Glimpse Of Vietnam - Hanoi to Saigon 12 days

Welcome to Hanoi, the capital city with a lively Old Quarter of 36 narrow streets. Vietnam Backroads Team will meet you outside the terminal gate of Noi Bai Airport and take you to your hotel in the city center. In the afternoon, take a walking tour of the atmospheric and bustling Old Quarter, Opera House, Ngoc Son Temple and Hoan Kiem Lake. Dine at one of the famous restaurants in Ha Noi city center.

Halong Bay is recognized UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, and it's world well-known and attracts a million travellers worldwide. The bay is beautiful and famous for its stunning landscapes, with spectacular limestone mountains rising from emerald waters formed from thousand years ago. Make a journey planned to Vietnam without visiting Ha Long Bay if you are disappointed. Depart from Ha Noi with 3 hours and a half drives to Ha Long via Hai Phong City. Board a boat and enjoy lunch as the boat cruise into this breathtaking bay. The itinerary combined with swimming, kayaking, and stopping at some main highlights; fishing villages, hidden caves, and seafood farms. Endless photos, fresh seafood on board, enjoy Vietnamese coffee, relax on the sun deck, and watch sunset.

Followed by the itinerary as planned, the cruise journey will back to the harbor at 11: 45 am, say goodbye to the crew, and disembark from the boat, for your journey back to Hanoi. Check-in the hotel and relax on your own before you watch the famous Water Puppet Show in the evening.

After breakfast, your guide and driver will take you to Noi Bai airport for an internal flight to Hue, Vietnam's former capital city. Welcome to Hue; our team in Hue will meet you at Phu Bai Bai Airport and take you to the heart of Hue. Check-in the hotel, and enjoy a special Hue Royal Cuisine meal at a great restaurant in town. In the afternoon, we explore the royal treasure of Nguyen Dynasty. Enjoy a walk through the atmosphere and explore Imperial Purple Citadel, where the only concubines and eunuchs are allowed to stay with the king. Then travel to Thien Mu Pagoda- Pagoda of the Celestial Lady. Built-in 1601 by order of the first Nguyen Lords and located by the Perfume River. At the pagoda, you can see the car of Thich Quang Duc monk who burns himself to against the South Vietnamese Government before 1963. Next, we travel to Minh Mang Tomb, located on the west bank of the Perfume River. The tomb architectural complex with 40 constructions and they are unique and beautiful. Finally, visit the Khai Dinh Tomb before stopping at handicraft villages; see how locals make conical hats and incense sticks. Return to Hue in the late afternoon.

After breakfast, check out and continue travelling as planned. Travel to visit the ancient Champa Kingdom before going to Hoi An. Enjoy the scenic route that passes through the lagoon and small fishing villages, the idyllic beach of Lang Co before driving to the peak- the Pass of Ocean Clouds. The journey continues moving to My Son- the Holly Land of Cham People.  My Son Sanctuary is about 69 km southwest of Da Nang and 145km south of Hue City. The former ancient capital of Cham was the nation run from the 4 to the 13 century, and now the ruined Hindu temples in central Vietnam. The religion was primarily derived from Indian Hinduism. On arrives at My Son around midday, and it is the perfect time to visit because of fewer tourists. Explore the ruined Champa Kingdom Sanctuary, admire the patterns and sculptures, green valleys around, and towers in mountain range surroundings. Spend time to explore the mystery of this sanctuary and learn the historic Champa from your guide. After delicious lunch at a local restaurant, then continue your travel to Hoi An as today planned.

Spend a half-day to attend a Red- Bridge Restaurant Cooking Class in the morning and free the rest of the day. You will be picked up at the hotel and transfer to Hoi An. Join the group to visit this colourful and busy market with an excellent opportunity to interact with the local sellers and learn about all the ingredients to be used in the cooking lesson later. Next, we board the Red Bridge boat for a leisurely cruise (25 minutes) along the Hoi An River to the Red Bridge Cooking School. The ride slowly moved toward the Red Bridge, so we got a chance to view local life on the river. On arrival, we explore the cooking school’s herb garden before learning about some of Hoi An’s and Vietnam’s well-known dishes. The cooking lesson runs for about 2 hours – the Red Bridge chefs first demonstrate each dish before we prepare the same dish ourselves. Included in the class is a brief introduction to Vietnamese food carving (plate decoration). After the lesson, we sit down and eat what we have cooked. Return to the hotel by vehicle.

After breakfast, check out of the hotel and transfer to Da Nang for an internal flight to Ho Chi Minh. Formerly known as Saigon, however, today is the country's largest city with a bustling and economic center of the South. It was the "Pearl of the Far East" as an important trading centre in South East Asia. On arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport, Vietnam Backroads Team with a private car will greet you and transfer you to the hotel for check-in. Enjoy lunch in a famous restaurant in the city centre before you take an orientation tour of the city center. First, you visit the War Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, and then to Central Post Office. The following walk down to Dong Khoi St and stop at Fine Art Galleries- photo gallery Couleurs d'Asie by Rehahn – the famous French photographer. Then you back to the hotel for the rest. Enjoy. Enjoy your own time explore Saigon City Center on foot in the evening.

Vietnam Backroads offers you the best experience on today's sightseeing. Experience the historic most extensive tunnels and discover the three levels of the fighting tunnels by visiting the most interesting Ben Duoc tunnels in Cu Chi Rural District. Located about 60 km northeast of Ho Chi Minh City, Cu Chi's headquarter connect all the tunnels stretching to the Cambodia border and criss-cross the Saigon River. Viet Minh began to build this in 1948 when the French were here in Vietnam. Then Viet Cong made its extension until the War ended in 1975. You will discover the most famous tunnels, and most are still real underground. Depart from Saigon City with an hour and a half to Ben Duoc, the most mysterious tunnels' headquarter. Watch a documentary film, then explore the famous fighting tunnels on foot, traps, bunkers, trenches and experience crawling a piece of the underground tunnels. There are plenty of remains of the War. See the weapon galleries, tanks, helicopters, artilleries and so on. Then we continue to travel by car to Tay Minh to see the noon mass at Cao Dai Temple. Once on arrival, you will be amazed at the labyrinth with the colourful temple of religion combined with Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism, Confucianism, and Islam. It was established in 1926 in Tay Ninh- a border province. The pilgrims come for daily noon mass, and it is the major highlight. Most of the followers are in white with long dresses, and the pope, cardinals, archbishops and priests are also in long dresses but colourful. You will find it exciting, and this is an opportunity for the endless photo taken. Then we return to Saigon by car in the late afternoon.

Continue your journey with a couple of hours transfer to Cai Be. On arrival at the dock, around 10:00 am, visit one of the Mekong Delta's typical ancient houses in Cai Be. Be welcomed tea, tropical fruits and take a walk through lush orchards to the villages where family businesses making local snacks, rice cakes, rice paper and sweets. Then board on the Le Cochinchine at 12:00, enjoy welcomed drinks before check-in the cabin. Lunch on board as the boat heads towards Co Chien-Upper River. On your cruise, you will have the opportunity to admire beautiful authentic landscapes on both sides of the rivers. In the afternoon, we go on foot or by bike along the paths through the rustic countryside. The walk is real fantastic; stop at verdant orchards, experience the daily activities of locals, and meet friendly people. The boat continues cruising onward to Tra On. Enjoy foot massage as you enjoy the sunset. Take part in cooking class, learn and try your best to make local cuisine; pumpkin flower stuffed with fish and other dishes. Enjoy dinner and overnight on board.

Wake up early in the morning, and you'll see busy waterways with long-tailed engine sampan boats carrying farm products to local markets. Enjoy Vietnamese coffee and have breakfast on board. You can watch many daily routine ferry boats take locals crossing the rivers from Islands and Inland while the Le Cochinchine cruises are toward Cai Rang's floating market in Can Tho. As the cruise gets close to the floating market, you will take a small boat to get through this, and it also helps you get close up and see locals exchange goods from small boats to boats. The small boat continues riding as we enjoy the scenery and activities along the river bank;  local dwellings, shipbuilding yards and the hustle and bustle of the river industry. Then the tiny boat takes you back to the cruise, enjoy soft drinks and ready for check-out at 11:00. Lunch en route before a vehicle transfer back to Ho Chi Minh.

Enjoy breakfast at hotel and spend you own time on shopping at Ben Thanh Market until the pick up for transfer to the International Airport to fly home. Tour End! Bike Trip Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh