Saveurs du Vietnam

Hanoi arrival - Visits (D)

Arrival at Hanoi airport. Welcome by our guide and driver.

Depending on your arrival, visits to essential sites: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum from the outside, his stilt house, the One Pillar Pagoda, Temple of Literature. Welcome dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at the hotel.
Hanoi - Ninh Binh (Terrestrial Halong) (B/L/D)
In the morning, you can discover the 5 ethnic groups that inhabit Vietnam by visiting the Museum of Ethnology.
Then, take the road to the terrestrial Ha Long Bay.

Upon arrival, you will enjoy a very pleasant rowing sampan ride on the preserved site of Thung Nham.

Lunch at a local restaurant, and then you can enjoy a bike or buffalo cart ride to discover this beautiful region surrounded by karst peaks, dotted with authentic villages. Visit Bich Dong Pagoda and Thai Vi Temple. Dinner at a local restaurant and overnight at the hotel on site.

Ninh Binh - Ha Long Bay (B/L/D)

After breakfast, you will take the road to Ha Long Bay: you will cross the traditional Vietnamese countryside of the Red River Delta, with its villages, markets, rice fields, all animated by the daily life of the farmers.

Arrival in Ha Long around noon, embarkation on a boat for a 24-hour cruise on Ha Long Bay.

Seafood lunch on board. An extraordinary landscape, "one of the wonders of the world", nearly three thousand islets and limestone pinnacles with fantastic shapes: turtle, sampan sail, etc... scattered in the emerald water of an area of over 1,500 km².

Stop at the "Surprise Cave", then ascend to the summit of Titov islet or, more comfortably, stroll on the beach for a swim if time permits.

Admiring the sunset from the upper deck of the Junk is a rare privilege.

Seafood dinner and overnight on board.

Ha Long Bay - Hanoi - Hue (B/L/D)

After breakfast, continue the cruise in the bay, sailing amidst very beautiful places towards the return, before disembarking, you will have an early brunch on board.

Upon arrival on land, you will take the road to the airport to catch the flight to Hue.

Several stops along this transfer: visit to a ceramics workshop and a training school for traditional Vietnamese craft trades.

Arrival in Hue, welcome by the guide and driver, then transfer to the hotel.

Dinner at a local restaurant and overnight in Hue.

Hue - Visits / Walks (B/L/D)

In the morning, we will begin our visits with a dragon boat ride to the Thien Mu Pagoda, located on the Perfume River.

We continue towards the Minh Mang Tomb, this majestic tomb reflects Eastern philosophy: harmony between man and nature.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

In the afternoon, we will visit a village specializing in the manufacture of conical hats, incense sticks, and the tomb of Emperor Tu Duc: amidst frangipani trees and pines, it is not a simple tomb: rather an allegory of eternal life and death. Visit the Imperial City, built according to the model of Chinese imperial palaces between 1805 and 1832.

At the end of the day, stroll through Dong Ba market where we will find the most beautiful conical hats in Vietnam.

Royal dinner: Dressed as emperors, queens, princes, and princesses, we taste imperial dishes accompanied by traditional music. (For groups of 10 people or more). Overnight at the hotel in Hue.

Hue - Hai Van Pass - Hoi An (B/L/D)

After breakfast at the hotel, we will take the road to Danang, passing through the famous Hai Van Pass, we will have a very beautiful view of dozens of kilometers of beaches of the Lang Co peninsula.

In Danang, we will visit the Cham Museum (built in 1916) which houses the famous collection of pieces from the Champa kingdom civilization, then we will climb Marble Mountain, on the edge of Vietnam's most beautiful beach.

We will continue to Hoi An, formerly Hai Fo or Fai Fo, among the most active commercial ports during the 17th and 18th centuries: Chinese, Portuguese, Japanese, Indonesians, but also French and Dutch coexisted there.

Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, this charming city fascinates us not only by the authenticity of its architecture, the romantic landscapes of the river and the beach, but especially by the phantasmagorical light of the lanterns after sunset. We will visit old houses such as a traditional Vietnamese house, the Chinese congregation house, and the Japanese covered bridge in the old quarter.

Dinner at a restaurant in town and overnight at the hotel in Hoi An.

Hoi An - Danang - Saigon (B/L)

In the morning, you will have the opportunity to take a bike ride in the countryside around Hoi An to see people working, and you will need to return to the hotel to check out before going to a local restaurant.
Transfer to the airport for the flight to Saigon.
Arrival in Saigon, welcome by the local team, then transfer to the hotel for rest and then dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight in Saigon.

Saigon - Mekong - Ben Tre (B/L/D)

After breakfast at the hotel, you will take the road to Ben Tre via My Tho city for a day trip in a private sampan in the Mekong arroyos, you will visit local manufactures of puffed rice candies, rice cakes, caramel candies, etc...

Walks on the islands to visit the orchards. Lunch at a local's home with local specialties.
In the afternoon, time for discoveries by bike. Dinner and overnight at a local's home.

Ben Tre - Sadec - Can Tho (B/L/D)

In the morning, a rowing sampan ride in the arroyos, then head to Sa Dec - a beautiful city well known for having hosted Marguerite DURAS. We will also visit the Lover's House, Mr. Quach's pagoda, and its typical local market.

In the afternoon, we will drive to Can Tho with stops for visits and photos along the way. Dinner in a local restaurant and overnight in Can Tho.

Can Tho - Floating Market - Saigon (B/L/D)

In the morning, after breakfast at the hotel, you will board a private sampan to visit the most authentic market in this region, the Cai Rang floating market. You will discover the life of street vendors on their boats along the Mekong. Lunch in a local restaurant on the way.

Continue the cruise to a beautiful ecological garden to visit exotic fruit trees. A must-try tasting! Disembark at the local market before taking the road back to Saigon. Dinner and overnight in Saigon.

Saigon Tay Ninh - Cu Chi Tunnels - Saigon (B/L/D)

After breakfast at the hotel, we will drive towards Tay Ninh, home to the largest temple of Caodaism, an astonishing, unique religion specific to Vietnam with over two million followers, mainly in the South.

We will have the opportunity to attend the midday ceremony and will find on the altar all the great men of the world: Cakyamauni, Confucius, Jesus Christ, LaosTseu, even Joan of Arc, Victor Hugo, Lenin, etc. The divine eye symbolizes the philosophy that "all religions lead to the same path."

After lunch, we will continue to the Cu Chi tunnels. Known as the "Iron Triangle," then the "Free-Fire Zone," these tunnels allowed Viet-Cong controlled areas to communicate with each other.

They also served as shelters for the population during air attacks. Vietcong soldiers lived there in extremely difficult conditions; they are also living witnesses to the patriotism of the Vietnamese.

Return to Ho Chi Minh City. Dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight at the hotel in Saigon.

Saigon visits - Departure (B/L)

The morning is dedicated to visits and discovery of the city: Notre Dame Cathedral, under renovation until 2020, a red brick building in Neo-Romanesque style, consecrated in 1880. The Post Office built by Gustave Eiffel, the opera house and the city hall with beautiful architecture, and then departure for a stroll in the Chinese quarter of Cho Lon.

A multitude of small family businesses thrive today in this "Chinatown" dedicated to trade and money. The richly decorated Chinese pagodas and temples are very different in style from Vietnamese sanctuaries.

Visit Thien Hau Pagoda and Binh Tay Wholesale Market.

Free time for your last purchases before transfer to the airport for your departure flight.