Welcome to Vietnam! Upon arrival at Ho Chi Minh City Airport (SGN), your guide will meet you and provide you with your welcome packet, containing all the information you'll need on tour. Your driver will then join the group to transfer you and your fellow travellers to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to spend at leisure.
Take time to understand Vietnam’s dazzling southern metropolis and you’ll be rewarded: the streets and thoroughfares run loud and fast, and the hustle of the city’s markets is a haggler’s delight. Consider a trip to the confronting War Remnants Museum, the incense-smothered and delicately carved Jade Emperor Pagoda or the colonial-era Fine Arts Museum, or simply settle in at one of the city's many cafes and enjoy a traditional Vietnamese coffee.
Meet with your guide and embark on a scenic journey through the green rice fields of the Mekong Delta towards Ben Tre and the market town of My Tho. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to visit Vinh Trang, a beautiful garden temple, flanked by giant statues of the Buddha, that has been open for visitations and prayer since the 19th century. Afterward, take a leisurely sampan ride along the winding Mekong River. Admire fishing villages along the riverbank as you pass each of Dragon, Phoenix, Tortoise, and Unicorn Islands, stopping at the latter for a tour of the its orchid gardens and fruit plantations.
Moving onward through the Thoi Son canal, you’ll see buzzing honey farms and be able to see a coconut candy workshop in action and try an assortment of local dishes from a Mekong Delta kitchen. Next, cycle through picturesque Tan Thach, the birthplace of the infamous Coconut Monk, and meet with the villagers to get a whiff of local life in the Mekong Delta, or simply relax in a hammock and enjoy the cool breeze.
Return to Ho Chi Minh City after a lively day of sensational sights and culinary experiences.
Wake up bright and early and head towards Cu Chi, just 60 kilometres south of Ho Chi Minh City. Considered a powerful remant of the conflict that once threatened Vietnam, this city is legendary for its seemingly endless serpentine tunnels beneath the earth. Glimpse beyond the rice paddies, ducks, and water buffaloes and uncover the city beneath a city, a place of solemn pilgrimage for socialists and schoolkids alike, and an extraordinary testament to the Viet Cong’s ingenuity. After your tour around this historic site, return to Ho Chi Minh City to enjoy an afternoon at your leisure.
After breakfast, finish exploring the city and get ready for your early afternoon transfer to the airport — you're flying next to Da Nang. After a little over an hour in the sky, you’ll be picked up and transferred to your hotel in the charming coastal city of Hoi An. Once a bustling trading port, the city is still a powerful melange of cultures, influences, and traditions. Marvelously preserved, ancient Japanese merchant houses and historic Vietnamese trading warehouses rub shoulders with grand Confucian temples and modern offices to form a colourful tapestry.
Optional Activity:
- Morning half-day Ho Chi Minh City tour (A$80 per person, minimum two people).
Take breakfast at the hotel, then the rest of the day is yours. Every street in this peaceful port town is a treasure, but you'll find the best of all if you take the chance to explore Hoi An Ancient Town, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed district that brilliantly preserves the synthesis of cultures that led this city to flourish.
Other highlights include the ancient Japanese Covered Bridge, first constructed in the 16th century and surviving even the imported French fascination with automobiles, and masterfully preserved merchant residence Tan Ky House.
Optional Activities:
- Half-day Hoi An countryside adventure by electric scooter (A$95 per person, minimum two people).
- My Son Holy Land tour (A$165 per person, minimum two people).
- Hoi An evening foodie tour by electric scooter (A$105 per person, minimum two people).
- Ba Na Hills full-day tour (A$174 per person, minimum two people).
You have one last day to catch the sights and sounds of Hoi An, so soak up these moments. If you’re feeling adventurous, book an optional cultural or sight-seeing tour, or visit the Hoi An Night Market, the perfect place to pick up a cherished souvenir to celebrate your time in Vietnam. Alternatively, you could walk the golden sands of An Bang Beach, observing the moored fishing boats, or catch an awe-inspring performance at the Hoi An Lune Center for the Performing Arts.
Optional Activities:
- Fishing village cultural tour by basket boat (A$89 per person, minimum two people).
- Ba Na Hills full-day tour (A$174 per person, minimum two people).
After breakfast, enjoy a final hour or two of exploring Hoi An before being transferred back to Da Nang Airport (DAD) for your onward flight to Hanoi. On arrival, you will be taken to your hotel and have the rest of the day free to spend as you like.
Vietnam’s electric capital offers layers of Chinese and French influence, gaggles of scooters and a wealth of world-class restaurants. Visit the revered Temple of Literature, dedicated to Confucius and the site of the country’s first university, or wander through the notorious Hoa Lo Prison Museum, once filled with American prisoners of war.
Today, your guide will meet you at your hotel and drive with you through the countryside to the Tuan Chau Marina where you'll embark on an overnight cruise through Ha Long Bay.
After a brief meet-and-greet with the captain and his crew, you’ll be served a steaming cup of refreshing tea or energising coffee, along with a flavoursome lunch, as you set sail through strikingly emerald waters Witness the majesty of the bay’s jungle-topped limestone islands and visit an oyster farm where you'll have the opportunity to learn about the pearl cultivation process and take an optional kayak tour (additional charges apply). Cruise onward to Ti Top Island and appreciate the views from the summit before enjoying a sunset dinner party.
Enjoy dawn on the expansive sundeck with fresh tea and coffee. Connect breath to movement as you energise your body and soul during a tranquil tai chi class, watching the sun rise over the bay.
Continue your morning walking among the dripping stalactites and stalagmites of Sung Sot Cave and cruising among the jutting, tree-trimmed cliffs of Ha Long Bay’s Natural Preservation Zone. You'll have the opportunity to admire the crystal blue waters as you sail through this pristine environment before packing up your things and preparing to check out. Once the vessel arrives back at Tuan Chau Marina, disembark and hop into your comfortable transfer vehicle for the ride from Ha Long back to Hanoi.
Optional Activity:
- Hanoi street food tour (A$75 per person, minimum two people).
Your Vietnamese ends here after time well-spent.. After breakfast, you’ll be transferred to Hanoi International Aiirport (HAN) for your flight home.