Vietnam
16 Days, Monday 14 February to Tuesday 1 March 2011
DAY 1 Perth Hanoi IFM / D
Relax and enjoy your home pick-up by private car. Transfer to the airport to meet your fellow travellers and begin your journey to Vietnam. On arrival in Hanoi we will transfer to our hotel and enjoy dinner in the hotel restaurant.
Hotel: Flower garden hotel
DAY 2 Hanoi Halong Bay B / L / D
This morning we journey east to Halong Bay. En route we pass fields of busy workers farming their rice using traditional methods of cultivation. Halong Bay achieved international fame as a key location in the French film ‘Indochine’ starring Catherine Deneuve. The bay has assumed an important position in Vietnamese legend for many centuries however and continues to capture the imagination of visitors. On arrival transfer to the port and board your boat for the cruise
out to the Bay, enjoying lunch (including fresh seafood) along the way. Considered Vietnam’s greatest natural wonder, Halong Bay boasts over 3,000 islands that jut out of the sea to provide a spectacular natural environment. We visit some of the beautiful caves and islets around the bay, then enjoy a sumptuous dinner on board before retiring to bed.
Overnight: Bai Tho Junk
DAY 3 Halong Bay Hanoi B / L / D
Today we enjoy cruising on the bay including lunch on board. This afternoon we will transfer back to Hanoi stopping en route to visit Hong Ngoc Humanity centre. We will then continue back to Hanoi where we spend the following 3-nights. Enjoy a Vietnamese set dinner at Ly Club restaurant.
Hotel: Flower Garden Hotel for 3 nights
DAY 4 Hanoi B / L
This morning we will enjoy a half-day tour of Hanoi including the Old Citadel, One Pillar Pagoda, Hoan Kiem Lake and visit the Ho Chi Minh Museum as well as view the Presidential Palace (outside only). Enjoy lunch at the White Lotus restaurant. In the afternoon take a cyclo tour of the fascinating old quarter (36 ancient streets) before returning to your hotel. This evening enjoy a traditional water puppet show. This is perhaps Vietnam’s most famous performing art form. Vietnamese water puppets were invented a thousand years ago by farmers in the Red River Delta region near Hanoi to entertain themselves when the rains flooded their paddy fields.
DAY 5 Hanoi Free Day B / L
Enjoy breakfast at the hotel. Today and tonight is at your leisure. It is important to allow a day to relax, shop and/or look around at your own leisure.
DAY 6 Hanoi Hue B / D
Fly to Hue and transfer to our hotel. Hue is beautifully located on the banks of the Perfume River. This afternoon we visit the impressive home of the Nguyen Dynasty emperors - The Citadel. Much of the Citadel was destroyed during the Tet Offensive in 1968 but is gradually being restored. Tonight we enjoy a BBQ dinner at the hotel.
overnight: Morin Hotel for 2 nights
DAY 7 Hue B / L
This morning we take a dragon boat ride cruise on the Perfume River to Thien Mu Pagoda, Hue’s oldest and most beautiful. Continue through the countryside to visit the impressive tomb of the Emperor Tu Duc, the fourth Emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty. He lived longer than the other Nguyen Emperor’s and during his lifetime had 104 wives but fathered no children.
DAY 8 Hue Hoi An B / L / D
Mid afternoon we travel to Danang via the spectacular Hai Van Pass. This drive is considered one of the most beautiful in Vietnam and takes us through a combination of both rural and coastal settings. Our first stop is the Cham Museum. The Cham people occupied this area of Vietnam from the 4th to the 16th centuries and in the museum you will find the best examples of Cham sculpture anywhere in the world. We continue south to Marble Mountains, a series of large marble outcrops that have acquired mythical significance over the centuries.
The caves of Marble Mountains house a number of sacred Buddhist shrines as well as a former communist guerrilla hospital from the Vietnam War. From the Marble Mountains there are great views across China Beach and the surrounding countryside. Travel further south to Hoi An which was Vietnam’s most active trading centre over many centuries and has been largely preserved. The architecture of the city reflects the influence of Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, French and British traders.
Hoi An is also the town where French Missionary Alexandre De Rhodes introduced Catholicism to Vietnam as well as the Romanised script that has become the standard Vietnamese script.
HOTEL: Hoi An Hotel for 2 nights
DAY 9 Hoi An B / L
This morning we visit one of the most stunning sights in the Hoi An area, My Son, Vietnam’s most important Cham intellectual and religious centre and may also have served as a burial place of Cham monarchs. The monuments are set in a verdant valley surrounded by hills and overlooked by massive Cat’s Tooth Mountain. Most of the temples were dedicated to Cham kings associated with divinities, especially Shiva who was regarded as the founder and protector of Champa’s dynasties. During the American War, the vicinity of My Son was completely devastated and depopulated in extended bitter fighting.
Of the 68 structures of which traces have been found, 25 survived. Today, Vietnamese authorities are attempting to restore the remaining sites. This afternoon you can either take a guided tour of enchanting Hoi An or organise some tailoring. If you choose to take the walk in this historic town, you will visit an ancient house, the Hoi An Museum, the Chinese Assembly Hall and the Japanese Covered Bridge.
DAY 10 Hoi An SaigonB / D
After breakfast we will be transferred to Danang airport for our flight to Saigon. This afternoon we take a tour of the city, officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City after Vietnam gained its independence in 1975. Visit the Presidential Palace, Notre Dam Cathedral, Saigon Old Office and Ngoc Hong Pagoda. Enjoy a western set dinner tonight at Cordon Bleu Restaurant.
Hotel: Grand Hotel for 2 nights (colonial rooms)
DAY 11 Cu Chi Tunnels B / L
Today we visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, an immense network of underground tunnels and one of the most famous battlegrounds of the Vietnam War. The afternoon is at your leisure back in Saigon.
DAY 12 Saigon Can Tho B / L / D
boat trip along the mighty Mekong River and its tributaries to review the daily lives of people who work and play on the waterways of the Mekong Delta. The trip includes visits to the floating market at Cai Bei, to an authentic old house and to a family run business producing rice paper – a key ingredient in Vietnamese cuisine. Lunch today will be at a local house set amongst fruit orchards and bonsai trees. Continue to our hotel for dinner and overnight stay.
Overnight: Victoria Can Tho Hotel
DAY 13 Can Tho Saigon B / L / D
This morning we take a boat cruise to visit the Cai Rang floating market. The market is filled with small boats darting through the water as vendors buy and sell their wares. You can buy and enjoy pineapple whilst at the floating markets. Cruise through small canals of the Mekong Delta before returning to Saigon.
HOTEL: Grand Hotel for 2 nights (colonial rooms)
DAY 14 Saigon Free Day B / D
Today is a full day at leisure to relax and enjoy the city on your own. This evening we will enjoy a farewell dinner at Vietnam House.
DAY 15/16 Saigon Perth B
This morning we transfer to the airport for our return flight home. In Perth (arrive Day 16) your drivers will be waiting to take you safely home ending this amazing holiday.
TOUR PRICE
Twin Share Per Person $4940.00*
Single Supplement $1050.00
* The above price includes $400pp of airline taxes which are subject to change. Tipping for local driver and guides is approx. $60pp payable on
the tour.
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