Vietnam Compact, 5 days

On arrival at Hanoi Airport, you are greeted  by our guide and taken to your hotel by private transfer. You will have some time free to relax or explore at your own leisure. The capital city of Vietnam, Hanoi is a fascinating blend of East and West, combining traditional Sino-Vietnamese motifs with French flair. The building boom has made Hanoi a rapidly developing city in Southeast Asia. However, it still retains an old charm brought from a thousand year of history, with many interesting cultural and historic monuments, beautiful lakes, shady parks, bustling street markets, funny shops and open air eating spots jostled in ancient houses, and historic temples adjoining colonial style structures. They offer both local and foreigner visitors an endless exploration. You might like to stroll through the fascinating old quarter containing many vibrant streets which are named after the specific goods once offered for sale at these places. The lively atmosphere in Hanoi old quarter runs from the early hours until late at night  with many street vendors calling, horns honking, and chaotic traffic with waves of motorbikes you’ve never experienced.

The incredible limestone outcroppings form a spectacular seascape of Halong Bay, making it an incomparable natural wonder in Vietnam.  Heading out of the town,  we travel by road through the beautiful countryside of  rice fields and roadside villages to the rocky formations of Halong Bay. On arrival, we board a traditional style junk to  visit Halong Bay on a four-hour  trip out. The traditional boat  zigzags itself in the bay, giving us some fantastic views of the bay with a blend of  the sky and limestone islets rising amazingly from the clear and emerald water. These rocky outcrops  usually named by their distinctive shapes are littered with beautiful coves and tiny beaches.  We will anchor for an enjoyable visit to the Thien Cung Cave, one of the many beautiful sites hidden beneath towering cliffs. The grotto interior is naturally adorned with stalactites and stalagmites of various shapes and sizes. These stone columns change their color with the reflected light bringing bright green and even purple hues draping across the deep grotto.  The boat excursion continues through  karst formations back to Tuan Chau Harbour. Along the way, we enjoy on a huge lunch serviced on board and catch up some last images of Halong Bay.  The  spectacular scenery will be left behind as we make our way back to Hanoi, with stopover at a craft center where  many  local villagers  make the excellent craft objects  in traditional ways.  

Today, we spend our time to visit the most notable landmark of Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (closed on Mon. and Fri. and Oct. to Nov).  This imposing marble and granite monument was built towards the Ba Dinh Square. We queue up for a visit to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the Ho Chi Minh House, a simple traditional stilt structure set in a well-tended garden. He  lived and worked in this residence  until his final days. We visit all of them and follow the footpath to  the One Pillar Pagoda rising from the center of a square lotus pond, ascending on a single pillar and resembling a blossoming lotus flower. Upon leaving this area, we see the Temple of Literature, one of the most picturesque attractions in Hanoi. This well-preserved temple is now dedicated to the scholars of Confucius but was once the first university of Vietnam. We take a short walk to the Fine Arts Museum, a prized destination for lovers of art and history. The hidden gem  is an excellent collection pulled from across the nation, including  ancient Champa stone carvings and some astonishing effigies of Guan Yin, thousand-eyed, thousand-armed goddess of compassion pulled from across the nation. There are also some local tribal costumes, handmade ceramics, old school artifacts and contemporary art  of the new oil on canvas paintings and  the silk paintings.  We  enjoy a pleasant walk around Hoan Kiem Lake before we take a short drive to Hanoi Airport for our flight to Ho Chi Minh. On arrival at Ho Chi Minh Airport, you are met by our guide and taken by private transfer to your hotel.

The incredible  underground network of Cu Chi  was constructed by Vietnamese fighters during their long struggle for the independence. These extensive tunnels of over 200 km have specially contained living areas, storage facilities, weapon factories, filed hospitals, accommodation, and command centers. We travel by road this morning to Cu Chi Area where we will see an exposition hall and a widened section of Cu Chi Tunnels to get a feel of the underground life and learn a little more about the guerrilla tactics of the Viet Cong. There are also possibilities to fire off rounds from an AK47 or MK16 at the nearby rifle range. Upon leaving Cu Chi, we make our way  back to Ho Chi Minh and  enjoy a half day city tour. The beautiful walking square of Nguyen Hue  is  always a live attraction, giving an interesting view from the bygone time to the new fashion of Ho Chi Minh. This pedestrian boulevard is fringed with exquisite colonial structures, nice restaurants and luxury shopping malls.  We have a quick visit to Nguyen Hue Street  before going to see the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Old Sai Gon Post Office. They boats some of the most striking colonial building in Ho Chi Minh Center. We drive past the Independence Palace and catch  an outside view of this historical landmark on our way to  the War Remnant Exhibit. This house contains a wealth of images and real objects reflecting the notorious Vietnam- American War and the first Indochina War involving the French colonialists.  We follow it with a walk around  the retail  Ben Thanh Market, where vendors display a vast array of goods and handicrafts appealing to every taste!.

There are no activities planned on this final day. You may have free time to continue your exploration of Ho Chi Minh City, do your last shopping or simply look back upon your trip images. The holiday comes to an end with a transfer to Ho Chi Minh Airport for  your departure.