Home Vietnam Classic Tours Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi Tour - 12 Days / 11 Nights
Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi Tour - 12 Days / 11 Nights

Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi Tour - 12 Days / 11 Nights

Ho Chi Minh, Mekong Delta, Hanoi, Ky Son
From USD
$1,016 /pp
The tour is particularly designed for those who want to discover Vietnam at second time. The tour will lead you to some destinations considered being hidden in the country. Maybe first time coming here, you have discovered many highlights but the “Unseen Vietnam” tour will help you have a deep look at the life in the small corners in Vietnam.
Highlights:
 
  • Visit Ho Chi Minh City by ancient vespa, a brand-new experience.
  • Visit Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine to learn about the Vietnamese medicine many years ago.
  • Floating on Cai Be floating market and soak in the astonishing local life.
  • Visit Hanoi, excurse in Dong Xuan Market as well as enjoy a Tuong performance.
  • Live as a local and join the daily activities with the host in Moon Garden.

Brief itinerary

Day 1
Ho Chi Minh City Arrival

Day 2
Ho Chi Minh City Sightseeing (B)

Day 3
Ho Chi Minh City - Mekong Delta (B,L,D)

Day 4
Ben Tre - Cai Be - Mekong Riverside resort (B,L)

Day 5
Cai Be Floating Market - Ho Chi Minh Airport - Hanoi (B)

Day 6
Hanoi Sightseeing (B)

Day 7
Hanoi Traditional Handicraft Villages (B,L)

Day 8
Hanoi Surrounding (B,L)

Day 9
Hanoi - Ky Son - Moon Garden (B,D)

Day 10
Ky Son Village (B,L,D)

Day 11
Ky Son - Hanoi (B,L)

Day 12
Hanoi Departure (B)

Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City Arrival
Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City Arrival
Welcome to Ho Chi Minh city, our guide will pick you up at Ho Chi Minh Airport and take you to hotel for check in. The room is at your disposal from 14.00 onwards. Balance the day as your leisure. Meals on your own and take a sweet night for our tour!
 
Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City Sightseeing (B)
Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City Sightseeing (B)
The lovely ancient vespas will help to make this day of tour in Ho Chi Minh City more interesting. In the morning leaving the hotel, the vespas will take to the unknown streets, slong a small canal and visit a local market where gentle people living and hiding themselves in a corner of Ho Chi Minh City. Let’s try a cup of coffee on a riverside when you look out the windows and enjoy the beauty. Driving to Phu My Hung sounding like the new city in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. Let your vespa rest and take time walking around the green trees, wonderful flower gardens and immerse in the calm of a side in Saigon.
 
Continue to visit the Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine to enjoy the display of about 3000 exhibits relavant to traditional Vietnamese medicine dating back from the Stone Age. You will easily see numerous kinds of traditional medicine implements such as knives, grinders, mortars and pestles, pots and jars. Those objects were found in traditional pharmacies like scales, cabinets, advertising boards, printing molds, spirit gourds, tea pots, bowls, lime pots and other ceramic articles, books. You also can see some documents in traditional Vietnamese medicine. 
 
Your experienced guide will help you to have discussion with a pulse diagnosis practitioner to comprehend about the history and practice methods. It’s up to you if you would like him to practice on you to tell you some information about your current health situation like how is quality of sleep, appetite and stress..., surely you will be admired with his ability. Visiting China Town, especially some 
herbal medicine shops to have an exhaustive look at the methods using a mixture of herbs for traditional therapies. 
 
Transfer back to hotel. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel. 
 
Day 3: Ho Chi Minh City - Mekong Delta (B,L,D)
Day 3: Ho Chi Minh City - Mekong Delta (B,L,D)
After breakfast, we will head to Mekong Delta for Ben Tre exploration (130km from Ho Chi Minh city). Reaching Phong Nam Pier, get on boat and float along the Chet Say River to various regional working areas. There give you time to observe a picture of local economy when visiting the brick kilns; coconut activated charcoal factory where coconut shell is put into high heat kiln to produce coconut wood coal; a coconut processing workshop. Certainly, you can try fresh coconut and you will be impressed with the way every single of this versatile nut is turned into daily foods and other products.
 
Subsequently, the boat will give you a deliberate excursion floating through the small canal and witness the local life. Stopping at a peaceful village, let’s pay a walking trip to have an exhaustive look at Delta village life. You should also visit a mat weaving house, where straw mats are woven using a handloom – you can even have a go at weaving yourself.
 
Next, we will board xe loi (a kind of motorized rickshaw) or ride bicycle into another village where you can enjoy a verdant picture of farms, rice fields, and vegetable plans. Once satisfied with your eyes, we will stop at a local house and savour a delicious lunch including regional specialties as elephant-ear fish and river shrimp with some cold drinks and beers before taking a short rest.
 
In the afternoon, we will embark a sampan to relax when drifting along narrow canals. Then we will return to Pier for the main road to Le Jardin du Mekong, a fantastic homestay in Mekong Delta for check in. Dinner and overnight at homestay. 
 
Day 4: Ben Tre - Cai Be - Mekong Riverside resort (B,L)
Day 4: Ben Tre - Cai Be - Mekong Riverside resort (B,L)
The morning comes with fresh air for you to enjoy the new day. You can wake up early to cycle around or enjoy a breakfast before we transfer to Cai Lay (95km-trip). Along the highway, you can see a beautiful landscape of immense paddy fields and fruit farms. Arriving Cai Lay, we will relax and take a boat trip around to immerse in the river life here. Afterwards, we will take a riding trip along the quiet village lanes and through some fruits orchards. Stopping at a fruits famer’s home, we will visit the orchard and you also can sample the local fruits. Saying goodbye to the host, we will boat a sampan and float along tropical canals and observethe daily life of inhabitants. After that, we will transfer to Cai Be resort for check in. Dinner on your own. Overnight at the hotel. 
 
Day 5: Cai Be Floating Market - Ho Chi Minh Airport - Hanoi (B)
Day 5: Cai Be Floating Market - Ho Chi Minh Airport - Hanoi (B)
The morning comes with the peaceful sound of river life. We will board a sampan to Cai Be floating market, the most astonishing market. The panorama of this region is full of coulor thanks to the diverse fruits, vegetables, and skilfully handcrafted regional products. Geting on local boats, you will have chance to exchange with merchants to understand more about their activity here. We might visit some local candy and cake producing factories or float on river through the green water scenery to observe some local houses, verdant orchards and ship-building yards.
 
The floating markets are the centre to trade numerous fruits and vegetables in Mekong Delta that explains why the number off trading boat are dependent on harvesting seasons and market demand. Additionally, modern wholesale markets are becoming more and more popular as well as an essential part of Vietnam. That’s also a reason for the increasing of boat. Transfer back to Mekong Riverside resort and take a short break. 
 
Transfer to Ho Chi Minh Airport for flight to Hanoi. Welcome on arrival and transfer to hotel for check in. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel. 
 
Day 6: Hanoi Sightseeing (B)
Day 6: Hanoi Sightseeing (B)
It will be great if you can become the first one to enjoy the fresh image of Hanoi in early morning. You can visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to observe a daily solemn rising flag ceremony. It’s is one of many interesting experience for visitors in a peaceful morning in this capital city to feel a real local rhythm without the noise of tourists and transportation.
We will transfer to visit Quang An Flower Market which is home of diversity of flowers for wholesale or you can join a Tai Chi class at parks. Returning to city centre to enjoy a how bowl of Pho, a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup with optional beef or chicken for your breakfast. Then we will walk around the Old Quarter to observe an ancient street and stop at Dong xuan to visit this Hanoi’s largest covered market. Visit along the market, you will see a diversity of products from live seafood to exotic fruits and spices. Your guide will explain to help you understand about some traditional foods and how to make some cuisines. 
 
Leaving the market, we will drop off at a café hidden in a quiet street by side of Hoan Kiem Lake. In the late morning, walk back to hotel for your some free time at your leisure.
In the middle afternoon with pleasant weather, we will visit the Tuong Vietnamese national art theatre for a unique exploration of a traditional art. Tuong art, popular in the 11th century became a noble entertainment under Nguyen Dynasty in Hue in 18th century. This ancestral art is a mixture of music, theatre, mime and singing inspired by different historical, folk and contemporary themes. Enjoying the show performed by experienced artisans, you will be directed to a journey of Vietnamese legends covered by the rhythm from the traditional musical instruments. The legendary stories in the performance will be explained by the actors or even by your guide. 
 
Transfer back to hotel. Meals on your own. Overnight at the hotel. 
Remark: Tuong Performance Show (joint-in) is available on every Moday and Thursday evening, from 18.00-19.00. Private show can be arranged at any time with supplement cost.
 
Day 7: Hanoi Traditional Handicraft Villages (B,L)
Day 7: Hanoi Traditional Handicraft Villages (B,L)
The day of tour is chance for you to discover ancient pagodas and handicraft villages, traditional cultural features in Vietnam.
 
In the morning, we will visit Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, certificated by UNESCO for its Buddhist woodblocks and recognized as part of the world’s Asian-Pacific documentary heritage. As the information here, the pagoda was built before Ly Dynasty. In 1010, it was one of 8 pagodas which were re-architecture monuments and completed in 1016. Vinh Nghiem is also the first pagoda to be built in Vietnamese traditional structure but from concrete.
 
Leaving the pagoda, we will transfer to Dong Ky, a famous traditional wood carving village located 20km from Hanoi. Reaching here, you will admire the carpenter when observe them forming, carving and polishing wood products, making decorated pictures by snail, oyster shells. 
 
Stop at a local restaurant for breakfast before going to nearby But Thap and Dau Pagoda. They are two of the finest and oldest pagodas in the country’s north and also the first centre of Vietnam’s Buddhist.
 
Take the last exploration of the day to visit Dong Ho village where you will feel impressed with the wood block printing made thanks to the ancient painting technique. Usually, the prints and paints are made on paper produced by local trees and from natural materials like clay and rocks, gardenia flowers, charred bamboo leaves respectively. Freely contemplate the beautiful paintings and you should also join carpenters to learn about their amazing technique and materials used. 
 
Transfer back to hotel in Hanoi. Free time at your leisure. Dinner on your own. Overnight at the hotel. 
 
Day 8: Hanoi Surrounding (B,L)
Day 8: Hanoi Surrounding (B,L)
Start our day by a train journey from Hanoi to Cam Giang Station through the peaceful countryside landscapes. Reaching Cam Giang Station, take a private vehicle to a small farming village. The village used to be famous for being one of the birthplaces of the water puppets that visitors visiting here can enjoy a private show. It’s even more interesting when you will recognize that the lovely local children are always excited with this performance, maybe they will wish to join you.
 
Visiting a local house where you will have chance to enjoy a home-cooked lunch and talk to the host. After that, free time for you to excurse around the street and explore the local rural life.
 
Saying goodbye to the friendly host, we will transfer back to Hanoi by private car. We might stop at Pho Hien Historical Site to visit this former largest and most astonishing urban centre (in 17th-18th century) in Northern Vietnam. Pay attention to some popular sites like Hien Pagoda or Xich Dang Temple of Literature.
 
Transfer back to hotel. Free time at your leisure. Dinner on your own. Overnight at the hotel. 
 
Day 9: Hanoi - Ky Son - Moon Garden (B,D)
Day 9: Hanoi - Ky Son - Moon Garden (B,D)
After breakfast, free time at your leisure in the morning to excurse in the charming Hanoi City.
 
In the afternoon, private car will pick you up and drive to Ky Son village where we will visit Moon Garden Home-Stay. Welcomed with a drink, you can freely discover this place by yourself. Let’s savour some other local drinks and products like maize, sweet potato, cassava, peanuts when you are waiting for steam bath prepared. Particularly, you will have chance to bath with fragrant herbs which are very good for health.
 
After the bath time, you can observe evening Buddha worship to explore about the life of people here as well as their belief. Cosy dinner and overnight at home-stay. 
 
Day 10: Ky Son Village (B,L,D)
Day 10: Ky Son Village (B,L,D)
Specially, in the morning, you can join Yijinjing traditional exercises to prepare for a new day before enjoying your breakfast. Walking around Ky Son village, you can easily see a quiet life of countryside here and you should also interact with the locals for discuss their daily farming life. Don’t afraid of joining them, that may be a memorable experience to you. Or you can pay a visit to the kindergarten to see many lovely children or visit village market for ingredients preparation used for the latter cooking class.
 
Returning to the home-stay with everything you bought, you will join a funny cooking course with direction of host and enjoy your result for lunch. You can talk to the host to understand more about the local snacks, sharing cultures as well as discover their traditional customs. You can learn to speak some popular Vietnamese sentence if you would like.
 
In the middle afternoon, it’s optional for you to visit the local Cham farming communities or Duong Lam ancient village,  Mia Pagoda, Mong Phu Communal House. Returning to home-stay on a tranquil path for the dinner. You can relax with a foot bath in warm water with ginger, salt and mugwort medicinal herbs before having a sound sleep. Overnight at the home-stay.
 
Day 11: Ky Son - Hanoi (B,L)
Day 11: Ky Son - Hanoi (B,L)
On the day of tour, you will have an extremely unforgettable experience when you immerse yourself in daily life like a true local. You can either go fishing or take part in making rice doughnut and cloth flowers with the Moon Garden family. Or you can simply relax on the hammock in the garden, a beautiful scenary for you to pose picture while being in traditional Vietnamese clothes. After a lunch, we will say goodbye to the gentle host and transfer back to Hanoi. 
 
Reaching Hanoi, free time at your leisure. Dinner on your own. Overnight at the hotel. 
 
Day 12: Hanoi Departure (B)
Day 12: Hanoi Departure (B)
Free time at your leisure until we transfer to Hanoi Airport for your departure flight. Room is at your disposal until noontime only. Meals on your own. 
 
End of the tour!
 
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Inclusion:
  • Accommodation in a shared twin or shared double room with daily breakfast
  • Internal flight in economy class (Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi)
  • Vietnam visa approval letter
  • Tours and transfers as mentioned by private air conditioned vehicle
  • Boat trips as mentioned in the itinerary (Non private boat of Halong Bay cruise)
  • Local English speaking guide
  • Meals where mentioned (B: breakfast; L: lunch; D: dinner)
  • Entrance fees

 

Exclusion:

  • International flight tickets
  • Vietnam visa stamp fee
  • Other meals than mentioned
  • Other services than mentioned
  • Drinks, other than water on activity days
  • Personal expenses (laundry, telephone, drinks, tip...)
  • Travel insurance

 

Important notes:
 
  • We strongly recommend the purchase of travel insurance (covering emergency medical evacuation) for trips to Vietnam.
  • Prices are valid 30 days from the date of offer. After this date price and conditions may be readjusted.
  • The cost of air tickets is subject to change without prior notice by the airlines.
  • Reservations during peak times (Christmas, New Year, Vietnamese Lunar New Year, National Holidays) may be subject to supplementary charges.
  • Rooms at hotels are available only from 14.00 on arrival day till 12.00 on departure date. A supplement will be added if early check-in or late check-out is desired.
  • Please note that all the above services & tours have yet to be booked, they are proposed for your information only and we will not make any reservations before we receive your confirmation to do so.
  • If one or some proposed service(s) is (are) not available at the moment of booking, we will try to find other possibilities/options or other similar service(s) in order to avoid changes to the program.
 
Visa:
You will require a visa to enter Vietnam. Your consultant will be happy to advise you on visa requirements.
 
Passport:
Please ensure that you have a valid passport with at least 6 months validity remaining after your return date. You will also need at least one blank page for each of the countries you are visiting.
 
Booking Procedure:
Only once you are completely happy with any holiday itinerary we create for you will we ask for a payment. In order that we can secure availability for your booking we would typically require a deposit of 30%.
 
Money Exchange:
The official currency of Thailand is the Baht (THB).
The official currency of Cambodia is the Riel (KHR). 
Unofficially however, US currency (US$) runs the country and is the currency you should bring, mostly in cash - notes should be 2006 series onwards. Clean bills in small denominations are most useful. Notes should be 2006 series onwards. Torn, dirty or old notes, as well as the $2US note will be refused in most businesses. ATMs are available in Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and Siem Reap and also dispense in both KHR and US$. 
The official currency of Vietnam is Dong (VND).
Some establishments will accept US currency (USD), but usually only for large purchases and in some restaurants and hotels that cater to tourists. It's not possible to exchange Vietnamese Dong outside the country, so convert or spend all your Dong before leaving.
The most convenient and cheapest way to obtain local currency in is via an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). ATMs are now available in most towns and visa cash advances are available in major banks. The use of credit cards is restricted, mainly to major hotels. Foreign currency notes that are old, torn or faded can be very difficult to exchange; clean bills in small denominations are most useful. Traveller's cheques are unacceptable to change. 
 
Tipping
If you're happy with the services provided a tip - though not compulsory - is appropriate. While it may not be customary to you, it's of great significance to the people who will take care of you during your travels, inspires excellent service, and is an entrenched feature of the tourism industry across many Asia destinations. Although can be difficult to source we advise you to carry small notes of local currency each day to make tipping easier. Please note we recommend that any tips are given directly to the intended recipient by a member of your group as our group leaders are prohibited from collecting cash for tips.
The following amounts are per person suggestions based on local considerations and feedback from our past travelers:
Restaurants: Local markets and basic restaurants - round your bill up to the nearest US$1. More up-market restaurants we suggest 10% to 15% of your bill.
Local guides: Throughout your trip you may at times have a local guide in addition to your tour leader. We suggest US$2-US$3 per day for local guides.
Drivers: You may have a range of drivers on your trip. Some may be with you for a short journey while others may be with you for several days. We would suggest a higher tip for those more involved with the group, however, we suggest US$1-US$2 per day for drivers.
Please don't tip with coins, very small denomination notes, or dirty and ripped notes. This is regarded culturally as an insult.
 
Thank you for your interest in Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi Tour - 12 Days / 11 Nights. Please fill in your details below and we will contact you by phone or email within 24 hours.
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1. ITINERARY AND ACCOMMODATIONS

This tour is designed with balanced activities and pace. If you want to customize it, you may always change its itinerary and accommodations according to your needs.
DAILY PROGRAM
Your change
Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City Arrival
Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City Sightseeing (B)
Day 3: Ho Chi Minh City - Mekong Delta (B,L,D)
Day 4: Ben Tre - Cai Be - Mekong Riverside resort (B,L)
Day 5: Cai Be Floating Market - Ho Chi Minh Airport - Hanoi (B)
Day 6: Hanoi Sightseeing (B)
Day 7: Hanoi Traditional Handicraft Villages (B,L)
Day 8: Hanoi Surrounding (B,L)
Day 9: Hanoi - Ky Son - Moon Garden (B,D)
Day 10: Ky Son Village (B,L,D)
Day 11: Ky Son - Hanoi (B,L)
Day 12: Hanoi Departure (B)

2. PARTICIPANTS AND DATE OF TRAVEL

This tour is designed with balanced activities and pace. If you want to customize it, you may always change its itinerary and accommodations according to your needs.
Adult(s)
Child(ren) (2 - 11 years)

3. YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION AND CONTACT DETAILS

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STEP 1: Choose a tour you prefer or complete the CUSTOMIZE YOUR TRIP form OR send an email to info@hellovietnamtravel.com about your desired tour.
 
STEP 2: REPLY from Hello Vietnam Travel with service confirmation. Several email exchanges to finalize your tour program.
 
STEP 3: Secure PAYMENT or deposit via our secured online payment SSL (OnePAY) OR via your bank transfer.
 
STEP 4: Get your Visa On Arrival. Book your international flights. Pack your suitcase and be ready for an exciting holiday with us.

 

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