DAY 1: ARRIVAL – VIENTIANE (-/-/-)
Upon arrival in Vientiane, we will pick you up and take you to your
hotel. You will have free time to visit some ancient monuments in the
capital: the central market (Talad Sao), Wat Sisaket monastery, Imperial
Wat Phra Keo temple and That Luang pagoda. Overnight in Vientiane.
DAY 2: VIENTIANE – VANG VIENG (B/-/-)After breakfast, you will depart for Vang Vieng, located midway along
the road from Vientiane to Luang Prabang. You then will make a boat
cruise on the gorgeous Nam Song river and admire the magnificent karst
limestone mountains lining it. The imposing structures rise up out of
the land and run for kilometers, abutting the flat rice fields and the
river. On the way to Vang Vieng, you will pay visits to local ethnic
villages. Overnight in Vang Vieng.
DAY 3: VANG VIENG – LUANG PRABANG (B/-/-)
In the morning , you will have a rich breakfast at your hotel and then
start the trip to Luang Prabang. On the way, you have stop overs at
Phoukhoune, Ban Houn Xay and Kasi.
Arriving in Luang Prabang, you will visit the impressive stupa of Wat
Visoun and the shrift Wat Mai, Wat Xieng Thong with its roof sweeping
low to the ground, the National museum at the former royal palace, which
displays an extensive collection of artifacts reflecting the richness
of the Laotian culture dating from the days of the early kings right up
to the last sovereign. Besides, you will have a climb up to the top of
the Phousi hill for an enjoyable exploration of the sacred, gilded stupa
as well as a beautiful sunset view of the city and the Mekong river.
Overnight in Luang Prabang.
DAY 4: LUANG PRABANG – HANOI (B/-/-)You start with a breakfast at your hotel before departing for the

city’s
oldest and most magnificent temple which represents the classical
architecture of Luang Prabang house. Then, you will embark on a cruise
upstream the Mekong river which also brings about a beautiful view of
the tranquil countryside. Along the way, you will visit the mysterious
Pak Ou caves, crammed with thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues of
various shapes and sizes followed by a stop over in the village of Ban
Xang Hai, where they make the local rice liquor. If there is time on
return, you will pay a short visit to Ban Phanom, which is well-known
for its hand weaving. This is the end of the tour through Laos. Our
guide will take you to the airport for a flight to Hanoi from Luang
Prabang.
Upon arrival in Hanoi, once more you will be welcomed by our local tour
guide and a car will take you to your hotel for check-in. Since you will
have free time, you have the opportunity to experience a traditional
water puppet show in the evening. Overnight in Hanoi.
DAY 5: HANOI CITY TOUR (B/-/-)The day will start with a visit to the Ho Chi Minh complex (mausoleum,
museum, the late venerated communist leader's private residence at the
house on stilts, followed by the wooden

One Pillar pagoda).Then, you
will go to the “must see” temple of Literature, the oldest university of
Vietnam. The afternoon will be the time to enter the Ethnology museum,
which will give you an overview of all the 54 ethnic minorities in
Vietnam. After that, you will take a fascinating one-hour tour of
Hanoi‘s Old Quarter by tricycle called cyclo. The history of the Old
Quarter dates back to as far as 2000 years ago with 36 narrow streets,
each of which is named after the only goods available on that street.
Overnight in Hanoi.
DAY 6: HANOI – HA LONG (B/L/D)You will enjoy a pleasant 3-hour drive to Ha Long city. Along the way,
you will see emerald green rice fields and the industrious Vietnamese
villagers at work. Upon arrival at the boat pier in Ha Long, you will be transferred by tender to a luxury junk and enjoy a welcome cocktail. A
Vietnamese set menu lunch with fresh local seafood will be served on
board while you embark on a cruise into the bay to admire the incredible
karst formations. Arriving by boat at the Bat cave (Hang Doi) you have
several options to choose from: you may sail to a local fishing village
by tender or row by sampan to caves or just relax with an excellent
service on board. In the evening, a Vietnamese dinner will also be
served on board. Overnight on the boat.
DAY 7: HA LONG – HANOI – HUE (B/Brunch/-)
This morning, you are free at leisure or you may participate in the Tai
Chi instructions and contemplate the sunrise on the sundeck before
departing by boat for the Surprise cave.
A brunch will be served from 08:30 to 10:00 in the morning. Then, you
will start cruising to the Ha Long bay until noon while you can relax
and take pictures. Returning back in Ha Long at the boat pier, you will
be driven back to Hanoi. Arrival at around 04:00 PM and then you will be
transferred to the airport where you take a short flight to Hue.
Overnight in Hue.
DAY 8: HUE – HOI AN (B/-/-)Today the day starts with a boat trip on the romantic Perfume river with
stop overs at the Thien Mu pagoda situated on the bank of the river.
After the pagoda, you will enter respectively the Forbidden Purple city
or Imperial Citadel, Minh Mang and Tu Duc tombs. After lunch, you will
go to Hoi An by car. Overnight in Hoi An.
DAY 9: HOI AN – DA NANG – HO CHI MINH CITY (B/L/-)After breakfast at your hotel, you will leave for a half day cooking
class at Tra Que, a charming village which supplies vegetables to
kitchens all over the town. You spend the morning working with the

villagers as they will show you the way how to harvest and prepare fresh
vegetables for meals. Naturally, you will cook some Vietnamese dishes
with your hosts before tasting the fruits of your labor. After all the
cooking you will return to Hoi An town and go to the airport of Da Nang
for a short flight to Ho Chi Minh city. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
DAY 10: HO CHI MINH CITY – MEKONG – HO CHI MINH CITY (B/L/-)Leaving Ho Chi Minh city in a 2-hour drive for My Tho, the capital city
of Tien Giang province, you will make a boat trip on the Tien river to
Thoi Son islet. Here, you will taste fresh tropical fruit and rehearse
the unique traditional music of the Mekong river delta called Cai Luong.
The boat trip will continue for Ben Tre province where they will show
you how to make the coconut candy, whereafter you walk to the bee farm
tasting the sweet honey tea there. This will be the opportunity to
explore the real life-style of the local people while you sail on the
narrow canals along the local people houses. Also will you get to know
the way how people make their rice paper. A delicate lunch will be
served in a charming local restaurant on the islet. After lunch, you
sail back to the boat pier where the car will take you back to Ho Chi
Minh city. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
DAY 11: HO CHI MINH CITY– CU CHI – CAO DAI – HO CHI MINH CITY (B/L/-)Leaving Ho Chi Minh city, you will experience an interesting drive
through the typical southern Vietnamese countryside for Tay Ninh
province in the west of Vietnam. This town is the center of the
Caodaism sect and you will pay a visit to the Cao Dai multicoloured
temple complex with a very original architecture where all major faiths
of the world blend together in a unique religious cocktail. Up to you to
decide if it’s your taste or not. After lunch in a local restaurant,
you will go to the famous Cu Chi tunnels, the vestiges of the American
war, an underground tunnel network constructed by the Vietnamese
soldiers. This was simultaneously the last destination of today’s
package. You will be driven back to Ho Chi Minh city. Overnight in Ho
Chi Minh City.
DAY 12: HO CHI MINH CITY DEPARTURE (B/-/-)You will be free at leisure until a car picks you up and takes you to
the airport for a flight to the next destination. The eventful tour ends
here.