Day 1:

Ho Chi Minh Arrival

On arrival, you are welcomed at the Tan Son Nhat Airport and will be taken to Saigon City center to check in the hotel. Enjoy lunch at one of the best restaurant in city center. Spend the afternoon exploring the Saigon dynamic city with your guide. You will visit the War Remnants Museum, Emperor Jade Pagoda, the former Presidential Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Old Post Office before a walk down to Opera House and City Halls.

Northern hotel ****
Lunch
Private Car
Day 2:

Ben Tre - Ho Chi Minh

Get up early for Vietnamese coffee and take a walk around the village to experience local's early morning activities; parents take kids to schools, prepare breakfast for family members, carry fruits to local markets and so on. Back to the homestay for breakfast and ready to check out at 9:00 am, take a boat ride back to Ben Tre. Load your luggage/suitcase in a private car and continue the trip as planned. Travel by car to Mr Sau Khanh, his hobby is collecting antiques; Altar vases made of bronze and ceramic, antique clocks, lights, and sculptures made from different countries. His home now looks like a gallery/ showroom to display what he collected from 1980. Another charming site to be visited is Vinh Trang pagoda in My Tho. It was built-in 1850 during colonial control, so the pagoda's facade comprises Asian and European architecture, including details from the Renaissance period, Romanesque style. However the interior displayed Vietnamese furniture decoration with wood carving. You will have lunch in one of the famous restaurants in My Tho City before you relax on a scenic road back to Ho Chi Minh. Tour End!

Breakfast/ Lunch
Ben Tre Boat
Private car
Day 1:

Ho Chi Minh - Ben Tre homestay

Commence the journey with a pickup at the hotel for 2 hours private vehicle drives south of Saigon to Ben Tre. The province is famous for its coconut trees as it looks like the plantations. Since the coconut trunks, shells, and leaves had been used to make fibres, handicraft products, and coconut mats, family businesses also grew up. Arrive in Ben Tre around 10:00 a, and then you take a boat trip along the lively river bank before crossing the Cai to visit the village, stop at a coconut processing workshop. You can see locals making plenty of valuable products and experience daily life. Next, you will have a short tour through the village by Italian 3 wheel vintage Lambro. This three wheels passenger vehicle will remind you and locals about Saigon City from 1960 to 1975. However, the War ended and the Italian 3 wheels cars still using until late 1990. The vintage Lambro continues driving you to another family workshop producing coconut mats. After the visit, take a walk to lush orchards, taste some tropical fruit before you enjoy a leisurely small sampan rowed on a natural creek through green water palms alongside. Lastly, you get back on the boat and continue cruising. You will have a special lunch at your local home before the boat journey continues to a homestay, where we stay a night. Enjoy your time walk through villages, waving to kids at leisure on your own. Join the family to prepare Vietnamese dishes for your dinner.

Mai's Homestay
Lunch/ Dinner
Ben Tre Boat
Private car
Day 11:

Ho Chi Minh - Departure

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

Breakfast
Airport transfer
Day 10:

Can Tho - Saigon

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.

Northern Hotel ****
Breakfast/ Lunch
3.5 hours
Day 9:

Mekong Boat - Le Cochinchine Cruise

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.

Beakfast/ Lunch/ Dinner
Le Cochinchine Cruise
2 hours
6 km
Day 8:

HCM – Cao Dai - Tunnels

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.

Northern Hotel ****
Breakfast/ Lunch
Day 7:

Hoi An - Dang Nang - fly to Ho Chi Minh

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.

Northern Hotel ****
Breakfast/ Lunch
Private car