Highlights of Vietnam

Pick up & transfer to your hotel.

Drive from Hanoi to Sapa. Explore Ham Rong mountain, its rocky forest and orchid gardens. At the top, you’ll discover the Heaven Gate, and take on the panoramic vista of Sapa from the top of Dragon Mount. Enjoy a tribal performance by H’mong and Dzao girls in their traditional costumes. Visit the Sapa Market and town.

Sapa – established as a hill station by the French in 1922, Sapa today is the tourist center of the northwest. Sapa is orientated to make the most of the spectacular views emerging on clear days; overlooking a plunging valley, with mountains towering above on all sides. Views of this epic scenery are often subdued by thick mist rolling across the peaks, but even when it’s cloudy, local hill-tribe people fill the town with various colors. (B/L/D)

This morning, we’ll visit Bac Ha Market with many different ethnic minorities in Northen Vietnam. Enjoy the lush green subtropical vegetation that makes this mountain breathtakingly beautiful. (B/L/D)

Drive to Ha Giang. Visit the village of the Tay ethnic minority. Visit Meo Vac town and partake in a local market of the Lo Lo and White H’Mong people. (B/L/D)

Go through the Puong Grotto then take a scenic drive to Cao Bang. Visit some villages on the way. (B/L/D)

Check out the beautiful Ban Gioc waterfalls. This picturesque, cascading waterfall is 53 meters high and has an impressive span of 300 meters. On the way back to Cao Bang, stop by the Nguom Ngao Cave, one of the most spectacular cave systems in Vietnam. Created by an underground river, it extends for several kilometers underground. Visitors are permitted in one section, where a 1km-long concrete path and excellent lighting have been installed. (B/L/D)

Back to Hanoi with a stop in Lang Son province. Visit Tam Thanh Cave, a very large cave with three chambers, a water pond, and a scenic overlook to vast rice fields outside. Nhi Thanh Cave, which was discovered in the 18th century by Ngo Thin Sy, military commander of the Lang Son garrison, whose poems have been inscribed at the entrance to the cave. A plaque erected in the cave depicts a French resident of Long Son in full European dress. Back to Hanoi. (B/L/D)

Begin your day tour in Ninh Binh, a former ancient capital of Vietnam. A boat trip along the canal between majestic mountain ranges and endless yellow rice fields will lead you to the picturesque Tam Coc Cave which is 7 km from Ninh Binh. As you’re visiting Tam Coc, you may feel like you’ve just disappeared from the real world and got lost in a hidden fairy site. Once there, take a boat from Van Lam Wharf (3 kilometers away) to reach Tam Coc, which means “3 caves”, including the Hang Ca, Hang Hai and Hang Ba caves. The largest of the caves is 125m long with its ceiling being about 2m high above the water. This grotto is adorned with beautiful stalactites and stalagmites of different shapes and colors that sparkle like gemstones. As you drift along the gentle Ngo Dong River under the grottoes, you can smell the sweet fragrance of fresh river water and cool mountain air. The river trip offers wonderful photo opportunities to capture the local people harvesting the nearby rice fields. Many tourists have often compared the area with Guilin, or more closely, to the limestone of Halong for their similar geological structures and shapes. Tam Coc has earned the name the “Halong Bay On Land”. Finally, you will visit the famous Bai Dinh temple, one of the largest Buddhist temples in Vietnam. (B/L/D)

Flight to Phu Quoc Island, the largest island of Vietnam’s territory. This peaceful tropical paradise is well known for stunning beaches, untouched natural environment, the easy going and relaxed atmosphere, friendly locals, and fantastic scuba diving and snorkeling. (B/L/D)

Drive to An Thoi port, stopping at a Australian pearl farm on the way. Embark on a fishing boat to An Thoi Island. Drive to the Sao beach, and relax on the provided hammocks. Visit the Ham Ninh fishing village on the way back. Enjoy leisure time and beach activities. (B/L/D)

Flight to Can Tho, the fifth largest city in Vietnam (population of 1.2 million), and the largest city in the Mekong Delta. Nicknamed Tây Đô (western capital), it is located on the south bank of the Hau River, and is considered the “rice basket” of Vietnam as it makes up more than half of the nation’s rice production. It is also noted for its floating market, rice paper-making village, and charming rural canals. The name Cần Thơ is short for “cầm thi giang” or “river of poems.” (B/L/D)

Embark on a boat trip to explore the Cai Rang Floating market, one of the oldest and busiest floating market in the Mekong Delta. To figure out what they’re selling on their boat, the look at what’s tied to the long pole at the bow of the boat. If you see a carrot being tied on a pole, it means that the boat is selling carrots, so better approach it and get your wallet ready if you would like to buy some fresh Mekong vegetables. Next, sightsee My Khanh Tourist Village while wearing costumes of rich landlords or traditional farmers to experience their old traditional lifestyles. Visit the Binh Thuy ancient house, an 1870-built house with French style architecture and traditional Vietnamese southern style features. (B/L/D)

Depart to My Tho. Go on a cruise through the Bao Dinh natural canal which is bordered by rows of traditional stilt houses and fruit plantations. Visit the My Tho wholesale fruit market, and then proceed to Thoi Son Island. Enjoy a boat ride through the Tan Thach natural canal in Ben Tre, cruising under the shade of the water coconut trees. Visit a family business which epitomizes the idyllic rural lifestyle. After trekking through the fruit plantation on Thoi Son island, enjoy a row boat ride along the creeks before returning to My Tho by motor boat. Drive to Saigon. (B/L)