South Vietnam highlights 12 days

A twelve-day introduction to the south of Vietnam including a tour of Indochina's largest city, the fascinating Mekong Delta, Phu Quoc Island and the wartime Cu Chi Tunnels. 

As you'll be travelling tailor-made, you can use our unique tour design service to modify this itinerary to suite your preferences – extend your tour, change Phu Quoc Island to Mui Ne Beach – whatever you wish. We don't charge to the service no matter how many changes you want to make.

Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City Arrival (D) 
Arrive at the Tan Son Nhat airport, you’ll be greeted by your guide and driven to the city centre for hotel check-in. You’ll have time to relax after your journey before a welcome dinner at a Vietnamese traditional restaurant. Your overnight will be in Ho Chi Minh city. 

Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City Orientation (B/L) 
After breakfast, your guide will arrive to show you around Ho Chi Minh City. You’ll visit the History Museum where there is a special exhibition of the 5th century ‘Oc Eo’ civilisation. The Museum of War Remnants provides a very partial, but riveting, perspective of the ‘American War’: not for the squeamish! The Notre Dame Cathedral, the Centre Post Office and the huge Ben Thanh market, one of the liveliest areas of Ho Chi Minh City. You’ll also call in at the Jade Emperor Temple. You’ll spend the night in Ho Chi Minh City. 

Day 3: Ho Chi Minh City – Tay Ninh – Cu Chi (B/L)
A morning drive will take you to Tay Ninh to visit the temple of Cao Dai and attend the fantastic mid-day ceremony. After lunch, you’ll visit the famous Cu Chi tunnels, a byzantine maze of underground passages, chambers, rooms and booby traps used by both the Vietminh and the Viet Cong to suddenly materialise as if from nowhere, launch a lightning ambush, and vanish equally rapidly. Your overnight will be in Ho Chi Minh City. 

Day 4: Ho Chi Minh City – Vinh Long – Can Tho (B/L) 
After escaping from Ho Chi Minh City’s urban sprawl, you’ll travel to Vinh Long. There, you’ll cruise on the Mekong River, visit Cai Be floating market, fruit orchards, a traditional family-run brick kiln, and drop in to look at some traditional cottage industries - a workshop making the huge coffins unique to the Mekong is particularly interesting. Your overnight will be in Can Tho. 

Day 5: Can Tho – Chau Doc (B/L)
In the morning, a boat cruise will include visits to a bonsai garden, the old house, local houses making confectionery and Cai Be floating market. You’ll also have chance to enjoy the Mekong Delta music performed by local people. In the afternoon, you’ll drive to Chau Doc. You’ll spend overnight in Chau Doc. 

Day 6: Chau Doc (B/L)
After breakfast, you’ll board a small sailing boat to visit floating houses farming Basa fish, Cham ethnic minority villages and a mosque. Next, you’ll take a drive to the Sam Mountain. It’s an easy climb to the summit of Sam Mountain, and worth the effort because the views of the pancake-flat Mekong and the plain across the Cambodian border are striking. At the foot of the mountain, a visit to the Temple of Lady Chua Su can be arranged. After lunch in town, you can choose another option to visit the ‘Bone Pagoda’ in Ba Chuc, so-called because it houses a collection of skulls of Vietnamese people killed by the Khmer Rouge during 1975 and 1978. Your overnight accommodation will be in Chau Doc. 

Day 7: Chau Doc – Ho Chi Minh City (B/L) 
After breakfast, you’ll say goodbye to Chau Doc and drive back to Ho Chi Minh City. The remainder of the day will be free in Ho Chi Minh City. Your overnight will be in Ho Chi Minh City. 

Day 8: Ho Chi Minh City – Phu Quoc Island (B)
After breakfast, our driver will come to pick you up to the airport for your flight to Phu Quoc. Upon arrival in Phu Quoc, you’ll be driven your hotel. Free for relaxing on the beach. You’ll spend your overnight in Phu Quoc. 

Day 9 - 11: Phu Quoc (B) 
The day will be free for strolling in the town, lazing on the beach, or whatever takes your fancy!!! 

Day 12: Phu Quoc - Ho Chi Minh City departure (B) 
You’ll fly to Ho Chi Minh City today in a good time to connect to your departure flight.

More information:

Website: www.littlevietnamtours.com.vn

Email: info@littlevietnamtours.com.vn

Can Tho

Can Tho is a province in the Southern of Vietnam, located on the bank of the Bassac River (Hau Giang river), in the Mekong Delta, 170 kilometers southwest of Ho Chi Minh City. The province neighbours on five provinces: Dong Thap on the Northeast, An Giang on the North, Hau Giang on the South, Kien Giang on the west, and Vinh Long on the east. Can Tho has a complex of rivers and canals in which Hau river is considered as the benefactor of the region as yearly floods deposit large quantities of alluvia on the rice fields. That makes Can Tho “the green lungs of the Mekong Delta”. 

The marshy Lung Ngoc Hoang mangrove forest, positioned by nature to escape the clutches of the occasionally threatening Hau River and the waters near Bac Lieu, also offers a shelter for wildlife. There, fish, crabs, tortoises, and yellow boas and snakes, seek their seasonal shelter at a place where war-time troops often sought strategic refuge. 

Can Tho has two distinct seasons: the dry and the rainy seasons. The province is endowded with sunshine all year round with a high humidity. There is almost no storm sitting the province. Average temperature is 27°C.

Can Tho’s History 
The history of the city can be traced back to the 16th century, when the area was first invaded and developed by several ethnic groups, including the Vietnamese, the Hoa, and the Khmer. These people turned it from a swampy area into a populous region and used the delta soils for fertile rice fields. At the end of the 18th century and the begin of the 19th century, the area was the battlefield between armies of the Nguyen dynasty and the Tay Son brothers. When the French invaded Vietnam, Can Tho was under French colonial rule. 

The city grew into prosperity and a port was developed. During the Vietnam War, the United States and South Vietnam built military installations for the thousands of troops stationed at Can Tho and the city expanded tremendously. 

Can Tho Today  
Today Can Tho is the city population of 150,000. It is an important industrial and farming center. Local manufacturing industries include shipbuidling, rice processing, textiles, and farm machinery. Other important agricultural goods include coconut oil and sugarcane, and the city’s outdoor market sells a wide variety of fruit and marine products. Can Tho is also a fruit basket of the region. Specialities include durian, mangoes, jackfruit, melons, and many shellfish and ocean fish. 

Transportation in the area is centered on the river, local roads, and Vietnam’s major north-south highway. A large nearby airport serves much of the Mekong Delta, and two major ports are located nearby.

The city is home to a large pagoda built in 1946 in the style of Khmer Theravada Buddhism. Can Tho is home to several educational institutions including Can Tho University (founded in 1966), a training college for teachers, and several vocational colleges that teach commerce, finance, medicine, and agriculture. The Department of Agronomy at Can Tho University houses Vietnam’s largest research center on rice, one of the country’s most important staple foods. International experts are determining whether the area, and especially its river water ecosystem, could sustain another National Nature Reserve.

Can Tho Attractions
The places that you can not miss when visiting Can Tho are the Ong Pagoda’s museum, Ninh Kieu Wharf which is well-known for its beautiful location, Khmer Pagoda, Binh Thuy temple and the Binh Thuy ancient house. 

Can Tho also has an unique system of floating markets including  Cai Rang, Phong Dien and Phung Hiep. Cai Rang is the largest floating market in the Mekong, but the markets at Phung Hiep and Phong Dien are more relaxed and less crowded. 

Also of interest are the abundant orchards, garden houses along the rivers and canals which are spacious and peaceful. Visiting these houses, you may taste the local specialties and hear don ca tai tu, amateur music performance of the southern people.

More information:

Website: www.littlevietnamtours.com

Email: info@littlevietnamtours.com.vn

From the moutain to the sea 12 days

This twelve-day tour will bring to you to the highest point of Vietnam of Fansipan. You will have chance to challenge yourself with a three-day trekking to the summit 3143m above sea-level. The tour includes Hanoi, Sapa – Fansipan and Nha Trang. Nha Trang is one of the places owns the most beaufitul beaches in Vietnam. 

As you wil travel tailore-made, so please do not hesitate to let us know the destinations or the activities you like or dislike. We will revise the tour programme until you completely satisfy!

Day 1: Hanoi Arrival (D)
Arriving at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, you will be met and driven to your hotel for check in. You will have time to relax before we present you with Vietnam daily life in the past and now with one or two hour cylo tour around the Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son temple and Old Quarter of Hanoi. You will then enjoy a Water Puppet Show and a welcome dinner at a restaurant with Vietnamese cuisines. You will spend the night in Hanoi. 

Day 2: Hanoi – Overnight train to Lao Cai (B/L)
You will have the whole day to explore Vietnam’s capital city. Your guide will take you to the Temple of Literature, the first university in Vietnam dating back to the 11th century, and a popular attraction, as is Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, his simple stilt house where he lived and worked, and the museum dedicated to his memory. After lunch, you’ll call in at the serene Tran Quoc Pagoda, the oldest in Hanoi and the excellent Ethnology Museum for an overview of Vietnam’s 54 distinct ethnic groups. In the evening, your driver will come to pick up you up to the railway station for your overnight train to Lao Cai. You will spend the night on the train. 

Day 3: Lao Cai - Sapa - Fansipan (B/L/D)
Arriving at Lao Cai railway station early in the morning, you will be picked up by your guide to Sapa for breakfast and then be tranferred to Tram Ton Heaven’s Gate. You’ll start the first day climbing through a decense forest in Hoang Lien Son National Park. Pitch camp at an altitude of 2200m. The dinner wil be prepared by the cook around a camp fire while the nocturnal sounds of the forest provide an exotic soundtrack in the background. Your overnight will be at the basecamp. 

Day 4: Fansipan (B/L/D)
After breakfast, you will start the final ascent arriving at the summit 3143m above sea-level. From this, the highest point in Vietnam, there is stunning views to China in the north, and to Laos in the west. There is time for a well-earned rest before descending back down to Base Camp for the night. You will spend the night at the base camp.

Day 5: Fansipan - Sapa (B/L)
Enjoy morning coffee and the sounds of nature as the porters break down the camp and leave in advance back to Sapa. Trekking down across well-known terrain always goes more quickly and arrival time back in Sapa should be in the late afternoon via Sin Chai village. You will spend overnight in Sapa. 

Day 6: Sapa – Overnight train back to Hanoi (B/L)
You will be free today in Sapa to explore the town by  yourself until the late afternoon. Our driver will take you back the Lao Cai railway station for an overnight train back to Hanoi. Your overnight will be on the train. 

Day 7: Hanoi – Nha Trang (B/L)
Arriving in Hanoi at 5am, you’ll be met and transferred your hotel for breakfast and re-freshment. You’ll then drive to the airport for a morning flight to Nha Trang. You will be free in the remainder of the day to relax on the beach. Your overnight will be in Nha Trang. 

Day 8: Nha Trang Cycling (B/L)
In the morning, you will pick up a bike to cycle across the countryside around Nha Trang City stopping off at several villages, a working brick kiln and a good example of typical 19th century Vietnamese architecture en-route. You’ll meet local people, find out about their rural lifestyle and see how they earn a living. Your journey will take you across the rice fields where the farmers work with the water buffalos, and visit hamlets producing: rice paper, conical hats, woven rice-stalk mats, charcoal stoves. You lunch will be at a riverside restaurant. You’ll spend overnight in Nha Trang. 

Day 9: Nha Trang – Whale Island (B/L/D)
After breakfast at your hotel, you will be picked up by the Whale island Resort minibus to drive to Ninh Hoa where you will board a speed boat to spend 02 days in the Whale Island. 

Day 10 – day 11: Whale Island (B/L/D)
Whale Island, at the extreme north of the bay, offers very safe beach diving to 15m. More advanced diving includes wall diving to 40m, coral gardens at 15m, and racing drift dives. Whales and sharks are occasional visitors. For diving, we suggest you to book directly with the PADI 5-star Rainbow Diving Centre. They’re a high quality diving centre in Vietnam. 

Day 12: Whale Island – Ho Chi Minh City Departure (B)
You will return to Nha Trang in the morning to catch a flight to Ho Chi Minh City in a good time to connect to your departure flight.

More information:

Website: www.littlevietnamtours.com

Email: info@littlevietnamtours.com.vn and sales@holidaysinindochina.com

Sapa, Vietnam

Off-beaten tracks of northeast 9 days

This nine-day tour covers all of off-beaten tracks in the Northeast of Vietnam including Hanoi, Ba Be National Park, Cao Bang, Lang Son, and Ha Long Bay.

Don't forget you'll be travelling tailor-made. Want to explore further the Northeast? No problem! Want to extend your time to the Northwest? Easy – we work to your requirements, not ours! Whatever you want, just ask – if it's physically possible and not illegal, it's yours to the taking. 

Day 1: Hanoi Arrival (D) 
Arriving at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, you will be met and driven to your hotel for check in. You will have time to relax before we present you with Vietnam daily life in the past and now with one or two hour cylo tour around the Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son temple and Old Quarter of Hanoi. You will then enjoy a Water Puppet Show and a welcome dinner at a restaurant with Vietnamese cuisines. You will spend the night in Hanoi. 

Day 2: Hanoi Orientation (B/L)
You will have the whole day to explore Vietnam’s capital city. Your guide will take you to the Temple of Literature, the first university in Vietnam dating back to the 11th century, and a popular attraction, as is Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, his simple stilt house where he lived and worked, and the museum dedicated to his memory. After lunch, you’ll call in at the serene Tran Quoc Pagoda, the oldest in Hanoi and the excellent Ethnology Museum for an overview of Vietnam’s 54 distinct ethnic groups. Your overnight will be in Hanoi. 

Day 3: Hanoi – Thai Nguyen – Ba Be National Park (B/L/D) 
After breakfast at the hotel, you will depart through the Red River Delta north along Highway 3 to Thai Nguyen. Of interest here is the Museum of the Cultures of Viet Nam's Ethnic Groups. Leaving the delta behind, you'll start climbing into the mountainous area of Ba Be National Park. Take a short boat trip to a Tay village for dinner and home stay in a local house. 

Day 4: Ba Be – Cao Bang (B/L/D)
Ba Be Lake, surrounded by rugged limestone mountains, is Viet Nam's only natural mountain lake. This important eco-system is well known for over 330 species of butterflies! Have breakfast with your Tay hosts before exploring the lake with lush forest clinging to the surrounding mountains. Reach the end of the lake and trek to Dau Dang Waterfall before heading north through the mountains to the city of Cao Bang. Your overnight will be in Cao Bang. 

Day 5: Ban Gioc Waterfall (B/L/D) 
Take a scenic day trip north of Cao Bang to the beautiful Ban Gioc Waterfall on the Chinese border for a picnic lunch. This picturesque, cascading waterfall is 53 meters high and has an impressive span of 300 meters. The unique landscape includes limestone karst formations soaring from the verdant rice paddies of Tay, H'Mong and Dzao ethnic minority groups. On the way back to Cao Bang, explore the expansive 2,144 meter Nguom Ngao Cavern to discover its brilliant stalactites. Your overnight will be in Cao Bang. 

Day 6: Cao Bang – Lang Son – Ha Long (B/L/D) 
Before leaving Cao Bang, consider climbing the hill up to the War Memorial for a great panoramic view. The famous Highway 4 winds its way through steep mountain passes with spectacular vistas! Lang Son, the capital of this mountainous area, is an important crossing and trading route with China. The area is home to Dzao, Man, Tho and Nung ethnic minority groups. Lang Son has two markets, the Old Market and the Dong Kinh Market, where shoppers can find everything from electronics and gadgets to textiles and house wares. Just a couple of kilometers from town are two large, beautiful caves and the ruins of the Mac Dynasty Citadel that are worth a visit, time permitting. Tam Thanh Cave contains a pond and offers great views of the surrounding farmlands. Nhi Thanh Cave, formed by the river that flows through it, has poems carved into the entrance by the man who discovered the cave in the 18th century. In the afternoon, you will drive to Ha Long City. Your overnight will be in Ha Long City.

Day 7: Ha Long Bay (B/L/D)
After breakfast, you will be free until being transferred to the harbour to board your boat, a wooden junk built from the model of the old Vietnamese court vessels with sails, a wide transom and rectangular superstructure, that will take you first to the busy World Heritage area and then to some of the less well-known grottoes and caves. Weather permitting, you will be able to swim, fish, climb a hill for an overview of the Bay’s remarkable seascape, or venture into some of the sea level caves in a small sampan. All your meals will be provided on board, usually based on fresh seafood. Your overnight will be aboard. 

Day 8: Ha Long Bay – Hanoi (Brunch) 
You will spend the morning cruising Ha Long Bay, followed by lunch just before docking around noon and leaving for Hanoi. Your overnight will be in Hanoi.

Day 9: Hanoi Departure (B) 
You will be free for the remainder of the day until being transferred to Noi Bai airport for your departure flight.

More information:

Website: www.littlevietnamtours.com

Email: info@littlevietnamtours.com.vn