Encounter Locals, Vietnam Vacation for Family 14 days

Start of the day with visit to the Museum of Ethnology. The museum showcases the culture of the many different minority tribes of Vietnam with an engaging display of numerous ethnic houses for the kids to explore. Visit the home of the last traditional mask making artisan in Hanoi. Entirely handmade and always lingering with the faint smell of paper and glue, the paper masks have been part of the childhood for many generations of Hanoi people who wore them to celebrate the full moon night particularly during the Mid-Autumn Festivals. The visit to the artisan, will serve a cause of raising awareness about the preservation of this multi century old art. After lunch, drive 1hr through lush countryside to the craft village of Xuan La, famous for its “to he” figurines. Using cooked rice flour dough and natural colorings, villagers deftly create whimsical figurines mounted on sticks ranging from Vietnamese folk heroes to modern-day cartoon characters. The precise recipe for the rice flour “clay” is a closely guarded secret by the estimated 300 artisans who maintain this traditional craft. Accompanied by a guide originally from Xuan La, tour this charming village and meet a well-known “to he” artisan to witness the process of making these delightful figurines with the opportunity to make your own!

Notes:

•    Time: 08h30 – 17h30

Overnight in Hanoi

Depart Hanoi for a scenic 4hr drive southwest to Mai Chau. Located in Hoa Binh Province, Mai Chau is famed for its splendid vistas of mountains and valleys surrounded by lush landscape and stilt houses, inhabited mainly by the White Thai ethnic group. On arrival, check in at Mai Chau Ecolodge. Then walk or cycle to Lac Hamlet to enjoy a traditional home-cooked lunch. Continue cycling on a 2hr tour through the beautiful valley of Mai Chau. Your guide will facilitate chats with local hill tribe people to learn about their daily lives including planting rice, herding buffalos and building traditional houses.

Overnight at Mai Chau

After breakfast, depart Mai Chau to the Trang An Landscape Complex in Ninh Binh Province. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014, Trang An is famed for its spectacular landscape of limestone karst peaks soaring from valleys, some of which are submerged, and surrounded by vertical cliffs. Within the complex, visit Vietnam’s ancient capital of Hoa Lu, the country’s first centralized feudal state from the end of the 10th century. While the ancient citadel has largely disappeared, the temples of the Dinh and Le dynasties still stand surrounded by rice paddies. After lunch at a local restaurant in Ninh Binh, continue to Tam Coc, known as “Halong Bay on Land”, where a skilled rower will take you on a 2hr slow journey on the winding rivers/canals. Enjoy the views of the beautiful karst formations as you enter three of the many natural caves formed under the hills.

In the morning, transfer from Ninh Binh to Halong Bay. Along the way, enjoy watching people's daily life and rice paddy fields.

After arriving at Halong, get on board to cruise around and have chances to admire the spectacular scenery of Ha Long Bay with fascinating natural formations such as Perfume Rock, Fighting Cock, Lonely Rock, etc. while having lunch. Then you will have time to do swimming, sun bathing at Ti Top beach or climbing the peak of the mountain for a breath-taking panoramic view of Halong Bay. You also can join the cooking class aboard to learn how to make Spring Roll - a Vietnamese traditional dish.

After having dinner aboard, you can enjoy some night time activities such as squid fishing, drinking, listening to music or just simply enjoying the night sky of Halong Bay.

Overnight on cruise.

Start the day with a session of Vovinam on the sundeck, followed by a light breakfast. Then take a bamboo boat out to explore the Dark and Bright Cave. Then return to the ship for checkout. Enjoy a brunch while cruising back. Relax on the sun deck or in the dining room while savoring the last views of this iconic site. Disembark at Tuan Chau Marina.

Our awaiting vehicle and driver will pick up and drive you to airport to catch a flight to Hue.

Upon arrival, transfer to Hue city.

Overnight in Hue

You will be picked up and transferred to Hue Imperial citadel which is the most massive structure built in modern history of Vietnam. When visiting this construction, you have a chance to explore the royal architecture, admire its ancient charm as well as review the country’s history.

Among many places in the country, Hue is regarded as the most ideal venue for kite flying. Except on rainy days, hundreds of kites can be seen soaring in the sky over Imperial Citadel every afternoon. Kite flying is still an interesting game for all generations in this former Royal city.  Visit Mr. Cu’s private home, a 45-years-experienced kite craftsman. Have a chat with him to understand the history of this traditional pastime and share his passion. Then learn how to create a kite yourself. If the weather allows it, enjoy the excitement as your kite rises into the blue sky.

NOTES

Availability: Afternoon only

Suggested time: 15:00

Duration: 2.5 hours

Capacity: Max. 10 pax

Ideal time is from Feb- October

Overnight in Hue.

Drive to the Tu Duc Royal Tomb, the most impressive of all the royal mausoleums, built by Emperor Tu Duc between 1864 and 1867. Interestingly, Tu Duc had 104 wives and countless concubines but left no heirs to the throne. While the complex does include a tomb, together with pavilions and temples, no one knows exactly where Tu Duc was buried as all 200 servants who buried the king were beheaded to keep his final resting place a secret from grave robbers. Continue to the elaborate Khai Dinh Royal Tomb whose architecture showcases elements of Eastern art and Western design. While smaller than many of the other tombs, the Khai Dinh Royal Tomb is more flamboyant, with the largest dragons in the country forming the side walls leading up to the tomb. Notice the tomb’s blackened concrete exterior and colorful mosaic interior in the spacious main building decorated with murals of the Four Seasons, Eight Precious Objects and Eight Fairies. After exploring the tomb, transfer to Hoian.

Overnight in Hoian.

In the morning, cycling through Cam Thanh peaceful countryside village with stunning landscapes of green water coconut forest, and prawn & red snapper farms, or immerse yourselves in rustic beauty of rice fields. Arrival at Thanh Dong organic farm, take a short stroll around the vegetable garden while listening to the life-changing story of the farmers since they have been approached organic method of cultivating herbs before joining the farmers to do some gardening activities. Then, taking the basket boat ride along the Do River to The Field Restaurant. You may enjoy the beautiful scenery or fishing life of local villagers on the way there. Enjoy short cooking class and have Vietnamese family style lunch. Afterwards, transfer to Hoi An Ancient Town, start a guided walking tour to many atmospheric sights including: the old merchant houses with influences from Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese architecture; the 400-year-old Japanese Covered Bridge, the Assembly Hall of the Chaozhou Chinese Congregation with its intricate woodcarvings; and the colorful market with stalls brimming with local specialties including silk, which can be turned into fashionable garments within a day or two. From there, walk to the “Soap for Hope” workshop; where you and your children can learn about the "Soap for Hope" initiative and its impact in the global scale; learn the process of recycling hotel amenity soaps using the cold press machine; and personalize the soaps they make by wrappers, drawings and make beautiful gifts for their beloved. Return to the hotel.

Notes:

Suggested departure time: 08.30

Tour duration: Full day (08.30 – 17.30)

Overnight in Hoi An | Allegro Hoi An – a Little Luxury Hotel & Spa

Optional tour: In the morning, tour guide will meet you at the lobby and take you to Cua Dai Harbor for registering with the Border Police before heading to Cham Island — the exotic destination endowed with marvelous topography of mountain slopes and biological diversity. Upon your arrival, visit the showroom where the history, map, objects are displayed. Then, visit the Au Thuyen with local boats hide in big storms and walk along the rice paddy field to the over 100-year-old temple named Hai Tang. Cham Island has fantastic sand beaches, forested hills and the sea. For those who enjoy marine activities, there are tremendous available facilities for water sports like: water skiing, paragliding, kayaking, kite flying and boat racing. Furthermore, the undersea paradise on Cu Lao Cham is ideal for swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving and especially sea-trekking to adore the magnificent beauty of the coral reefs. Back to the pier for the drive to hotel. Overnight in Hoi An.

Overnight in Hoi An

Relax until departure time to Danang airport for flight to Ho Chi Minh city (formerly called as Saigon). In the afternoon, you will travel from one district to another in the city to have four different local food stops. Beside the part of all delicious and unlimited food and drinks, you can also enjoy the city night life as we will zip around, on the tuk-tuks, from place to place for the dishes, while receiving an insider’s view into the culture that defines Saigon. The tour lasts 3.5-4 hours depending on the traffic and how fast we eat.

Overnight in Saigon

This day, you will discover Saigon lifestyle as locals, and bring you to the different sites than normal tourists do.

Begin the tour with a visit to FITO - the first private Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine in Vietnam, with an amazing collection of 3,000 items relevant to the development of traditional Vietnamese medicine. Implements used to prepare indigenous herbs and objects commonly found in traditional pharmacies can be seen in the galleries as well as ancient books and documents on traditional Vietnamese medicine. Afterward, explore “Ho Thi Ky”, the largest flower market in Ho Chi Minh City, supplies flowers to the city and some provinces in the South of Vietnam. Founded in the 1980s, this is a rare place that upholds the characteristic of the old Saigon, and becomes a new destination for travelers. Next visit to “Cho Lon”, the Chinatown district of Ho Chi Minh City, to discover the area’s markets, shops and the Cantonese Thien Hau Pagoda. Head back to the city center to visit Ben Thanh Market, where an incredible display of fresh produce is offered. Enjoy a stroll through the market exploring the variety of goods for sales.

In the afternoon, visit the War Remnants (or History Museum), and the former Presidential Palace. From the Palace; stroll to the major sights of colonial Ho Chi Minh City, including the Old Saigon Post Office, Dong Khoi Street (formerly Rue Catinat), Continental Hotel, Opera House and City Hall. Then drive back to the hotel.

Note: History Museum is closed on Mondays

Overnight in Saigon | Fusion Original Sai Gon Centre*****

This day is more opened without pre-scheduled program. You just do anything you wish, or just relax and shopping before returning home.

Dinner at Miss Thu Restaurant (on owned expenses).

Miss Thu is a lady of cultured presence, cosmopolitan, daring and enigmatic, she is sophisticated and modern, yet traditional and timeless. The restaurant captures the spirit of contemporary Saigon while raising a respectful hat to the historic provenance of this celebrated city.

Overnight in Saigon | Fusion Original Sai Gon Centre*****

*For active family, there are two optional programs that we recommend as following:

-    Option 1: Half day morning excursion to Cu Chi Tunnel by roundtrip speedboat Travel to Cu Chi on one of modern speedboats.

 Your English-speaking guide will explain the life along the banks of the Saigon River as your boat gracefully slaloms through the water hyacinths. After the scenic one-hour boat trip our guide will take you through the historic Cu Chi Tunnels.  A light breakfast will be served on the way to Cu Chi and a traditional Vietnamese lunch will be served after visiting the tunnels.  This tour is all-inclusive and hassle free.

-    Option 2: Full day authentic experiences to Mekong Delta by speedboat

Enjoy a scenic speedboat day trip to discover the tangled maze of rivers and vast paddies found in the Mekong Delta on our culture-centric tours. Departing by boat from Ho Chi Minh City (also known as Saigon), you will explore areas of the Mekong Delta that few other tourists get to experience. You’ll experience the old-world river life of the Mekong Delta, and enjoy a lesser-seen glimpse into rural Vietnam as it trundles along a slow tempo, as it has done for centuries. Visiting a Cao Dai temple, Buddhist pagoda, river market and so much more. Bursting with charming local color and scenic views. Travel by modern speedboat and enjoy countless photo opportunities of the idyllic scenery and local people as you cruise past buffaloes plowing fields, fruit orchards and rice paddies during our Mekong Delta tour. Our tour provides close-up looks at small-village life along the river particularly during your time spent at a local family’s homestead, where you’ll be invited to enjoy fresh coconuts and fiery Mekong Delta whisky. You will have a traditional Mekong Delta lunch including fried elephant ear fish, a delicious specialty of the region, at a local house!

Free time until departure to Tan Son Nhat airport for your onward flight home.

Goodbye & see you again!