Hanoi

Arrive in Hanoi and meet your guide outside the arrivals hall for a smooth private transfer to your hotel. Standard check-in is from 14:00; if you’re landing early, early check-in can be arranged in advance (supplement applies). The rest of the day is deliberately unstructured so you can reset after the flight. If you’d like a gentle first taste of the city, take an independent stroll through the Old Quarter’s narrow lanes near your hotel—best enjoyed at an easy pace with frequent café stops. Optional FastTrack arrival is available to reduce immigration queues, with an airport representative escorting you through formalities.

Hanoi

Start your full day of “Hanoi essentials” with an electric buggy ride around Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarter, passing key landmarks such as the Opera House, Cathedral and one of the city’s last old gates. Stop at Dong Xuan Market for a quick, lively introduction to local commerce, then continue on foot along Phan Dinh Phung, one of Hanoi’s grand tree-lined avenues. Pause for a pavement coffee before walking past historic sites including the Northern Gate and Cua Bac Church. Lunch is at a traditional rice restaurant for authentic family-style cuisine. In the afternoon, visit the Temple of Literature and learn about Confucian influence. Finish with a choice: an urban alley/railway neighbourhood walk to old “khu tập thể” blocks, or the Ho Chi Minh complex (viewing the mausoleum exterior, stilt house and One-Pillar Pagoda), followed by a bia hoi beer.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Hanoi

Halong Bay

Depart Hanoi mid-morning with your guide for a drive across the Red River Delta to the coast. Board your traditional-style junk around lunchtime and settle into your cabin as lunch is served while the boat begins cruising through limestone seascapes. In the afternoon, join your first excursion—exact routing depends on season, weather and port authority restrictions, but it often includes a cave visit in a quieter area between Halong and Lan Ha bays, sometimes paired with an opportunity to swim. Later, enjoy a short cooking demonstration with the onboard chef, then take in sunset views from the deck. Dinner is served onboard, followed by a restful night at anchor.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Hanoi

Begin the morning with an optional sunrise Tai Chi session on deck, or enjoy a slower start. A light breakfast is served before a final short exploration in the bay. Later, check out of your cabin and sit down to a fuller brunch as the boat cruises back towards port. Disembark mid-morning and return by private transfer to Hanoi. A day-use room is available until early evening, giving you time to shower, repack and rest before the night train. In the evening, your guide escorts you to Hanoi Railway Station for the overnight soft-sleeper service to Dong Hoi (SE19, approximately 19:04–06:02).

Meals Included: Breakfast

Hanoi

Dong Hoi

Arrive in Dong Hoi (by train or flight) and meet your local guide for a short drive into the rural buffer zone of Phong Nha–Ke Bang National Park. Check in at a small farmstay and enjoy a relaxed lunch before an active start: take a zipline descent into the Chay River and continue to Dark Cave for a fun, hands-on cave experience (conditions permitting). Later, travel onwards to Tan Hoa, a village closely linked to the discovery story of the region’s vast cave systems. Settle into a simple lodge, then head out by bicycle for an easy ride around the community-led tourism village.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Phong Nha

This morning, meet your expedition guide and crew for a safety briefing, paperwork and equipment issue (helmet, headlamp and any required safety kit). Begin walking through farmland towards the Rao Nan River, then cross into the adventure zone and enter Rat Cave to explore its formations and high dome. Continue to Hung Ton Cave, descending with ladders and harness support before moving into the cave’s water section—life jackets provided—for a memorable underground swim. Emerge into the scenic To Mo Valley for time to rest, swim and eat lunch by emerald water. The day finishes with a steady walk back through valleys and fields to the operations base, then return to your lodge for a well-earned rest.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Hue

After breakfast and check-out, transfer south to Hue along National Highway 1A, passing rice fields, rural villages and coastal plains with a coffee stop en route. Arrive around lunchtime for a late meal at a traditional rice restaurant. In the afternoon, begin a Hue “micro-adventure” with a rickshaw ride around the wider Imperial City area—more than just the citadel, it’s a living quarter with streets, lakes and everyday life behind the walls. Continue on foot through the Imperial Citadel and the Purple Forbidden City, learning about Vietnam’s royal past as you walk from the southern to the northern gates. Pause at a café for a refreshment, then check in to your hotel with the evening free.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Hue

Hoi An & Danang

This morning, swap monuments for a lively outdoors micro-adventure. Transfer to Thanh Toan Bridge for sugarcane juice, then cycle along quiet lanes and canal paths into the lagoon landscape. Ride through a fisherman’s village on stilts amid wetlands dotted with huts above the water, then hop onto a small fishing boat to cross the Chuon Lagoon and learn about local, ancestral fishing techniques. Continue cycling on a coastal road to a hidden beachside restaurant tucked behind dunes for a relaxed lunch. In the afternoon, drive to Hoi An, with the highlight being the climb over the Hai Van Pass, famed for sweeping views over Lang Co Bay and the coastline. Check in and enjoy a free evening.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Hoi An & Danang

Start the day by bicycle from your hotel, pedalling through rice fields, gardens and local markets towards Cam Kim Island and Duy Vinh Commune. Stop as often as you like for photographs and quiet moments, then visit a local family to learn about traditional sedge-mattress weaving using time-honoured techniques. After around 10 km of cycling, switch pace and take to the water: kayak roughly 4 km along the river towards the Cam Thanh coconut-palm forest, a unique mangrove ecosystem near Hoi An with beautiful, shaded waterways. Finish with lunch served in a local home, then transfer back to your hotel for a relaxed afternoon and evening.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Depending on flight time, transfer around midday to Danang Airport for your onward flight to Ho Chi Minh City. On arrival, meet your local guide and transfer to your centrally located hotel. In the early evening, head out for a standout urban experience: a guided scooter tour with a friendly driver team and a safety briefing before you set off. Ride through markets and older residential quarters, alternating wide boulevards with narrow back lanes, while your driver points out the details that make Saigon so compelling. Several stops are included, including a chance to sample excellent street food for dinner. Return to the hotel around 21:00.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Leave the city behind this morning for Ben Tre, a quieter corner of the Mekong Delta reached in around two and a half hours. Board a private boat and begin a hands-on exploration of delta life: visit a local workshop, then continue to a small, less-visited island for lunch at a simple guesthouse. In the afternoon, switch to bicycles and ride narrow paths across the island, stopping at a local farm to learn about sâm jelly and sample it fresh. Continue through orchards, then transfer into a small sampan to glide through a dense stretch of mangroves—peaceful, shaded and wonderfully atmospheric. Rejoin your driver for the return to Ho Chi Minh City.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Ho Chi Minh City – Departure

Enjoy free time after breakfast until your guide accompanies you to the airport for your departure flight. Hotel check-out is typically by midday; if you’d like to keep the room longer, late check-out can be arranged in advance at an additional cost. Depending on your flight schedule, you might fit in last-minute shopping, a café stop, or simply relax at the hotel before leaving. Your transfer is timed to suit traffic and check-in requirements, with the drive to the airport usually around 45 minutes. If you are extending your stay, we can arrange additional nights, private transfers, or day trips to match your onward plans.

Meals Included: Breakfast