Vietnam – Vietnam Family Journey 12 Days

Today’s program is designed to give you an overview of Hanoi city and your private guide will pace the day according to your wishes, departing and returning to the hotel, shopping, stopping for meals, and visiting sights and areas on the schedule that you work out with them.

Some of the attractions we recommend today include Hoa Lo Prison, the Museum of Ethnology, the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, the Temple of Literature, and/or the pagodas by the lake… Enjoy a walking tour or cyclo ride in the Old Quarter and Dong Xuan Market.

Then, your guide will bring you to a hidden alley in Hanoi’s Old Quarter to visit the last surviving craftsman who still
continues to create traditional paper masks. Here, you can learn about the favorite toy among Vietnamese children for Mid-Autumn Festival festival and how paper mask making is a disappearing art. Create your own paper masks and bring home as a souvenir.

Later in the afternoon, enjoy a Water Puppet Show, a uniquely northern Vietnamese art form especially designed for depicting scenes of rural life closely connected with the long-standing spiritual life of the Vietnamese people as well as many episodes of national history.

After spending the balance of the day exploring, you’ll have the evening at leisure and your guide can recommend one of Hanoi’s many excellent restaurants this evening for dinner.

Remark: The city 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.

Overnight in Hanoi.

This morning, transfer out of the city to a village in Bac Ninh province. On arrival, enjoy leisurely walking or hop on a bike and ride through the rice paddies, stopping at the village temple and the house of the head elder. Afterwards, visit a local family’s home and relax with some tea in their garden. Enjoy a performance of Quan Ho featuring a selection of songs passed down from generation to generation. Then, transfer back to Hanoi for late lunch at a local restaurant.

The rest of the day is free at leisure for your own shopping and walking around the Old Quarter with 36 streets and 36 wares.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Breakfast at hotel before heading out to Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In Ha Long you will board your an overnight cruise amongst the more than 3,000 limestone islands rising majestically out of the turquoise bay. You pass grand rock formations and quaint fishing towns, and sample a delicious lunch of freshly caught fish and seafood.

In the afternoon you can choose from several interesting activities: a cooking demonstration with chef on board, an optional traditional massage, kayaking or a refreshing swim.

Remark: Cruise itineraries and schedules are slightly different among different cruise companies and subject to change due to weather, tide levels and operating conditions. Swimming or kayaking excursions may be cancelled due to poor weather.

Overnight on board in Ha Long.

Start the day with calming Tai Chi, often accompanied by an amazing sunrise and the quiet breath-taking beauty of the bay’s landscape. The cruise passes beautiful spots or visit a cave before having buffet brunch on board.

Back at the dock, where you will be met and transferred to Hanoi for your short flight to Danang. Upon arrival, be greeted at the airport and transferred to your hotel in Hoi An for check-in.

Overnight in Hoi An.

Spend the morning to walk the ancient streets of Hoi An, lined with Chinese traders’ homes and wooden houses reincarnated as restaurants, cafés, and outlets for local artists, craftsmen and tailors. Explore the beautiful 16th century Japanese Bridge. Hoi An’s unique fusion of Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese architecture is well displayed here, in what is arguably Vietnam’s most tourist-friendly town.

Next, enjoy the process of making lantern in the cozy atmosphere. This hands-on experiences offers a fun time together as you don’t just gain head knowledge, but get to use your hands and get a traditional Vietnamese lantern as a souvenir to bring home.

Overnight in Hoi An.

Your day is filled with interesting activities in this fantastic experience with local farming and fishing communities. Jump on your bicycles and take a beautiful scenic route through the rice paddies of outside Hoi An. Share in the daily work of local farmers – hoeing the fields, harvesting the crops, or even riding a water buffalo.

A boat trip along a calming river leads us to a peaceful fishing village and you encounter the fun, hands-on experience of fishing net making and particularly paddling the unique Vietnamese bamboo basket boat while exploring coconut-palm flanked waterways of a past war and hear of the extreme conditions endured by soldiers on both sides.

Afternoon is free at leisure to explore the town on your own

Overnight in Hoi An.

Spend the morning at leisure until the transfer to the airport to the flight to Saigon.

In the afternoon, you will begin our city tour of this bustling city. The city tour brings you to visit some of Old Saigon’s most notable landmarks, including the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Central Post Office, the Reunification Conference Hall, and the former Republic of South Vietnam palace.

An extra fun family activity awaits you at Vin-Space called the “family art blast”. Vin Space is a boutique art studio that provides a variety of art workshops for adults and children. Family Art Blast invites children of all ages and their adult companions to participate together in collaborative hands-on art making activities. This is great quality time for your family – make art and be merry!

Overnight in Saigon.

Drive to the outskirt of Saigon to visit Cu Chi Tunnels, located in an area known in the Vietnam war as the Iron Triangle, the remains of a real bloody battlefield, which is a complex network of tunnels built during the long years of wars. The walking visit of the tunnels will give you an authentic look at the former Vietnam War to understand how the guerrillas lived and fought by visiting different bunkers for weapon, guard, commander, meeting, kitchen, dining, etc. If interested, you can also shoulder an AK47 and shoot off a few rounds at the shooting range.

Overnight in Saigon.

Depart Saigon and head south to Ben Tre, famous for its coconut production and quiet, peaceful waterways. On arrival, take a Xeloi (a kind of motorized rickshaw) riding through a local village and see the green fields and gardens. Continue with a short walk to Huu Phuoc Bridge and embark on a boat for a cruise to a Coconut processing family-owned business where you will learn what Ben Tre is known for and the hundreds of uses of each single coconut.

Afterwards, take your cruise to visit a brick making factory where the locals still use centuries-old traditional methods to make the bricks by hand. Then visit a local rice noodle factory which produces Hu Tieu (noodles), one of the most popular dishes in the region. Visit a local family where they live on fishing, shrimp and fruit orchards. Enjoy fresh fruits and tea and then board a rowing sampan taking you through a lush narrow canal, displaying the tranquil nature of the region. Stop at a riverside restaurant for a delicious and filling lunch.

After lunch, it’s time to relax and walk around the lush garden before ride a bike to My Long village and stop to visit a local family to learn about the making of rice paper. Take the boat back to Ben Tre local pier where your car/van is waiting to transfer you for 2.30 hours to Can Tho, the most busiest city in the Mekong Delta.

Overnight in Can Tho.

Early morning we will take a boat trip to visit Cai Rang floating market which is one of the three biggest in the Mekong Delta. The shops and stalls at the market are boat of different sizes. Cai Rang Floating Market is open all day but it is busiest from sunrise to about 9am. The main items sold there are farm products and specialties of Cai Rang Town, Chau Thanh District and neighboring areas. Every boat has a long upright pole at its bow on which samples of the goods for sale are hung.

Continue our morning sightseeing by visiting Binh Thuy Ancient House, a rare and perfect example of the character of the Mekong Delta.

In the afternoon, drive back to Saigon (~4 hour) with the balance of your time at leisure.

Overnight in Saigon.

Today is the last day of your Vietnam Family Journey. Your time will be at leisure before checking out and be met by the guide and driver and transferred to the airport for the onward departure flight.