VIETLAND HOLIDAYS

Arrive at Hanoi Airport. You will meet the guide and driver at airport, and then be taken to the hotel for check in: (The airport is 37Km from Hanoi Center / takes 40 minutes to drive). Stay in Hanoi

Start at 9.00 AM .This is a busy day as we still have a full day tour of Hanoi and seeing such remarkable sites as Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum for his mummy body, Ho Chi Minh’s Stilt House where he lived in the war and the one Pillar Pagoda and keep ahead the Museum of Vietnam Military

In the afternoon, you have a tour to the Temple of Literature and the Hoa Lo Prison where the V.C kept the American Pilots from 1964 -1973 and then you have a walking tour in the Old Quarter of Hanoi and visit Ngoc Son Temple. Enjoy one hour Water Puppet Show at the theater in the lakeside.

Stay in Hanoi.

Leave Hanoi at 8am. We will drive to Mai Chau- the gateway to the impressive mountainous area of northern Vietnam. The drive will be very nice with stunning view of mountains, valleys, sugarcane farms and rice paddies. We would have a stop en route for refreshment. Upon arrival in Mai Chau, we'll have a lunch stop in Pom Coong- a village of Thai ethnic minority. We will have lunch in a local house. After lunch, we'll embark on a biking on village road to Buoc- a village of Thai minority group. We will have dinner and stay overnight in a traditional stilt-house of a Thai family. Homestay at the village

Breakfast and free at leisure to work around in the Mai Chau valley or shopping for Thai handmade fabric. Lunch in Mai Chau. After lunch, drive to Ninh Binh and stop on the way for a beautiful ride through country side. Stay overnight in Ninh Binh.

Biking or Driving from the hotel to Hoa Lu- the first capital of Vietnam date back from 8th century. Visit the temples and climb some hundred steps to the top of a mountain for a great view over the “Halong Bay on the rice field”. After that, bike through an amazing area of Limestone Mountains uprising on rice paddies. After 1hr riding, reach to Tam Coc. Lunch in local restaurant and then enjoy an interesting rowing boat trip on river to explore the Halong Bay on the rice paddies. Drive back to Hanoi. 

Tour Starts at 8.00 AM. Drive to Halong bay. (170 Km from Hanoi / 3 hour drive). When you get there, you will start the boat cruise to explore the stunning limestone back drops, and visit cave and explore floating village. You are treated to a fresh seafood lunch and at leisure to take photos or swim. Overnight on boat

12.15: Arriving at Victory Coffee/ Hon Gai harbor

12.30: Transfer via tender to your junk. Welcome drink - Cruise briefing, safety instructions, Check-in cabins - Depart for Halong Bay

13.00: Enjoy local seafood lunch while the junk sails to Ha Long Bay passing by Oan Lagoon, Mat Quy (Monster head) and Am tich (Teapot) islets

15.00: Visit Surprise Cave - Explore the most famous grotto in entire Halong Bay

16.30: Visit Titop beach –   You can climb up to the top of the island getting the whole view of Halong Bay or swimming on the very decent beach.

18.00: Overnight anchorage near Titop and enjoy the sunset

19.30: Savor our Set-dinner in dining room

21.00: Activities: Relax on deck, drink service, 

Start at 8.00 AM. Get up for another lovely day. After breakfast, you have time to explore sandy beach, limestone cave and beautiful Bai Tu Long area. Enjoy seafood lunch before our drive back to Hanoi.

(The time for boat disembark at 11.30 AM)

06.30: Enjoy sunrise over the Bay or take part in our morning Tai Chi class   

07.00: Light breakfast: cakes, coffee, tea….

08.00: Arrive at Surprise Cave. Explore the most famous grotto in entire Halong Bay

09.30: Check out cabins – Luggage collection

10.00: Having international buffet brunch served and settle bills while the boat continues cruising through Bai Tu Long bay, Bai Tho mountain and Halong market...

10.30: Arrival at the pier. Drive back to Hanoi & Arrive in Hanoi at 16.00 

Train boarding to Sapa at 21.00 PM (B)

Arrival inLao Cai at 6.00 AM

Get up early & check out of the train station for breakfast at a local restaurant before hotel check in.

Start at 9:00 AM. Today, the guide will pick you up for a short hike to the villages, where you will see H’mong & Dao People live almost. You will have a short trek about 2 hours (7 Km ) through the villages and then enjoy the lunch at a local restaurant:

Sapa is a small Town, built by the French People in 1903 at the hight of 1650m above the sea level. You can see the highest Mountain View and the terraced rice field.

(Stay in Sapa)

After breakfast, you will start a tour visiting the best water fall in Sapa and Pass at 2000m above the sea level.

After lunch at Sapa town, you keep trekking through rice terraces and track to Matra village where the home of Red DZao people & Black H’mong, and then to Taphin village

Return to the town by bus for hotel. Stay in Sapa.

(If it happens on Sunday, we will visit . if not , we can swift it to do at the other day)

Get up early for breakfast, check out of the hotel, and then drive to Bac Ha market (106 km) via the beautiful mountain range. You will see Bac Ha Sunday market. The biggest ethnic market in the Lao Cai province, where you will find buffaloes, horses, blacksmiths, saddlers, but also traditional medicine doctors, with their thousands of mountain herbs and plants, and lots of traditional clothes and local artifacts.

Several groups of deep-colored Hmong are found there, as well as Dao, Tay, Nung, and Phu La. Make sure to arrive before 9 a.m as the market ends at about 12:30. You can have lunch at one of the market stalls inside the market for more of a traditional taste.

In the afternoon, walking around villages of Flower H’mong and tasting corn wine. Then we transfer to Lao Cai town.

You come back to China Vietnam Border Gate in Lao Cai for a quick stop. After photos here, you will have dinner to wait for the night train

The train arrives at 5.00 Am. We book early check in for you at the hotel: 

After breakfast, you have free time until get to the airport,

VN 1541 @: 8.10 Am – Arrival @: 9.20 AM (45 minutes to Hanoi Airport)

After lunch in Hue, Start tour to the Citadel of Hue, you visit Forbidden City of the royal Nguyen Dynasty, which was built from 1802 to 1945. And drive to visit Thien Mu Pagoda, which is considered as the first Buddhist Pagoda in Hue, built in 1601 and after the Pagoda , you enjoy a boat trip for 40 minutes along Perfume River. Disembark & go to check in hotel . Stay in Hue

After the tour in Hue, you go to Hoian by road, the driver will take you through Hai Van Pass , where you see the cloudy mountain view, and My Khe Beach. (150 Km South of Hue )

It is 150 Km from Hue to Hoian , very nice view by bus en route. Overland to Hoian via Lang Co beach, and Marble Mountains.

Stay in Hoian.

After breakfast, Tour starts at 8.30; you will start a walking City tour to the Japanese Bridge, Chinese Halls, Temples, and a local market. We arrange a boat trip to a local restaurant in the riverside where you can enjoy the scenery of fishing life or villages along Thu Bon River.  Later after lunch, Shopping for those who have fittings and you can wander around the town or walk to the beach.  

(Stay in Hoian)

Free time to relax

VN1313 @ 9.50 Am – Arrival @: 11.05 AM

Drive back to Danang airport for the Flight to Saigon (30 Km from Hoian). Transfer to your hotel in Saigon and free time to visit the city.

 (Stay in Saigon)

Option: 

In the afternoon, you have ½ day City tour visiting Independence Palace and War Crime Museum, after that you keep visiting Notre Dame Cathedral & the Central Post Office. Stay in Saigon.

Today, you will go to Cuchi Tunnels which is about 50Km from Saigon , where you can visit the tunnel network built by the South Vietnamese Communists in 1946, and repaired  a bigger 250 km underground system against the American & the South Vietnam Government. You will watch a real nice documentary film made at the time, which remind you of Vietnam in the Wartime, and see how the Vietnamese Communists ( Viet Cong ) survived in the tunnels. Stay in Saigon.

7.30am: Pick up at your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. Depart for My Tho. Take a leisurely boat ride through the Bao Dinh natural canal which is bordered by traditional stilt houses and fruit plantations. Visit the My Tho wholesale fruit market. Proceed to Tortoise island. Lunch served in the heart of the orchard. Enjoy a boat ride through the Tan Thach natural canal in Ben Tre, cruising in the shadows 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 rowing boat ride along the creeks before returning to My Tho by motor boat. Proceed to Can Tho via Vinh Long to visit the snake market. Check in on arrival. Dinner on guest's account. Overnight at your chosen hotel in Can Tho.

After breakfast, take a boat trip to explore the picturesque tributaries of the Lower Mekong River (Bassac River), then visit the Cai Rang and Phong Dien floating markets, which are the best in the region. You will probably have tried Vietnamese vermicelli soup, so now go and see how it is made. Then wander around the village and talk with the local people. Learn how to cross a "monkey bridge" which is built from a single bamboo. Break for lunch. Proceed to Chau Doc, stopping off at Long Xuyen to visit the Thot Not Bird Sanctuary. From the summit of the Sam Mountain, admire the beautiful landscape around the Vietnamese-Cambodian border. Visit the carved pagoda. Dinner on guests account. Overnight at your chosen hotel in Chau Doc.

After breakfast, take a rowing boat trip through the floating village and visit the fish farm to see how the Mekong Delta people raise fish from their floating houses. Visit the Cham minority in their traditional weaving village. Transfer to a speed boat for the final part of the journey to Phnom Penh. Arrive at Sisowath tourist dock in Phnom Penh at around 2pm. End of services.

Stay in Phnom Penh

Sightseeing in Phnom Penh

Explore PHNOM PENH, a chaotic, energetic and always fascinating city. Graceful tree-lined boulevards and riverfront promenades are reminders of bygone eras; today they teem with life and activity, as motorcycles weave in and out of traffic, vendor hawk their wares, and pedestrians go about their business. Start your tour with an insight into Cambodia's cultural heritage with a visit to the ROYAL PALACE, still the official residence of King Norodom Sihamoi and the adjacent SILVER PAGODA, also known as the Pagoda of the Emerald Buddha. Continue to the elegant NATIONAL MUSEUM, which contains a comprehensive collection of Khmer Art. Finally, explore the modern-day city, visiting one of Phnom Penh's two great markets, the CENTRAL MARKET, located in a distinctive domed Art Deco building, and the sprawling RUSSIAN MARKET, a labyrinth of stalls selling everything from CDs and DVDs to silks, crafts, jewelry and more.
• Overnight in Phnom Penh 

Visit the highlights: Tuol Sleng Museum (S21) .The Killing Fields of Choeung EK. Wat Phnom andThe Rifle range

* Excursion to Takeo
Province south of Phnom Penh with several interesting historical sites including Angkor Borei.
TONLE BATI: a lake south of Phnom Penh, with a beach and the impressive laterite temple of Ta Prohm.
TA PROHM: a temple built by King Jayavarman VII (who ruled from 1181 to 1201) on the site of a 6th century Khmer shrine. A stele found here dates from 1574 and inside the north gate is a statue of the Hindu god Preah Noreay.
PHNOM CHISOR: the main temple on this hill is constructed of laterite and brick with carved lintels of sandstone. The inscriptions found here date back to the 11th century and the wooden doors to the sanctuary are decorated with interesting carvings.
ANGKOR BOREI: a 6th century monument built in laterite by King Rudravarman of Funan. His patron deity was Vishnu and many Hindu statues survive from this site. It is one of the few remaining sites with traces of the Kingdom of Funan (a kingdom influenced by India and thought to have spread as far as southern Burma and Indonesia).
PHNOM DA: a hill south of Angkor Borei with four artificial caves, built as shrines. On top of the hill is a square laterite tower.
• Overnight in Phnom Penh 

• By vehicle from Phnom Penh to Kampong Cham
• Sightseeing in Kampong Cham
Kampong Cham is a lively port on the banks of the Mekong River with some good examples of colonial-era architecture. After visting the LOCAL MARKET and exploring the town, travel in to the countryside to PHNOM PROS (Man Hill) and PHNOM SREI (Woman Hill). According to local tradition, two teams of men and women competed to build a stupa on the summit of each hill before dawn. After being tricked into thinking that daybreak had already come, the men lost the competition and, as a result, forever after had to be the ones to approach the women for their hands in marriage. Continue to WAT NOKOR BAYON, a thriving modern-day monstery founded on a 11th century Mahayana Buddhist shrine.
• By vehicle from Kampong Cham to Kampong Thom
• Visit Phnom Santuk
PHNOM SANTUK: climb the 980 steps of the holy mountain PHNOM SANTUK, enjoying the colorful, somewhat ecletic shrine at the peak as well as lovely views over the surrounding countryside.
• Overnight in Kampong Thom / Sambor Village Hotel/ Deluxe

• Sightseeing around Kampong Thom
Travel just outside Kampong Thom to see key archeological sites, starting with SAMBOR PREI KUK, perhaps the most important grouping of pre-Angkorian monuments in Cambodia. Before the rise of the Angor, this was the capital of Chenla during the sixth century, known as Isanapura; today, over 100 small temple ruins sit peacefully in a forest setting. Explore the main central complex and gain an insight into the early architectural styles of Cambodia. Afterwards, continue to the modern-day shrines of WAT ANDRI, a thriving monastery, and climb the 980 steps of the holy mountain PHNOM SANTUK, enjoying the colorful, somewhat ecletic shrine at the peak as well as lovely views over the surrounding countryside.
• By vehicle from Kampong Thom to Siem Reap
• Overnight in Siem Reap /  Shinta Mani Resort / Deluxe 

• Sightseeing in Angkor
• Visit Angkor Wat
The crowning jewel of Khmer architecture, ANGKOR WAT is the national symbol and the highlight of any visit to Cambodia. The largest, best preserved, and most religiously significant of the Angkor temples, Angkor impresses visitors both by its sheer scale and beautifully proportioned layout, as well as the delicate artistry of its carvings. To approach the temple, first cross the vast moat, continuing along a broad causeway lined with naga balustrades. As you enter the main building, ascend through a series of galleries and courtyard before reaching the central sanctuary, which offers beautiful views back over the causeway and across the surrounding countryside. On the way, stop to enjoy the intricate stonecarvings that adorn nearly every surface, with some 1,700 Apsaras, or celestial dancers, sculpted into the walls. Along the outer gallery walls run the longest continuous bas-relief in the world, which narrates stories from Hindu mythology, including the famous Churning of the Ocean of Milk. Angkor Wat is stunning at any time of the day, but sunrise and sunset are especially beautiful times to watch the play of light on the stones.
• Visit Angkor Thom
The fortified city of ANGKOR THOM covers an area of 10 square km. Enclosed by a wall and wide moats, the city includes many of Angkor's most popular sights. Enter by the monumental SOUTH GATE over a causeway lined on either side by statues of demons and gods, each carrying a giant naga. Continue to the TERRACE OF THE ELEPHANTS and the TERRACE OF THE LEPER KINGS, former spaces for public cermonies, both adorned with dramatic bas reliefs. Visit the ruined BAPHUON, ROYAL ENCLOSURE and PHIMEANAKAS before continuing to the mysterious BAYON TEMPLE. In this temple, one of the most popular and compelling in Angkor, explore the galleries of beautifully preserved bas reliefs and ascend narrow stairs to reach the central sanctuary, where you will find giant stone faces smiling enigmatically down at you from every angle.
• Visit Ta Prohm
One of the most popular attractions of Angkor as much of the jungle has not been cleared and it looks very much as most of the Angkor monuments would have appeared when European explorers first stumbled across them.
• Visit a temple for sunset
Watch the sun set over the Cambodian countryside from the upper terraces of an ancient Angkorian temple.
• Overnight in Siem Reap / Shinta Mani Resort / Deluxe 

• Visit by boat to TONLE SAP Lake and FLOATING HOUSES
Departure to the lake and walk. We explore on a wooden boat the Tonle Sap, the Great Lake of Cambodia and its floating villages. Every year, the water level of the great lake changes from 4 to 8 m, overflowing land and forest. Cruising on the great lake and discovering the floating village and fishing’s techniques. Cruise back to Siem Reap and overnight in a hotel in Siem Reap.  Free in the rest of the day.

Overinight in Siem Riep / Shinta Mani Resort / Deluxe 

Free until Transfer to the airport for departure flight to onward destination.