Impressive Vietnam Guided Tour

Hanoi - Ky Son - Halong Bay - Hoi An - Saigon - Ben Tre

Duration

12 days

Tour Type

Private

Price From

£3,000 pp

Overview: Impressive Vietnam Tour

This 12-day guided tour offers an immersive journey through Vietnam, combining cultural experiences, traditional crafts, scenic landscapes, and opportunities to experience local life. From village homestays and hands-on activities to overnight cruising, cycling, river journeys, and distinctive evening entertainment, the itinerary focuses on experiencing Vietnam beyond its best-known sights.

Tour Highlights:

Immerse yourself in village life at Ky Son with a cooking class, bicycle ride through farming communities, traditional hand spa, herbal foot bath, and overnight stay at Moon Garden Homestay
Spend two nights cruising Halong Bay aboard a traditional junk, with opportunities for swimming, kayaking, fishing, and visiting floating villages
Explore UNESCO-listed Hoi An and travel by local boat to Cam Kim, where you can discover traditional wood carving and mat weaving passed down through generations
Experience Saigon after dark from the back of a vintage Vespa, sampling local food and drinks while discovering the city’s vibrant nightlife
Explore the Cu Chi Tunnels and experience the visual spectacle of the À Ố Show, inspired by Vietnamese rural life and bamboo basket boats
Discover the waterways and communities of Ben Tre, visiting coconut and brick-making businesses, local homes, traditional food producers, and enjoying a sampan ride and five-course lunch

From intimate village experiences and traditional crafts to Halong Bay’s spectacular scenery and the peaceful waterways of Ben Tre, this tour offers a distinctive way to experience Vietnam.

Day 1 - UK Departure

Today we begin our private tour of Vietnam by departing London Heathrow for international economy flight to Hanoi.

We can also arrange departures from your local airport at no extra cost.

Day 2 - Hanoi Arrival

Upon your arrival, your guide will welcome you at the airport. Take private transfer to your hotel for check in.

After a short rest, it will be time for a comfortable body massage.

In the evening, enjoy a welcome dinner at one of the finest local restaurants where we will begin our exploration of the culinary delicacies of Vietnam and have our trip orientation.

Breakfast

Day 3 - Hanoi to Ky Son

Enjoy breakfast at hotel before heading to Ky Son village.

We arrive at Moon Garden Home stay in Ky Son village around 10:00 am and enjoy a welcome drink with local fresh green tea. Then have some free time for discovering Moon Garden Home stay and Ky Son village on your own (local market, kindergarten etc). After that, join in a cooking class and enjoy your creation for lunch.

In the afternoon, take part in some interesting activities: Hand Spa – enjoy having your fingers dipped in a fragrant lime bowl and the traditional herbal hand massage. Then, free time for relaxing or further conversation with the host family about local snacks, sharing cultures, and learning about traditional customs. If you want to learn Vietnamese, one of the family members can teach you. At 3:00 pm, you have a choice of a short ride (6 km) or long ride (12 km) round trip:

Short ride: Take a bicycle ride to discover the Ky Son, Tam Son, Van Minh, and Cham farming communities to and stop at any home you like for a cup of tea. Visit the kindergarten (if open). Chat with local people about their daily life and farming. You can help with ploughing or making rice beds, transplanting seedlings, harvesting rice (or cassava, corn, sweet potatoes…) depending on the harvest season.

Long ride: Take a bicycle ride with local guide to discover the Ky Son, Tam Son, Van Minh, and Cham farming communities, Duong Lam ancient village and visit Mia Pagoda, Mong Phu Communal House… Then bike ride back along the ritual paths of Thang thac village to discover the Ngo Quyen tomb, Phung Hung temple.

Return to the Moon Garden for happy hour in the evening. While waiting for your steam bath to be prepared, you can enjoy our local drink and taste some of the local products such as maize, sweet potato, cassava, peanuts – (depending on season) or some traditional desserts. Have dinner and then enjoy your foot bath in warm water with ginger, salt and mugwort medicinal herbs before bedtime, which brings you a deeper sleep.

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 4 - Ky Son to Hanoi

In the morning we join Yijinjing traditional exercises and then have breakfast. After that, enjoy your free time: You can make yourself at home relaxing on the hammock in our garden, taking pictures with Vietnamese traditional clothes, chatting with people, or further discovery of the Ky Son village and the surrounding area.

Later we leave Ky Son and then drive back to Hanoi for a half day sightseeing tour. We will explore Vietnam’s capital city by visiting Vietnam’s first university, the thousand-year-old Temple of Literature, to gain an understanding of one of the driving forces in Vietnamese culture, Confucius.

Afterwards we will walk around Hanoi Old Quarter and enjoy a unique moment in a private electric car around Hoan Kiem Lake and many local streets.

Breakfast

Day 5 - Hanoi to Halong Bay

We leave Hanoi this morning and head straight to Halong Bay, a stunning UNESCO World Heritage site with its 3,000 islands of towering limestone dotting the bay and Gulf of Tonkin. After arriving at noon, you will board a beautiful junk (ancient Chinese sailing ship) for an overnight cruise on Halong Bay. An excellent menu of fresh seafood for lunch and dinner are prepared on board by our chef. We will spend overnight on board the junk.

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 6 - Halong Bay

Today we have a whole day and second night on Halong Bay.

After breakfast, spend more time to explore the amazing natural beauty of Halong Bay and join some activities such as swimming, kayaking, fishing, visiting floating villages or sun bathing.

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 7 - Halong Bay to Hoi An

Wake up early in the morning to enjoy the aquamarine water of the bay at its best.

After tea break, the boat continues to cruise quietly through spectacular limestone formations of Halong Bay. Enjoy the more isolated bay’s spectacular and unique islands. Return to Halong Harbour after brunch for private transfer directly to Hanoi Airport for your onward flight to Danang.

A warm welcome awaits by our local guide on arrival and private transfer to your hotel in Hoi An Town, recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage site because of its unusually well-preserved ancient streets and homes.

Brunch

Day 8 - Hoi An

In the morning, you will depart from the pier located in the old city of Hoi An on a local boat, the only means of transport to sail to the island of Cam Kim. After the crossing of a few minutes, you will reach the village of Kim Bong, and then visit M.Huynh Suong’s workshop, a famous sculpting artist who will teach you about his art.

You will then ride your bikes (car transfer also available) towards the mat weaving village of Duy Vinh. Over the 13-km route, you will enjoy picturesque landscapes of rice fields, bamboo fields and shaded paths. Once in the village, you will discover its traditions and special know-how’s, which have been passed on from generation to generation. After this initiation, you will cross a small dam to reach the fishing village.

Afterwards, you will once again board your local boat and return to Hoi An.

The afternoon is free time at your own leisure until being taken to have a lovely dinner in a local restaurant.

Breakfast

Dinner

Day 9 - Hoi An to Saigon

Morning is free at leisure until transfer to Danang Airport for a brief 1 hour flight to Ho Chi Minh City. You will be welcomed by our local guide on arrival and take private transfer to your hotel for check in.

In the early evening, enjoy part night excursion, part street local food adventures. You experience the nightlife of Saigon the way locals do, all from the back of a vintage Vespa scooter. Stops include drinks at a cafe shop, food and drinks at local restaurants (one stop for sea food and one stop for Southern food), samplings of Saigon best authentic street local food, a Vietnamese-style coffee shop (with live music) and wrapping up the evening at one of the many local nightclubs (with live music), where the new generation of Vietnamese unwind and flaunt their unique style. You ride pillion behind your drivers to enjoy and experience the Vietnamese night life.

Breakfast

Dinner

Day 10 - Saigon / Cu Chi

This morning we will leave the city by private vehicle to visit the amazing tunnel network of Cu Chi. This incredible system, covering almost 250km in length was shelter to over 16,000 Vietcong guerrillas during the wars. If you are interested (and game) you can even descend into the tunnels to learn more about the harsh conditions faced by Vietcong guerrillas who lived there.

We return to Ho Chi Minh City later in the morning.

In the late afternoon, you will be picked up for the famous A O Show. “À Ố” is the name given to the show which is a new kind of art performance commonly acknowledged globally as “new circus”. The show surpasses all the limits that were previously constructed by many other art shows in Vietnam over the years. You are offered the opportunity to let loose your imagination once they are set off the visual creation and lighting of each performance.

The main visuals of the show are bamboo basket boats and their use in the daily life of many Vietnamese. During 60 minutes of the show, you are gently introduced to many different tones of emotion. A truly unique experience!

Breakfast

Day 11 - Saigon / Ben Tre

This morning, we depart from Ho Chi Minh City around 8am and head south to Ben Tre province, famous for its coconut production and quiet, peaceful waterways.

On arrival, take a Xe loi ride through the local village of Huu Dinh to enjoy the green fields and gardens. We continue with a short walk to Huu Phuoc Bridge, where you will start your boat trip through small canals with beautiful tropical scenery. On board the boat, enjoy a welcome drink and tropical fruits while cruising. The cruise will first stop at a Coconut processing family owned business. Here you will learn what Ben Tre is known for and the hundreds of uses of each single coconut. Return to your boat and cruise across the water to a brick making factory, where the locals still use centuries-old traditional methods to make the bricks by hand.

Then enjoy a casual cycling trip that will take you to visit a local rice noodle factory which produces Hu Tieu noodles, one of the most popular dishes in the region (car transfer also available). After your visit take a short walk to one of our friends, Mrs. Huong, who lives with her 3 children and grandson – they live on fishing, shrimp and fruit orchards. Enjoy fresh fruits and tea and chat to get a real prospective of how locals live. We then board a rowing sampan taking you through a lush narrow canal, displaying the tranquil nature of the region.

After our team rows you through the quiet canal, reconnect with your Day Cruiser and enjoy a cruise to a private riverside restaurant. It is time for you to relax and enjoy a 5-course lunch of local specialities. Relax and have a walk around the lush garden setting. Then continue your cycling trip to My Long to visit Mr Sau Tuong, a former Vietcong soldier who survived two years fighting the Khmer Rouge in Phnom Penh. Now he and his wife live on making rice paper which is the most famous speciality of My Long village. Have a chat with him and enjoy the crispy rice paper made by his wife, and see how it is made. Then visit the nearby house of Mr Hung, who is a famous sticky rice maker in the village. You can also feed his stock of catfish and walk through his fruit garden. After the visit, the boat will be waiting for you at the pier nearby to bring you back to Ben Tre city where your car will be ready to take you back to Ho Chi Minh City.

Breakfast

Lunch

Day 12 - Saigon Departure

Sadly we have come to the end of our unique and fascinating tour. It is time to say “tạm biệt” (goodbye) and transfer to the airport for your flight home.

Breakfast