Essence of Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh

Your Vietnam 8 Day Tour starts from Hanoi.

On your arrival at Hanoi Airport you will be picked up by our local guide (with name board), and then transfer to the center of the city for check-in. The rest of the day is free for you to relax or discover for yourself the beauty of Hanoi. You will be surprised by the variety of architectural treasures and styles in our capital. 

After that, our guide will pick you up for a wander around Hoan Kiem Lake (Sword Lake). This is a wonderful place for you to relax in the fresh air after your long flight. Our guide will also introduce you to the Old Quarter of Hanoi with its 36 ancient streets. These streets are always busy, with hundreds of stalls selling traditional art products and souvenirs.

To end your first day, we will enjoy one of the most spectacular Vietnamese traditional arts - Water Puppets.  Finally, there is a welcome dinner in a local restaurant, then back to your hotel.

Day 2 of your 8 days in Vietnam, you will join in the Hanoi City Tour.

08.30 AM: Our local guide will pick you up at the hotel lobby for a day’s exploration of the city. The Ho Chi Minh Complex is known as the heart of the Vietnamese people, consisting of Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum (closed on Monday and Friday, from October to November annually), Ba Dinh Square, Uncle Ho’s House on Stilts, the Ho Chi Minh Museum and One Pillar Pagoda - one of the long-standing cultural historical relics. 

After that, we will pay a visit to one of the many famous museums in Hanoi, such as the Vietnam Military History Museum, Museum of Art, Hoa Lo Prison (also known as “Hanoi Hilton” – a nickname given by captured US pilots during the Vietnam war), or the Ethnology Museum dedicated to the 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam.

We take a break for lunch at local restaurant. In the afternoon, we will discover the Tran Quoc Pagoda near the West Lake - the most ancient pagoda in Hanoi with its history of more than 1,500 years. Then we will have a chance to learn about the Temple of Literature – the first University in Vietnam and a symbol for the studiousness of the Vietnamese. Every year thousands of candidates come here to wish for good luck in the university entrance exams! Then it’s back to the hotel for overnight in Hanoi. 

Halong Bay will be the most highlighted tour for your Vietnam 8 Day Tour.

After having breakfast in the hotel, our driver will pick you up for the transfer to Halong Bay. It will take about 3.5 hours to get there.

Arriving at the Harbor, we get on board the Halong Bay Cruise for a welcome drink. Then you will be served with a special lunch featuring many of Halong's specialties. From the boat, you can appreciate the magnificence of the dramatic limestone islands on the bay.

Enjoying your leisure time on the sundeck or in your cabin is a good idea after lunch. In the afternoon, you can swim in the warm and calm waters, or have the opportunity if you wish to try out a kayak. This is not difficult; it is suitable for most levels and ages and our expert and tour guide will introduce to you the basic skills that you will need for kayaking. They will also lead you in a 1-hour trip discovering the wonderful beauty of the bay – a memorable experience. Back to the cruise boat for a rest, followed by a cooking class in the late afternoon.

Later, there is dinner and overnight on board.

Day 3 or your Halong Bay 2 night Cruise itinerary will a day with memorable activities when you travel to the further area of Halong Bay.

Before breakfast, let’s start your happy day by doing some Tai Chi exercises (a Chinese system of physical exercises) or catching the beautiful moments of sunrise on the beach.

After that, we will transfer to a day boat for a day cruise. Get ready to join in activities such as kayaking and swimming, and exploring the hidden corners of the Bay. The fresh air will help you relax and enjoy a wonderful day. You will be served lunch on our day boat. 

In the afternoon, we will pass by the Cua Van Fishing Village. This will be a great opportunity to understand more about the everyday life of the local fishermen, talking with them and experiencing their life. Before coming back to our cruise, we will visit a floating Pearl Farm to learn how to cultivate pearls. If you want, you can buy some as souvenirs.

To end the day, we will enjoy the magnificent view of the sunset on the beach while having a superb dinner.

Let's join the Tai Chi Class on the sundeck in the early morning, before continuing our journey around Halong Bay. You will have time for breakfast and relaxing on the upper deck. You can take some photos to save the beauty of the rocky islands rising from the emerald water in Halong Bay.

After that, we will visit Sung Sot Cave (Surprise cave) - one of the largest and most beautiful caves of Halong Bay, and you will find out why the cave got its name. Next, we will pass by the fishing village to have more experiences in its unique way of life. 

The last moments in this beautiful bay are coming. Our boat will prepare to come back to the jetty at 10.30am. You will have a traditional Vietnamese lunch on boat before leaving around 12.00 noon. You finish your Halong Bay 2 night cruise and that will be the unforgettable time of your Vietnam Holiday.

From Halong, we will make the transfer back to Hanoi. Around 16.00, we will arrive at Hanoi Airport for the flight to Ho Chi Minh City.

Upon your arrival there, our tour guide will pick you up for the transfer to the hotel in the center of the city. Stay overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

08.30 AM: In the early morning, you will have breakfast, and then our driver will pick you up to visit Cu Chi Tunnels. This is a man-made underground maze with many bamboo traps. It was a place for military operations and hiding from the pursuing enemy in the past.

At noon, we will come back to Ho Chi Minh City and have lunch in a restaurant on the way.

In the afternoon, you will embark on a city tour of HCMC (Saigon) including the War Remnants Museum where a comprehensive collection of the machinery, weapons, photographs, and documentation of the Vietnam wars is displayed. Continue to Reunification Palace - a special national relic for its historical and architectural values. It is one of the most interesting sites in Ho Chi Minh City. The tour also includes the Old Post Office, Saigon’s Chinatown (Cho Lon) and Binh Tay Market – the central market for the city and one of its most colorful sights. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City. 

Mekong Delta Tour always attracts clients when they visit Vietnam and you will have a chance to visit Mekong Delta in this Vietnam Itinerary 8 day.

8.00 AM: Pick-up by our driver and guide for the 2-hour drive to the Mekong Delta. To begin our day tour, we will visit Cai Be floating market - one of the best-known floating markets in the western region of southern Vietnam, with its long history. Here, you can experience how people exchange goods, fruit and many other commodities on their wooden boats. After that, take your time visiting the local workshops to learn about how rice paste, coconut candy, and pop-rice are made. Also, you can visit some handicraft villages to see how the locals make rice-net for spring rolls, soya sauce, fish sauce and cooking salt, and how they sew coconut-leaves for cottage protection.

We will have lunch with many delicious local dishes. Learn more about the food and the traditional way of enjoying the local food in Mekong Delta.

We will travel around by a traditional rowboat. You can see the traditional wooden houses, palm trees as well as the daily life of the people in the Mekong Delta, picking fruit or fishing. If possible, we will visit a nursery garden. You can have a chance to enjoy many kinds of fruit and explore how the farmers produce the famous fruits and vegetables here.

Around 3.30pm: We will come to Vinh Long town and drive back to our hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. Have dinner (by yourself). Stay overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Breakfast in your hotel.

We will pick you up about 3 hours before your departure flight time for the transfer to the airport to catch your flight back home or your next destinations.

Say goodbye to Ho Chi Minh City! Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh 8 Day Tour ends.

Hope to see you again in your next Vietnam Trip!