Day 1: Arrive Hanoi (-/-/D)
Upon arrival at the airport, our guide and driver will warmly welcome you and transfer to the hotel in the city centre. Spend the rest of the day at your leisure.
In the evening, our guide and driver will take you to one of the finest restaurants in Hanoi to have an orientation of Vietnamese cuisine through a dinner with diverse Vietnamese dishes.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 2: Hanoi Sightseeing – Street Food Tour in the Old Quarter and meet with a coffee expert (B/-/-)
Today, take a full-day tour of Vietnam’s capital city. Wander around this lively city, visit Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum (closed on Mon and Fri), the One-Pillar Pagoda, and the thousand-year-old Temple of Literature also known as the First University of Vietnam.
In the afternoon, go to the Ethnology Museum (closed on Mon) where you can learn more about 54 groups of people in Vietnam.
Prepare your palate, discover the street food of Hanoi! Walk through the Old Quarter Streets, explore Vietnamese food culture with your guide.
Next, go to one of Hanoi’s best kept secrets, a hidden café with stunning views over the picturesque Hoan Kiem Lake to meet a coffee expert with many years experience in making the best coffee of Hanoi.
At the end of the exciting tour, you are free to continue exploring Hanoi Old Quarter.
Overnight at the hotel.
Note:
– If coffee is not your style we could totally switch to a popular local stop for beer.
– After street-food tour, dinner might not be necessary as served food is enough
– Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum closes from 08 September to 08 November for annual maintenance. Instead, we can arrange the visit outside.
Day 3: Hanoi – Halong Bay (B/L/D)
Leave Hanoi this morning and head straight to Halong bay – a stunning UNESCO World Heritage site with 3,000 islands of towering limestone dotting the bay and Gulf of Tonkin (180km – 3.5 – 4 hour driving).
After arriving at noon, 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.
Day 4: Halong Bay – Hue (B/-/-)
Early this morning, enjoy your cruise through the impressive rock formations and jade green water around you.
After a brunch, transfer back to Hanoi Airport for your flight to Hue.
Upon arrival in Hue, our local guide will welcome you and transfer to your hotel in the city centre.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 5: Cooking class at Tha Om Garden – Hue Sightseeing – Street food tour in Dong Ba Market (B/L/-)
Today, take part in a private cooking class at Tha Om Garden – a 100 year old house with ancient Mandarin décor. Your hostess will teach you how to prepare a selection of traditional Hue dishes and how to play with the combinations of flavours and ingredients. During lunch you will be able to taste the dishes you have prepared yourself as well as other Hue specialties prepared by your hosts.
This afternoon, pay a visit to the impressive Imperial Citadel of Hue before heading to Dong Ba Market. Our guide will introduce you some typical local foods of Hue people. It’s a great chance for you to explore and taste the local dishes.
In the late afternoon, go back to your hotel and spend time at your leisure.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 6: Cycling to Chuon Lagoon watching sunrise – Hue Sightseeing – Royal Dinner on Perfume River (B/-/D)
Early in the morning, start your adventure by bike ride or transfer by car (about 12 km). Ride from the Vinh Ve village to Chuon lagoon, part of the famous Tam Giang Lagoon (about 1 ½ hours). En route, enjoy the picturesque landscapes. Upon arrival, start your enchanting lagoon excursion. Admire the wonderful landscape at the sunrise time, learn about the every day life of the locals. Take part in fishing activities before heading to a charming local restaurant to enjoy fresh seafood from lagoon and the local beer.
Afterwards, return to Hue to visit the iconic Thien Mu Pagoda and the beautiful Minh Mang tomb.
Back to your hotel later this afternoon.
In the evening, get ready for an exclusive royal dinner on Perfume river. Enjoy your dinner in royal costume.
Overnight at the hotel.
NOTE: The tour to Chuon Lagoon is recommended to operate from late April to August depending on weather condition
Day 7 : Hue – Danang – Hoi An Sightseeing – Street Food Tour (B/-/D)
Today, depart for Hoi An via the scenic Hai Van Pass to view one of the most beautiful panoramas in Vietnam as you look out over the central coastline. En route, stop at the quiet, white sandy beach of Lang Co.
Arrive in Hoi An in the afternoon. Wander around this delightful city, admire its ancient streets and houses. Walk to the Japanese Bridge, the Chinese Temple, and the Tan Ky Chinese-style trading house.
Transfer to your hotel for check-in.
This evening, discover Hoi An’s streets filled with a myriad of street food carts, stalls and vendors.
Afterwards, return to your hotel to relax.
Overnight at the hotel.
NOTE: After street-food tour, dinner might not be necessary.
Day 8: Cooking and farming in Tra Que Eco-vegetable village – Dinner on a bamboo raft (B/L/D)
This morning, travel through the rural scenery of Hoi An to a small vegetable planting village located on the banks of Tra Que lagoon (5km from Hoi An). Tra Que village is known for its special aromatic herbs, mint and basil.
Join in the local people as they perform their daily work of planting and watering vegetables.
After visiting the gardens, learn to cook some local dishes.
Later this afternoon, experience a short basket boat trip on the Co Co river and enjoy one of the most beautiful scenery and sunset in Hoi An. Then, try fresh food and daily catch from the surrounding river. Enjoy your dinner on a private bamboo raft.
After this exciting day, return to your hotel.
Day 9: Hoi An – Danang – Ho Chi Minh City Sightseeing – Vespa street food tour (B/-/-)
Today, transfer to the airport (without guide) for your flight to Ho Chi Minh City, once known as ‘Saigon’ by many locals.
Upon arrival, our local guide will warmly welcome you and take you on a tour to visit the highlights of the former capital of French Indochina. Stroll around the colonial French quarter that stretches along the Saigon River with the lengthy Nguyen Hue Avenue. Also, discover the former City Hall, the Municipal Theatre, Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Central Post Office.
This quarter is also known for its famous hotels, which will give you a flavour of Vietnamese splendor and modernity: the Rex, the Continental, the Majestic.
In the evening, start your adventure with Vespa scooter, enjoy exotic cocktail and appetizer before heading into favorite local eating spot. Experience the nightlife of Saigon the way locals do, enjoy street sea-food and cold drinks, live Vietnamese music, in short, the places that foreigners won’t find that easily.
Return to the hotel for overnight.
NOTE: After street-food tour, dinner might not be necessary.
Day 10: Cu Chi Cooking Class – Cu Chi Tunnels – Departure (B/L/-)
Join a 4 hour cooking class in the village of organic vegetable gardens outside Ho Chi Minh City.
During the first cooking hour, you will go to the garden where vegetables and mushrooms are grown. The chef will explain to you the different types of vegetables and give you some basic information about growing and cultivating them as well guiding you to choose the best ones for the cooking class. Then for the next 3 hours, you will be together with the chef to cook 3 different dishes which are: the starter, the main course and the dessert. After the class, you will be awarded with a certificate and of course, some happy memories.
After this fabulous cooking experience visit the amazing tunnel network of Cu Chi.
Return to Ho Chi Minh City Airport for your departure flight.
Have you ever tasted ‘Banh’, ‘nuoc cham’ or ‘goi’? Come with us on a special culinary tour to Vietnam. Meet Vietnamese distinctive cuisine as well as the charms of its most striking cities.
This unforgettable tour is taking you from the North to the South of this beautiful country. En route, discover the highlights of delightful and lively Hanoi. Admire its rich cultural heritage, then learn about Vietnamese history in Hue and Hoi An. Stay speechless at the picture book rock formations at Halong Bay, immerse into the vibrant Ho Chi Minh, the city that never sleeps. Discover the floating ‘rice bowl’ of Vietnam – rich Mekong Delta.
This tour is unlike others since it offers you the insight into Vietnamese cuisine. Take part in cooking classes at traditional garden house, try the exotic street food in Hanoi, enjoy your dinner on a dragon boat in the royal style, have a special dinner on a bamboo raft in a peaceful scenery, learn about the original Vietnamese combination of fresh ingredients in order to taste the real culture of this impressive country.
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M&M Japan Nov 2023 - Our experience with SJ travel organising our 2week bespoke trip to Japan was first class.
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Would definitely book with SJ Travel again