Trip overview
Most six-day versions of this route buy their time by turning the overnight cruise into a day trip. This one refuses to: the night on the water stays put, and the capital loses a night instead, its sightseeing squeezed into one full day before you set off for the coast.
You disembark and fly the same day, landing in Ho Chi Minh City for two nights split between the Cu Chi Tunnels and the colonial centre. The route earns its place when the junk is non-negotiable but a seventh or eighth day is not on offer. Outside the wettest weeks in each region it works nearly all year.
Trip highlights
- A whole day in the capital, from the Mausoleum to the Old Quarter
- A night aboard on the bay, with Surprise Cave to follow in the morning
- The flight south, taken the same day you leave the boat
- Cu Chi Tunnels, the wartime tunnel network built during the struggle for independence
- Half a day on foot through the colonial quarter, including Notre Dame Cathedral and the Opera House
Your day-by-day itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Hanoi (about a 45-minute, 25 km transfer from the airport)
Colonial streets, pagodas at the lakeside and a crowded Old Quarter give the trip a gentle opening before it moves fast, first to the coast and then south. The afternoon you land is usually left free, and the Old Quarter is where most people spend it.
Day 2: Hanoi city tour
One full day takes in the Mausoleum and stilt house, One Pillar Pagoda and the Temple of Literature, then Quan Thanh Temple and Tran Quoc Pagoda beside West Lake. The Museum of Ethnology follows lunch, and the day closes at Hoan Kiem Lake with a walk into the Old Quarter around it.
Day 3: Hanoi to Ha Long Bay, board overnight cruise (about 3 hours / 170 km one way)
Pickup is at 8am, and the drive out crosses the rice fields of the Red River Delta. Aboard the junk you pass Dinh Huong, Ga Choi, Dog and Sail Islands, call at a pearl farm and paddle into Luon Cave, with a swim off Ti Top Island before the sun drops and dinner on board.
Day 4: Ha Long Bay to Hanoi airport, fly to Ho Chi Minh City (about 3½ hours / 190 km one way)
Tai Chi on the sundeck opens the day, then Surprise Cave, up roughly 100 steps. Brunch and a final pass by Ga Choi Island, Binh Phong Mountain and Tortoise Island follow, then you step ashore at Tuan Chau port, transfer to Noi Bai Airport and fly south that same day, met on arrival.
Day 5: Cu Chi Tunnels excursion (about 1½ hours / 70 km one way)
Today is spent at the Cu Chi Tunnels, the underground network Vietnamese resistance fighters built and used during the long fight for independence. Your guide leads you through the sections open to visitors and the surrounding exhibits.
Day 6: Half-day Ho Chi Minh City tour, departure
Checkout is followed by half a day on foot: the former Presidential Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Old Saigon Post Office, Dong Khoi Street, the Continental Hotel, the Opera House and City Hall, then the transfer to Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
What's included
- Accommodation with twin/ double/ triple sharing room basis with daily breakfast in the category chosen or similar (subject to availability).
- Meals as mentioned in the Tour Itinerary.
- Sightseeing & Transfers according to the above Tour Itinerary Details only.
- Transportation by vehicle with A/C
- Local English-speaking guide’s assistance.
- All Entrance fees for attractions included in the program
- All activities and cruises clearly mentioned in the program
- Government taxes & service charge
- Air Fare / Train fare.
- Personal Expenses such as Laundry, telephone calls, tips & gratuity, mineral water, soft & hard drinks, porterage, water sports.
- Early check-in, late check-out
- Additional sightseeing or extra usage of vehicle, other than mentioned in the itinerary.
- Room Up gradation Charges.
- Any cost arising due to natural calamities like, landslides, road blockage, political disturbances (strikes), etc (to be borne by the client, which is directly payable on the spot).
- Travel Insurance.
- Bank Charges
- Tip to Driver & Guide (Compulsory)
- Airport Taxes
- Visa and Visa arrangement
- Anything which is not included in the inclusion.
Not included
- Air Fare / Train fare.
- Personal Expenses such as Laundry, telephone calls, tips & gratuity, mineral water, soft & hard drinks, porterage, water sports.
- Early check-in, late check-out
- Additional sightseeing or extra usage of vehicle, other than mentioned in the itinerary.
- Room Up gradation Charges.
- Any cost arising due to natural calamities like, landslides, road blockage, political disturbances (strikes), etc (to be borne by the client, which is directly payable on the spot).
- Travel Insurance.
- Bank Charges
- Tip to Driver & Guide (Compulsory)
- Airport Taxes
- Visa and Visa arrangement
- Anything which is not included in the inclusion.
Booking this trip
- Days
- 5 nights / 6 days
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