How this trip is put together
Plenty of itineraries treat Hue as a long day out from a base further south. Here you fly in from the capital and stay the night, with the Perfume River boat trip fitted into the afternoon you arrive. The result is a city you have actually spent time in rather than passed through — paid for with one night fewer in Da Nang than the alternative arrangement gives you.
Next day the road south crosses the Hai Van Pass and skirts Lang Co Beach, with Hoi An's old town on the way, before two nights in Da Nang built around the cable car and Golden Bridge at Ba Na Hills. February to August is the drier half of the year for this route, which rewards anyone who wants some substance alongside the beach days.
Trip highlights
- A full sightseeing day in the capital and a night aboard on Ha Long Bay
- A flight straight into Hue, with a night in the city itself
- A boat on the Perfume River, calling at Thien Mu Pagoda and Hon Chen Temple
- The drive south over the Hai Van Pass, with Lang Co Beach on the way
- An evening on foot in the old town at Hoi An, en route to Da Nang
- Cable-car excursion to Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge
Day by day
Day 1: Arrival in Hanoi (about a 45-minute, 25 km transfer from the airport)
Colonial streets, temples on the lakeshore and an Old Quarter several centuries old make the capital an easy place to begin. The afternoon you land is usually kept quiet, with the trading lanes and food stalls of the Old Quarter there if you want to ease into the trip before the fuller days.
Day 2: Hanoi city tour
A 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 out on West Lake. The Museum of Ethnology comes after lunch, and the day finishes at Hoan Kiem Lake with time on foot in the Old Quarter around it.
Day 3: Hanoi to Ha Long Bay, board overnight cruise (about 3 hours / 170 km one way)
The road to the coast crosses the rice fields and villages of the Red River Delta before you board a traditional junk. Out on the water the route passes Dinh Huong, Ga Choi and Dog Island, calls at a pearl farm and paddles into Luon Cave, with a swim off Ti Top Island before sunset and dinner on board.
Day 4: Ha Long Bay to Hanoi, Surprise Cave (about 3 hours / 170 km one way)
Tai Chi on the sundeck opens the day, then the boat calls at Surprise Cave, reached up roughly 100 steps and walked through in about an hour. Brunch follows, and after a pass by Ga Choi Island, Binh Phong Mountain and Tortoise Island you disembark at Tuan Chau port for the drive back.
Day 5: Fly to Hue, boat trip on the Perfume River
A domestic service links the capital with Phu Bai International Airport outside Hue, where you are met and driven into town. That same afternoon there is a boat on the Perfume River, calling at Thien Mu Pagoda and Hon Chen Temple, and the night is spent in a Hue hotel rather than pushing on south.
Day 6: Hue to Da Nang via Hoi An (about 2 hours / 120 km one way)
The drive south takes in Minh Mang Tomb, the Hai Van Pass, Lang Co Beach, the Cham Museum and the Marble Mountains, then stops in the evening at Hoi An's old town. On foot there you see the Tan Ky old house, the assembly hall, the Japanese covered bridge, the old wells, the market and the harbour on the riverside.
Day 7: Ba Na Hills excursion
One of Southeast Asia's longest cable-car systems carries you up to Ba Na Hills, described now and then as a cooler central answer to Da Lat or Sa Pa. The day covers the French wine cellar, the Golden Bridge on its giant stone hands, Linh Ung Pagoda, the Fantasy Park amusement area and King Peak at 1,487 metres, with Linh Tu Pagoda at the top.
Day 8: Departure from Da Nang
The last day stays free until your transfer to Da Nang International Airport, closing a trip that gave the imperial capital a night of its own rather than a hurried round trip.
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.
Book this trip
- Days
- 7 nights / 8 days
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