Amazing Vietnam 14 Days

Begin the first full day with a visit to the highly acclaimed Vietnam Women’s Museum. The museum is located near Hoan Kiem Lake and offers wonderful insight into the significant role women play in Vietnamese society.

Continue with a visit to Vietnam’s first university, the Temple of Literature. Founded in 1076 Quoc Tu Giam was established within a temple to educate Vietnam's royalty, mandarins and members of the elite. The university functioned for an incredible 700 years and its gardens and well-preserved architecture offer a fascinating glimpse into Vietnam’s past.

Continue to the nearby mausoleum of the historic figure and father of modern Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh (viewed from outside), and visit the former president’s house on stilts where he lived from 1958 to 1969. Afterwards, pay a visit the small but iconic One Pillar Pagoda before heading back to the hotel. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel. 

Free at your leisure until transfer to Hanoi Railway Station for overnight train to Lao Cai. Travel in style and back to 90s decade with an overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai. The train railway system was built by French colonial for more than hundred year and now become a tourist attraction to Sapa – well-known itself for stunning and spectacular landscape of rice terrace and Indochina highest peak as well as colourful ethnic minority culture.

Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel. 

Here you will visit Bac Ha Market. This wonderful market is a great place for photos and shopping. You will have chance to meet different groups of ethnic people at the market. After visiting the market take a walk on small paths through the surrounding nearby villages and then drive to Sapa for overnight. Meals on your own. Overnight at hotel. Remark: Bac Ha Market is held only on Sundays. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel. 

After your breakfast at hotel, we start your amazing trekking day to the most impressive areas of Sapa. Drive up to Y Linh Ho Village of the Black Hmong people from here you will hike along small paths down the valley to the Muong Hoa River to visit the Black H’mong village in Lao Chai, one of the biggest minority groups in Sapa area. They are proud of their culture and keep their own traditions and lifestyle. Continue to Ta Van village (1.2 km) to visit Zay hill tribe people, a fairly small minority group of about 38.000 people who live mainly in the mountains in Northwest Vietnam. Zay women still wear traditional shirts with a purple, blue or green color. The Zay houses are built of wood and bamboo with a clay floor. Return to Sapa and then free at your leisure. Dinner on your own. Overnight at the hotel.   

Trekking level: medium

Total trekking distance?

Recommended outfit: shoes, hat, sun cream, hiking comfortable shoes

Day at leisure to wonder around Sapa town before transfer back to Hanoi on highway by luxury bus or private transfer.

Arrive back in Hanoi in the early morning, you will be taken to a 3* hotel for a short relaxation and breakfast before leaving for Halong Bay, a stunning UNESCO World Heritage site with its 3,000 islands of towering limestone dotting the bay and Gulf of Tonkin (180km – 3.5 - 4 hour driving). After arriving at noon, you will board a beautiful boat for an overnight cruise on Halong Bay with an excellent menu of fresh seafood. Lunch and dinner are served on boat. Overnight on board in en-suite air conditioned room

The Vietnamese call the “East Sea” by a point-oriented name “Eastern Sea”, so you may guess how miraculous it is seeing the sunrise over the islets of the Bay. The boat will take us to go about marvelous areas, where almost each islet has its own name, adopting its shape or reminiscent, including the Fisherman’s Head, Turtle, the Sail, the Incense Burner Rock, the cute Sea Dog Rock or Cock Fighting Rocks and so on. Overland to Hanoi Airport where you take onward evening flight to Hue. 

Being recognized by UNESCO as the 1st Cultural World Heritage for Vietnam, Hue is highlighted by the old royal architectural works and the most traditional Vietnamese lifestyle. We will discover the charm of the city from the Royal Citadel, Forbidden City, Hue Royal Museum and Dong Ba bustling market. 

In the afternoon pay a visit to the tomb of the former emperor Minh Mang which is located in a tranquil setting of gardens and ponds. Journey on to Khai Dinh’s Tomb, which is traditional Vietnamese in design with a European flare, making it entirely unique from the other tombs in Hue.

Enjoy 4 hour driving journey from Hue to the ancient port town of Hoi An. Jeep will stop at spectacular Hai Van mountain pass and scenic fishing village, coastline and paddy fields for a close up touch. In spite of Hoi An’s passing of 200 years and the ravages of weather and war, the centre of the ancient city remains wholly untouched.  Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel. 

Wake up to the cool morning sea-breeze before heading off for a wander around the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hoi An Ancient Town. A former trading port that welcomed Chinese, Dutch French, Japanese, Portuguese and Arab merchants from the 16th to the 18th centuries, it’s one of the country’s most fascinating cultural melting pots. Hoi An is also home to some of the country’s most beautiful ancient architecture inspired by Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese culture.

Start your walking journey through the breezy walking streets lined with honey-yellow buildings, and arrive first at Chua Ong Pagoda. This Chinese inspired structure dates back to 1653, and its interior still wafts the sweet smell of incense during the day. From here, walk onward to nearby Phuc Kien Assembly Hall and Jinshang Temple, dedicated to the Goddess of the Sea.

Wrap up the tour with a stop at Sky Coffee Bar, a local favourite haunt within the Hoi An Museum. Chat with your guide over a beverage here before heading back to your hotel. Spend the rest of the day free at your leisure. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel. 

Free at your leisure till transfer to Danang Airport to take the midday flight to Saigon. You will be welcomed at the Tan Son Nhat airport and transfer to the hotel to check-in.  Spend the rest of the day free at your leisure. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel. 

Morning head to Cu Chi Tunnels one of the few remaining monuments to the fierce Vietnam War. We can even crawl a part of the tunnel to experience the real life of the Vietnamese guerrillas, who used to use and live inside this system during the wartime.

In the early evening, you will be picked up at the hotel by private car before heading off to street vendor stalls. This tour will take you through many parts of the city that are off the general tourist map. You’ll have a chance to experience the typical nightlife of Saigon – just exactly the way that local people often do. The tour will start with a ride to a section of China Town and then heading to District 4 through busy streets and alleys buzzing with locals seated at seafood street stalls and sipping on icy cold drinks. Leaving District 4 to District 3 the tour passes through downtown District 1 taking in the sights, sounds and smells of Saigon city with  opportunities for stopping along the way whenever it takes your fancy. Then the tour will continue to a well hidden Vietnamese-coffee shop to enjoy the sounds of local Vietnamese live music. After this very exhilarating nightlife tour of Saigon, you will then be driven back to the hotel.

There is no activity planned for today so you are free to enjoy your free time souvenir shopping until transfer to the airport for your onward flight.