Vietnam Family Experience

At 8.30 am, our guide will meet you in the foyer of the hotel to discuss the day’s itinerary.  Your tour will be tailored to meet your interests and energy levels. Beginning at the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum (outsides only) to pay respects to Uncle Ho and learn about his incredible life.  The tour then continues to the nearby Presidential Gardens and One Pillar Pagoda.

You can then choose two places from the following; Temple of Literature, Fine Arts Museum, Hoa Lo prison, Military Museum, The Imperial Citadel of Thang Long and the Ethnology Museum. This is a full-day tour, so the day is yours to fill as you please. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant (set menu).

After lunch, you will pay a visit to a local coffee shop called Hidden Gem Coffee shop to learn how to recycle things from unused or second-hand items. Located on a small valley off Hang Tre – Hanoi Old Quarter, 95 percent of the items here have been recycled. Discarded wheels, wheel parts, and plastic items have been turned into interior decorations. The aim of this activity is to protect the environment. A cup of traditional Vietnamese coffee, especially coffee with eggs, is highly recommended there. Finally, our guide & driver drop you off at the hotel for relaxation.

Overnight in Hanoi.

The scenery of Halong Bay, where thousands of limestone islands jut out of the emerald sea, sculpted into bizarre shapes, is truly an iconic image of Vietnam. An overnight boat trip is the best way to enjoy this Vietnamese must-see.

After breakfast, you are transferred through the rich farmlands of the Red River Delta to the legendary Halong Bay. It takes you 3 hours, including a 20-minute stop on the way.

Arrive at the jetty in Halong City towards noon and proceed with check-in formalities. After a welcome onboard, lunch will be served while cruising towards the bay itself. In the afternoon, enjoy some visits and/or activities (depending on each boat’s itinerary) or just spend some time relaxing on board.

Towards the end of the day, the boat sets anchor for the night among the karst formations. Dinner is served on board.

Overnight on the boat.

Wake up and enjoy the sunrise in Halong Bay. Engaging in a Tai Chi session in the early morning is the perfect way to start your new day in Halong Bay. Tai Chi is a gentle physical exercise combining deep breathing and relaxation with slow and easy movements. A form of martial art, Tai Chi is extremely beneficial for your health as it helps to reduce stress, prevent falls, and improve balance and general mobility. It is strongly recommended that you wake up early and participate in the session.

Join some activities on board (depending on each boat's itinerary).

Breakfast is served (also brunch on some boats) while the vessel cruises slowly back towards port. Disembark and transfer back to Hanoi.

Enjoy some relaxation before our guide meets you at the hotel for our food tour tonight. You start your walking tour at Hanoi’s largest covered market, Dong Xuan. Along the perimeter of the market, 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 the ingredients and historical backgrounds of popular northern dishes.

Step out of the market and back onto the streets in search of some more daily snacks of locals, which are displayed along the roadside. Stop to taste a piece of fresh spring roll or a crispy pancake before wandering through narrow streets to the corner with the full flavor of bun cha, fresh rice noodles with grilled pork. Continue to savor the Vietnamese desert with traditional sweet cakes made from some kinds of local herbs or a little cup of fresh fruit mixed with greasy coconut milk.

With a better understanding of Hanoi street food, return to the hotel.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Some free time to explore Hanoi until your driver transfers you to Hanoi airport for your short flight Hanoi – Da Nang. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to Hoi An, an ancient town.

Hoi An is a charming World Heritage village that is being beautifully restored and preserved that will captivate you immediately. No matter what you like, you will find it here, whether it is shopping, restaurants, photography, history, architecture, golf, fishing, swimming, scuba, abseiling, or massage and lazing around. Hoi An has become famous for its tailoring, where there is a huge variety of fabrics to choose from.

Free time at your leisure!

Overnight in Hoi An.

At 8am, the tour starts by cycling along level ground to the Thu Bon River to visit a local fishing village.

Ride along country lanes at a peaceful pace, viewing local life, and pause to see farmers toiling in their rice fields using centuries of farming practices. Peddle your way through palm forests, across bridges, across fields of water buffalo....

Take a short break in a local family at Cam Thanh Village before enjoying a 1.5-hour ride on a traditional wooden boat in the Water Coconut Palm Forest. Learn how to sail the basket boat and spend your time catching fish and "purple crabs" in the canal.

Continue to ride our bike to Tra Que Organic Vegetable Village, where a large variety of vegetables are produced for the local community. At the village, you will be shown the environmentally sustainable practices that the local villagers have used for centuries and are still used extensively today.

Enjoy a cooking class for traditional food of Hoi An then sit down for a delicious lunch. After lunch, we cycle back to the hotel, afternoon is free at your leisure.

Overnight in Hoi An

Another day in paradise. You may choose to lounge by your resort pool, swim at the beach, or indulge in a massage, facial, or pedicure.

For those wanting action, optional activities include a day tour, scuba, snorkeling, abseiling, fishing or a photography tour.  We can include any of these in your itinerary. Cultural options include My Son ancient ruins.

Optional excursion: My Son half day tour: Time: Depart Hoi An for the 50km journey to My Son, which is a collection of temple ruins constructed between the 4th and 14th centuries by the kings of Champa. Influenced by Hinduism, these temples were a place for worshipping Shiva and Vishnu.  During the war, it became a base for the Viet Cong, which forced US bombing, leaving 20 of 70 structures intact.  The tour of the ruins takes approximately 1.5 hours.

Breakfast at the hotel and enjoy some free time before the transfer to Da Nang airport. Today you will take a short flight to Nha Trang, a coastal city. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel in Nha Trang.

This seaside resort town has all the action, both day and night.  White sandy beaches, islands dotted along the coast, and mountains looming in the distance create a picturesque backdrop for a vast range of activities.  Island-hopping boat trips, scuba diving, mudbaths, historic sites, or cocktails by the beach; it has all the ingredients for a fun-filled vacation.

Overnight in Nha Trang.

Let’s get on a speedboat in Nha Trang Bay, one of the 29 most beautiful bays in the world. The motorboat breaks the waves and flies on the endless ocean surface with the blue color of the sea and the surrounding sky, giving you a feeling of adventure that is difficult to describe. The islands are covered with lush green forests looming in the ocean, which surround the bay and protect the mainland from the big waves. Fishing boats return from the far sea with lots of fish and seafood. All will give you a feeling of peace in the airy nature.

Coral sanctuaries in Nha Trang bay always attract many domestic and foreign tourists thanks to the richness and brilliance of corals. You will have the opportunity to participate in snorkeling to admire the beautiful coral world in Hon Mun coral sanctuary or San Ho Bay. Our professional tour guide will equip you with snorkeling equipment. It’s great to be able to float on the sea and look down to the ocean floor with blue, red, white, pink, orange… coral rugs, swaying in the waves. The sea creatures that live in coral reefs that look very colorful appear and hide themselves, making you more curious. Multicolored fish, starfish with strange shapes, giant snails… will make you satisfied.

Visit the coastal fishing village on a beautiful, peaceful, and unspoiled island. You will have the opportunity to learn about the lives of fishermen with interesting daily activities, who are simple and rustic people who are always attached to the sea. Visiting raft houses – where people grow seafood such as lobster, fish…. Learn more about lobster growing techniques, how the lobster feed is processed, and the difficulties that farmers face in lobster farming, why is this kind of seafood so expensive? Our tour guide will share with you a lot of interesting information about the lives of fishermen in the middle of the ocean.

Explore the tranquil picturesque beach – Tranh beach, freely swim in the clear blue water and relax by the dreamy white sand. Here, you can participate in exciting games such as banana float, water motorbike, and parachute pulled by boat (costs excluded)…. These activities will certainly be very attractive for those who like the feeling of adventure and risk in the ocean with its vast waves of water. Safety in these sports games is always absolutely guaranteed by professional staff.

Overnight in Nha Trang.

Free day at your leisure!

Overnight in Nha Trang.

Today you are free at your leisure until our driver transfers you to the airport for your short flight Nha Trang – Ho Chi Minh.

Upon arrival at Tan Son Nhat airport, you will be met by our driver for your transfer to your hotel in Ho Chi Minh.

Ho Chi Minh City, formally Saigon, is a city of bright neon lights, endless shopping and trendy cafes.  Its wide tree-lined boulevards reflect its French heritage, and towering skycrapers announce that it has landed squarely in the 21st Century.  As a contrast to this modern backdrop is the chaotic traffic of swarming motorbikes, which are generally overloaded or carrying exotic passengers.  This is a signature of Ho Chi Minh City that you will not find in other cities in Vietnam.

Overnight at Ho Chi Minh city.

After breakfast, our driver transfers you to Cai Be. Arriving at Cai Be in the morning at around 11:00 AM, you will be welcomed by the hospitable smile of the local guide and invited to some fresh fruit or drink before embarking on a boat to visit Cai Be inland and floating market, and traditional villages where they produce candies, bánh tráng (rice paper), etc. There you can observe the daily lives of local people who live mostly based on the river sources. We may buy some fresh tropical fruits from the local seller’s boat and engage in conversation with them. Leaving the market, continue aboard to head to Mekong Rustic homestay on the Tan Phong isles, surrounded by lush tropical fruit gardens. There you check in, enjoy tea and welcome fruits, and a Southern-style Vietnamese lunch prepared by the host family.

In the afternoon, your local host will show you to his orchards where he shares his experience on how to take care of the garden and pick fruits as it is his daily work. Let’s listen to Don Ca Tai Tu while enjoying your self-picked fruits from his garden.

In the late afternoon, we go to the vegetable garden and pick veggies for our own dinner. After that, we all prepare and cook a family meal with the help of our local host. Homestay overnight in the host family's surrounded by tropical gardens. 

Overnight at Mekong Rustic Cai Be homestay or similar.

Wake up in the early morning to enjoy the fresh air of the Mekong Delta and then take a stroll around the homestay, where your 2nd-day tour in Mekong starts.

Breakfast will be ready in the meantime. After breakfast, you will cycle to visit the local kindergarten if it is a school day (optional). On route, stop at a local farmer’s house and learn how to make jackfruit leaf cake. Continue to cycle and stop at a bonsai garden to meet the host. He will introduce the way they plant the bonsai and take care of the orchards.

After making a loop around the isles on the bicycle, we return to the homestay and have a short rest before saying goodbye to the friendly host. We check out at 11:00 - 11:30 and leave Tan Phong Isles. The ferry will take you back to the wharf to depart for HCMC.

After breakfast and a leisurely morning on your own, you will check out by midday as this will mark the end of your 14-day trip to Vietnam. Your private driver will pick you up and take you back to Tan Son Nhat International airport for your departure flight home.