Highlights :

+ Private trip with personalized services for a rewarding and peaceful discovery of Vietnam
+ Varied program with the country's essential destinations
+ Authentic cruise in a private or collective junk in the authentic part of Halong Bay.
+ Superb rides in a rowboat or by bicycle in the "terrestrial Halong bay"
+ A little air of the Mekong

Notes:

- This tour can be adapted and modified according to your wishes and your budget (date, duration and content).
- The cost of this trip varies depending on the number of participants, the services (category of accommodation, activities, etc.) and the period chosen.
- Do not hesitate to contact us for more information. We are always ready to listen to you.

Day 1: Hanoi arrival
(guide, private car, dinner, accommodation, visits)

Welcome by Zen Vietnam  Travel guide and driver. Transfer to downtown Ha Noi.

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.

Installation at the hotel for the shower and rest. Warning ! hotel rooms are only available from 2 p.m.

Gourmet dinner at the famous ¨Cha Ca¨ dish in a local restaurant. Overnight at hotel in Hanoi.

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

Today, you will start the visit of the capital Hà Nội with a very old Buddhist pagoda, the 6th century Trấn Quốc pagoda, located in a beautiful setting by the large West Lake. Then, you will visit the Quán Thánh temple at 300m.

Then, the visit of the ethnographic museum, which gives you a panoramic view of the life of the 54 ethnic groups with 54 different cultures in the territory of Vietnam.
Time for lunch at the restaurant.

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

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.

Dinner at the local restaurant. Overnight at hotel in Hanoi.

Day 3: Ha Noi- Cat Ba - Cruise in Halong Bay- Overnight on board
(guide on board, bus, lunch, dinner, accommodation, visits, private junk or collective boat)

Breakfast at the hotel.

At 8:00 am, departure for Hai Phong 100 km away to board a shuttle bus that takes you to Cat Ba Island. 30 minutes more bus and you arrive at the Ben Beo pier where you will board our beautiful private junk (or collective boat) and start the 24 hours on board for a discovery of one of the natural wonders of the world, the 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 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, beautiful place for the kayak trip, 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 4: Cat Ba - Ninh Binh-Halong Bay land
(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.

Road to Ninh Binh. Arrival at Tam Coc village

Overnight at the hotel.

Day 5: Ninh Binh-Halong Bay land-Flight to Hue
(guide, private car, lunch, accommodation, visits)

Breakfast at the hotel.

Ninh Binh, nicknamed Ha Long Bay on land because of the similarity between the landscapes and the geological formation, with thousands of rocks covered by beautiful vegetation, a succession of natural cirques linked together by caves dug by erosions.

At 8:30 am, bike ride around Tam Coc to Thung Nham for another rowboat ride. It will be a very small moment to contemplate the beauty of the terrestrial Halong Bay with rocks, rice fields, caves ....

Visit the temple of Thai Vi and the Bich Dong pagoda.

Lunch at the restaurant.

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

Installation at the hotel around 8 p.m.

Night at the hotel

Day 6: Hue-Visits
(guide, private car, lunch, 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.

Continuation of the visit to the 2 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.

Overnight at a guest house.

Day 7: 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 the pretty 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.

Town tour.

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 the lanterns.

Night at the hotel.

Day 8: Hoi An-Visits-Tra Que Village
(guide, 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. Over 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. Continuation of the bike ride through villages surrounded by rice fields, to the sea. Then, you will start another ride, by boat towards the old town of Hoi An.

Lunch at the restaurant.

Visit of the city with some temples and typical houses, the Japanese bridge and also time for your shopping.

Night at the hotel.

Day 9: Hoi An freetime
(accommodation)

This is a completely free day for your personal activities: walking, cycling, beach, shopping….

Day 10: Hoi An-Vol to Saigon - Visit Saigon
(guide, private car, dinner, accommodation, visits)

Breakfast at the hotel.

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

Saigon, now called Ho Chi Minh City, is Vietnam's first city inseveral 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 Chinatown 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.

Overnight at hotel in Saigon.

Day 11: Saigon - Sa Dec - Can Tho
(guide, private 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, which inspired her for the release of the novel Lover.

Lunch at the Lover's house.

Continuation of 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 hotel.

Day 12: Can Tho - Floating market - Vinh Long - Cai Be - Saigon
(guide, private 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 overland 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 40 km from Can Tho.

Arrival in 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 at Cai Be you will take the car back to Saigon.

Overnight at the hotel.

Day 13: Free Saigon - Departure
(transfer to the airport)

Free day for your personal activities until the meeting with the driver for the transfer to the airport, for your return flight.

End of the trip!



Travel with passion!