13-Day South Central Vietnam Highlights with Ha Long Bay
1
13-Day South Central Vietnam Highlights with Ha Long Bay
13-Day South Central Vietnam Highlights with Ha Long Bay
13 Days
$2,299.00
13
80/80
English
Monday
September 21, 2026
Saturday
October 3, 2026
$2,299.00
Monday
October 12, 2026
Saturday
October 24, 2026
$2,299.00
Monday
October 26, 2026
Saturday
November 7, 2026
$2,299.00
Monday
November 2, 2026
Saturday
November 14, 2026
$2,299.00
Monday
November 9, 2026
Saturday
November 21, 2026
$2,299.00
Monday
November 16, 2026
Saturday
November 28, 2026
$2,299.00
Monday
December 7, 2026
Saturday
December 19, 2026
$2,299.00
Monday
January 11, 2027
Saturday
January 23, 2027
$2,299.00
Monday
January 18, 2027
Saturday
January 30, 2027
$2,299.00
Monday
February 22, 2027
Saturday
March 6, 2027
$2,299.00
Monday
March 8, 2027
Saturday
March 20, 2027
$2,299.00
Monday
April 12, 2027
Saturday
April 24, 2027
$2,299.00
Monday
May 3, 2027
Saturday
May 15, 2027
$2,299.00
Overview
Explore the 7 cities in Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, Hoi An, Danang, Hue, Hanoi and Ha Long Bay
Rustic boat ride along the Mekong River
Visit a rural village, museums, memorial and Cai Rang floating market
Deluxe hotel accommodation with daily breakfasts
International airfares included
Choice of sightsee, entertainment and culinary add-ons for enhanced experiences
Extension to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay to experience north part of Vietnam
Daily Schedule
01
Daily ItineraryDay 1 Depart for Vietnam
Board the international airline from your gateway city to start your adventure to exotic destinations in Asia. Fly in comforts over the International Date Line towards Bangkok while indulging in superior inflight services of the international carrier.
02
Daily ItineraryDay 2 Arrive in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)
Xin Chao! Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon, the most dynamic city of Vietnam where modern high-rise buildings sit next to ancient temples. You are greeted at Tan Son Nhat International Airport and transferred to your hotel.
Overnight: Ho Chi Minh City Meals: Breakfast
03
Daily ItineraryDay 3 Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)
Enjoy the morning at leisure or join the optional half-day tour to Cu Chi Tunnels.
Optional tour: Cu Chi Tunnels Half Day (minimum 2 participants) $49 per person. Departing Ho Chi Minh City in the morning, you will head to Cu Chi Tunnels. After an introductory video, viewing various mantraps, the remains of an American tank and numerous bomb craters, you will spend the next hour exploring the maze of tunnels to see how the Viet Cong survived in this underground network.
Our tour starts in the afternoon with the visit to Notre Dame Cathedral, built between 1877 and 1883, is a major center of Catholicism in modern Vietnam, and one of the city's major landmarks. Next to the cathedral stands the Saigon Post Office, a classic French colonial structure, is still a functioning post office today and features huge ceilings, a giant portrait of Uncle Ho, and many beautiful details. Then, visit The People's Committee Hall which were all built during the French colonial period. Continue to see The Municipal Theater of Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon Opera House, is an opera house in Ho Chi Minh City. It is an example of French Colonial architecture in Vietnam. And the last visit of the day is to Ben Thanh Market – a symbol of the city, stands in the center of District 1 packed to the rafters with everything from fruits to nuts, from tourist kitsch to true bargains, it is a definite must-see.
Overnight: Ho Chi Minh City Meals: Breakfast
04
Daily ItineraryDay 4 Ho Chi Minh - Mekong Delta/Ben Tre - Can Tho
In the morning, traveling from Ho Chi Minh to Mekong Delta. Upon arrival in Ben Tre, take a boat on the river. Stop at brickwork to see how to make bricks in the handy traditional method - soil brick is molded from clay, arranged inside a kiln and became brown after baking. Visit coconut processing workshops located along the canal. Go on natural scissors creeks where they look narrower to the village.
Take a short walk to a family workshop run by women making sleep mats and enjoying some fruits and tea and chatting with local people to know about their rural life. Take a motor cart (xe lôi) or biking on the shady road, pass by rice fields and vegetable plains to be able to touch on real life and find out about the tropical culture from Peasants. Lunch at a local restaurant in Ben Tre.
In the afternoon, take a rowing boat along the water palm creek. Head out to Can Tho, where you will spend the rest of the day at leisure.
Overnight: Can Tho Meals: Breakfast
05
Daily ItineraryDay 5 Can Tho - Ho Chi Minh - Danang – Hoi An
In the morning you step onboard a boat to visit Cai Rang floating market. Take in the daily activities of the locals who live along the Mekong canals. Then meet the driver for the trip back to Ho Chi Minh City and to the airport for the flight to Danang. Upon arrival, meet with your guide and be transferred to the hotel in Hoi An.
Overnight: Hoi An Meals: Breakfast
06
Daily ItineraryDay 6 Hoi An
In the morning, visit the ancient streets of Hoi An, lined with Chinese traders' homes and wooden houses revitalized as restaurants, cafés, and outlets for local artists, craftsmen, and tailors. Explore the beautiful 16th century Japanese Bridge. Explore Hoi An's unique fusion of Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese architecture that are all well showcased in this city which is reputed as Vietnam's most tourist-friendly town. Hoi An is also very famous for its silk costume and outfits tailor-made for tourists. This will be a great opportunity to have a suit or any other silk materials tailor-made at very reasonable prices. The group will stop at one of the most reputable shops in Hoi An where quality and value are often assured. The rest of the day is free at leisure for your own exploration of Hoi An or you can simply enjoy the hotels' facilities and amenities
Overnight: Hoi An Meals: Breakfast
07
Daily ItineraryDay 7 Hoi An
Free Day at leisure or join our optional tour 'Farming & Fishing Life with Lunch'.
Optional tour: Farming & Fishing Life with lunch (Minimum 4 participants) $119 per person. Start the day cycling along back roads witnessing Vietnamese rural life first hand, working the ground with a farmer in an organic vegetable village and riding a water buffalo in a rice paddy field. Later, you will board a boat to join local fishermen doing traditional net fishing. You will also experience paddling the unique Vietnamese bamboo basket boat, rounding out your experience with the local farming and fishing communities. Lunch will be on the boat with a cold beer or soft drink.
Overnight: Hoi An Meals: Breakfast
08
Daily ItineraryDay 8 Hoi An - Danang - Hue
Leaving Hoi An in the morning, you head out to Hue, Vietnam's last feudal capital. The scenery will be remarkable as the route hugs the coastline of the East Sea before winding up the spectacular Hai Van Pass. Here you can stop to admire the stunning views: north over Lang Co Beach and south over Da Nang City. Once in Da Nang, you will stop by the Cham Museum, housing the most complete collection of Cham artifacts anywhere in the world. Upon arrival in Hue, keep driving to Tu Duc Tomb – a creation of the monarch, Emperor Tu Duc of the Nguyen Dynasty who enjoyed the longest reign from 1848 to 1883 – which had also served as his place of residence. Tu Duc's tomb is a sprawling compound centered around a lake and several waterways, and including numerous separate memorials connected by pleasant walkways. This amazing site never became his final resting place as the Emperor was eventually buried in a yet to be discovered secret location. Stay overnight in Hue.
Overnight: Hoi An Meals: Breakfast
09
Daily ItineraryDay 9 Hue
In the morning, take a trip to Hue Imperial Citadel. The imperial city of Hue is the best-preserved remnant of a vast citadel and royal quarters that once existed on the site. Here you can see the ravages of time and war on what the carefully designed capital of the Nguyen Dynasty was. Built in the early 19th century by armies of conscripted laborers under Emperor Gia Long, the citadel was surrounded by a ten-kilometer moat, and earthen walls formed the outer perimeter. Spend the rest of the day at leisure or join the optional half-day tour to Thuy Bieu village.
Optional tour: Thuy Bieu Village and dinner with a local family (minimum 2 participants) $79 per person. In the afternoon, aboard a boat for a scenic cruise to Thuy Bieu village. The quiet Thuy Bieu Village, 4 miles from the city center, is famous for growing a small pomelo fruit known as Thanh Tra. You will visit many garden houses, a unique feature of the Hue countryside, and enjoy relaxed walking and biking around the village. Visit an old communal house, pass by several ancient ancestral temples and have the opportunity to interact with the locals. Visit an incense making family and discover the daily life of local folks. You can also join them in gardening, or simply join in drinking tea. Enjoy dinner at a local family in Thuy Bieu and drive back to the hotel at the end of the day.
Overnight: Hue Meals: Breakfast
10
Daily ItineraryDay 10 Hue - Hanoi
Transfer to the airport to board your flight to Hanoi – the capital city of Vietnam in the north. Founded as the capital of Imperial Vietnam in 1010 and with the current population of 7.7 million people, Hanoi is the second-largest city in the country. It was also the administrative center of French Indochina when France colonized the country from 1883 to 1945. The juxtaposition of French-style avenues, bridges, and buildings with traditional Vietnamese-styled architecture can still be visible today. You will be met and greeted by our tour representative at the airport and escorted to the hotel for check-in. In the afternoon, head out to Ba Dinh Square and start our day with The Presidential Palace (passing by only, formerly Palace of the Governor-General of French Indochina), Ho Chi Minh's house-on-stilt and nearby One Pillar Pagoda. Next is a visit to the Museum of Ethnology, which gives an excellent overview of the country's ethnic groups, customs, and ways of life. The highlight here is the large, beautiful outdoor area featuring genuine houses and compounds as built and used by the many different ethnic groups.
Overnight: Hanoi Meals: Breakfast
11
Daily ItineraryDay 11 Hanoi - Halong Bay
Breakfast at the hotel before heading out to Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In Ha Long, you will board an overnight cruise amongst the more than 3,000 limestone islands rising majestically out of the turquoise bay. You pass grand rock formations and quaint fishing towns and sample a delicious lunch comprising of freshly caught fish and seafood.
In the afternoon, you can choose from several interesting activities: a cooking demonstration with the chef on board, an optional traditional massage, or a refreshing swim. End the day with a spectacular gastronomic dinner. Overnight on the boat in Ha Long Bay (Please note that the cruise itinerary is subject to change depending on the weather conditions).
Overnight: Halong Bay Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
12
Daily ItineraryDay 12 Halong Bay - Hanoi
Start the day with a calming Tai Chi exercise session, often accompanied by an amazing sunrise and the quiet breath-taking beauty of the bay's karst landscape. The cruise passes beautiful spots such as Trong, Trinh Nu, and the Me Cung Caves, and you will have a chance to explore Surprise Cave before having buffet brunch on board. Back at the dock, where guests will be met and transferred to Hanoi. Arrive in Hanoi in the afternoon and start visiting highlights of Hanoi, Visit the Temple of Literature – the first university of Vietnam built in the 11th century. Then drive to Hanoi Center and explore the city's lively Old Quarter. This is a place you must see to experience Hanoi, where exciting shopping opportunities and vibrant cultural and historical sites share the same small area. Close your day by attending a wonderful performance of the Water Puppet Show.
Overnight: Hanoi Meals: Brunch
13
Daily ItineraryDay 13 Depart from Hanoi, Vietnam
Certain Airlines' flight arrives in Destination in the early morning (around 1 AM) on Day 3.
Certain Airlines' flight departs from Hanoi in the early morning (around 1 AM) on Day 13. We sometimes can change your flight to early morning (around 1 AM) on Day 14 based on availability, then you have another full day on your own in Saigon, but you need head to airport yourself in late evening on Day 13.