Hanoi - Sapa - Ha Long - Hue - Hoi An - Ho Chi Minh City - MeKong Delta

Key Elements:
B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, G = Guide, GP = Guide Pick-up, DP = Driver Pick-up

Day 1: Arrival at Hanoi (GP)

Catru is known as scholarly music in Vietnam and has been developed within the history of 1000 year Thang Long - Hanoi. In Catru, the singer while singing not open big mouth but still emits words clearly and distinctly. The internal breathing is of greatest important of singing technique that makes its special. Please visit the following website to refer more interesting information about such a unique art:  http://www.vietnamcatru.com/english/?act=Home

Day 2: Hanoi Orientation - Overnight train to Lao Cai (B, L, G)

you'll have the whole day to explore Vietnam's capital city. Your guide will take you to the Temple of Literature, the first university in Vietnam dating back to the 11th century, and a popular attraction, as is Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum.
After lunch, you'll drive to the excellent Ethnology Museum for an overview of Vietnam's 54 distinct ethnic groups in anticipation of your trip to Sapa. Followed by a visit to the serene Tran Quoc Pagoda, the oldest in Hanoi, on the banks of Hanoi's Ho Tay (West) Lake. The bustling Old Quarter is a magnet for visitors, it's noisy and hectic, but definitely a 'must-see' attraction. The Old Quarter is a maze of shopping streets and restaurants with a hotchpotch of architecture - traditional tube houses, religious buildings, artisans' workshops and cottages, colonial houses and modern concrete edifices.
Later in the evening, you'll be driven to Hanoi Railway Station to board your overnight train to Lao Cai.
We'll arrange your programme to avoid the busy times at popular destinations, but if there's anything you particularly want to see, let us know.

Optional Tour: Cycling and exploring villages around Hanoi (B, L, G)
In the morning, you'll be picked up to drive to Bat Trang. On arrival, you'll be able to stroll in the small alleys of this old village to watch local people producing their fine products and visit some of the houses used as workshops and showrooms. you'll then pick up your bicycles and ride along the riverside dike, through some more of the many villages surrounding Hanoi. The total distance on bicycles is about 7km along a small road that runs beside a tributary of the Red River.
you'll then drive to Dong Ho village - famous for its traditional paintings. After a picnic lunch, your vehicle will take to Tam Tao village to enjoy its traditional Quan Ho music performed by villagers in the commune house. The singers have been officially designated as part of Vietnam's 'living heritage' by UNESCO. In the late afternoon, you'll return to Hanoi.
Price for this Optional Tour is per person in US dollars: US$ 74.00(applied for group of 02 persons upwards)

Day 3: Lao Cai - Sapa (B, L, G)
you'll arrive in the early morning, where you'll be met and taken up into the mountains to Sapa, a small town perched on the mountainside opposite Mt. Fan Si Pan, Vietnam's highest peak. After breakfast at your hotel, you'll be driven along a scenic valley to visit some of the H'mong ethnic minority villages. After a stream-side picnic lunch, you'll visit the Red Dao ethnic minority people of Giang Ta Chai village. Later in the afternoon, you'll return to Sapa for your overnight accommodation.

Day 4: Sapa - Ethnic market - Hanoi (B, L, G)
After breakfast, your transport and guide will arrive to take you to visit a market frequented by ethnic minority peoples. The first part of your journey will take you through Lao Cai, which is a border crossing point, and alongside the river marking the boundary with China. After a picnic lunch, you'll return to Lao Cai for a shower and freshen-up before boarding the sleeper train to Hanoi.
Although it's quite a long drive, the landscape is attractive and the ethnic markets are a fascinating experience. Unlike those in the tourist areas, the markets that we choose are for not only buying and selling, but also meeting places for ethnic minority people to meet and exchange news. There will be plenty of colour and authentic costumes, but very little to buy as souvenirs unless you want to barter for a water buffalo or a sack of fertiliser!
The trips to ethnic minority markets must be on Thursday (Lung Khau Nhin market), Saturday (Can Cau) or Sunday (Bac Ha, Muong Hum or Muong Khuong markets).

Day 5: Hanoi - Ha Long (B, L, D, G)
Arriving in Hanoi in the early morning, you'll be met and taken to your hotel to refresh.
After breakfast, you'll leave for Ha Long Bay, one of the most spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Areas and the world's largest marine limestone 'karst' landscape. There you'll board your boat, a wooden junk built from the model of the old Vietnamese court vessels with sails, a wide transom and rectangular superstructure, that will take you first to the busy World Heritage area and then to some of the less well-known grottoes and caves. Weather permitting, you'll be able to swim, fish, climb a hill (not a mountain!) for an overview of the Bay's remarkable seascape, or venture into some of the sea level caves in a small sampan. All your meals will be provided on board, usually based on fresh seafood, and you'll sleep in a twin cabin with an en suite toilet and shower.

Day 6: Ha Long - Hue (Brunch, G)
you'll spend the morning cruising Ha Long Bay, followed by lunch just before docking around noon and leaving for Noi Bai airport to take your evening flight to Hue.
Uopn arrival in Hue, you'll be met and driven to your hotel where you spend the night.

Day 7: Cycling to get closer to Hue's life (B, L, G)
In the morning, your bicycles will be at your hotel ready for you to ride through Hue's rural villages towards the Thanh Toan Bridge (roofed in Chinese style). Nearby, a local market will provide you with views of daily life and local products. You'll then return to Hue's city centre with en-route visit the Ngoc Son Princess 'garden house'. It has an attractive family altar and the owner is an expert on Hue's culture and history - he will be pleased to explain the geomantic principles underpinning the building and garden's construction.
After lunch, your route will take you to visit the Imperial Citadel and some of the garden houses in Phu Mong Kim Long village, thence ride toward one of the handicraft villages in Hue's hinterland that specialises in a single product range of traditional cakes - 'banh it' and 'banh phu the' before looping back to your hotel for overnight accommodation.

Day 8: Hue city tour - Danang - Hoi An (B, L, G)
After breakfast, you'll cruise along the Perfume River to visit the Thien Mu, a tranquil pagoda on the banks of the Perfume River. From there, you've be driven to the tomb of Emperor Minh Mang.
After lunch, you'll drive to Danang. Upon arriving in Danang, you'll have a brief look at the remarkable Hindu statuary in the Cham Museum before leaving for Hoi An. you'll spend the night in Hoi An.

Day 9: Hoi An rural life (B, L, G)
After breakfast, you'll ride a bicycle through the rural scenery of Hoi An to a small village located on the banks of the Tra Que lagoon, three kilometres northeast of the old town. you'll join local people in their daily work of planting and watering vegetables. you'll then return to the old town to learn how to make silk lanterns at a local house. you'll also be able to view the complex process of creating Hoi An-style lanterns. Your lunch will be prepared by the family.
Your afternoon will be free for strolling in the town, lazing on the beach, or whatever takes your fancy. you'll spend the night in Hoi An.

Day 10: Hoi An free (B)
Free days in Hoi An to spend as you wish.
Optional Tour: Hoi An/My Son/Hoi An (B, G)
After breakfast, you'll be driven to the World Heritage 'My Son Sanctuary'. Your guide will show you the remains of the remarkable towers constructed by the Cham builders, many centuries ago - their origins and purpose have yet to be fully explained. In the afternoon, you'll return to your hotel. When you return, the rest of the day will be free. you'll spend the night in Hoi An.
Price for this Optional Tour is per person in US dollars: US$ 45.00 (applied for group of 02 persons upwards)

Day 11: Hoi An - Danang - Ho Chi Minh City (B, DP in Hoi An, G in Ho Chi Minh City)
After breakfast, you'll be free until being picked up and transferred to Danang airport for a flight to Ho Chi Minh City.
When you arrive, a private car will be waiting to take you to your hotel in the city centre. After checking in, you'll be free for a preliminary wander around District 1. Your overnight will be in Ho Chi Minh City.

Day 12: Ho Chi Minh City orientation (B, L, G)
After breakfast, your guide will arrive to show you around Ho Chi Minh City. you'll visit the Reunification Hall, the Museum of War Remnants provides a very partial, but riveting, perspective of the 'American War': not for the squeamish! The huge Ben Thanh market, one of the liveliest areas of Ho Chi Minh City, is packed with every conceivable commodity.
you'll also call in at the Jade Emperor Temple. It's one of the best Taoist temples in Vietnam, with superb effigies, remarkable carved panels of the descent to Hell and somewhat incongruous terrapin and tortoise sanctuaries. you'll finish your day with a visit to a lacquer workshop to see the complex processes and meticulous workmanship involved in this traditional Vietnamese craft product. you'll spend the night in Ho Chi Minh City.

Day 13: Ho Chi Minh City - Vinh Long (B, L, D, G)
After escaping from Ho Chi Minh City's urban sprawl, you'll travel to Vinh Long where a traditional family-run brick kiln and traditional cottage industries are fascinating visits. A workshop making the huge coffins unique to the Mekong is particularly interesting. You'll also call in at a local house to listen to the traditional music of Delta performed by local people. Later, a rowing boat will lead you through the myriad of Mekong's tiny channels to a family house in a canal-side orchard where you'll spend the night.

Day 14: Cycling in Vinh Long - Ho Chi Minh City (B, L, G)
A boat cruise to the Cai Be floating market necessitates an early start if you're to see the market at its best. Once you seen as much as you wish, your bicycle(s) will be waiting for you. Your route will take you along shadowy zigzagging road and paths passing canal-side villages, orchards and many bridges, often small and narrow. After lunch, you'll return to Ho Chi Minh City where you'll spend the night.

Day 15: Ho Chi Minh City free (B)
A free day in Ho Chi Minh City to spend as you wish.

Optional tour: Ho Chi Minh City - Tay Ninh - Cu Chi (B, L, G)
A morning drive will take you to Tay Ninh to visit the Cao Dai Holy See in time to watch the mid-day ceremony. After lunch, you'll visit the famous Cu Chi tunnels, a Byzantine maze of underground passages, chambers, rooms and booby traps used by both the Vietminh and the Viet Cong to suddenly materialise as if from nowhere, launch a lightning ambush, and vanish equally rapidly. you'll spend the night in Ho Chi Minh City.
Price for this Optional Tour is per person in US dollars: US$ 65.00 (applied for group of 02 persons upwards)

Day 16: Ho Chi Minh City departure (B, DP)
Your time will be your own until your private car and driver arrives to take you to Tan Son Nhat airport for your departure flight.

Hotel category	Superior	Deluxe	Luxury
2 pax	$1754	$2270	$2525
3-4 pax	$1507	$2025	$2283
5-6 pax	$1240	$1760	$2020
7-10 pax	$1200	$1700	$1981
Single surcharge	$405	$885	$1188

  31/12/2012