Welcome to Hanoi, Vietnams capital. After passing through customs and collecting your luggage, meet with your local guide and driver and transfer to your hotel. The remainder of the day is free to recover from your flight. Overnight in Hanoi. 

This morning you commence your tour of this charming ancient city with its tree lined boulevards, French colonial architecture, lakes, pagodas, and temples. First stop is the Ho Chi Minh memorial complex in Ba Dinh Square. Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and stilt house, One Pillar Pagoda, and the Presidential Palace.  After lunch, you visit the Army museum, Hoa Lo Prison Museum, nicknamed the “Hanoi Hilton” by the American POW’s, Hoan Kiem Lake, “Lake of the Restored Sword” located in the heart of the city and Ngoc Son Temple. You complete the day with a fun ride on board a Cyclo around the 13th century, bustling Old Quarter. Overnight in Hanoi. 

After breakfast, we leave Hanoi for an overnight boat trip on Halong Bay. Journey there through the rich farmlands of the Red River Delta, observing everyday life of Vietnamese villagers along the way. Arrive in Halong City late morning and board the boat for the overnight journey into the bay. Lunch will be served en route, whilst cruising along the bay’s iconic limestone formations. Towards the end of the day set anchor for the night. As the sun sets over the bay, dinner is served on board with fresh seafood, salads, and fruits. Overnight in Halong Bay.

Coffee, tea and cakes will be served. Wake up smoothly while witnessing the silence of beautiful misty bay. A 30-minute Tai Chi session will be organized, energize your body and soul or just allow yourself some farniente time on a sunbath with a cup of coffee. Then, we hop on bamboo boats to go visiting a secluded floating village surrounded by the mountains. We trace our way between numerous floating houses and small rowing boats that serve the everyday life as vehicle, itinerant shops, fishing utility, sometimes overnight shelter. Brunch will be served while cruising back to pier. Take a last glance at the rocks, standing still as the eternal guardians of a kingdom. Disembark from the cruise, you’ll have a private transfer to Hanoi. Check in dayuse hotel until time transfer to train station for an overnight train to Dong Hoi province. 

Early arrival in Dong Hoi, meet our guide then we transfer to dayuse hotel. Have breakfast and take a little rest then we start heading to Hue. You will stop at a couple of historic sites and monuments to understand the past history and story of Vietnam War.

Follow up Highway 1 across the Hien Luong Bridge, and over the Ben Hai River which demarcated North and South Vietnam, this area saw some of the heaviest fighting during the war. Doc Mieu Firebase, which lies just north of here, played a pivotal role in the South's defence and for a while, this was the command post for calling in airstrikes along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. This central part of Vietnam experienced violent battles during the Vietnam War and many bombscraters are still visible today. It is also a very poor region with severe weather conditions caused by typhoons and dryness. Enjoy a warm and cozzy dinner at Hue local graden restaurant. Overnigh in Hue.

Hue was Vietnam’s former imperial capital and you start the day with a visit to the ancient Citadel, which is situated on the northern bank of the Perfume River. The Royal complex is a world heritage site and is a remarkable piece of architecture, square in shape and 10km in circumference, with 10 entrances and 24 watch towers. After time for lunch you board a Dragon boat for a scenic cruise on the Perfume river to visit the Thien Mu Pagoda and Tomb of Minh Mang. You return to your hotel late afternoon. Overnight Hue

This morning you farewell Hue and drive south to the former 17thcentury trading port of Hoi An, crossing the stunning Hai Van Pass on the way. Arrival in Danang, you visit Red Beach, the landing beach of the American Marines in 1965 and the Marble Mountains and stone carving village. A lift has recently been installed to take you to the top of the mountain, for the fittest there are steps to the top.

A short distance away is the township of Hoi An, which retains the feel of centuries past. After booking into your hotel and freshening up you are taken on a walking tour that includes the Japanese Covered bridge, the Old Quarter, the majestic Assembly Hall, Ancient trading houses, the local market and numerous quality tailor shops. Overnight Hoi An.

This morning you drive south west to the world heritage site My Son, located in Quang Nam Province. The ruins are a cluster of Hindu temples constructed between the 4th to the 13th centuries by the Kings of Champa. On your return to Hoi An for lunch then you have free to revisit the tailor shops, relax around the hotel pool or continue your sightseeing. Overnight Hoi An.

Today, you have a whole free day to discover Hoi An by your own. Overnight in Hoi An.

This morning you farewell Hoi An and drive to Danang Airport, for your onward flight south to Saigon. Upon arrival Saigon, we heading to Cu Chi Tunnels and the former underground VC village of Ben Dinh. Built by local fighters, the Viet Minh during the Indochina conflict and completed during the American war the tunnels were an immense connecting network that stretched over 200km and penetrated three levels deep.

They included, hospitals, schools, meeting rooms, kitchens, and sleeping quarters. After watching a video, filmed, and promoted by the Vietnamese, you trek along the bombed cratered landscape to a small hidden tunnel opening, those slim enough are invited to locate the opening and climb into the tunnel. Further on you come across the ingenious booby traps and the widened tunnel system. Lunch at local restaurant with Cu Chi specilaity breef food. Overnight in Saigon.

8:30 am, our guide picks you up at your hotel and transfer to Nguyen Thien Thuat backstreet – The Lively Saigon. You will pass through one of the typical streets of the city with constructions dating back to the 1960’s. Along the street are many Vietnamese guitar makers’ stores. Some of them are really of high qualities. There are also many interesting eateries. Mass residential apartment buildings are on the back street. Walking around here gives you an idea about how lively Saigon is.

The walk starts from Nguyen Thien Thuat street and ends at Ban Co market. You are invited to try Vietnamese beautiful “chè” (desserts made of beans and sticky rice and coconut milk). Keep on to 5 to stroll through more typical residential apartment buildings Hào Sĩ Phường - One of the oldest apartment in Chinatown.

12:30 Go to a local restaurant for lunch and enjoy coffee. After lunch, walk along Hai Thuong Lan Ong & Trieu Quang Phuc streets - the traditional medicine streets in Chinatown. This is an area concentrated with traditional clinics and medicine herb stores. Walking along the streets, you can smell the herbs and watch the shop owners do their business. Visit Thien Hau Temple then take a cyclo tour to Binh Tay Market. Stop at War Museum before back to hotel around 4:00 pm. Overnight in Saigon.

Following breakfast, guide pick up and transfer to Tan Thach province. Upon arrival, take bicycle go through Quoi Son coconut garden, Phu An Hoa rice field and Tu Dien village to Ben Tre town. Visit brickworks, where bricks are stil painstakingly made by hand. Get on boat and cruise along Ben Tre river. Then, go through the zizag canal to visit local coconut processing workshop, where you can try fresh coconut candy and see how every single part of this versatile nit is turned into food and other products. The boat will then stop at a quiet village where you can have a bike to experience real Delta village life, and a mat weaving house, where straw mats are woven using a hand loom. Stop at a local restaurant for a delicious lunch with elephant-ear fish. 

After lunch, hop onto a bicyle or a fun ride through the forest to Mr.Khanh’s house. He is a passionate antiques collector and his house is jam packed full of fascinating artefacts from Vietnam and elsehere in Asia. He also has some fascinating family albums dating back to French colonial times. Back to Saigon at early evening then free time to explore Saigon by night. Overnight in Saigon.

After breakfast, we head to the town ship of Baria, and a local orphanage. Then passing former villages which now interconnect you stop for a photo opportunity at the Horseshoe, which was mined many years ago.

You then make your way to the former 1st Australian Task Force Base at Nui Dat. Again, little remains of the base, you visit the school at the end of what was once Luscombe airstrip and the remnants of SAS hill. After a picnic lunch in the rubber, you attend the moving service at Long Tan then back to Saigon for an farewell dinner cruise. Overnight Saigon. 

This morning your tour programme ends and you will be free until time transferred to the airport for your onward flights.