World Heritage Sites of Vietnam

Morning
After breakfast, your Vietnam Holiday will begin as your private tour guide picks you up and takes you on a full-day city tour of Hanoi, famed for its tree-lined boulevards, French colonial architecture, and a thousand years of history. Below are the recommended sites, but of course, your guide will be happy to modify the list based on your preferences.

Visits:
– Thang Long Citadel (the first UNESCO World Heritage Site on your list), built in the 11th century by the Ly Viet Dynasty, marking the independence of the Dai Viet (former Vietnam)
– Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the Stilt House  and the Presidential Palace
– One Pillar Pagoda, one of the most iconic temples in Vietnam
– Huu Tiep Lake, where you will be able to see the Downed B-52, an interesting slice of history nestled in the day to day life of the residents of Hanoi
– the impressive Women’s Museum

For lunch, you will enjoy Cha Ca, one of Hanoi’s signature dishes at Cha Ca La Vọng restaurant. The dish’s universal appeal has made the namesake street in the Old Quarter a popular stop among travelers and residents alike.

Afternoon
You will continue to visit;
– The Temple of Literature (a Confucius temple considered the first National University of Vietnam)
– Hoa Lo prison (known as the “Hanoi Hilton” during the Vietnam War)
– A stroll around the iconic Hoan Kiem Lake to visit Ngoc Son Temple

Meander onwards to Hanoi Old Quarter and explore the maze of lane ways of this historic neighborhood. Home to inwardly leaning wooden shop houses and decrepit colonial villas, the Old Quarter is an explosion of local flavour, and your personal guide will be able to steer you through the tangle of lanes to find delectable local eateries and uncover new favourite dishes.

After the walking and food tour return to your hotel where the rest of the evening is at your leisure.

Overnight in Hanoi

Morning
After breakfast and check out, your private tour guide will pick you up and take you through the rich farmlands of the Red River Delta to the legendary Halong Bay (the second UNESCO World Heritage Site on your list) where you will board a traditional-style Vietnamese Junk Boat that is your home for the evening. The limestone karsts and tropical islets rising up from the emerald waters of the bay provide an ethereal backdrop for your leisurely cruise.

Upon arrival you’ll be welcomed aboard your Stylish Junk boat, each with its own individual route, to begin your cruise around the bay’s thousands of limestone islets and caves.

Afternoon
After a delicious lunch on board, you will spend time to sunbathe on the sundeck and enjoy the peaceful tranquility of the bay.

Later you will visit Sung Sot Cave “Grotte des Surprises” a hidden gem of mother nature. Float peacefully through magnificent limestone formations containing thousands of stalagmites and stalactites.

Continue to cruise. As you weave your way through the islands, you’ll come across secluded bays, white sandy beaches, and floating villages.

There is plenty of leisure time to enjoy activities both onboard and around the fantastical scenery of the Bay. Pamper yourself at the cruise spa or swim in the emerald waters.

Toward the end of the day, you will sail to the overnight mooring area. During this time – the magical “blue hour” – Halong Bay reveals its true, magnificent beauty. You have a chance to attend the chef’s cooking demonstration or enjoy a mesmerising sunset on the top deck before a scrumptious dinner.

The rest of the evening will be at leisure. You can watch a movie or join the crew for squid fishing before retiring to your room for a restful sleep.

Note: If your time permits, we would highly recommend an additional night on board which gives you a lot more time to relax and take in the amazing landscape. You’ll get to cruise deeper into the Bay where it’s more beautiful and less crowded.

Overnight on board in Halong Bay

Morning
The graceful practice of Tai Chi eases you into your day as is the local custom. Join a ‘Local Specialist’ on the deck of the Junk boat for a morning class in exquisite natural surrounds. You’ll have time for an early morning swim at one of Halong Bay’s quiet beaches and, if you’re feeling energetic, hop on a kayak and paddle through the Dark and Bright Caves admiring the glittering stone walls.

Return to the Junk boat to check out of the cabin then enjoy a full brunch buffet as you cruise back to port.

Afternoon
Upon returning to your mainland your guide and driver will take you back to Hanoi. En route, you will stop at Yen Duc, a beautiful and typical village of Northern Vietnam, where you can stroll around the village, meet the locals, and learn about their daily life. You will also watch a traditional water puppet show performed by the local artists.

After the show, return to Hanoi where you spend the remainder of the day at leisure.

Overnight in Hanoi

Morning
After breakfast and check out you are picked up by your private guide and driver for departure to the dramatic mountain scenery of Ninh Binh. Just three hours away from Hanoi, Ninh Binh has remained relatively untouched offering striking limestone karst scenery and a myriad of underground streams and grottos.

Upon arrival, you will set out to explore the Trang An eco-tourism complex (the third Unesco World Heritage site on your list), and its staggering karst landscapes, replete with secret grottoes, towering peaks, and tranquil streams. Board a sampan for a journey through Trang An’s spectacular network of caves, archways, and grottoes, including Sang Cave, Toi Cave, Ba Giot Cave, and Sinh Cave.

Afternoon
After lunch, you will continue to visit Hoa Lu, the location of the Ancient Capital of Vietnam dating back to the 11th century. Having been eroded over the millennia, the dilapidated ruins have nearly been absorbed by the spectacular scenery creating a mystical atmosphere that will be sure to titillate your imagination.

On arrival, dive into the history at the remaining two temples of Dinh and Le Emperors. Restored in the 17th century but the temples are believed to be built on the original foundations of the old palaces from the 11th and 12th centuries.

Hop on a bike for a leisurely ride through the area, limestone karsts towering above you as you ride along backroads and beautiful scenery. Arrive at Mua Cave Mountain where you enjoy a short hike which leads you to an incredible viewpoint with a spectacular sight of the Ngo Dong River below that cuts its way around the towering mountains.

Transfer to Tam Coc Garden boutique resort for your overnight stay. Surrounded by stunning rice paddies and limestone formations Tam Coc resort is an oasis that lets you escape from the hustle and bustle of city life in the middle of the most incredible landscapes.

Overnight in Ninh Binh

Morning
After breakfast and check out of the hotel, you will be transferred to Ninh Binh Railway station to catch the day train to Dong Hoi. The train ride is 9 hours and you will have the four-berth soft sleeper compartment with air conditioning, nice and comfy.

Evening
Upon arrival in Dong Hoi, your private guide and driver will greet you at the train exit and transfer you to Chay Lap Farmstay and Resort or Phong Nha Lake House where you will enjoy two lovely nights. 

Overnight in Phong Nha National Park

Morning
After breakfast depart for your exploration of  Phong Nha Cave (the forth Unesco World Heritage site on your list), the world’s longest limestone cave. Part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the cave was used as a hospital and munitions store during the Vietnam War. You will access the cave by boat along the Son River and once inside, you will be amazed by the cave’s fine sand beaches, the spectacular milky-white stalagmites, and stalactites.

Continue to visit the historic Tam Co Cave which has a fascinating war-time history. 

Afternoon
After lunch at a local restaurant, continue to visit the famous Thien Duong Cave, also known as Paradise Cave. Discovered by scientists of the British Caving Research Association in 2005, the Paradise cave is an ethereal complex of skyscraper-high stalagmites and stalactites that hang like the pipes of oversized church organs. The first 1 km (0.6 miles) is open to visitors and lit with the aplomb of a cathedral, with wooden steps and walkways navigating the uneven floor.

Return to the hotel in the late afternoon where you spend the remainder of the day at leisure. Enjoy the comforts of the hotel or for those who wish there is the option to cycle around the local villages.

Overnight in Phong Nha National park

Morning
You will have the whole morning at your leisure. Breakfast will be served at the Farmstay and check out of the room at midday.

Afternoon
Your driver will collect you from the Farmstay and transfer you to Dong Hoi Train station to catch the day train (soft seats with air conditioning) to Hue (the forth Unesco World Heritage site on your list) explore the former capital of imperial Vietnam from 1802 to 1945.

The three-hour train journey will be an interesting experience because it allows you to see the stunning scenery along the way and especially crossing Vietnam’s former DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). The DMZ was the former border between North and South Vietnam before the reunification. Historically it was a narrow band of terrain extending from the Laos border to the coast, five kilometers on either side of the Ben Hai River, roughly on the 17th parallel north of latitude.

Evening
Your private guide and driver will meet you at the train station and transfer you to your hotel for check-in. The rest of the evening will be yours at leisure. Your guide will recommend a good restaurant near the hotel for your dinner.

Overnight in Hue

Morning
After breakfast, your private tour guide and driver will pick you up and take you to the outskirt to visit the local market of Thanh Toan. People from the surrounding areas gather here every morning to trade and buy their daily food. You will walk around the market stalls, talk and mingle with the locals. Nearby is the ancient Thanh Toan Covered Bridge dating back to the 1700s, and the Cultural Museum which displays Vietnamese agricultural life.

Head back to the city centre to take a cyclo (rickshaw) ride through the ‘Old City’ to Tinh Tam Lake where the Emperors used to come to relax. From here you will explore the Imperial City (the fifth Unesco World Heritage site on your list) with walls six miles in length; inside are the palaces and halls of the Mandarins and the remains of the Forbidden Purple City.

Travel to the surrounding countryside to see the final resting place (royal tomb) of King Khai Dinh, designed in traditional Vietnamese style with a European touch making it unique from the other tombs in Hue.

A vegetarian lunch will be served by the nuns at a Buddhist Pagoda. Take the opportunity to learn about the religion Buddhism or just get to know your friendly hosts.

Afternoon
After lunch, continue to visit Vietnam’s only Ancient colosseum; the site of elephant and tiger fighting.

Embark on the Dragon boat trip cruising down the famous Perfume River. En route you will make a quick stop, get off the boat to visit Thien Mu Pagoda– Hue’s most famous religious site. Explore the pagoda’s landscaped gardens, the seven-storey octagonal tower and watch the monks chanting.

Your day comes to an end at Truc Chi Garden, the crafting bamboo paper art workshop. You will have a chance to meet one of the students there and be treated to hands-on experience to learn how to use the etching technique with bamboo pulp to create artworks.

Overnight in Hue

Morning
After breakfast, depart Hue, you will drive south to Da Nang and Hoi An for four hours along the coast. Today you will enjoy one of the most scenic drives over Hai Van Pass (Sea Cloudy Pass). From the summit, you can enjoy the spectacular view of the coastline and Da Nang city below.

Arrive in Da Nang you will pause to visit the Marble Mountain, Cham Museum and the white sandy 20-mile stretch of My Khe Beach which was home to American GIs during the war.

Continue to drive and arrive in Hoi An around midday. Check into your boutique resort, just a stone’s throw from the old town.

Afternoon
Spend the remainder of the day at your leisure. Enjoy the facilities of the resort or stroll around the Old town where you will find authentic Vietnamese culture, with paper lanterns lining the streets and delectable riverside restaurants.

Overnight in Hoi An

Morning
The whole morning is at your leisure. Enjoy late breakfast and the comforts of your hotel.

Afternoon
Your tour guide will pick you up and take you to the Ancient Quarter of Hoi An (the sixth Unesco World Heritage site on your list) where you will embark on a walking tour visiting the major attractions such as Chua Ong Pagoda, Tan Ky Ancient House, Fujian Assembly Hall, and the Japanese Covered Bridge.

Continue to visit the Precious Heritage Museum, home to the permanent exhibition of Réhahn’s Precious Heritage Collection. While transporting you to the furthest reaches of Vietnam, the collection will unveil the rich cultural tapestry of the ethnic tribes.

The highlight of the day is the visit to the Reaching Out Tea House, a welcome little oasis of calm in the busy, vibrant Old quarter, owned and operated by the mute and deaf people. Here you will be treated with delicious cakes and incredible tea in the Eastern style.

Move on to the house of a lantern craftsman. There, you can observe the lantern craftsman’s technique before hands-on work through each stage of lantern-making under the guidance of the enthusiastic craftsmen: from bending it into the frame, cutting cloth, gluing, to completing lanterns. Before this trip concludes, you will have your own lantern created by your own hands.

Now, it’s time for your Hoi An street food discovery tour. With your guide, you will weave in and out the tiny alleyways, get to chow down with the locals at stalls you’d never discover on your own. Every day at 4 pm, Hoi An’s streets filled with a myriad of street food carts, stalls, and vendors. The street food tour is a great introduction for you to enjoy a few of the Hoi An specialties cooked up by the locals, to introduce you to the faces behind the stock pots and to teach you how the Hoi An locals deal with those condiment trays!

Overnight in Hoi An

Morning
Depart early in the morning (to avoid the crowds) for the exploration of My Son Sanctuary (the seventh Unesco World Heritage site on your list) – lies in a geological basin surrounded by a ring of mountains, about an hour inland from Hoi An. The indigenous Cham tribes chose this easily defendable location to build the capital of their empire, which grew steadily between the 4th and 13th centuries. Used as a military base by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War, My Son was heavily bombed, but many ruins remain standing.

Upon arrival, you will enjoy a walking tour for two hours around this historic complex. Learn about the original building techniques applied during construction and the traditional materials that were used, such as timber, brick, and stone. You will also look out for the numerous craters that were left here by American bombs from the war in the 1960s and 70s.

After exploring the ruins, you will have a chance to watch the traditional Apsara Dance beside the historic temples. The ladies will give a dance demonstration to the sounds of panpipes and drums, wearing colorful traditional costumes and cone-shaped hats.

Head back to town. Stop en route to visit a rice paper workshop to test your culinary skills and learn how to make a delicious local snack. You will then sit back and enjoy your creations with a cup of Vietnamese coffee and engage in a friendly chat with our hosts about the rural way of life here.

Afternoon
Free time at leisure. There’s so much to do in this paradise: explore the local market and try it’s street food (try Lao Cau and White Rose Dumpling), get some tailoring done within 24 hours, join a hands-on cooking class.

The beautiful beach of An Bang is only 5km away from the Ancient Town. You can ride the bicycle there for some swim and relaxing time.

Overnight in Hoi An

Morning
After breakfast and check out, transfer to the airport for a short flight to Ho Chi Minh City (HCM City), previously known as Saigon.

Your private guide and driver will meet you at HCM City airport and take you to Cu Chi, a small community located northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, known for its network of deep tunnels that provided shelter and an effective source of infiltration for the Viet Cong during the later years of the Vietnam War.

Upon arrival, you will watch the original film footage from the period, followed by a walk through the reserve. The hidden network of Viet Cong tunnels is believed to stretch to “hundreds of miles,”  in total length, housed living quarters, storage rooms, makeshift hospitals, and kitchens…etc. Although originally very narrow, a section of the tunnels has been widened so you will have the opportunity to explore parts of the system to get a feel for what the underground life must have been like.

Please note that these tunnels will be hot and can get claustrophobic, so there is an option if you’d like to view from above ground. 

Try some of the main food of the Viet Cong Soldiers with a cassava tasting served with tangy tea. After that transfer your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.

Afternoon
After experiencing the Tunnels you will be driven to your hotel in the city centre for check-in. Rest of the afternoon at leisure.

Overnight in HCM City

Morning
After breakfast, your private tour guide will pick you up and take you on a full-day city tour of HCM City. Below are the recommended sites, but of course, your guide will be happy to modify the list based on your preferences.

Visits:
– the War Remnants Museum contains displays of military aircraft, weaponry and a collection of harrowing photographs taken during the war.  
– the Reunification Palace (the former Presidential Palace)
– the impressive Notre Dame Cathedral with its French colonial architecture
– the General Post Office (designed by Gustave Eiffel)
– the Opera House and the City Hall

You also have a chance to pass by the Former U.S. Embassy (now becoming the Consulate General of the United States) and the Saigon villa of General Westmoreland.

Lunch will be served at the renowned Pho 2000 Restaurant, where former US president Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea once patronized.

Afternoon
After lunch, you will visit the unique Fito Museum, tucked away in a quiet corner of the busy city the museum displays the tools of traditional Vietnamese medicine.

Continue to visit the atmospheric Jade Emperor Pagoda and then wind through City’s vibrant streets to Cho Lon (China Town) and its bustling markets.

End your day with a visit to the top of the Bitexco Tower for a sundowner with the city’s best views.

Overnight in HCM City

Morning
After breakfast, your private guide and driver will take you out of HCM City in a private vehicle and onto some beautiful country roads to Ben Tre Town in the Mekong Delta, famous for its vast rice fields, numerous waterways, and beautiful landscapes. Known as the ‘rice bowl’ of Vietnam, this region produces most of Vietnam’s fruit, rice, sugar cane, and coconuts.

After the two-hour drive through the lush farming land, you will arrive in Ben Tre where you will set out on a motorized boat trip on narrow channels winding through the coconut forest. During the boat ride, you will stop at the local cottage industries to see how the local people make bricks and weave sleeping mats by hand. Learn about their craft handed down through generations.

Take a leisure walk along the village lanes, visiting the local homes to try fresh fruits, taste delicious honey tea while enjoying a local Tai Tu music show. Continue to visit another workshop where the local delicacy of coconut candy is produced and a wide range of coconut husk and fiber products are skillfully handcrafted.

Next, take a small sampan through palm-fringed back canals, gliding peacefully along the hidden waterways surrounded by an immense variety of tropical plants. The quiet, rural setting is a welcome and restorative retreat to the frenetic buzz of HCM City which seems far, far away.

Enjoy sitting in the back a Motor Cart (xe lôi) passing local hamlets, rice fields, coconut groves, and lush orchard farms while meeting with local people.

Afternoon
After finishing your sightseeing tour your guide will take you to a riverside restaurant for lunch with local specialties then return to the pier and drive back to Ho Chi Minh City.

This evening you will be free to visit the night market to discover the authentic local cuisine or simply enjoy a glass of cocktail on the rooftop bar of the historic Rex Hotel.

Overnight in HCM City

Your private transfer greets you at the hotel after breakfast and escorts you to Ho Chi Minh International Airport where you board your flight home or travel on to more adventures, we will help you with the planning.