Vietnam Family Vacation

Day 1 Ho Chi Minh City

Day 2 Ho Chi Minh City (B/L)

Day 3 Ho Chi Minh City – Da Nang – Hoi An (B/L)

Day 4 Hoi An – basket boat – Tra Que village (B/L)

Day 5 Hoi An - Da Nang – Hanoi (B/D)

Day 6 Hanoi - Ha Long (B/L/D)

Day 7 Ha Long – Hanoi – Ninh Binh (B/L)

Day 8 Ninh Binh – Mai Chau (B/L)

Day 9 Mai Chau – Hanoi (B/L)

Day 10 Depart Hanoi (B).

After a warm welcome on arrival, we transfer to the hotel. Free time and refreshment.

Breakfast - Lunch

Today you’ll have the opportunity to visit the controversial War Remnants Museum, the Reunification Palace, the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Post office. In the afternoon, we will also visit the Thien Hau Pagoda and tour to Cho Lon “Chinese Quarter” and wander along some historical boulevards. The sites and smells of Ho Chi Minh City are so intense and we will enjoy every moment: from ancient pagodas to the new and thriving cafés, shops and boutiques. Finish the day in style with a sunset at the top of the Bitexco Tower, the tallest building in Vietnam.

Breakfast - Lunch

Transfer to the airport and fly to Da Nang. Upon arrival at Da Nang, meet our guide and driver, then transfer to Hoi An. Stop on the way to visit the best Cham Museum in Vietnam and take a short break at the Marble Mountains. We continue to Hoi An, an ancient town of meandering narrow streets, dating back to the 16th century. During an afternoon tour, you will visit the Japanese Bridge, the Phuoc Kien Pagoda, the ancient house Tran Phu and the Hoi An museum (Sa Huynh museum or Ceramic museum). Enjoy shopping for tailor made clothing, lanterns, shoes and food or simply relax on the beach

Breakfast - Lunch

Breakfast at the hotel. This morning, we will take a tour with the basket boat, locally known as “Thung Chai” and which is very popular among the local fishermen in the central regions of Viet Nam. The local fishermen really like to use it because it is very mobile and convenient, and it can easily transport people from their big boats to the land. Furthermore, the fishermen use it to catch fish with the fishing net and also to carry oil, wood, food and other things they might need while fishing. The shape of the basket boat is to be re-tarred every 6 months, depending on how much people are using it. The safe capacity is normally 5 people per boat (4 guests + 1 rider).  In order to learn how to handle it, you must have a practice round first, and then go for “live” the second time. It will certainly be a lot of fun, with loads of spinning around as the boat will madly go round and round and round.  In fact, the Basket Boat is also called “The Round Boat”, for obvious reasons. Another name for it is “The Coracle Boat”, from Wales in Great Britain.

In the afternoon, we ride a bike to a local farm in Tra Que village. You will take a trip around the vegetable garden and help with the farmers in preparing the land and fertilizing it with seaweed from the local lake. Continue doing some activities such as: raking the ground, sowing, watering greens, picking greens and many more gardening activities. At the end of the tour you say farewell to your host family before riding back to Hoi An. Overnight in Hoi an.

Breakfast - Dinner

Leaving the old town of Hoi An and by a late morning flight we arrive in peaceful Hanoi city where we transfer to the hotel. We visit the Ethnologic Museum, one of Vietnam’s finest museums, with many exhibitions, pictures and model houses of the 54 ethnic peoples of Vietnam. Later we go to see the Ngoc Son Pagoda. To finish the day, we attend the performance of the special Vietnamese water puppetry show and walk around the Old quarter.

Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner

This morning we visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Uncle Ho’s impressive house on stilts, we go to the One Pillar Pagoda before we hit the road for Ha Long. Passing through the rich farmland of the Red River Delta, we enjoy the lush scenery and have many photo opportunities. We arrive at Ha Long Pier where we board a traditional wooden junk and cruise between the astonishing limestone islands that rise steeply from the quiet emerald sea. After a sumptuous on-board seafood lunch, we explore Sung Sot Cave, one of the most beautiful caves in the bay. We’ll witness a splendid sunset. Dinner and overnight on the boat.

Remark: The itinerary of Ha Long will be changed according to the cruise’s itineraries.

Breakfast - Lunch

We continue to explore and discover the magnificent Ha Long Bay and some of its many caves before we leave the cruise and we transfer directly to Ninh Binh.

Upon arrival at Ninh Binh, check in the hotel, then we visit Mua Cave and the Bich Dong pagoda.

Overnight in Ninh Binh.

Breakfast - Lunch

After breakfast, we continue our journey to Trang An tourist attraction, we take a boat trip to visit the caves complex: Sang Cave, Toi Cave, Ba Giot Cave, Nau Ruou in mystery and wildness. We’ll see scenery of mountains and rivers. Trang An is considered as “Ha Long on the land”.

After lunch, we transfer to the Four Paws Bear Sanctuary to learn about the conservation of Asian bears, rescued from the bear farming industry in Vietnam. Next, we will visit the Endangered Primate Rescue Center. This is a non-profit conservation effort for the threatened monkeys of Cuc Phuong, some of the park’s most beloved residents, who have been under the protection of keepers since 1993. After some time in this center, the monkeys are released into an open but still protected section of the park. After that, you will continue to visit the Turtle Conservation Center where are kept 20 species of turtle and tortoises for rescue and conservation.

We continue our trip to Mai Chau. Arriving at Mai Chau late, we walk along the rice paddies, visit Lac village, home of a Thai ethnic minority group. You will be offered a rustic experience in traditional Thai stilt houses. Villagers will sometimes organize traditional song-and-dance performances in the evenings and anyone is free to join the fun.

Overnight in Mai Chau.

Breakfast - Lunch

Enjoy breakfast, then transfer by car to Hang Kia (45 minutes), passing villages of Muong and Dzao tribal groups. Stop on the way to visit Pa Co and Xa Linh communes, home to H’mong people with their interesting ethnic market (every Sunday morning in Xa Linh).

If you visit Mai Chau during the weekend, it is wonderful time to visit Pa Co Sunday market in the morning. The market is a small one that runs every Sunday in Pa Co village, where local people, mostly H’Mong from the surrounding neighborhood, come to trade. The market starts early in the morning and finishes a couple of hours before noon.

Arrive in Hang Kia, a typical H’mong village, peacefully nestled in a small valley at 1200m altitude. Have lunch at a local house, then walk to discover the community. Transfer back to Mai Chau then we return to Hanoi.

Breakfast

Free time until we are transferred to the airport for flight home, after a holiday our family will never forget.