Highlights of Vietnam

Depending on your arrival time you might like to start exploring this

fascinating city by strolling amongst broad tree-lined avenues dating from

the French period. There is a faded colonial charm where baguettes and good

coffee are sold from doorways of grand buildings of a past era. There will be

a welcome briefing this evening with your leader followed by a welcome dinner

at KOTO, a social enterprise that trains and employs underprivileged youth to

provide a step up in life. The delicious food provides a fitting welcome to

Vietnam and chance to meet your fellow travellers.

We make an early start for the approximate 4-hour journey to Halong Bay. This

is one of the most stunningly beautiful sights in South East Asia with

roughly 3,000 limestone peaks rising directly from the clear emerald sea. We

cruise amongst this amazing karst scenery and enjoy a seafood lunch on board.

We overnight on board in twin share cabins with en suite facilities.

We continue to cruise around Halong Bay this morning before returning to

port. We then drive back to Hanoi where we have a bit of free time to explore

this fascinating city. You might like to join the locals by pulling up a

plastic stool and sampling one of the many street food offerings; the bun cha

(barbecued pork with rice noodles and fresh herbs) is not to be missed! Late

afternoon we transfer to the train station to board our overnight train to

Dong Hoi, 500km south of Hanoi. 

Arriving into Dong Hoi at sunrise we journey to the Phong Nha Ke Bang

National Park and have breakfast at the farm-stay that will be our overnight

spot later on. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003, the National

Park contains the oldest karst mountains in Asia. Riddled with hundreds of

cave systems and spectacular underground rivers, this is an area very new to

tourism but sure to impress with its scale. We will first explore Thien Duong

cave, known locally as Paradise Cave. This was only discovered in 2005 by

scientists from the British Cave Research Association with the help of a

local man who had heard the mountains ‘whistling’ while farming.



After lunch we will visit Phong Nha cave by boat before returning to the

farm-stay. There will be time to relax and enjoy the peace of the countryside

or for those who wish there is the option to cycle around the local

villages. 

We start our journey to Hue today stopping en-route at the Vinh Moc war

tunnels. Less well-known than the Cu Chi tunnels in the south, these tunnels

were predominantly used as bomb shelters during the Vietnam War. During times

of bombing, village life carried on underground; children went to school,

hospitals were established and films were even played with a generator.



We next stop at the Hien Luong bridge which crosses the Ben Hai River. This

formed part of the border between North and South Vietnam from 1954 until

reunification in 1975. We will arrive in Hue mid-afternoon and will have some

free time before an optional group dinner. 

It is claimed that Hue is the cultural and historical centre of Vietnam, and

there is plenty to see. The most outstanding sight is the Imperial Citadel

with walls six miles in length; inside are the palaces and halls of the

Mandarins, and the remains of the Forbidden Purple City, where only the

emperor, his eunuchs and concubines were allowed. The Forbidden Purple City

was almost totally destroyed during the Vietnam War's Tet Offensive, but the

foliage-covered ruins are still atmospheric and the gaping holes left by

bombs give an idea of the destruction wreaked upon the country during the

war. This morning we visit the Imperial Citadel and the famous Thien Mu

Pagoda. The pagoda was a centre for anti-government protest in the early

1960's and it houses the Austin car that transported a monk, Thich Quang Duc,

to Saigon in 1963 where he burned himself in protest against the President.

The photograph of his self-immolation was printed in newspapers all around

the world.



After lunch we leave for Hoi An via the spectacular Hai Van Pass; 19kms of

road winds up and over the fortress of mountains providing breath-taking

views of the coast. 

This morning will include a walking tour of Hoi An, the original European

trading port in Vietnam dating back to the mid-16th century. It is now a

living museum, with attractive wooden merchant's houses and pagoda-style

temples with Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and European architectural

influences. It is also a marvellous place to wander around and enjoy the

thriving riverside market and great silk, clothes shopping. 



This afternoon is free, one popular option is to jump on a bike for a ride

through the countryside past local markets, schools and villages before

continuing on to Cua Dai beach (5 km).

We drive to Da Nang and then fly to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), an exciting

and absorbing city where scooters pack the streets and temples stand

defiantly alongside modern developments. Devastated by the Vietnam War, it is

now a bustling free market city where anything goes. Here, we include a visit

to the Ben Thanh Market, Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral and War

Remnants Museum. The Museum has an interesting photographic record of the

Vietnam/American War. Please be aware that some images at the museum are very

graphic.

Journeying out of the city we head to the lush countryside that is the Mekong

Delta for a day tour. Known as the ‘rice bowl’ of Vietnam, this region

produces most of Vietnam’s fruit, sugar cane and coconuts. We take a boat

trip along the many tributaries and stop to see some small cottage industries

along the way. We will journey by sampan, a traditional wooden low-riding

boat still used by the locals as the main form of transport. After sampling

some of the local produce we head back to Saigon where your leader will

organise an optional group farewell dinner.

For land only clients, the tour ends this morning in Saigon after breakfast.