Vietnam’s Family trip

Meet your guide and driver, then transfer to the hotel in town for check in. If time permits, take an orientation walk around the hotel’s area to familiarize yourself with the traffic and the direction of the area. It is only one block away from the Central lake, Hoan Kiem as well as the Old quarter. If you happen to be here during the 3 days at weekend, it is even more exciting since the lake area will become the pedestrian area with a lot of day and night activities. Rest of the day is at leisure.

Check in the hotel, family connecting rooms.

Your day will start with a visit to the Ho Chi Minh complex, which includes the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the historic Ba Dinh square, the Presidential Palace (from the outside only), Ho Chi Minh’s house on stilts and the famous One-Pillar Pagoda. Then we will take a short drive to the Temple of Literature, Viet Nam’s first university, founded in 1070. Lunch will be taken at the famous Cha Ca restaurant, which is listed in the book “1,000 places you must visit before you die” and serves just one dish – grilled fish cooked in turmeric and dill sauce. In the afternoon you will visit the remnants of the so-called “Ha Noi Hilton” prison and drive by the West Lake to see the memorial marking the place where John McCain landed after being shot down in 1967. Our next stop is the popular Museum of Ethnology, which displays a rich collection of artefacts relating to the 54 ethnic groups of Viet Nam. This is one of the most popular museums in the country with great collections and explanation in English. The outdoor collection also include a must-see water puppet performance.
In the evening, you will visit a local home and have dinner with the host. This is a great opportunity to learn about daily life of Vietnamese life and get the authentic local food.

After breakfast at the hotel, you will visit Bat Trang pottery village which is located 30 minutes by car away from Hanoi downtown. This villages dates back to a thousand year ago and its products have been used over time in the major constructions all over the country. The biking tour through the zigzagging small alleys of the village will give you an up close look at local life with spontaneous stops at different workshops to see the whole process of this labor extensive job as well as have hands-on experience on the products.
Return to town to have lunch.
In the afternoon, take a walking tour around the old quarter and sample different foods from the most popular stalls among local people.
The reason why I do not organize a biking trip for you in the city is due to the very busy traffic, especially zillions of motorbikes. It is not safe for bikers at all in the city. But in the village of Bat Trang, it is good enough for leisure bike tour.

After breakfast at hotel, check out and transfer on the express way to Halong on road journey of 2.5h. As soon as you arrive the pier, get aboard the boat and check in the cabin at noon time. The boat will set sail and bring you to explore the magnificent Halong bay where thousands of rock islands rising out of the emerald water. This boat fleet operates in Bai Tu Long, the less visited area of the bay. Unwind and enjoy the leisure cruise for 3 days-2 nights. Please refer to the detailed program on the website of the boat. All meals included during the stay on board.

After morning program, leave the boat after the brunch and proceed to Ninh Binh province by car on a 4h journey. Arrive homestay later in the afternoon. Check in and take a leisure walk around to explore the area.

Evening at leisure.

In the morning visit primate rescue centre at Cuc Phuong National park where primates and some other wild animals are rescued from poachers and illegal traders before being returned to nature after full recovery. You can choose to take an easy hike to visit the park and learn about the plantation in the rainforest.
Return to the homestay and free at leisure to enjoy the hotel facility
Overnight at hotel

After breakfast at hotel, enjoy a leisure bike around the villages and encounter the friendly local farmers. It is an area of great landscape with ranges of mountain rising out of the rice fields and villages are scattered at the foot of the mountains. Local people are so friendly that as long as you see any home with open door, then you can make spontaneous stop to visit the host and have some drink with them.
In the afternoon, spend 3h to visit the beautiful site Tam Coc by sampan where you will be at awe ranges of mountains rising out of flat rice field. This area has dramatic scenery where ranges of mountain rise out of flat fields which explain why it acquires its nickname as “Dry Halong bay”.
In the evening, take the night train to Quang Binh.

Arrive Quang Binh early in the morning. Meet with the guide and driver, then go for breakfast before continuing to Phong Nha- Ke Bang national park. From there, you will take the private boat trip to visit the beautiful Phong Nha cave at a leisure pace.
In the afternoon, visit the Mooc spring to do the zipline and leisure kayaking, swimming on the Son river.
Return to the hotel. Evening at leisure.

Check out the hotel after breakfast and go further south. Stop enroute to visit the DMZ with historic Ben Hai river which marks the border dividing North and South Vietnam during the American War. You also stop at the amazing underground village Vinh Moc to explore the great tunnel system created during the war to provide shelter to the whole village from American artillery shells and bombing. It was also the depot of weapons before being transported to the South.
Arrive Hue city- the former capital city of Vietnam during the last dynasty from 1802 to 1945. Check in the hotel and free at leisure.

A full day touring the former royal capital starts with a visit to the Imperial City, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. The Imperial city is a walled fortress and palace, dividing into three parts – the first layer is the Citadel, the second layer is the Imperial City, and the last one is Forbidden City. Next, will be a visit to the most beautiful Tu Duc Mausoleum- an excellent harmony of sophisticated architecture and charming nature. Enjoy a delicious vegetarian lunch at a Buddhist convent. This will be a great chance to learn about the daily life of the nuns, as well as the most popular religion in Vietnam. In the afternoon, onto the tranquil 17th century Thien Mu Pagoda before return to hotel by boat along the Perfume River.
In the evening, you will enjoy a Royal Banquet style featuring dishes once eaten only by the Royal family.

Today you will overland southward along the coast to Hoi An via Da Nang, passing Lang Co beach and the spectacular Hai Van (“Ocean cloud”) Pass. You will be exposed to beautiful coastline with numerous photo opportunities, from fishing villages, beautiful beaches, tranquil countryside, fishing nets in the bay, the My Khe beach- where American GIs went for R&R during the war, Marble mountains…. After arriving in Hoi An and checking into our hotel, you will take a walking tour around this delightful UNESCO World Heritage town, visiting the Japanese Covered Bridge, the local market, Tan Ky House and the Phuc Kien Assembly Hall. The town is a paradise for local artists and there are galleries galore. Hoi An is also particularly well known for its tailors.

We start the day with a two-hour bike ride along the banks of the Thu Bon river. This scenic route will take you through lush green fields and gardens and different villages, giving you a great view of the daily life activities. Next, you will board a motorized boat and cruise through the fishing villages, trying the interesting ride on ‘ thuyen thung” or basket-shaped boat made by bamboo before returning to town for lunch at a local restaurant in Tra Que village.
The rest of the day is free for relaxation at beautiful beach or further exploration of the town.

Optional: You can choose to spend the whole day at the hotel or at the beach nearby or taking your family to Ba Na hill recreation hill resort in Danang to visit the famous Golden bridge on the hands and your kids can have good time joining the games at the area.

After breakfast, check out and transfer to Danang airport for flight to Can Tho city. Arrive Can Tho, transfer to the Mekong rustic bungalow and enjoy a 3 days 2 nights here with many activities from visit workshops, market, catching fish, cooking, visiting floating market….

After morning program, check out at noon and transfer by bus to Ho Chi Minh city. Arrive the hotel later on the afternoon for check-in. Evening free at leisure.

You will travel northwest on a two hour journey to see the an amazing underground tunnel network of over 200km, equipped with bunkers, trenches, kitchens, dining rooms, water wells, hospitals and other facilities essential for the guerrillas’ survival. This tunnel system came into being from 1948 and expanded throughout American war. It was the only liberated area in the South Vietnam and adjacent to the capital city Saigon and became a pain in the neck of the Americans and South Vietnam army. A short documentary movie gives you some insightful information about how local guerillas created weapons, lived and fought during the war. Next, you will walk the ground to get a closer look at the amazing tunnel system and even challenge yourself with a crawl into different levels of the tunnel. There is a shooting range nearby where you can try many kinds of guns available there if time permits (at your own cost). Drive back to Ho Chi Minh city and enjoy a free afternoon.

You will enjoy a panoramic city tour of the biggest city in Vietnam, including the Reunification Palace – the former Independence Palace; the War Remnants Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral and the City Post Office. The tour will end with a walk along major landmark buildings during war time such as City’ opera house, Rex hotel, former CIA office building from which the picture of the chopper evacuating people on the rooftop after the collapse of Saigon was taken…
Return to hotel for check out and transfer to the airport for departure flight
In case you fly out in the morning, the morning city tour today will be done in the afternoon of day 18.