- Duration
- 13 days · 12 nights
- Route
- Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City
- Heritage
- 4 UNESCO World Heritage sites
- Hands on
- Farming, pottery, lanterns & cooking
- Ideal for
- Geography, history & culture groups
Students travel the length of Vietnam in under two weeks. They start in Hanoi, the capital for a thousand years, head out to the limestone towers of Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay, then fly south to the old trading port of Hoi An, the beaches of Da Nang and the energy of Ho Chi Minh City.
Every few days brings something to make or do, not just see: planting rice and fishing with farmers, throwing a pot, building a silk lantern and cooking a Vietnamese lunch from the garden. The history runs deep too, from 11th-century dynasties to French colonial Saigon and the American War.
Tour highlights
• Four UNESCO World Heritage sites: the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, the Trang An landscape at Tam Coc, Ha Long Bay and Hoi An Ancient Town
• A day with farmers in Ninh Binh, with water buffalo, rice planting and a cooking class
• A day cruise, cave visit and kayaking on Ha Long Bay
• Pottery at Bat Trang, lantern making in Hoi An and a cooking class at Tra Que herb village
• The Cu Chi Tunnels, colonial Saigon and a boat trip through the Mekong Delta
Day 1 · Noi Bai Airport · Hanoi
Arrival in Hanoi
Noi Bai Airport · Hanoi
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Arrival · Welcome to Vietnam
Met at Noi Bai International Airport by your guide and transferred to the hotel to check in and settle after the long flight.
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Evening · First dinner together
A gentle first evening with dinner at a local restaurant and an early night in Hanoi.
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Meals included · Dinner
Day 2 · Ba Dinh · Old Quarter · Hoan Kiem Lake
A thousand years of Hanoi
Ba Dinh · Old Quarter · Hoan Kiem Lake
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Morning · Ho Chi Minh Complex
The mausoleum of the founder of modern Vietnam (seen from outside), the Presidential Palace and the One Pillar Pagoda, built to look like a lotus flower rising from a pond.
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Temple of Literature
Founded in 1070 as a temple to Confucius, it became Vietnam's first national university. Stone tablets on the backs of turtles record the names of scholars who passed the royal exams.
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Afternoon · Imperial Citadel of Thang Long
A UNESCO World Heritage Site where archaeologists have uncovered thirteen centuries of royal palaces, layer on layer.
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Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
The lives of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups, told through clothing, tools and full-size traditional houses built in the museum grounds.
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Evening · Hoan Kiem Lake and the water puppets
Cross the red Huc Bridge to Ngoc Son Temple on its island, then watch a water puppet show, a folk art that began in the flooded rice paddies of the Red River Delta.
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Meals included · Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Day 3 · Hanoi · Hoa Lu · Hang Mua · Tam Coc
Ancient capital, mountain view
Hanoi · Hoa Lu · Hang Mua · Tam Coc
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Morning · Hoa Lu, the first capital
About two hours south of Hanoi, Hoa Lu was Vietnam's capital in the 10th century. Explore the temples to its first two kings, Dinh and Le.
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Hang Mua
Around 500 stone steps up to the summit, for a view right across the Ninh Binh valley.
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Afternoon · Boat trip through Tam Coc
Local boatmen, many rowing with their feet, take the group about two hours along the Ngo Dong River through three caves, past rice fields and between towering limestone cliffs. It's often called "Ha Long Bay on land".
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Evening · Ninh Binh
Check in to the hotel, then dinner at a local restaurant.
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Meals included · Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Day 4 · Buffalo Cave · Tam Coc · Ninh Binh
A day on the farm
Buffalo Cave · Tam Coc · Ninh Binh
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Morning · Farm life at Buffalo Cave
Students join local farmers for the day. They feed and wash the water buffalo, have a go at riding one, and learn the traditional ways of catching fish in the paddies and streams.
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Afternoon · Planting rice and cooking lunch
Wading into the paddy to plant rice by hand shows just how much work goes into every bowl. Then a swim at the waterfall, a look inside Buffalo Cave, and a cooking class with the farm's cook using ingredients picked that day.
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Evening · Back in Ninh Binh
Time to rest at the hotel before dinner at a local restaurant.
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Meals included · Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Day 5 · Ninh Binh · Ha Long Bay · Hanoi
Ha Long Bay
Ninh Binh · Ha Long Bay · Hanoi
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Morning · To the coast
Check out after breakfast for the drive to Ha Long Bay, around 3½ to 4 hours.
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Afternoon · Day cruise among the islands
Board a day cruise boat for a seafood lunch while sailing through some of the bay's 1,600 limestone islands, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Step inside a cave such as Sung Sot (Surprise Cave), lit to show off its stalactites, then kayak around the islets and into hidden lagoons.
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Evening · Return to Hanoi
The drive back to Hanoi takes around 2½ to 3 hours, arriving for dinner and an overnight stay in the city.
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Meals included · Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Day 6 · Hanoi · Bat Trang · Da Nang · Hoi An
Pottery village, then fly south
Hanoi · Bat Trang · Da Nang · Hoi An
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Morning · Bat Trang Pottery Village
About 13km from central Hanoi, Bat Trang has been making ceramics for more than 700 years. Watch the craftspeople at work, then try the potter's wheel and paint a piece to take home.
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Afternoon · Flight to Da Nang
Lunch in Bat Trang, then transfer to Noi Bai Airport for the short domestic flight to Da Nang. Met on arrival for the 30 to 40 minute drive to Hoi An.
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Evening · Hoi An
Check in and dinner at a local restaurant.
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Meals included · Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Day 7 · Hoi An Ancient Town · Hoi An Memories Land
Lanterns of Hoi An
Hoi An Ancient Town · Hoi An Memories Land
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Morning · Walking tour of the Ancient Town
Hoi An was a busy port for Japanese, Chinese and European traders, and its old town is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. See the Japanese Covered Bridge, the merchant's house at Tan Ky, the Phuc Kien Assembly Hall and the Central Market on the Thu Bon River.
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Make a lantern
At a lantern maker's home, students build and decorate their own silk lantern to bring home.
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Afternoon · Hoi An Memories Land
A park that recreates the town in its trading heyday, followed by a buffet dinner.
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Evening · The Hoi An Memories show
An outdoor spectacle with hundreds of performers telling 400 years of Hoi An's story. Afterwards, a boat ride on the Hoai River to float a candle lantern on the water.
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Meals included · Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Day 8 · Hoi An Market · Tra Que · Da Nang
Market to table
Hoi An Market · Tra Que · Da Nang
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Morning · Shopping at the market
Collected from the hotel at 8am for Hoi An's market, where the guide helps the group choose ingredients for their cooking class.
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Tra Que herb village
A short drive through rice fields to Tra Que, where villagers grow herbs and vegetables organically. A walk round the gardens shows how it's done.
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Afternoon · Cooking class and lunch
With a local chef, students cook four Vietnamese dishes, such as fresh spring rolls, banh xeo pancakes, papaya salad and fish in a clay pot, with vegetarian choices too. Then they sit down to eat what they made, overlooking the gardens. The session ends with a herbal foot soak and massage.
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Evening · Da Nang
Transfer to Da Nang to check in, then dinner at a local restaurant.
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Meals included · Breakfast · Lunch at the cooking class · Dinner
Day 9 · My Khe Beach · Da Nang
Beach day in Da Nang
My Khe Beach · Da Nang
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All day · My Khe Beach
A day to recharge on My Khe, a long stretch of pale sand on the South China Sea. Swimming, beach games or simply time to relax, with leaders on hand throughout.
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Evening · Da Nang
Dinner and a second night in Da Nang.
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Meals included · Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Day 10 · Da Nang · Ho Chi Minh City
South to Saigon
Da Nang · Ho Chi Minh City
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Free time in Da Nang
A relaxed morning and lunch in Da Nang before the afternoon transfer to the airport.
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Evening · Flight to Ho Chi Minh City
A short domestic flight south. Met on arrival and taken to the hotel, then dinner at a local restaurant.
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Meals included · Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Day 11 · Cu Chi · District 1
Tunnels and the old city
Cu Chi · District 1
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Morning · Cu Chi Tunnels
About 1½ hours from the city, this network of underground tunnels was used by Viet Cong fighters during the war. Explore some of the tunnel sections, the hidden trapdoors and air vents, and rebuilt living quarters that show how people survived underground.
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Afternoon · Colonial Saigon
A tour of the city centre: the Opera House and the former Hôtel de Ville from outside, Notre-Dame Cathedral (open to visitors mid-afternoon only), and the Central Post Office with its vaulted hall, linked to Gustave Eiffel's engineering firm.
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Reunification Palace and War Remnants Museum
The palace where the war ended in 1975, and a museum that tells the story of the conflict from the Vietnamese side.
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Evening · Dinner in the city
Dinner at a local restaurant.
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Meals included · Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Day 12 · Ben Tre · Nhon Thanh · Ho Chi Minh City
The Mekong Delta
Ben Tre · Nhon Thanh · Ho Chi Minh City
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Morning · Boat trip from Ben Tre
Collected at 8am for the drive to Ben Tre, known for its coconut groves. A boat trip on the Chet Say River passes brick kilns and coconut workshops, including one where shells are turned into activated charcoal.
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Afternoon · Coconuts, candy and canals
See coconuts peeled, crushed and shredded, drink one fresh, and taste coconut candy warm from the pan with honey tea and fruit. Visit a mat-weaving village at Nhon Thanh, paddle along a narrow coconut-palm canal, and take a motorboat back to the wharf.
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Evening · Last night in Vietnam
Return to Ho Chi Minh City for dinner.
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Meals included · Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Day 13 · Ho Chi Minh City · Tan Son Nhat Airport
Departure
Ho Chi Minh City · Tan Son Nhat Airport
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Final hours in the city
Free time after breakfast and a last lunch at a local restaurant.
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Departure · Homeward
Transfer to Tan Son Nhat International Airport for the flight home.
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Meals included · Breakfast · Lunch
Where you will stay
Choose the standard that suits your group. Students share twin rooms, breakfast is included every day, and leaders stay alongside the group in every city.
Want this trip built around your school?
Every itinerary here is a starting point. Tell us your dates, your year group and your budget, and we will rework it.