Escape Hot Time To Vietnam 18 days

Day 1: Arrival Hanoi – Half day Hanoi City
 You will be warmly welcomed upon arrival Hanoi airport and transferred to your hotel. In the afternoon you will take a private walking city tour to visit local markets and Hanoi's Old Quarter, known for its 36 streets and former craft guilds. Overnight stay in Hanoi.

Day 2: Hanoi City Tour (B/L)
This full day tour takes you around Hanoi's most interesting sights, including the Ho Chi Minh Complex: Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and his Stilts House, the Presidential Palace and the One Pillar Pagoda and, nearby, the Old Quarter also known as the 36 streets and guilds. Also on the tour, the Lake of the Restored Sword and Ngoc Son Temple, the Temple of Literature, peaceful West Lake (with lovers street Thanh Nien), or the Ethnology Museum.

Day 3: Hanoi – Ha Long Bay (B/L/D)
Enjoy breakfast at hotel. You will then leave Hanoi for Halong Bay, arriving at the jetty around 12:30 p.m. Upon arrival, you will set out on a junk cruise on the bay while lunch is served. You will pass through the magical bay, where thousands of sculpted limestone islands rise from the waves like dragons' teeth. After lunch, you will take a short trek to a nearby summit for a panoramic view of the bay, swimming on a quiet beach or sunbathing on the sundeck, kayking. You will stay overnight onboard.

Day 4: Ha Long Bay – Hanoi – Hue (Brunch)
Rising to the sound of lapping bay waters, you will have time for an early morning dip followed by breakfast. Sitting on the upper deck, you can relax while taking in the breath-taking beauty of the rocky islands rising from the emerald water of the bay. After breakfast, explore Sung Sot cave (8 a.m. to 9 a.m.), swim and relax at Soi Sim beach. At 9:30 a.m., your boat cruises back to the jetty while brunch is served from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. You will continue cruising through the bay, along the way seeing more of the fascinating formations. Cabin check-out is at 11:45 am. The boat arrives at the harbor around noon and you will drive directly from Halong to Hanoi airport for your short flight to Hue. Upon arrival at Phu Bai Airport, you will be transferred to your hotel for an overnight stay.

Day 5: Hue City Tour (B/L)
You will embark on a tour of the city, including the Citadel and the Forbidden Purple City, the Imperial Museum and Dong Ba market. You will stay overnight in Hue.

Day 6: Hue –Hoian (B)
Rising up in the ancient land, enjoy your breakfast in the hotel. Then, board a private boat for cruising the romantic Perfume River, visit Lady Pagoda (Thien Mu Pagoda), the ornate Minh Mang's tomb. We will enjoy lunch at local restaurant. Leave the UNESCO-designated World Heritage Hue for Hoi An. You will travel over the Hai Van pass, stop in Danang for a visit to the Cham Museum and handicraft villages on the foot of Marble Mountain before arriving in Hoi An. Once in Hoi An, you will check into our hotel and have some free time to explore the town before an overnight stay.

Day 7: Hoi An Ancient Town (B)
From the 16th to 18th centuries, Hoi An was a thriving international commercial port for Chinese, Dutch, French, Japanese, Portuguese and Arab traders. These people came primarily to trade in the high grade silk, which is still produced in the area, as well as ceramics. Today, Hoi An is a quaint riverside town, popular with tourists for its eclectic architecture, tailors shops, and numerous cafes. Some of the buildings in the narrow streets have remained unchanged for more than a century. You will enjoy a half-day walking tour through the narrow winding streets of the Ancient Quarter visiting Chua Ong Pagoda, Chinese Assembly Halls, the 200- year old Tam Ky ancestral house, and the Japanese Bridge. Following the tour there will be free time to shop or relax. You will stay overnight in Hoi An…

Day 8: Farmer & Fishing Tour (B/L)
The very special “Farming & Fishing” tour promises to bring visitors the most beautiful scenery of the countryside around Hoi An Town.

By exploring the typical narrow roads along the countryside by bicycle, and seeing sights such as water buffalo, rice paddy fields, organic vegetables and local farming people, you will be amazed to realize how peaceful the area is and how friendly its people are.

Getting in touch with local fishing life by using the fishing nets, riding funny basket boats, visiting a water palm coconut paradise and learning about the history about the Vietnamese people are great things to experience. The Farmer to Fisherman tour will be the special and unique tour that is committed to providing you a unique cultural window into the Vietnamese way of life.

Accompanied by your tour guide, you will commence the day leisurely cycling along country roads witnessing local Vietnamese rural life first hand, discovering all manner of photo opportunities. You will see a water buffalo working in a rice paddy field, ducks swimming along the rice farm or farmers tending their crops. The photo opportunities are endless. Later you will board our Hoi An Eco-Tour boat for a river cruise to meet and engage with local fishermen and enjoy the hands-on experience of traditional net fishing. You will also experience paddling the unique Vietnamese bamboo basket boat while exploring coconut-palm flanked waterways. This tour provides you with a cultural window into the ways of life of both our farming and fishing communities.

Day 9: Hoian – Danang – Ho Chi Minh (B)
Enjoy breakfast at hotel, then wait for transfer to airport to take flight to Ho Chi Minh. Arrive Tan Son Nhat airport, pick up then transfer to hotel.

Day 10: Full Day Cu Chi Tunnel – half day City Tour (B/L)
In the morning, you will take half day Cu Chi Tunnel: After pick-up at your hotel, you enjoy a half day excursion to the famous Cu Chi tunnels. This network of tunnels, which stretched for over 200km, became legendary during the 1960s.

Cu Chi tunnels played a vital part in the U.S.-Vietnam War in that they allowed the Viet Cong to control a large rural area only 30 to 40 km from former Saigon .

At its height, the tunnel system stretched from Saigon to the Cambodian border. The network, parts of which were several levels deep, included innumerable trap doors, specially constructed living areas, storage facilities, weapons factories, field hospitals, command centres and kitchens.

Today the remaining tunnels have become a major tourist attraction giving the visitor a unique experience and feel of what underground life during the war must have been like.

The tunnels have been widened for our benefit (otherwise we would not be able to enter them!) For those interested there's even the opportunity to try an AK47 or MK16 at the nearby rifle range.

Following lunch, in the afternoon you will take half day city : Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, is the largest and busiest city in Vietnam with a population of 7 million people. Much of the daily life takes place on the streets, which are lined with shops, stalls and vendors with their wares spread out on the footpath. Don't miss the bustling Ben Thanh Market - a fantastic place for bargains of every kind! There are several interesting sights in HCMC. The War Remnants Museum has a wealth of images from the wars, the most moving being a gallery entitled 'Requiem' which is dedicated to Vietnamese and foreign journalists and photographers who perished during the French and American conflicts. The Reunification Palace was the former residence of the President of South Vietnam until April 30, 1975 when the North Vietnamese tanks came crashing through the front gates, bringing the U.S.-Vietnam War to a dramatic end. Close to the palace some of the best examples of French colonial architecture are represented in the forms of Notre Dame Cathedral and the Central Post Office. Notre Dame Cathedral was built between 1877 and 1883 and the stone used to create it was exported in its entirety from France . Next to the cathedral stands the Central Post Office , finished in 1891. It is another fine example of French architecture and is Vietnam 's largest post office. For all its French colonial history though, Ho Chi Minh City is by far and away Vietnam 's most modern city. It has numerous shopping malls, cinemas, discotheques and a bewildering number of bars.

Day 11: Mekong Delta for a day to Ben Tre (B/L)
Ben Tre is the best option for a day trip to the Mekong Delta from Saigon, since it is only around 2 hours away, and 15 minutes from My Tho. However, this wonderful destination retains an authenticity which has been somewhat lessened in nearby My Tho.

This picturesque and friendly Mekong Delta town has historically seen very few travelers, but the recent opening of a bridge connecting Ben Tre and My Tho has made it far easier for day trippers to visit from Saigon.

Our one day cruise excursion starts at 8:00 am from the lobby of your hotel in Saigon with a drive to Ben Tre. While there, you can take a walk along the waterfront, lined with French era shops and houses, and you'll see plenty of coconuts being unloaded from boats for dispatch around the country. Then, jump on a boat for a couple of hours of cruising on the Mekong River. You will enjoy your delicious lunch at a local restaurant or on board. The excursion will end at around 4:00pm where the vehicle will await you for your transfer back to Saigon.

Day 12 : Ho Chi Minh fly to Nha Trang (B)
Enjoy breakfast at hotel, then you will be transfer to airport to take flight to Nha Trang. Upon arrival, pick up then transfer to Resort.

Day 13: Free on the beach (B)
Enjoy breakfast at Resort. Free & Easy

OPTIONAL TOUR: Explore Nha Trang Bay & Island with Emperor Cruise – JOINED TOUR

0800H-0830H

Pick up from your hotel and transfer to Nha Trang Port to board the Emperor Cruises.

0830H-0845H

Arrival at the port where you will be greeted by the Experiences Manager with a welcome drink. Introduction to Nha Trang Bay, the locals, the food, the culture, the emperor, safety precautions, and the Emperor Cruises Junk. Start cruising through the spectacular landscape of Nha Trang Bay.

0845H-0915H

The first destination is Mieu Island for exploring the beautiful landscape by basket boat to head over to fish farms.

Welcome back to the mother boat, to enjoy a fresh coconut fruit.

Continue to cruise past the Tam, Mot, and Mun Islands in Nha Trang Bay. Your destination is Bai Cau in Dam Bay Lagoon, near the famous diving Mun Island site where you can opt for some scuba diving (additional charge).

0915H-1130H

You arrive at our Emperor Cruises’ Secret Beach in Bai Cauwhere you can either go snorkeling or swimming, fishing, trekking, kayaking in either a normal or glass-bottomed kayak, , joining floating bar or try a basket boat. Alternatively, just relax at our Mango Bar under the big tree, enjoying the stunning views of the Emperor Cruises’ sails against the clear blue waters of the bay.

1130H-1230H

After so much activity, you will surely be hungry. You will be served a sumptuous set lunch on board with local beers, soft drink, fine wine, or premium spirits as the boat anchors near Hon Tre Island with its tranquil lagoon and fish farms.

1230H-14:00H

After lunch, guest go sunbathing,swimming and kayaking/grass bottomed kayaking, trekking, trying basket boat on the private beach of Emperor Cruise before returning to Nha Trang.

14:30H-15:00H

Cruise back to Nha Trang Harbor passing Vung Ngan floating village and Vinpearl Island, before catching a glimpse of the Bao Dai Villas as we return to the mainland.

15:00H

At the port your Emperor Cruises Van will be waitig to take you back to your hotel.

Notes:

From November to April or on windy days with big waves, the mother boat will anchor at Mot Island for those who want to go scuba diving. We use our speedboat to transfer you to Our Emperor’s Secret Beach in Dam Bay for beach time and water activities such as swimming, sunbathing, and kayaking in the area before cruising back to Nha Trang Harbor.

The cruising itinerary is subject to change due to the weather.The tours' time table could be revised earlier or later 30 minutes which are depended on the day's weather and water conditions. All customer will get the last confirmation of pick up time one day before the cruising date.

Day 14: Free on the beach (B)
Enjoy breakfast at Resort. Free & Easy

Day 15: Free on the beach (B)
Enjoy breakfast at Resort. Free & Easy

Day 16: Free on the beach (B)
Enjoy breakfast at Resort. Free & Easy

Day 17: Free on the beach (B)

Enjoy breakfast at Resort. Free & Easy

Day 18: Nha Trang fly back to Ho Chi Minh then connect your own flight (B)
Enjoy breakfast at hotel then you will be pick up to airport for flight to Ho Chi Minh then connect your own flight. End of services!