Vietnam Compact

Overview

  • Day 1: Arrive in Hanoi/ Private transfer from airport to the hotel
  • Day 2: Hanoi city – Street Food tour
  • Day 3: Hanoi – Halong Bay – Overnight on board
  • Day 4: Halong Bay – Hanoi – Fly to Ho Chi Minh city (HCM City)
  • Day 5: HCM City - Mekong Delta (Ben Tre) – HCM City
  • Day 6: Cu Chi tunnels – HCM City tour
  • Day 7: HCM City – Departure

Customizable itinerary

Arrival at Noi Bai International Airport, collect your luggage process through custom. Your private tour guide and driver from Indochina Pioneer will be waiting for you outside the baggage claim/ customs area to transfer you in a private vehicle to the hotel downtown.
Evening, you will enjoy a Welcome Dinner before driving back to the hotel for an overnight stay.

Note: For the Vietnamese Visa on Arrival, please make sure you have 2 passports sized 4 cm x 6 cm photos and $25 for the stamping fee.

Overnight in Hanoi.
Meals: (-/-/D)


After breakfast, we’ll dive into the sights, sounds and smells of Hanoi. Your guide and driver will collect you from the hotel lobby to start your trip with a visit to the Ho Chi Minh complex, on the site where he declared Vietnam’s independence in 1945 and see the reverence with which Vietnamese people treat their “Uncle Ho”. Other sites that we will visit with our local guide include House 54, Stilt House, Presidential Palace, and the One Pillar Pagoda.

Continue on our journey through Hanoi, we’ll drive to the Museum of Ethnology to learn more about the cultural diversity of Vietnam’s ethnic minorities. Established by the Vietnamese government in 1997, the museum provides us with a fascinating insight into the diverse cultures, customs, and lifestyles of the 54 ethnic groups that inhabit Vietnam.

After the visit to the Museum, we will have Pho for lunch at Pho Huyen, a Vietnamese Noodle shop. Some of the local people call this world-famous Noodle soup “Mac-Noodles” since it is as popular here as MacDonalds is in other parts of the world! At the restaurant, your tour guide will explain the routine during Vietnamese meal times, and also tell you which special ingredients are needed for you.

After lunch, we’ll visit the Temple of Literature. Originally built in honor of Confucius by Emperor Ly Thanh Tong in 1070, a university was added to the grounds six years later. The university provided education to the royal family and children of the aristocracy or “mandarins”. The University remained here until Emperor Gia Long moved the countries administrative capital from Hanoi to Hue in the 18th century.

Return to your hotel for some rest before starting the evening local food discovery.

17:00 – 20:30
We will start our walking tour at Hanoi’s largest covered market, Dong Xuan. Along the perimeter of the market, dozens of street hawkers sell a staggering variety of produce from live seafood to exotic fruits and spices. Your expert English-speaking local guide will give you an insight into the intricacies and traditions of Vietnamese food culture including details on ingredients and historical backgrounds of popular northern dishes.

Walking through the maze of bustling streets that make up Hanoi’s Old Quarter, we ‘ll tempt our taste buds with the famed Hanoi dish Banh Cuon at a local eatery. Watch in awe as the skilled chefs demonstrate for you how this tasty dish is put together. Continue into the atmospheric heart of the Old Quarter, we will wander past street stalls and quiet residential lanes where you can observe local life that has changed little since Hanoi was founded over 1000 years ago.

Our next stop will be Banh My 25 shop “French Baguette”, a little food stall with a few typical tiny Vietnamese chairs on the sidewalk where we can enjoy the delicious and fresh baguettes while observing the neighborhood.

Move on to Hanoi Food Culture at Phat Loc Street, where we’ll sample some Bun Cha consisting of vermicelli, herbs and grilled pork. At this Hanoi’s best-kept secrets, a hidden café we will watch the demonstration and then try some egg coffee, a scrumptious local delicacy.

Continue to other food stalls in Hang Bo and Ho Hoan Kiem Street, where we’ll try some dishes such Che “Vietnamese style pudding” and Nom “papaya salad with beef”.

It’s time for dessert as we will venture down a small alley to join in the local tradition of feasting on fresh fruit served in a cup and smothered with crushed iced – this specialty is one not to be missed!

 

Overnight in Hanoi
Meals: (B/L/D)


(No tour-guide for Halong Bay cruise, there is a Cruise Manager to assist all clients onboard)

Halong Bay will be your destination today. Your private driver will collect you from the hotel and take you on a 4.5 hours journey on a scenic road with plenty to see along the way. You may even have some photo opportunities on the way.

Around midday, you’ll arrive at Halong Bay. Board your boat in Halong Bay. Then enjoy a delicious seafood lunch while soaking up the magnificence of the UNESCO Heritage area.

After lunch, you will visit Sung Sot Cave (Amazing Cave) – one of the largest caves in Halong Bay, before climbing Titop Mountain for some panoramic views of the stunning sunset over Halong Bay. You will have our dinner back on your boat and settle in for a relaxing sleep onboard your junk boat.

Note: each junk operates a different itinerary and onboard facilities may vary. Your consultant will be very happy to discuss each option with you.

Overnight on board
Meals: (B/L/D)

Wake up with the sunrise, join a Tai Chi lesson on the sundeck. You will then enjoy a buffet brunch on board while continuing to cruise and head back to the shore. Disembark, meet your driver again, you will drive back to the airport for a short flight to Ho Chi Minh City (HCM City)
Pick up and transfer to hotel

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh city
Meals: (B/Brunch/_)



After breakfast and check out, your private tour guide will pick you up and take you to Ben Tre, located in the heart of the Mekong Delta. The fertile Mekong Delta is famous for its abundant harvests of tropical fruits and flowers as well as boating along the canals. On arrival, you will board your private boat and cruise along the maze of waterways to visit some local cottage industries. Hop on motor-cart to an out of the way village where you might have a chance to peek inside local homes for an insight into rural life seldom seen by the outside world and try some regional specialties for lunch at a local restaurant.

After lunch, you will return to the docks. From here you will drive back to HCM City.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City
Meals: (B/L/_)

Your private guide and driver will take you on a guided tour to see the major attractions of the city. You will first start with the War Remnants Museum and The Reunification Palace, and you will pass by the former American Embassy (now the American Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City). Continue to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral, the City General Post Office as well as Dong Khoi Street where the City Opera House is located. Wrap up your morning with a delicious bowl of noodle soup for lunch at Pho 2000, a famous noodle shop where President Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea ate lunch during their visit to HCM City back in the year 2000.

After lunch, you will be transferred to the legendary Cu Chi Tunnels, a Viet Cong Stronghold during the American War between 1965 and 1975. First constructed in 1948, during the French Resistance War, the tunnels were expanded by the Viet Cong, with the help of the local people, into a complex underground network stretching over 250 km. A visit to this place will offer you an insight into the war when Vietnamese determination and loyalty to their country overcame the hardships of the times and eventually brought the war to an end. After the tunnel tour, you will return to the City.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City
Meals: (B/L/_)

After breakfast and a leisurely morning on your own, you will check out by midday and your private driver will pick you up and take you to the Tan Son Nhat airport for your departure flight home.

Meals: (B/_/_)


Useful Information

This tour is built upon our firsthand knowledge & experience, offering you the best choices available. The price of this trip varies depending on the number of people in your party, dates of departure, and the availability of ground services. Please click on REQUEST A FREE QUOTE (above) and supply the required information, enabling us to send you your personalized quote within 24 hours!

Note: Amendments CAN be made to this tour to suit your requirements.

What’s Included?

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  • Accommodation with daily breakfast at selected hotels
  • Private Vehicles and Drivers
  • Private English Speaking Guides (Other languages if available, upon request)
  • Meals as mentioned in the itinerary (B= Breakfast, L= Lunch, D= Dinner)

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  • Domestic flight
  • Airport Taxes and Fuel charges
  • Entrance fees for all mentioned sights visited
  • Service Charge & Government Taxes

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What’s Not Included?

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  • Your International Flight to and from Vietnam
  • Vietnam entry Visa Fees (contact us for further information)
  • Personal Expenses (such as laundry, telephone, drinks, etc.)
  • Any bank fees or charges at your end

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  • Meals other than those mentioned in the itinerary
  • Personal Travel Insurance
  • Tips for guides and drivers

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[/row]

Request a free quote

Free service. No credit card required

Reviews on Our Service

We are committed to giving our customers unforgettable experiences in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and beyond, not just something staged for tourists. Read reviews written by our customers about their experiences in Indochina after they have returned home. These include the ratings and comments on attractions, guides, activities, hotels and food.

Incredible Vietnam experience with Tony

Asia Pioneer Travel planned every detail or our 16-day trip across Vietnam, Lao, and Bangkok. Our tour guide in Hanoi, Tony, crafted the perfect few days for us to experience Hanoi, both culturally and historically. He was very flexible since we are a group of six women with different dietary needs who sometimes wanted different experiences. He did it all with a big smile on his face and a happy personality, so proud of his beautiful country. He also made some phone calls for us about clothes we had made in Hoi An and took our laundry to be cleaned at a local service. We are so grateful that he could show us Hanoi!
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Darla R - Waldenbuch, Germany 
Apr 8, 2023

Fantastic

If a traveler was looking for a tour group that was knowledgeable, energetic, patient, flexible and kind, then this is the company. I cannot speak high enough about all of our tour guides we had in each city. Bang Bang was relaxed, friendly and so adaptable to everything we asked of him. Tony, May be the happiest and energetic guide out there. Each city we visited in Vietnam was only improved because the positive influence our guides bestowed on our experience. I am so honored and grateful to have known these people. You cannot go wrong with booking this tour group. Lizbeth
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Lizbeth K - Australia
Apr 5, 2023

Great company, great service

 
Excellent customer service from Elly Do and Asia Pioneer Travel from start to finish. Elly took the time to come to meet us in our hotel in Hanoi and it was lovely to meet her. We changed our itinerary a couple of times before booking and Elly was always happy to discuss and accommodate. All the guides we had and all of the hotels were great. When you only have a couple of days in each city it was great to have a guide and a driver to whisk you through the traffic. Thanks Elly!
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HelsDavies4 - Canada
Apr 5, 2023

Amazing People and Great Service

 
We have always been very interested in Vietnam and Cambodia, recently retired, we decided the time was right to make this trip. Living in Canada and booking a trip to SE Asia can be a little difficult given the 15-hour time change. We worked with Mr. Lam of Asia Pioneer travel and we had no issues. In fact, we wondered if he ever slept as it didn’t seem to matter when we sent a question or request, the response was immediate. He kept in touch with us throughout our travels ensuring that everything was as we had hoped. They exceeded our expectations in all areas. The communication, knowledge, flexibility, and caring attitude was incredible.

We travelled for 7 weeks so the tour that we structured gave us a great mix of guided and free time. We were able to see the normal tourist sites, as well as spend some in-depth time in the villages and communities. This gave us a much greater insight into life in Vietnam and Cambodia. All I can say is that they are amazing and incredible people!

Our guides were great. Our drivers were safe and looked after us very well. I would not recommend anyone try driving on thier own if you are coming from a country where people obey the traffic laws. We learned over time that is is actully very organized chaos!

If you are looking for a great agency, we can assure you that Asia Pioneer cares about you and will look after you with every detail!
Thank you to Mr. Lam and the entire staff.

Maria & Tom – BC, Canada

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Maria and Tom - West Kelowna, Canada 
Mar 31, 2023

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