Vietnam Highlights

Begin your adventure in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, where street food reigns supreme and the history of the city can be read in the architecture. You’re met at the airport and transferred to the hotel. Around 6pm, say xin chào to your tour leader and fellow travellers, when we gather as a group for the first time to get to know each other and learn more about the adventures ahead. Your tour leader then ensures a big Vietnamese welcome by arranging dinner at a great local restaurant. Want to explore Hanoi further? Secure pre-tour hotel nights through your sales representative.

Explore the best of Hanoi after breakfast, travelling by minibus with some walking involved. Guided by our tour leader, we visit the Temple of Literature (built in 1070, it’s home to the first university in Vietnam) and walk around the atmospheric Old Quarter. We also visit the historic Long Bien Bridge and Station, where we enjoy a drink in a repurposed railway building as the trains roll just past us. The rest of the day is free to enjoy at leisure.

Visit an icon of Vietnam today: Ha Long Bay, a World Heritage site where some 3,000 limestone peaks break through emerald waters to create a mystical landscape. To get there, we rise early for the approximately four-hour drive; upon arrival, board a traditional junk sailing boat, which is also our home for tonight. After launching, we enjoy a seafood lunch on deck and drift among the forested pinnacles. We also stop at a beach where we can hike up to a viewpoint (it’s quite steep but the views are worth it), plus there’s time for a swim in a small sectioned-off area. Additionally, an optional kayaking trip (extra cost) may be available depending on weather conditions. Back on board, pull up a chair on the top deck and watch the sunset together, perhaps with a cold drink from the bar. When it’s time for bed, we have the comforts of twin-share cabins with private bathrooms.

Continue to cruise around Ha Long Bay, admiring those limestone pinnacles, before returning to port mid-morning. We then have a three to four-hour drive to Hanoi Airport, where we check in for our afternoon flight (approximately 1hr 15min) to Hue. Upon arrival, we check into our centrally located hotel and have the evening free to relax or wander around Hue.

Visit the Imperial Citadel this morning, home to the palaces and halls of the Mandarins, plus the remains of the Forbidden Purple City. Then visit the tomb of Tu Duc, one of the most extravagant mausoleums of the great Nguyen emperors. After the tour, we head to the historic An Nhien Garden, which has been owned by the same family for 22 generations, to enjoy a delicious plant-based lunch. The restaurant has a well-deserved reputation for creativity and excellent service, making it a highlight for many. After, enjoy the rest of the day at leisure. You may want to join an optional afternoon cruise along the Perfume River, admiring the historic sites of the city, as you listen to traditional Hue music.

Leaving Hue, our 81mi (130km) drive passes through the beautiful Lang Co peninsula, between a crystalline lagoon and the Eastern Sea, and then passes over the Hai Van pass (Pass of the Ocean Clouds) where the views are stunning. We stop for a short climb at Marble Mountain to explore large caves used by the Viet Cong as a hospital base during the war. From the mountain peak, there are fantastic views over My Khe beach and the countryside leading to Hoi An, where we spend the final two nights of the tour. Arriving in Hoi An, we enjoy a walking tour of the Old Town, the original European trading port in Vietnam. It’s now a living museum with wooden merchants’ houses and pagoda-style temples. It is also a marvellous place to wander and enjoy the thriving riverside market and great silk clothes shopping. After, explore Hoi An at leisure or join an optional tour to the 10th-century Ba Le Well for lunch.

Head to Tra Que after breakfast, an agricultural village on the outskirts of Hoi An. Here, the villagers adopted a community-based approach to tourism, in which visitors are invited to engage in hands-on activities. We enjoy one of those today, taking part in a cooking class led by a local chef in the village’s extensive herb gardens. After, we eat our creations for lunch! The rest of the day is yours to enjoy at leisure, before you tour leader organises our final meal of the trip, a chance to relive our favourite moments together.