A True Taste of Vietnam

Day 1

Hanoi – Arrival (D)

Meet on arrival at Hanoi/Noi Bai International airport, transfer to your hotel for check in.
Time at leisure

Dinner at a typical Vietnamese cuisine-style
Accommodation at hotel

Day 2

Hanoi – Cooking Class At Koto (B/L)

Breakfast at the hotel

Get started with the secrets of Vietnamese cuisine. Vietnamese food is not only healthy but also very tasteful and refined. The unique blend of herbs and spices makes Vietnamese dishes a real delight for foodies.
You will learn how to create many Vietnamese dishes that taste delicious but also look fantastic. Imagine how you could surprise your dinner guests next time with an aesthetically perfect Vietnamese meal! Learn to prepare spring rolls, Pho-soup, seafood dishes, or Vietnamese desserts guided by our professional English speaking personnel.
You may join our chef as they shop at the market to choose the ingredients for the cooking class! You will discover what the food of Vietnam is all about. Be mesmerized by the smells, textures, and colors that are so distinctive to this part of the world.
In the afternoon, take a city tour in Hanoi, including the Fine Arts Museum, the Temple of Literature, Sword Lake, and a 1-hour panoramic cyclo in the bustling ‘Old Quarter,’ with its 36 corporation streets.

In the evening: enjoy the famous Water Puppets Show
Accommodation at hotel

Day 3

Hanoi – Halong (B/L/D)

Breakfast at the hotel

Pick up at your hotel in Hanoi and transfer 100 miles east to Halong (approx four hours by surface).

Upon arrival in Halong Bay, board your boat for an unforgettable cruise. Welcome seafood lunch on board.

Cruise in Halong Bay visiting some islands and caves. Optional possibility of kayaking around some beautiful beaches.

Late afternoon, admire the sunset over the bay, enjoy happy hour on the bar deck or attend a cooking demonstration.

Dinner and overnight on board.

Day 4

Halong – Hanoi – Hue (B)

Start the day with a Tai Chi class on sundeck.
Continue cruising the bay, visiting some other highlights.
Have a late breakfast before disembarkation.
Return to Halong wharf, disembark and transfer back to Hanoi.
Transfer to Hanoi airport for a late afternoon flight to Hue. Upon landing, transfer to the hotel for check-in

Accommodation at hotel

Day 5

Hue / Full Day City (B/L)

Breakfast at the hotel
This morning, take a leisurely cycling ride to Thuy Bieu village, an ancient town long known for its cultural heritage and rustic greenery. Besides the multiple well-preserved communal houses and clans’ ancestral houses, the nostalgic beauty of the once premises of high-ranking mandarins, royal descendants, or aristocrats holds a great attraction to visitors. Their beautiful wooden architectures and Fengshui-based extensive gardens suggest a mingling of the delicate art of living and the deep-rooted local traditions. Cruise on the poetic Huong River (aka Perfume River), and enjoy options to cycle on peaceful shady paths, meet local farmers, taste seasonal local fruit, or try your hands at the local handicraft and above all helping to prepare a homecooked meal.

In the afternoon, visit Thien Mu Pagoda, one of the most ancient architectural structures for religious worship in Hue. Continue by car to the nearby Imperial City from where the Nguyen Dynasty ruled between 1802 and 1945 and finish at the lively Dong Ba Market.

Option for dinner with additional charge:

Option 1 EXCLUSIVE DINNER AT THA OM GARDEN

Enjoy an exclusive, private dinner at Tha Om Garden House; this is one of the city’s most exquisite compounds of traditional Vietnamese houses. The owner is a noted preservationist and antique dealer who saved four traditional garden homes from the wrecking ball and reassembled them around a courtyard bounded on one side by a half-moon lotus pond.

OR
Option 2 HUE FOODIE TOUR

First, we start by enjoying a tasty drink, snacking on light finger food, and getting acquainted with each other while hanging out at a charming bar. Our guide will give you an introduction to Hue cuisine before we move to a vegetarian restaurant. Here you see the Buddhist influence upon Hue’s food. Farther and farther away from the tourist quarter, in a laid-back cyclo, the night tranquility will show you the inner soul of Hue. Suddenly, the street food stalls come into sight with their exciting sounds and appealing smells to tease your appetite, and a crispy Hue styled pancake, or lemongrass skewers will temp your sensations. Sweet soups may not be your favorite desserts, but Hue’s varieties of colors and flavors, especially the roast pork dumpling in syrup, will be a promise of a sweet ending for a sweet night!

Note: Guests should advise us before the tour if any special diet requirements. Itinerary can be adjusted depending on guests’ preference and weather conditions.

Accommodation at hotel

Day 6

Hue – Danang – Hoi An(B)

Breakfast at hotel
Visit Khai Dinh Mausoleum with its traditional Vietnamese architecture before leaving Hue mid-morning to Hoi An.
Make photo stops at Lang Co Beach and Hai Van Pass.
Visit the Cham Museum, Non Nuoc Beach and Marble Mountain, and then proceed to Hoi An. Check-in at the hotel. Lunch and dinner for today are not included.

Accommodation at hotel

Day 7

Hoian – Cooking Class (Private Class) (B / L)

Breakfast at hotel

This morning you will have a phenomial cooking class at Red Bridge School.
Leave your hotel and head to the meeting point, Hai Scout Café. Enjoy a welcome drink. Visit Hoi An’s colorful market, and experience the fantastic sights, sounds, and aromas of this busy market, at the same time, interact with the local sellers and purchase some of the ingredients to be used in the cooking lesson later.
Board the boat for a leisure cruise (25 minutes) along the Hoi An River to the Red Bridge Cooking School, an excellent chance to catch some of the local life.
Upon arrival, discover the cooking school’s herb and vegetable garden, before learning about some of Hoi An’s and Vietnam’s well-known dishes. The cooking lesson lasts about 2 hours – each meal is firstly demonstrated by the Red Bridge chef’s before you prepare the same dish yourself. Included in the class is a brief introduction to Vietnamese food carving (plate decoration). After the lesson, sit down and enjoy what you have cooked.
Afternoon, take a walking tour of Hoi An, discover the historic town which used to be a prosperous seaport city during the 16th to 18th centuries. Visit Tan Ky old house, Fukien Assembly Hall, and the 400-year-old Japanese covered bridge. You can also visit with residents who raise silkworms to produce silk for Hoi An’s burgeoning textile industry.

Accommodation at hotel

Day 8

Hoian – Danang – Ho Chi Minh City (B / L / D)

Breakfast at the hotel

Transfer to Danang Airport for the morning flight to Ho Chi Minh City (if available). Visit China Town with its colorful Binh Tay market, presenting many exotic ingredients and Thien Hau Temple, then go to a “Pho” house for lunch.

In the afternoon, continue the city tour, including Reunification Palace, War Remnants Museum, and photo stop at the General Post Office.
Dinner at one of the authentic Vietnamese cuisine restaurants – Cuc Gach Quan restaurant

Accommodation at hotel

Day 9

Ho Chi Minh – Cu Chi Tunnels – Vespa Tour After Dark (B/D)

Breakfast

In the morning, drive for 45 miles northwest of Ho Chi Minh City to visit Cu Chi Tunnels, an amazing complex of underground tunnels used during the Vietnam War. Drive back to Saigon then free at leisure

This evening take a part of an exciting night excursion, part street food expedrience (duration from 06 PM- 10 PM), part soft adventure. A vintage Vespa picks up guests at the hotel. The first stop is to Café Zoom to “watch the world goes by” (quoted by The Lonely Planet) and enjoy cocktail and appetizer (inclusive) before adventuring into favorite local eating spot. Guests experience the nightlife of Saigon the way locals do, all from the back of a vintage Vespa Scooter.

The tour will start with a ride to part Chinatown and then heading to District 4 through busy streets and alleys to see the nightlife of locals and enjoy street seafood and cold drinks places that foreigners won’t be found. You will leave District 4 to go to District 3, and the tour passes through downtown District 1 to take in the sights on the way to Banh Xeo, especially Saigon, and southern food with the locals. Then the tour will continue to a hidden Vietnamese-style coffee shop to have a taste of Vietnamese music (live) as a local. After this, the tour will bring the guest to a lively bar to enjoy the drinks with live music. Guests ride pillion (backseat) behind our drivers.

Accommodation at hotel

Day 10

Hoi Chi Minh City / Departure (B)

Breakfast

Free at leisure until transfer to Ho Chi Minh City International Airport for departur