Essence of Vietnam - 9 days
Hanoi, Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam 
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Duration: 9 days
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Destinations: Vietnam
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Start: Hanoi, Vietnam
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Finish: Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam
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Tour type: Private tour
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Meals: 8 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners
This 9-day tour takes you from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), covering most of Vietnam’s main attractions with plenty of fun and memorable experiences.
Begin in Hanoi – the capital of Vietnam – then enjoy an unforgettable overnight cruise on the stunning Halong Bay. Continue your journey to Hoi An, where you’ll laugh and learn during a hands-on cooking class. Finally, explore the incredible Cu Chi Tunnels and experience the energy of dynamic Ho Chi Minh City.
Tour Highlights
- Explore the key and notable attractions of Vietnam.
- Witness the hustle and bustle of Hanoi’s Old Quarter.
- Relax and enjoy seafood on a romantic junk on Halong bay.
- Join the cooking class & learn how to cook the most famous Vietnamese foods in Hoi An.
- Visit the imperial city of Hue and enjoy a cruise along the Perfume River.
- Explore the highlighted sites in Ho Chi Minh city and the infamous Cu Chi tunnels.
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Travel style:
Cultural & Classic
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Your guide:
English speaking
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Meals:
8 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners
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Tour type:
Private tour
You will visit
Essence of Vietnam 9 days - Route Map
Essence of Vietnam 9 days Itinerary
B(breakfast), L(lunch), D(dinner)
Upon arrival, you will be welcomed by tour guide and driver of SVietnam Travel. Tour briefing and transfer to your hotel. Enjoy walking tour around Hoan Kiem lake and the Old Quarter of Hanoi. In the evening, have a welcome dinner at the local restaurant hosted by SVietnam Travel.
Having breakfast at hotel then start a guided city tour of Hanoi. Having celebrated its 1000- year anniversary in 2010, the city has a rich and fascinating history. Your city tour will take you to the main attractions of Hanoi, including Ho Chi Minh complex (Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum and stilt house); the Presidential Palace, the nearby One Pillar Pagoda, the Temple of Literature, West lake, Tran Quoc pagoda, Quan Thanh temple and of the city’s museum (History Museum or Ethnology Museum). Late afternoon, enjoy Water puppet show - one of Vietnamese traditional performance.
At around 8 am, your driver will pick you up for the journey to Halong Bay and arrive at around midday to board a traditional junk for an overnight cruise. Halong Bay is widely considered to be one of the natural wonders of the world. Thousands of towering pillars of sea and wind-carved limestone karst make the bay an unforgettable sight. After lunch, explore some of the huge limestone caves dotted around the bay and visit a floating fishing village. Then the captain will find a secluded spot where you can swim, soak up the sun on the top deck, or try your hand at kayaking. In the evening enjoy a seafood feast for dinner.
Enjoy an early morning swim (during the summer), followed by breakfast as you cruise through more spectacular scenery. The cruise arrives at the harbor by noon. The driver will pick you up and then transfer directly to the airport for flight to Da Nang. Upon arrival in Da Nang, you will be transferred to your hotel in Hoi An. Check in and free time to explorer the ancient town.
This morning, you will join a cooking class at the Red Bridge Cooking School. Begin with a visit to Hoi An’s colorful market, where you’ll experience the vibrant sights, sounds, and aromas of this bustling place. You’ll also have the chance to interact with local vendors and learn about the fresh ingredients that will be used in your cooking lesson.
After that, board the Red Bridge boat for a leisurely cruise (25 minutes) along the Hoi An River to the Red Bridge Cooking School. On arrival, you explore the cooking school’s herb and vegetable garden, before learning about some of Hoi An’s and Vietnam’s well-known dishes. The cooking lesson runs for about 2 hours - each dish is first demonstrated by the Red Bridge chef’s, before you prepare the same dish youself. Included in the class is a brief introduction to Vietnamese food carving (plate decoration). After the lesson, you can enjoy what you have cooked.
In the afternoon, enjoy a walking tour of the ancient town, including the 200 year-old Tan Ky house, Phuc Kien Pagoda, the Assembly Hall, the former merchants’ houses, the 400 year-old Japanese Covered Bridge. Free time for shopping and tailor made suits.
This morning, you leave Hoi An for Hue. On the way, you will have chance to the fascinating Cham Museum and Marble Mountain en route to charming Hoi An. Upon arrival, you will visit the Citadel and the Forbidden Purple City. You also visit Tu Hieu pagoda and Imperial museum before free time for shopping at the vibrant Dong Ba market.
Enjoy breakfast at your hotel and then board a private boat for a cruise on Perfume river. You will visit Thien Mu pagoda and then take a drive to visit Minh Mang tomb before transferring to the airport for flight to Saigon.
Upon arrival in Saigon - Vietnam’s largest city, you will have a half day tour including the interesting sites such as The Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral and Old Post Office, Remnant War Museum and Ben Thanh market.
This monring, you will visit the famous Cu Chi tunnels, an incredible underground tunnel network constructed by Vietnamese resistance fighters during the long struggle for independence.
The network included innumerable trap doors, specially constructed living areas, storage facilities, weapons factories, field hospitals, command centers and kitchens.
After that, drive to Tay Ninh province to visit Cao Dai great temple - one of the most striking structures in Asia. This temple is the holy land of Cai Dai religion - a mixture of Buddhism, Confucius, Taoism, Hinduism, Christianity…). You will have chance to attend the daily noon prayer. Come back Saigon in the late afternoon.
Today is your free time. The driver and tour guide will pick you up and transfer to your departure flight. Thank you for travelling with us. Tạm biệt và hẹn gặp lại.
Your tour package includes
- Accommodation based on twin/double sharing with daily breakfast.
- Vietnam visa approval letter.
- Experienced English-speaking guides as indicated in the itinerary.
- Private transportation with AC.
- Flight tickets Hanoi - Da Nang, Hue city - Ho Chi Minh city with Vietnam Airlines.
- All sightseeing tickets.
- Lunches and dinners as indicated in the itinerary.
- Taxes and services charges.
Exclusions
- International flight tickets and airport tax.
- Visa stamping fee.
- Early check in and late check out.
- Drinks, gratuities and personal expenses.
- Insurance.
Important travel information
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Tour Price
The tour rate is based on twin/double sharing rooms at 3* hotel category, quoted for a private group of 6 guests. The price will vary slightly depending on the number of people in your group. For an accurate tour price, please click the "INQUIRE NOW" button to discuss with our sales consultant.
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Deposit & Payment
After you have agreed on the tour itinerary and pricing, we will send you an email to confirm and provide information on our payment policy. You can choose your preferred payment method and make payment to us according to the following regulations:
- With tour bookings, you do not need to pay total in advance, we just need 30% for deposit. The balance will be settled before your trip or upon arrival.
- With flight, hotel or train ticket bookings, we require 100% total payment in advance.
The balance will be settled before or upon arrival by cash, credit card or bank transfer. We accept major credit cards such as Visa, Master, JCB and Amex. If you pay by credit card, please add 3% of bank commission.
After receiving your deposit, our team will process your booking and send you the confirmation by email within 1 - 2 working days.
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Food Requirement
If you have any specific food requirement (vegetarian, vegan, food allergies, etc.) please inform us in advance, we will provide notices to our restaurants, tour guides and partners so they would be able to serve you the best.
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Cancellation
We apply non refundable deposit of 10 USD for hotel, air ticket booking, 100 USD/per person for tour package upon service confirmation. Cancellations will be charged as following:
- 30 days before arrival: No cancellation charge.
- 29 - 14 days before arrival: 10% of the tour cost is forfeited.
- 13 - 7 days before arrival: 40% of the tour cost is forfeited.
- 6 days before arrival: 100 % of the tour cost is forfeited.
- No show: 100% of the tour cost is forfeited.
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Child Policy
- Infant under 2-years-old free of charge land tour and 25% of airfare.
- Child under 12-years-old sharing room with adult without extra bed charge 50% of adult land tour and 75% of airfare.
- Child under 12-years-old sharing room with adult with bed charge 80% of adult land tour and 75% of airfare.
- Upon 12-years-old - 100% charge of tour cost.
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