to the stalagmite and stalactite you have to burn the torch that why the cave named Burning Cave

15:00: Leaving the burning cave take the trek 1 km through Na Tang village to back to main road where the diver picks you up to take you to Chieng Lau rice fields where you begin to walk in stunning water wheels. Get up close to each wheel and discover how water is moved from river to handmade bamboo aqueducts via simple constructions of all sizes.

16:00: Get on the car then back to Inh La home

19:00: Have dinner and stay overnight at Inh La home.

Overnight at Inh La Home Pu Luong.

Having breakfast at the homestay

Enjoy your free time at Inh La Home by some activity such as: go swimming, wandering around Don village to see daily life of local people.

11:30: Check out your room then have lunch

13:30: Get on the bus to back to Ha Noi

18:00 – 18:30: Arrive to Opera House in Hanoi

 Overnight in Ha Noi.

07:45 – 08:15: Get picked up from your hotel

08:15 – 11:30: Follow the newest highway connecting Hanoi and Hai Phong.

Upon arrival at Station Number 17 – Overnight Cruise Port, Tuan Chau Maria, Ha Long passengers will be welcomed by receptionist at La Casta’s waiting lounge.

11:30 – 12:00: After taking a rest, our high-speed tender will transfer you to the main boat (Around 25 minutes).

Get onboard and warmly welcome from La Casta crew team with welcome drink.

After that, you will be given a short briefing about La Casta Cruise and safety guideline at our restaurant.

Complete the check-in procedure and check-into your cabin

13:00: Enjoy a lunch in the restaurant. La Casta Cruise start to depart for the voyage to discover the Lan Ha Bay.

15:45: Visit the Ba Trai Dao area and the natural lagoon of Lan Ha Bay – this area includes the beach breaths a romantic atmosphere and three smaller islets like three giant peaches on the sea. You can join with our activities such as: kayaking, swimming, sightseeing and explore the Ba Trai Dao area.

(In unfavorable weather conditions, to ensure the safety of our guest, this destination would be change into Dark and Bright cave, famous for the pristine natural beauty and poetic, attractive seascape of Lan Ha Bay. You can join with our activities such as: kayaking, sightseeing on the   bamboo boat, … This is the best time for you to enjoy bamboo boats or swimming which is an interesting activity to discover the truest beauty of the stunning limestone structure and the blue sky of Lan Ha Bay).

17:30 – 18:30: Come back to our La Casta cruise and enjoy the pre-dinner sunset party with Happy Hour Promotion (buy 2 get 1 free with some kinds of drinks) at the bar while watching the view of the bay at sunset.

18:00: Join a cooking demonstration, our chef will guide you how to make some simple signature Vietnamese dishes.

19:30: Enjoy special seafood and typical Vietnamese food on the cruise.

21:00: Evening entertainment: squid fishing, karaoke…

Overnight in the La Casta Cruise

06:15: Wake up early, join the Tai Chi session on sundeck area, enjoy the fresh atmosphere and watch the sunrise in Lan Ha Bay.

07:00 – 07:45: Have breakfast. Admit morning view of bay’s landscape with a cup of tea or coffee.

08:00: Stroke the stunning views of the bay and its dramatic limestone islets

Visit the famous Tra Bau, it is time for freely kayak and explore the landscape, or swim…

09:00: Back to your cabin, relax and check carefully all the luggage before leaving your cabin.

09:30: Check-out and enjoy a fantastic cruise on the bay for room service. Complete check out procedure and enjoy your brunch at La Casta cruise.

10:30: Enjoy the brunch at restaurant.

11:30: Disembark at Tuan Chau harbor, we hope you have enjoyed your time with us and wish you a safe onward journey.

* Because of cruising conditions, the program may be changed slightly due to specific weather or tide conditions without prior notice to visitors. Wi-Fi is available although internet connectivity is limited due to the geography of Ha Long.

14:30 – 15:00: Arrive to Hanoi. Bus drops off at the hotel.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Having your free day to relax and explore Ha Noi on your own.

Overnight in Ha Noi

Have breakfast. Enjoy last morning in Ha Noi city.

Check out hotel. Driver picks up to the airport.

Trip ends.

See you next time!

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

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