Classic Adventure Vietnam Tour 13 Days, 12 Nights

Arrive in the capital city of Vietnam; Hanoi welcomes you with a smile.

After clearing immigration, proceed to the baggage reclaim area to collect your luggage. Your private tour guide and driver from Asia Dream Tours will be waiting for you outside the baggage claim/ custom area to transfer you in a private vehicle to the hotel in downtown.

Arrive at your hotel then check in and relax at your own leisure in Hanoi.

Overnight in Hanoi.

(Check in time is 14.00 – Early check in is upon availability)

Today, you are free at your own leisure to refresh yourself after the long flight to Hanoi.

This afternoon, at around 17.00, we start our excellent street food walking tour in old quarter of Hanoi along the perimeter of the local market where dozens of street hawkers sell a staggering variety of produce from live seafood to exotic fruits and spices. Your expert English-speaking local guide will give you an insight into the intricacies and traditions of Vietnamese food culture including details on ingredients and historical backgrounds of popular northern dishes. We eat as we go, trying seasonal fruits…

Walking through the maze of bustling streets that make up Hanoi’s Old Quarter, we tempt the famous dishes of Hanoi such as Bun Cha Hanoi , Banh Cuon at a local eatery. Continuing into the atmospheric heart of the Old Quarter, we wander past street stalls and quiet residential lanes where you can observe local life that has changed little since Hanoi was founded over 1000 years ago.

Our next stopis at a local draft beer restaurant. We sit down with the Hanoi locals and sample various meats, vegetable together with some glass of cold beer.

Your local guide will then take you to one of Hanoi’s best kept secrets to taste top ten street foods in Hanoi is Banh My Hanoi.

At the end of the tour, we will sample the famous Egg Coffee. This hard-to-find café is one of the few left in the narrow street inside the old quarter of Hanoi.

Return to your hotel after the excursion or free at your own leisure to continue exploring the city.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Note:
– Tour is not suitable for Vegetarian.
– The tour program is flexible. Our guide would be more than happy to adjust the tour itinerary at your needs. You can skip one site or add another if you so wish.

8:30: You will arrive in the village to get your Bike and embark on an interesting market tour. Experience the bustling local market, your tour guide will show you around and help you to explorethe local products sold at this market.

09:30: Start biking and venture deeper into the village: Visit the Communal House, the grounds and architecture of which are built in the shape of a dragon. Passing by the oldest school in the Village built in 1921.

10:30: Back to the hosting family, it is time for your private cooking demonstration. After watching your host then practice yourself and then the best part of all, try your dishes! After all your efforts you can reward yourself and rest back into some reclining chairs in the fragrant retreat of your host’s village garden/courtyard. All too soon it is mid-afternoon and time to say good bye to your new friends.

12:30: Catch your Van for a short drive back to Hanoi.

In the afternoon, you are free for shopping or explore Hanoi yourself.

Overnight in Hanoi

Set in an idyllic valley, hemmed in by hills, the Mai Chau area is a world away from Hanoi’s hustle. The small town of Mai Chau itself is unappealing, but just outside the patchwork of rice fields rolls out, speckled by tiny Thai villages where visitors doss down for the night in traditional stilt houses and wake up to a rural soundtrack defined by gurgling irrigation streams and birdsong.

After breakfast you will be picked up again by your tour guide and driver, and taken on a four-hour scenic drive to Mai Chau through a spectacular mountain range. This is an authentic hill tribe region and a fantastic base for treks, local markets and villages. Arrive after mid-day, we check in and free for lunch.

Later in the afternoon, we will explore the surrounding villages on foot, meeting local people and learning about their lives raising crops and livestock. Tonight we enjoy dinner cooked and served by the local family. You can join a local traditional dance show performed by the White Thai people (optional). Return to the lodge for the night.

Overnight in Mai Chau

After breakfast with a view, you can wander around the houses to glimpse the daily life of local people. As you can see in the picture, this area is placed by only green color and a lot of mountain. Because of this natural condition, Thai-people here rely mainly on agriculture. They specialize in weaving brocade products and they’re happy to show visitors their skills. The village is operated as a community cooperative organized by the people themselves – one of many reasons why Asia Dream Tours is proud to bring visitors here.

Afterward, we will head to NinhBinh from Mai Chau. On arrival, check into your hotel and relax at your own leisure in NinhBinh.

Overnight in NinhBinh.

After breakfast, join a “countryside leisure excursion” ride on bicycles (or you can take the ride alternatively if you are not familiar to cycle), between the lush green fields and through the narrow lanes, seeing the locals going about their daily lives.

Then, we will join an authentic “local cooking” demonstration learning how to make some local specialties. You will have the opportunity to prepare and cook some food of your own.
At around 12:00, enjoy a delicious lunch which you have prepared.

After lunchtime, we will take a relaxing sampan boat (4 people in each sampan) down a small canal to visit Thien Ha caves, enjoying the natural scenery along the way. This is a newly discovered eco-tourism attraction and said to be the most beautiful cave in NinhBinh by tourists, offering endless photo opportunities.

After discovering Thien Ha Caves you continue your leisurely boat trip. You are rowed for 2,5 hours more on an untouched water route toward ThungNham a pristine and untouched area surrounded by sheer limestone cliffs and stunning rice paddies. Along the way you can enjoy the fresh air, clean and clear water with under water grass while having plenty of Kodak moments. Also the absolute absence of crowds will be a big bonus.

Arrival Thung Nang you are picked up by your awaiting driver and then transfer to Hoa Lu, The Ancient Capital where you will visit the remaining two temples of Dinh King and Le King.
Return to Hanoi after the tour. Rest of day is for relaxing at your own leisure.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Today you will arrive Halong after 3.5 hours drive and board a boat, enjoying lunch while cruise through the bay. The magical bay is home to thousands of limestone islands rising from the waves like dragons’ teeth. Later in the afternoon, you will visit an interesting fishing village with opportunity to interact with fishermen who have been living in the bay for almost three generations. Back on board, you will enjoy cocktails or cooking classes while watching the sunset, before indulging in a lavish dinner onshore. Afterwards, you can choose to do anything from joining movie night, playing board games, or relaxing at the beauty spa before retiring for the night.

Overnight onboard with the cruise

*** Itinerary varies depending on which cruise you are going to take

Wake up on the bay to the sounds of waves, fresh air, and breeze welcoming the new day. After breakfast, visit a beautiful limestone grotto then walk back to the boat for a final glimpse of Halong Bay while cruising back to the dock. The boat arrives at the harbor by 11.30am and your driver is waiting to take youto the airport for your next flight to Da Nang.

Being welcomed at the airport by our driver and tour guide, you will head to your hotel in Hoi An. Check in and relax at your own leisure in Hoi An.

Overnight in Hoi An.

You will be picked up at hotel by our staff guide and Jack’s driver on a mini-van and then you will be transferred to the bike station in the countryside to start your biking route. Cycle to a local farming village traveling along picturesque country roads (If you don’t know how to ride bicycles, please use our scooter “XE OM” services)

Share in the daily work life of local farmers – hoeing and a soil, watering veggie at an organic herb garden, riding water buffalo in the field and enjoy the freshest air of the countryside beauty.

Board the boat and cruise to the mouth of the river where it meets the Cua Dai Sea.
Learn and try your hand at local traditional fishing techniques using round and cast nets.
Learn to paddle the strange and unique Vietnamese bamboo basket boats.

Explore the now tranquil coconut-palm flanked waterways of a past war and hear of the extreme conditions endured by soldiers on both sides. Jungle walk and join for a mock battle with mud attack for fun.Back on-board our boat, enjoy lunch/dinner (morning time you will get lunch and afternoon time you will get dinner on boat) and cold beer or soft drink

Return to hotel by our mini-van

Balance your leisure time between lounging at the beach or happily emptying your wallet while browsing the world of handicrafts and souvenirs that Hoian has to offer or simply stroll along the riverside to get a feel for the olden days of the busy Faifo merchant port.

Overnight in Hoi An.

After breakfast, our driver will transfer you to the airport for your short flight to Ho Chi Minh City.

Check in your hotel and relax at your own leisure.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

After breakfast, getting picked up by our tour guide at the airport, we will start visiting the most famous attractions of Saigon including the Notre Dame Cathedral and Saigon post Office. We will also visit the Reunification Palace, this fascinated is filled with Vietnamese historical stories then discover War Remnant Museum where the impacts of Vietnamese war will be displayed.

After that, we will visit the bustling Saigon market before back to your hotel. Rest of day is at your own leisure in Saigon.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Today your private guide and driver will take you out of Saigon in a private vehicle and onto some beautiful country roads to Ben Tre Town, the heart of the Mekong Delta, popularly known as the “rice bowl” of Vietnam, and is famous for its vast rice fields, orchard farms, coconut trees, numerous waterways and beautiful landscapes.

After appox 2 hour driving through the lush farming land we arrive at Ben Tre town where we will embark on a motorized boat trip around the scenic Bến Tre River, viewing various local industries along the way. During the boat ride we will stop to visit the small local factories where bricks and sleeping mats are made. Take a leisure walk along the village lanes visiting the local homes to try dry fruits, taste honey tea while enjoying a local Tai Tu music show. Continue to visit a coconut mill workshop where the local delicacy of coconut candy is produced and a range of coconut husk and fiber products are skillfully handcrafted.

We next take a small sampan through palm-fringed back canals, gliding peacefully along the hidden waterways surrounded by immense variety of tropical plants. The quiet, rural setting is a welcome and restorative retreat to the frenetic buzz of Saigon which seems far, far away.

Enjoy sitting in the back a Motor Cart (xelôi) passing rice and vegetable orchard farms while meeting with local people. Then we head to a local restaurant for a simple lunch, after which we will be driven back to Saigon. Rest of day is for relaxing at your hotel.

Overnight in Saigon

Free at your own leisure until our driver transfers you to the airport for your departure flight home.