CULTURAL HIGHLIGHTS OF VIETNAM (15days)
HANOI/ SAPA/ HOI AN/ SAIGON & MEKONG
Summary Welcome to a new perspective on Vietnam for the discerning luxury traveler. Beginning in Hanoi, the safeguard of Vietnamese culture and the bedrock of its national sovereignty, you’ll take a private tour through the old quarter—a district that has changed little over the centuries—before capturing a moment of old colonial grandeur as you ride by cyclo past old landmarks from the French era. You’ll have the chance to select among Hanoi’s best landmarks for a closer look, and in the evening enjoy VIP tickets to the traditional water puppet theater or a classical performance at Hanoi’s Opera House. The following morning you’ll take a deluxe private market and culinary tour to experience all the tastes of the capital city for yourself. In the afternoon, you’ll be escorted north to Lao Cai, a small rural village on the Chinese border. The quiet town is the unassuming gateway to Sapa—one of Vietnam’s most astonishingly beautiful rice-growing regions. On your way there, the countryside around transforms as suburban homes give way to endless terraced paddies of rice. Stop at the misty Bac Ha market for minority hillside tribespeople, and after settling into your deluxe room at Sapa, visit the stilt-home village of Sin Chai, with its traditional living and astonishing views.
Explore the region even further the following day with a visit to a traditional hill tribe village on the Sapa outskirts. You’ll pass through Red Dzao, Black Hmong, Thai, and indigo-clad Tay settlements, enjoying a quiet lunch in the presence of all nature along the way. On your last day in Sapa, visit the Silver Waterfall and Tram Tom, the highest mountain pass in the country. An optional excursion to Fansipan Peak can be arranged. Greet the next day with a private transfer to Halong Bay, cruising in luxury on vessels shaped
like the crimson-sailed junks that have always circumnavigated the towering seamounts there. You’ll be visiting unique villages, great caves in the rock, limestone islets, and kayaking across the turquoise waves. After an awe-inspiring sunrise cruise watching the glow of morning erupt through the mist over the sea, return by private transfer to Hanoi for your domestic flight to Hoi An, one of the greatest trading ports of the 17th century. The old covered bridge installed by the Japanese remains the city’s most iconic attraction. Explore Hoi An with a personal driver and expert guide, heading for the hidden lanes and alleyways where unique storefronts, historic markets and homesteads recall the glories of days gone by. Visit the Trade Ceramic
Museum, Phung Hung Ancient House, and Quan Thang House, stopping by smartly-restored shop-houses, Chinese temples and, finally, a lantern-making factory. You may also visit a local silk tailor or take a scenic boat ride along the river beside the town. Beyond the historic town, your exclusive guide will lead you in a private tour of the local farming villages before you take a cooking class at Tra Que village, known for its organic and decorative vegetables. From Hoi An, explore the abandoned tower-temple ruins of My Son, sanctuaries of the Cham culture with forebears in the Hindu art of India. The site is designed to represent the home of the deities at the center of the universe. Next, take advantage of the fresh countryside air by cycling through the lush fields and charming villages of the picturesque countryside of rice paddies and forests of water coconut. Drop by old carving and boat-building workshops before enjoying a meal with a rural family and then cruising back to the town by ferry. On the road to the ancient Vietnamese imperial capital of Hue, stop by the Cham museum, home to the finest stone carvings and statues that remain of the culture, as well as the Marble Mountain area, a picturesque sanctuary of Buddhist temples and pagodas. In Hue, visit the Purple Forbidden City, styled after the imperial palace in Beijing, which was once the seat of Vietnamese imperial power. Take a relaxed cyclo tour through the old city area of Dai Noi out to Tinh Tam Lake, the favorite resting places of the emperors themselves. Join in the bustle of the local markets the next morning before taking a stroll along the Perfume River, stopping by the tombs of the renowned Minh Mang and Khai Dinh. You will also have the chance to sample Hue’s renowned vegetarian and royal cuisine before departing for Saigon. There, the old French colonial facades giving way to prisms of soaring skyscrapers and narrow residences packed together like pastel-colored dominos. Discover the city for yourself with our expert guide; you’ll see the whole story of the city revealed in its landmarks—the old red-brick Gothic cathedral standing opposite the mid-century Reunification Palace, itself just a short stroll from the War Remnants Museum that recounts the nightmare of the war from the Vietnamese perspective. From there, side-step to Ho Chi Minh
City’s Chinatown, with its busy markets of exotic medicinal herbs traded alongside bushels of local coffee, cashew nuts, and wicker trays of banh mi baguettes. Your evening will take you a step closer to the local culture on the back of a Vespa scooter, stopping by selected streetside snack stalls. Optional extras can be arranged on request. On your last full day in Vietnam, select from fullday excursions to the Mekong Delta or the Cu Chi Tunnels and Cao Dai Temple. On the final day of your journey, we take you to the airport by private transfer to prepare for your flight home. Vietnam will always be awaiting your return.
ITINERARY OVERVIEW
Day 1: Hanoi
Pass through Vietnamese immigration with VIP assistance and be escorted to your private vehicle. Stay at a palatial colonial-era residence.
Day 2: Hanoi
Private tour through the old quarter and cyclo ride past old landmarks from the French era. You may select from Hanoi’s museums and visits to Hanoi’s premiere tourist stops. Evening VIP tickets to the traditional water puppet theater or a classical performance at Hanoi’s colonial-era Opera House.
Day 3: Hanoi-Lao Cai
Spend your morning on a deluxe private market and culinary tour. In the afternoon, head north to Lao Cai, a small rural village on the Chinese border, the gateway to beautiful Sapa.
Day 4: Sunday Market-Sapa
Depart Lao Cai for Sapa, stopping at Bac Ha Market for the minority hillside tribespeople. Settle in to your deluxe room at Sapa by early afternoon, then tour a stilt-home village with astonishing views over tiered rice terraces. Optional extras include lunch in a local home, hikes to nearby villages and waterfalls, or a cooking lesson in Hmong cuisine.
Day 5: Sapa
Visit a traditional hill tribe village on the Sapa outskirts, enjoying a quiet lunch along the way. The evening will be spent at your leisure in your luxury resort.
Day 6: Sapa-Hanoi
See the Silver Waterfall and Tram Tom, the highest mountain pass in the country. An optional excursion to Fansipan Peak can be arranged. Return to Hanoi.
Day 7: Hanoi-Halong Bay
Private transfer to Halong Bay. Cruise in luxury on vessels shaped like the crimson-sailed junks, visiting unique villages, caves, limestone islets, and kayaking across the turquoise waves.
Day 8: Halong Bay-Hoi An
Sunrise cruise on the bay before returning by private transfer to Hanoi for your domestic flight bound for Hoi An. Enjoy your afternoon and evening at leisure at your luxurious resort.
Day 9: Hoi An
Explore Hoi An with a personal driver and expert guide, visiting the Trade Ceramic Museum, Phung Hung Ancient House, and
Quan Thang house. Optional extras include a visit to a local silk tailor and a scenic boat ride. Beyond the historic town, your exclusive guide will lead you in a private tour of the local farming villages and bring you to a cooking class at Tra Que village.
Day 11: Hoi An-Hue
Day 10: Hoi An-My Son
Enjoy the bustle of the local markets before taking a stroll along the Perfume River, stopping by the tombs of Minh Mang and Khai Dinh. Sample Hue’s renowned vegetarian and royal cuisine before departing for Saigon. Spend your evening at the city center’s most opulent hotel.
Explore the abandoned tower-temple ruins of My Son, designed to represent the home of the deities at the center of the universe, before cycling through the picturesque countryside, dropping by old carving and boat-building workshops and dining with a rural family before cruising back to the town by ferry.
Head for the ancient Vietnamese imperial capital of Hue, stopping by the Cham museum and Marble Mountain area. Visit the Purple Forbidden City, styled after the imperial palace in Beijing, then take a relaxed cyclo tour through the old city out to Tinh Tam Lake.
Day 12: Hue-Saigon
Day 13: Saigon
Discover Saigon with our expert guide, seeing the old Gothic cathedral, Reunification Palace, and War Remnants Museum. From there, visit the busy markets and silk stores of Chinatown. In the evening, ride on the back of a Vespa scooter, stopping by selected streetside snack stalls.
Day 14: Saigon-Mekong Delta
Select from full-day excursions to the Mekong Delta or the Cu Chi Tunnels and Cao Dai Temple.
Day 15: Depart Saigon
We take you to the airport by private transfer to prepare for your flight home.
Park Hyatt SAIGON
The Nam Hai HOI AN
La Residence Resort & Spa HUE
Sofitel Legend Metropole HA NOI
Aristo Hotel Lao Cai
Victoria Hotel - SaPa
Paradise Peak Halong Bay
Itinerary In Details Day 1: Hanoi
Welcome to a new perspective on Vietnam for the discerning luxury traveler. You’ll truly feel in a class of your own once you’ve passed through immigration with VIP assistance and been escorted to your private vehicle. Take a look around you as your private transfer from the airport delivers you to your luxury hotel. This is the thousand-year capital of Hanoi, the safeguard of Vietnamese culture and the bedrock of its national sovereignty, one of its most ancient living towns that still maintains the tranquil atmosphere of its earliest days. It is a microcosm of peace in a location that was once, to Western
observers, the very definition of war. Enjoy its poetic soul while you can—if the pace continues unimpeded, by 2025 this will be the world’s fastest-growing city. You will be staying at a palatial colonial-era residence now known as the
Sofitel Legend Metropole—the height of grandeur in the cultural center of the entire nation. Accommodation in Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi
Day 2: Hanoi
You’ll spend the morning getting to know Hanoi intimately with your personal expert guide and driver, who will host a private tour for you to make your own connections with the capital’s thousandfold streets and alleyways. Wander at will through the old quarter, a Hanoian district that has changed little over the centuries, where every street is devoted to a particular trade. Then, capture a moment of old colonial grandeur as you ride by cyclo past old landmarks from the French era, stopping at crafts markets just as the European settlers would have done in an age gone by. You may also select from Hanoi’s museums—visit the Ethnology, Women’s, or Arts Museum according to your preference—and visits to Hanoi’s premiere tourist stops, the Temple of Literature, One Pillar Pagoda, House on Stilts and Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum. Embrace the culture of the region with VIP tickets to an evening performance of the traditional water puppet theater—a fascinat-
ing art form unique to Vietnam—or a classical performance at Hanoi’s colonial-era Opera House. Accommodation in Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi
Day 3: Hanoi - Lao Cai
Every destination in Vietnam has its own unique take on the local cuisine, and Hanoi is one of the epicenters of Vietnamese dining. Spend your morning on a deluxe private market and culinary tour with your expert driver and guide to experience all the tastes of the capital city for yourself. Travel with chef and cookbook author Daniel Hoyer on a journey through Hanoi’s maze of side streets, ferreting out the best local ingredients at the Cho Hom or Chau Long markets, a fascinating insight into the buying and selling rituals of Vietnamese trade and an open tableau for vibrant, colorful photography. The tour is fully customizable and can include lakeside snacks and lunch with Daniel at a classic Bun Cha establishment.
In the afternoon, you’ll be escorted north to Lao Cai, a small rural village where you’ll be able to see the friendly Chinese border town of Hekou just across the bridge. The quiet town is the unassuming gateway to Sapa—one of Vietnam’s most astonishingly beautiful rice-growing regions. Accommodation in Aristo Hotel
Day 4: Sunday Market-Sapa
Watch the countryside around you transform as you depart Lao Cai bound for the stunning Sapa region, as the suburban homes give way to endless terraced paddies of rice, a Vietnamese vista from a fairy tale. Your first stop is misty Bac Ha, where the hundreds of ethnic market stalls are a congregation of color and costume and where minority hillside tribespeople gather to perform their trade activities. The energizing spectacle of textiles and local produce reflect the character of the Black Hmong and Red Dao cultures who circulate the tabletops loaded with their wares. By the early afternoon, you’ll have arrived to the majestic views of Sapa. After settling into your deluxe room, your afternoon’s private tour guide will lead you to the stilt-home village of the Chinese-descended Red Dzao people at Sin Chai, who have lived in this region for over eight centuries. Views from the village are nothing short of astonishing, and you’ll be reluctant to say goodbye to its meandering lanes above the tiered rice terraces. Spend the whole afternoon at leisure, relaxing and exploring the town at will, and make sure you have a quality camera at hand to capture the scenery and the colorful dress of the charming local people. Optional extras include lunch in a local home, hikes to nearby villages and waterfalls, and a cooking lesson in Hmong cuisine. Accommodation in Victoria Sapa Resort and Spa
Day 5: Sapa
Waking up in beautiful Sapa is like emerging through the clouds into a fantasy realm. Indeed, as the mists lift off the mountains in the early morning, the full vista of Sapa reveals itself to the dawn, shyly unveiling its lush forests and fields of rice to every privileged observer. Today you will explore the region even further with a visit to a traditional hill tribe village on the Sapa outskirts. This will be a more intimate program than that of the previous day, with more opportunities to directly interact with the minority peoples of the region. Descending into the verdant greens of the valley floor, you’ll pass through Red Dzao, Black Hmong, Thai, and indigo-clad Tay settlements, enjoying a quiet lunch in the presence of all nature at your chosen point along the way. The evening will be spent at your leisure in your luxury resort. Accommodation in Victoria Hotel Sapa
Day 6: Sapa-Hanoi
Your poignant farewell to Sapa will be spent at the Silver
Waterfall, known in these parts as Thac Bac. Among the highest of its kind in this country, the path from the fall will lead to Tram Tom Pass—at 1,900 meters above sea level, the highest mountain pass in the country and the site of the Heaven Gate with the best vantage over the valley you’ll have seen thus far. An optional excursion to Fansipan Peak can be arranged, often referred to as “the Roof of Indochina.” The cable car ride to the summit is one of the longest of its kind, allowing you to enjoy the views from within for a full 20 minutes. From Sapa, you’ll make a gradual return to Hanoi, leaving behind the rural paradise for the modern charms of the national capital. Accommodation in Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi
Day 7: Hanoi-Halong Bay
Greet the day with a private transfer to Halong Bay, an astonishing natural wonder where almost 2000 gigantic pillars of limestone karsts reach heavenwards from the ocean bed. Cruise in luxury on vessels shaped like the crimson-sailed junks that
have always circumnavigated these seamounts, visiting unique villages, vast caves in the rock, limestone islets, and kayaking across the turquoise waves. Lunch and Dinner are included. Accommodation on Paradise Peak
Day 8: Halong Bay-Hoi An
After an awe-inspiring sunrise cruise on the bay watching the glow of morning erupt through the mist over the sea, return by private transfer to Hanoi for your domestic flight bound for Hoi An, home to a riverside town suspended in a former era. This was a trading port in former times; one of the greatest among the seafaring nations of the 17th century. The old covered bridge installed by the Japanese remains the city’s most iconic attraction. From your private hotel transfer, you’ll sense an arrival at a location where you’ll see the country through a more authentic lens. Enjoy your afternoon and evening at leisure at your almost celestially luxurious resort. Accommodation in The Nam Hai
Day 9 :Hoi An
Today you’ll be exploring Hoi An with a personal driver and expert guide, heading for the hidden lanes and alleyways where unique storefronts, historic markets and homesteads recall the glories of days gone by. During your walking tour, you’ll stop by the Trade Ceramic Museum and Phung Hung Ancient House, a masterpiece of fusion architecture that has stood here for over a century. Quan Thang House nearby is two hundred years older still, also replete with Sino-Japanese flourishes. Along the way, make stops at smartly restored shop-houses, Chinese temples and, finally, a lantern-making factory. Optional extras include a visit to a local silk tailor to order customized clothing in any style, and a scenic boat ride along the river beside the town. Beyond the historic town, the region’s rural heartland provides
glimpses into the traditional Vietnamese way of life. Your exclusive guide will lead you in a private tour of the local farming villages, laboring on the land as their ancestors did before them. The highlight of the afternoon will be a cooking class at Tra Que village, a traditional rural town known for its organic vegetables. You’ll learn here how to prepare healthy Vietnamese recipes with local organic herbs, shaping decorative vegetables and working with fresh tropical fruits. Dinner is included. Accommodation in The Nam Hai
Day 10: Hoi An-My Son
Today you will explore the abandoned tower-temple ruins of My Son, sanctuaries of the Cham culture that have stood since the era of the Champa kingdom, which was once based in this region. The architecture of these structures is unique, having its cultural origins in the Hindu art of India. This dramatic site is surrounded by mountains that provide the watershed for the sacred Thu Bon river, and is designed to represent the home of the deities at the center of the universe. If you want to take advantage of the fresh countryside air away from the tourists, you’ll love cycling through the lush fields and charming villages in the picturesque countryside area between My Son and Hoi An, with its rice paddies and forests of water coconut. You’ll have the opportunity to drop by old carving and boat-building workshops before enjoying a meal with a rural family and then cruising back to the town by ferry. Accommodation in The Nam Hai
Day 11: Hoi An-Hue
Say farewell to Hoi An as you depart in your private transfer heading for the ancient Vietnamese imperial capital of Hue. Your visit to My Son yesterday will provide the perfect context for stopping by the Cham museum along the way, home to the finest stone carvings and statues that remain of a culture that is largely lost to history. You’ll also see the Marble Mountain area, a cluster of limestone peaks that form a picturesque sanctuary of Buddhist temples and pagodas. After settling in to your new luxury residence, you’ll be visiting one of the country’s most important architectural heritage sites—the Purple Forbidden City, styled after the imperial palace in Beijing, which was once the seat of Vietnamese imperial power. This is a maze of cultural treasures and grand historic halls, the former home of the Nguyen lords embellished with royal flourishes and elegant pagodas. The citadel is far from its pristine state, however,
having been significantly damaged during the war era. Following on from the citadel visit, take a relaxed cyclo tour through the old city area of Dai Noi out to Tinh Tam Lake, the favorite resting places of the emperors themselves. You too will enjoy the tranquil scene of the lake blanketed in lotus flowers, perhaps from the table of a streetside café in the university zone. Accommodation in La Residence Resort & Spa
Day 12: Hue-Saigon
Your morning will be spent pleasantly soaking in the bustle of the local markets before taking a stroll along the Perfume River, looking out over the traditionally-styled royal tombs and paying tribute to the kings of old at the Nguyen Dynasty Mausoleum, stopping by the tombs of the renowned Minh Mang and Khai Dinh. You will also have the chance to sample Hue’s renowned vegetarian and royal cuisine before departing for Saigon. For centuries the soul of the Vietnamese south, the transformative energy of Saigon is obvious from the moment you arrive. Your private transfer vehicle will ease you into the dizzying traffic bound for your hotel. The ever-present hum of scooter engines, drawing 8.22 million people through the city’s intricate web of lanes in chaotic pulses, seem to lift Saigon’s architecture skyward in a grand orchestral sweep, the old French colonial facades giving way to prisms of soaring skyscrapers and narrow residences packed together like pastel-colored dominos. You’ll spend your evening at the city center’s most opulent hotel, right at the heart of the country’s greatest metropolis. Accommodation in Park Hyatt Saigon
Day 13: Saigon
Take the day to discover the city for yourself with our expert guide, who will lead you to explore Saigon with all your senses. As the heavy aroma of rich black coffee condenses in gusts of incense smoke from its old temples, you’ll see the whole story of the city revealed in its landmarks—the old red-brick Gothic cathedral standing opposite the mid-century Reunification
Palace, itself just a short stroll from the War Remnants Museum that recounts the nightmare of the war from the Vietnamese perspective. From there, side-step to Ho Chi Minh City’s Chinatown, with its busy markets of exotic medicinal herbs traded alongside bushels of local coffee, cashew nuts, and wicker trays of banh mi baguettes. Browse the aisles of vibrant Vietnamese silks and then, if desired, step forward in time at the boutiques of leading Vietnamese designers producing local couture garments based on traditional oriental cultural derivatives. Your evening will take you a step closer to the local culture on the back of a Vespa scooter, which will whisk you through the less-visited districts where the best genuine local cuisine is found at selected streetside snack stalls. Additional options can be arranged, upon request: private market tours and cooking lessons, private musical performances, meeting with a local historian, a streetfood tour by Vespa, appointments with art consultants, personal shoppers (furniture, silk, local crafts, clothing). Accommodation in Park Hyatt Saigon
Day 14 :Saigon
On your last full day in Vietnam, you’ll be headed for the most lush, biodiverse region of the country, where you can select from full-day excursions to the Mekong Delta or the Cu Chi Tunnels and Cao Dai Temple. Accommodation in Park Hyatt Saigon
Day 15: Saigon Depart
On the final day of your journey, we take you to the airport by private transfer to prepare for your flight home. As your international flight ultimately departs Ho Chi Minh City, you’ll see far below a beautiful chaos of jumbled architecture that has emerged into the modern world from the cultures of the country you have just explored. Vietnam will always be awaiting your return.
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