Day 1: Ha Noi-Arrival-Popular Cuisine
(services included: guide, private car, lunch, dinner, visits, accommodation)

Welcome by Zen Vietnam Travel guide and driver. Transfer to downtown Ha Noi. Time to discover the taste of local coffee.

An orientation walk or rickshaw in the old town district, otherwise known as the 36 Trades Streets of Ha Noi because most of the shops on the same street sold the same thing: Rue des bambous, Rue de silk, Traditional medicine street, Bronze street, etc. A really typical and charming district, with its shops on the sidewalks, small narrow houses, scooters everywhere.

Lunch consisting of Ha Noi's most famous dish, Phở, a popular dish based on beef or chicken rice pasta with broth cooked for hours, on pig or cow bones.

Installation at the hotel for rest and recovery.

Gourmet dinner in a local restaurant on the famous dish ¨Cha Ca¨, another famous dish from Ha Noi, based on a species of fish from the Red River, marinated and lightly fried in oil, accompanied by aromatic herbs of the country, in a local restaurant.

Overnight at hotel in Hanoi.

Day 2: Hanoi - Visits
(guide, private car, lunch, dinner, visits, accommodation)

Breakfast at the hotel.

In the morning, you will visit the ethnographic museum, which gives you a panoramic view of the life of 54 ethnic groups with 54 different cultures in the territory of Vietnam.

Visit of the Temple of Literature, the first university in the history of the country.

Lunch consisting of the ¨Bún Chả¨ dish, simply minced and grilled pork in the form of dumplings, some spring dishes, rice vermicelli but adding just a few local spices, lemon, chili, garlic, carrot, vinegar, black pepper , we already have a superbly good and simple dish. Locals don't often have dessert. So, we present to you "egg coffee" as a replacement. An egg yolk turned in coffee with a little milk, it gives us a very special and good coffee taste.

In the afternoon, visit of the political district with the mausoleum of Hồ Chí Minh, the founding father of modern Vietnam, the presidential palace, the house on stilts of Hồ Chí Minh, the pagoda with the one pillar.

At the end of the day, you will witness the performance of the Water Puppet Theater, a unique culture that you will never find in any other country in the world. Vietnam is the only country that practices this art.

Stop by a local bar just on the sidewalk for a few glasses of draft beer before heading back to the hotel.

Dinner at the restaurant. Night at the hotel.

Day 3: Hanoi - Ancient Duong Lam Village - Mai Chau
(guide, private car, lunch, dinner, visits, accommodation)

Breakfast at the hotel.

Departure at 8:30 am towards Duong Lam village, a typical ancient village in northern Vietnam, with laterite houses. In the village, you will visit his communal house, his small market, his pagoda and Mr. The's family. It will be a good opportunity for you to experience a beautiful part of Vietnamese culture and customs. Lunch at Mr. The's of dishes made by his family.
Road towards Mai Chau. On the road you will visit a very beautiful village with stilt houses with thatched roofs, inhabited by the inhabitants of the Muong ethnic group, Gia Mo village. Discover their life and typical working tools.

Arrive in Mai Chau, a beautiful peaceful valley surrounded by mountains. Tonight, you sleep in the stilt house of Mr. Cuong's family, a white Thai ethnic group. The opportunity to truly live with the locals like a local inhabitant.

Dinner with typical local dishes.

Attend and participate in the musical evening with traditional dances performed by the young people of the village.

Night at the inhabitant in a house on stilts.

Note:

* The night at the inhabitant can be replaced by the night in a beautiful hotel if you prefer comfort: Mai Chau Ecolodge
* Tonight, you will sleep in a house on stilts with the locals with standard comforts.
* This is the only place in Vietnam where you can taste the insects: Grasshoppers, flying cockroaches, silkworms.

Day 4: Mai Chau - Ninh Binh - Dong Dinh Village - Chez Huan
(guide, private car, lunch, dinner, visits, accommodation)

Breakfast at the inhabitant's.

8:30 am Leave for the discovery by bike of the villages around Mai Chau Lac, Pomcoong, Van, Cha ... its daily market.

Great opportunity to see and participate in agricultural activities with local peasants, sowing corn, transplanting or harvesting rice, vegetables, plowing the fields ... Live a short day like a local peasant, it will be a beautiful memory.

On the road, you will see beautiful landscapes with huge plantations of sugar cane and orange trees.

Lunch on the road.Arrival at Huan, a rural lodging in Hoa Lu, far from mass tourism. Bike ride in the village. Cooking class with the family.

Dinner and overnight at Mr. Huan's.

Day 5: Ninh Binh - Halong bay land
(guide, private car, lunch, dinner, visits, accommodation)

Breakfast at Mr. Huan's

Road to Tam Coc passing through the World Heritage Center of Trang An, the center of Halong Bay on land with stunning scenery.

Arrival at Tam Coc, bike ride to Thung Nham for another rowing boat ride. It will be a very ¨zen¨ moment to contemplate the beauty of the terrestrial Halong Bay with rocks, rice fields, caves ....

Lunch at the local gastronomic restaurant with goat dishes.

Departure to Bai Dinh Pagoda, the largest Buddhist pagoda in Southeast Asia, a pharaonic building equipped with thousands of small Buddha statues, hundreds of marble Buddhist Saints statues, bronze Buddha statues of 'a hundred tons. It is a building to be seen in life.

Dinner and overnight at M.Huan's

Day 6: Ninh Binh - Hai Phong - Cat Ba- Cruise in Halong Bay
(guide on board, bus, lunch, dinner, visits, accommodation)

Breakfast at Mr. Huan's.

At 7:30 am, departure for Hai Phong 150km away, to embark on a shuttle that takes you to Cat Ba Island. 30 minutes more bus and you arrive at Ben Beo pier where you will board our beautiful boat and start the 24 hours on board to discover one of the natural wonders of the world, Halong Bay.

From our ¨zen¨ criteria for trips, we have chosen the part of the south of the bay where the large mass tourism boats do not pass yet, just a few small traditional junks in this area. A part of the bay that is still very authentic and wild with thousands of rocks, wild beaches and huge floating villages that you cannot find in the other part of Ha Long Bay.

Lunch on board with seafood. Time for swimming or simply resting on the deck to admire this miracle that nature offers us. After 3 hours of navigation, we arrive at Hang Ca, a beautiful place for the kayak ride, another way to see the bay up close.

Around 5:30 p.m., we anchor in a magnificent circus in the middle of the bay where you will be alone. A hell of a time to watch the sunset over the bay.

Dinner on board and a test of squid fishing in the evening will be great memories.

Overnight on board.

Note: The order of visits during the cruise may be changed depending on local weather conditions.

Day 7: Cat Ba - Ha Noi Airport - Flight to Hue
(guide on board, bus, lunch, accommodation, visits)

An early morning awakening in a magical setting around 5 am to admire the sunrise over the bay, why not?
After a good breakfast, the junk continues to sail in the bay and takes you to Viet Hai village for a nice bike ride or visit the fish farm or just enjoy the tranquility on a beach. You choose !

Lunch on board and disembarkation around 11:30 am.

Transfer to Ha Noi Airport for the 6:00 pm flight to Hue. Arrival in Hue. Welcome by the guide and the driver. Transfer to the hotel.

Installation at the hotel around 8 p.m. Free dinner

Day 8: Hue - Visits
(guide, private car, lunch, dinner, accommodation, visits)

Breakfast at the hotel.

Hue, former capital of Vietnam from 1802 to 1945. A charming city which has a great cultural richness with its history, its historical monuments, its imperial city, its mausoleums, its Perfume river ...., which seduced the soul generations of Vietnamese poets as well as visitors. Despite damage due to the two wars, the renovation projects are gradually giving it back its original charm.

The day's visit begins with Dong Ba Market, the largest indoor market in the city. Here you find everything the locals need. A beautiful market to see

Next, you will visit the Heavenly Lady Pagoda, the most important pagoda in Hue. Built in 1601, the Heavenly Lady Pagoda is not only a Buddhist temple but also an important ceremonial place for members of the royal family. A little discovery on local religious life.

The visit continues with the most important monument in Hue, the Imperial City. Built for 29 years from 1804 to 1833, the imperial city was the political, economic, cultural center of the country and the home of 13 Nguyen emperors and their families. The construction of the imperial city was a typical example of oriental architecture by harmoniously applying Confucianist philosophies, fengshui and also the use of local and exotic materials.

Time for lunch with Hue dishes: Bun Bo, Nem Lui, Bun Thit Nuong…

Continuation of the visit to2 mausoleums of Khai Dinh and Minh Mang. While the Mausoleum of Minh Mang is a typical construction of the city, strictly respecting local criteria, oriental philosophies, fengshui ... the mausoleum of Khai Dinh is an exception. Its architecture is really an original invention of this emperor and under the hands of the artists of the time, a splendid building, mixed with several styles: Catholic, Buddhist, French, Vietnamese, Chinese, as well as a most beautiful mosaic work. from Vietnam, were made.

Draft beer break at the end of the day.

Dinner at the restaurant.

Night at the hotel.

Day 9: Hue-Col des Nuages-Hoi An
(guide, private car, lunch, dinner, accommodation, visits)

Breakfast.

The morning begins with a visit to the Thanh Toan Bridge, a cute little Japanese-style bridge located in a small village not far from the city center. Visit of the very authentic daily market where the villagers come to shop every day. A market that stands out from the rest.

Departure towards Hoi An via the Col des Nuages. A photo stop on the pass is highly recommended.

Arrival in Da Nang. Time for lunch at the restaurant.

Visit of the Cham sculptures museum.

Visit the beautiful Ngu Hanh Son Buddhist temple which is hidden in the Marble Mountain in Da Nang.

Arrival in Hoi An, nicknamed the Little Venice of Vietnam, Hoi An was a former silk trading port since the 14th and 15th centuries, a city which is very very well preserved, with its ancient temples, its ancient houses of various styles. , from the West with French houses, to the East with Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese houses. A favorite city for most of the people who have visited it.

Dinner at the restaurant in the center of the old town. This outing allows you to see the city again but under the magnificent light of lanterns.

Night at the hotel.

Day 10: Hoi An - Tra Que Village
(guide, private car, lunch, accommodation, visits)

Breakfast at the hotel.

This morning, you will start with a bike ride to Tra Que village, a village renowned for its cultivation of aromatic vegetables, salads, onions ... in an organic way. Here you will dress up as a peasant, participate, learn and work the land with the people of the village.

After the time to learn the profession of peasant, it will be a small cooking class with the family to make some typical dishes of the region. Lunch in the village.

In the afternoon, continue the bike ride through villages surrounded by rice fields to the sea. Then, you will start another boat ride towards the old town of Hoi An. Visit of the city ​​with some temples and typical houses, the Japanese bridge and also time for your shopping.

Free dinner.

Night at the hotel.

Day 11: Hoi An freetime
(accommodation)

Completely free day for your personal activities: walking, cycling, beach, shopping….

Night at the hotel.

Day 12: Hoi An- Flight to Saigon - Visit of Saigon
(guide, private car, dinner, accommodation, visits)

Breakfast at the hotel.

At 8:00 am, departure for the flight around 11:00 am for Saigon. Arrival in Saigon. Welcome by the guide and the driver. Transfer to the city center.

Saigon, today called Ho Chi Minh city, is the first city of Vietnam in several aspects: economic, area, population ...

Continuation of your day by visiting the Reunification Palace which served as the Presidential Palace of South Vietnam before 1975. Visit of the central post office and Saigon Cathedral.

Discovery of the Chinese district of Cholon with in particular the Binh Tay market which is full of life and where you can find absolutely everything you can imagine, all in a warm atmosphere. Finally, visit the Thien Hau pagoda, a guaranteed atmosphere with the incense cones burning on the ceiling and all the decorative elements typical of a pagoda dedicated to the goddess of the sea.

Dinner on the Indochine Junk boat, a beautiful ride for 1h30 on the Saigon river to admire the modern beauty of the city while listening to traditional music.

Day 13: Saigon - Sadec - Can Tho
(guide, car, lunch, dinner, accommodation, visits)

Breakfast at the hotel.

At 8:00 am, departure with the guide towards Sa Dec, a small town famous for growing flowers. Arrival in Sadec, visit of the market for exotic agricultural products of the Mekong and the former house of the Lover, Marguerite Duras' first love in life, who inspired her for the release of the novel Lover.

Lunch at the Lover's house.

Continuation of the road to Can Tho, the first city of the Mekong Delta. Visit of the Binh Thuy house where we shot the film The Lover, a superb house.

Installation at the hotel.

Dinner at the restaurant. Night at the hotelPhone.

Day 14: Can Tho - Floating market - Vinh Long - Cai Be - Saigon
(guide, car, lunch, accommodation, visits)

Wake up early at 6 am to visit the Cai Rang floating market, the largest floating market in Vietnam where hundreds of boats gather every morning to trade in agricultural products, fruits and flowers. The origin of the floating markets comes from the relief of the Mekong Delta, with rivers, streams and canals everywhere, which really discourages land transport but which seems ideal for boat travel. Here you will see that the locals of the Mekong are as comfortable on their boats as the others elsewhere on their scooters !!!!!

Return of the floating market. Time for breakfast and drive to Vĩnh Long 40km from Can Tho.

Arrived at Vinh Long, you will embark on a boat for a little air of the Mekong with the visit of candy factory, rice cakes, rice alcohol ... huge gardens of exotic fruit trees that you do not know : durian, rambutan, jackfruit, water apple, milk apple ...

Lunch at the gastronomy of the Mekong.

In the afternoon, a short cruise for 1 hour on an arm of the Mekong to Cai Be admiring the beautiful landscapes on both sides. Arrival in Cai Be, we take the car in the direction of Saigon.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 15: Saigon Freetime - Departure
(transfer to the airport)

Breakfast at the hotel.

Free day without guide or driver for your personal discovery.

The room is vacated at noon. Free meal.

Meet the driver then transfer to Saigon airport for the departure flight.

End of the trip!

Travel with passion!