Trip to Vietnam
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Vietnam – 8nights, 9days
DETAILED ITINERARY
Day 0 – Mumbai to Ho Chi Minh
Depart on Day 0 from Mumbai and arrive in Ho Chi Minh on 13th Jan 2016, early in the morning around 0915 hours.
Day 1 – Ho Chi Minh City/ Arrival
Date: 13JAN2017
Xin chao! Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Your Vietnam tour guide will meet and greet you at Tan Son Nhat international airport in Ho Chi Minh City.
Formerly known as Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City has a fascinating history and is arguably Vietnam's capital of commerce and culture.
Free early check in is subjected to room availability at hotel. We will have brief meeting with local guide then free at leisure.
Lunch at your own expense before doing the guided city tour.
We will experience the hustle and bustle of old Saigon on a city tour and explore some of the city's more interesting sights, including the War Remnants Museum and Reunification Palace.
Meals: None
Accommodation
Queen Ann Hotel or similar (1 nt)
Day 2 – Ho Chi Minh City/ Cu Chi Tunnels
Date: 14JAN2017
Built by local fighters during the Indochina conflict, the Cu Chi tunnels served as a base from which the Viet Cong could operate from close to the Southern Vietnamese capital. For this HCMC tour, leave the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City to explore one of the relics from one of the most significant local historical events in recent memory.
Journey 2.5 hours west towards the Cambodian border. Before arriving at the Cu Chi tunnels, we'll visit with some local friends and gain an insight into local life in the area, both past and present. Learn about their lives, culture, and customs and get an insight into the recent past through local eyes.
Your guide will take you on a fascinating tour of the Cu Chi tunnels, where you'll learn more about the conditions the people lived in, the hardships they faced, and the amazing ingenuity employed to maintain life in the tunnels. We walk past huge bomb craters - evidence of the heavy bombing campaigns in the region during the Indochina conflict, discover hidden entrances right beneath your feet, wander past tiny little chimneys in the ground that dispersed smoke from the underground kitchens, sample some of the simple cuisine that local fighters would have survived on, and have an opportunity to venture into the tunnels and explore the complex.
Return back city center at late noon, lunch at your own expense then free at leisure in the afternoon till 5pm when we star the Saigon street food by night.
Get right down to the soul of this beast of a food city and spend three hours eating like a local. It may seem like non-stop culinary decadence because that's just what it is. And you're gonna love it.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner (street food)
Included Activities
• Ho Chi Minh City – Cu Chi Tunnels
• Ho Chi Minh City – Street food by night
Accommodation
Queen Ann Hotel or similar (1 nt)
Day 3 – Ho Chi Minh City/ Hoi An
Date: 15JAN2017
This morning, say goodbye to Ho Chi Minh City and fly north to Danang (approximately 1 hour)
Airport see off transfer without local guide.
From here you'll take a forty-five minute bus ride to Hoi An with the five spectacular peaks of the Marble Mountains as a backdrop. Once in Hoi An, your leader will take you on a walking of this unique town, influenced over the years by Europe, China and Vietnam. The town was a major trading port from the 17th century onwards, and the outside influences can be seen all over its architecture, with pagodas and assembly halls found across the town. For a small place it has a liveliness alongside its charm and serenity.
The tour will take you down the streets that are being restored and look much like they did over a century ago. Past low tiled buildings, you'll take in a historic house (formerly home to a prominent trader), the Japanese Covered Bridge, a Chinese assembly hall and a museum.
After the leisure walk, we join Hoi An food adventure.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner (street food)
Included Activities
• Hoi An – Oriental Walk
Accommodation
Emm Hotel Hoi An or similar (1 nt)
Day 4 –Hoi An/ Bike ride/Hue
Date: 16JAN2017
This morning, go on a bike ride through the countryside near Hoi An (with local guide). There's no better way to explore the peaceful area than by bike. You'll see places few tourists get the chance to see among green rice paddies and small creeks. You'll get a true insight into rural life in Vietnam.
After lunch, at 13:00 leave Hoi An and head towards My Khe Beach (Da Nang) (with local guide). This area is famous for its role in the Vietnam War and its spectacular backdrop of the Marble Mountains.
Spend a stop to visit Marble Mountains before continuing on your journey you'll cross the dramatic Hai Van Pass, a sometimes bumpy but incredibly scenic stretch of highway with views of Lang Co Beach.
Arrival in Hue at late afternoon. Free at leisure.
Meals: Breakfast
Included Activities
• Hoi An – Bike ride
Accommodation
Gold 1 Hotel or similar (1nt)
Day 5 – Hue/ City tour
Date: 17JAN2017
As the former imperial capital of Vietnam, Hue holds the treasures of Vietnam's royal past and is a curious mix of bustling streets and tranquil settings.
Visit the Imperial Citadel, including the Forbidden Purple City which was almost totally destroyed during the American War's Tet Offensive, but the foliage-covered ruins are still atmospheric and the gaping holes left by bombs give an idea of the destruction wreaked upon the country during the war.
Enjoy a dragon boat cruise on the Perfume River. The trip includes a visit to Thien Mu Pagoda, considered by many to be the unofficial symbol of Hue. It's an active Buddhist monastery with its origins dating back to 1601. One of the most poignant displays is a car belonging to a former monk who, in 1963, drove to Saigon and set himself alight to protest against the treatment of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese regime. We also visit one of the royal tombs, that of Emperor Tu Duc, with its central lake set amid a grove of frangipani and pine trees, and we may visit what many believe to be the most majestic of all the royal tombs, Minh Mang.
For lunch today, you will experience the vegetarian meal at a pagoda.
Evening at leisure.
If time permits, we have an option to join a music show in the evening.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Included Activities
• Hue - Imperial citadel
• Hue - Royal tomb
• Hue - Perfume River cruise
• Hue – Lunch at pagoda
Accommodation
Gold 1 Hotel or similar (1nt)
Day 6 – Hue/ Ha Noi
Date: 18JAN2017
Take late morning flight to Ha Noi (approx. 1hour15munites).
Arrive into Ha Noi around noon time.
Vietnam's capital is famous for its beautiful lakes, shaded boulevards, public parks and Frenchy Old Quarter. As an emerging city in Southeast Asian, Hanoi has an attractive contrast of modern office buildings, old Buddhist temples and a labyrinth of ancient streets.
Later in the day you'll take a walking tour through the city. You'll see Ho Chi Minh's former stilt house and other icons such as the Temple of Literature.
Late afternoon, enjoy a Street food by night tour. We will start Hanoi street food tour from the city'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. We eat as we go, trying seasonal fruits and sampling a tasty French-inspired snack from a street cart.
In your free time, perhaps stop by the '36 Streets' of the historic Old Quarter, head to the beautiful Hoan Kiem Lake, or visit the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum. This Museum plays a crucial role in maintaining and promoting the cultural heritage of Vietnam's ethnic communities.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner (street food)
Included Activities
• Hanoi - One Pillar Pagoda & HCM stilt house
• Hanoi - Temple of Literature
Accommodation
Hong Ngoc 2 Hotel or similar (1nt)
Day 7 – Ha Long Bay
Date: 19JAN2017
After breakfast at hotel, travel by private minibus to the spectacular World Heritage site of Halong Bay (approximately 4 hours). This is one of Vietnam's most beautiful places, a secluded bay of emerald waters flecked with sandstone islands and caves. Here you'll go on a cruise to explore the rock formations and caves and in the warmer months perhaps go for a swim. There'll be a dining room and bar on board where you'll enjoy your meals, including fresh seafood for lunch and dinner. Spend the night on board the boat beneath a sky alive with starlight. The boat has twin-share cabins with air-conditioning and private facilities.
Notes: Due to recent unforeseen late changes by local authorities in Halong Bay, a large proportion of boats are now no longer permitted to stay overnight. To ensure we can accommodate all travellers on overnight boats we occasionally use a larger boat (approximately 12 cabins) and split our groups across different boats. The route and inclusions will remain the same, and a local guide will be present on each boat.
Your leader will discuss the option for swimming from Ti Tip Island beach during the warmer months. Swimming in the bay from the boats is not permitted.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Included Activities
• Ha Long – Overnight boat cruise
Accommodation
Overnight on junk boat – Bien Ngoc Private Boat
Day 8 – Ha Long/ Ninh Binh
Date: 20JAN2017
Leaving the memorable scenery of Halong Bay behind at later morning then transfer to Ninh Binh.
If time permit, we dive into history at the Dinh & Le Temple.
Restored in the 17th century, the temples are dedicated Dinh and Le emperors and believed to be built on the original foundations of the old palaces from the 11th and 12th centuries.
Meals: Breakfast
Included Activities
• Ninh Binh – Dinh King & Le King Temples
Accommodation
Thuy Anh Hotel or similar (1nt)
Day 9 – Ninh Binh/Ha Noi/Departure
Date: 21JAN2017
This morning, it's time for the biking part of the tour, as you hop on a bike for a 12 kilometre bike ride through the area, lime karsts towering above you as you ride along backroads and beautiful scenery... experiences you just don't get on other tours!
Following our bike ride, we'll stop for lunch at a local restaurant before visiting Trang An, a new addition to UNESCO's list of heritage sites. Honoured as of June 2014, the 10,000-hectare Trang An complex comprises three areas: the Trang An – Tam Coc – Bich Dong ecological site, the Hoa Lu imperial capital, and the Hoa Lu primitive forests. It is often referred to as the Halong Bay of the land due to its spectacular scenery: lime karsts rise up of the ground to tower over the region, and is a truly wonderful sight to see.
Here, we'll board row boats for a 3 to 3.5-hour journey through caves, passing local villages along the river system of the Red River Delta. The scenery comprises of lush green rice paddies during the rice growing seasons and the surrounding limestone karsts make for a stunning backdrop, presenting many photo opportunities for the keen photographers amongst the group.
At the end of the boat trip, we'll return to the cityreturn by bus to Hanoi (approximately 3.5 hours). Return to Hanoi late this afternoon, and enjoy a couple of free hours to explore Hanoi's sights or do some last minute shopping.
Then you are transferred to Noi Bai International airport for onward flight back home.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Departure Transfer
• Included (without guide)
at To be decided Pune
Pune, India
Orignal From: Trip to Vietnam
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