12 Days Essential of Vietnam Tour

Tay Ninh is home to the intriguing Cao Dai sect, a uniquely Vietnamese religious movement that incorporates elements of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and even Catholicism from decades of external influence. To get there, your private driver and English-speaking guide will head 60 miles into the countryside northwest of Ho Chi Minh City to Tay Ninh, home of the Great Temple, or Holy See. Cao Dai Temple (as it is more commonly known) was built in a unique architectural style that reflects its blended traditions.

• Overnight in Saigon

Enjoy a full day tour traveling from Saigon to My Tho, the gateway to the Mekong Delta. Known as the “rice bowl” of Vietnam, the Delta is the most fertile region in the country, and the main producer of rice and tropical fruits. From My Tho, take a boat to Thoi Son Island where you will be served with traditional music. Then change to a paddle boat to cruise through the narrow canals and visit local mills for home-made products such as coconut candies and rice-wine... Continue by motorized boat to another Mekong Island to visit a bee farm and try tea with fresh honey from the beehives and enjoy fresh seasonal fruits. Return back to My Tho, finish the tour with a visit to the Vinh Trang Pagoda.

• Overnight in Saigon

Today transfer to airport for flight to Da Nang. Upon arrival you'll continue to the Cham Sculpture Museum. The Cham Museum in Da Nang is dedicated to this period and the Champa existence, which began predominantly in the coastal areas of Vietnam. The museum displays almost 300 terracotta and stone works of art ranging from the seventh to the fifteenth century, then you will visit Marble Mountain and My Khe Beach (Vietnamese: Ngu Hanh Son; literally "five elements’ mountains") where we will discover the stunning natural caves of the mountain and enjoy the beautiful view from the top. We will also visit mysterious pagodas and the sculpturing village.

• After the tour transfer to hotel in Hoi An for check-in. Overnight in Hoi An

In the morning, you'll transfer to the My Son Holy Land. Tucked in the mountains up winding roads with serene views, lay the 4th century My Son Holy Land ruins. The surrounding mountains are strictly forbidden from living or development. The ruins lay in a beautiful surrounding mountainous landscape. You'll enter the temples while your tour guide gives you the history and stories of the Cham and the site. Afterward, you'll watch an Apsara show nearby the site, passed through the Cham tradition. The show features live music and colorful costumes.

• Overnight in Hoi An

Morning, your guide picks you up at your hotel in Da Nang (or Hoi An) then depart to Ba Na Hills, pass the sea-shore on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street, one of the most beautiful roads of Da Nang City and Red Beach, where the French first landed in Da Nang. Arrive at the Cable car station at the foot of Ba Na Mountain. Enjoy the first leg Cable car, which achieves two Guinness World Records in 2009, longest non-stop cable car (5,042m) and highest non-stop cable car (1,292m). Sitting in the cabin, in mid-air, looking upon the endless tree line of the forests, bring you with spectacular views of the lush jungle and fairly waterfalls along the way. Experience pristine ecological systems of the Ba Na Mountains will leave you the sense of unforeseeable discovery. Visit the Le Jardin, old wineries, remains of French Villas and Ling Ung Pagoda with 27m high Buddha status. We then leave the Le Jardin for the second cable car station to visit the top of mountain and see the remains of old villas. Conquer the Peak of Chua Mountain at the height of 1,487m. View the whole Da Nang city under the cluster of white clouds. Leave Peak of Chua Mountain, visit the trail of Dreaming Stream, Rainbow Waterfall, Suspension Bridge, Golden Valley, and ruined Opera House.

• Overnight in Hue

Your day will start with a short visit to Thanh Toan Village where you can see the lively morning market. This is where the locals come to buy their daily food. Nearby are the 300-year-old Thanh Toan bridge and a Cultural Museum where you can visit and talk to the locals.

• Overnight in Hue

Today transfer to airport for flight to Hanoi. Upon arrival, your driver will escort you to hotel in Ha Long for check-in and rest on your own leisure. Overnight in Ha Long

Enjoy your full day relaxing at Ha Long City. Overnight in Ha Long

Morning, start a full day city tour beginning with the Ho Chi Minh Complex which features the life of Ho Chi Minh, the nation’s founder. Explore Ba Dinh Square, an important point of pilgrimage for many Vietnamese, the Presidential Palace, 13 Ho Chi Minh Museum and the rural style Ho Chi Minh’s house on stilts where he lived and worked. Stop by one of Hanoi’s icons, the One Pillar Pagoda, built in the 11th Century in dedication to Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara or Buddha of Compassion and reminiscent of a lotus blossom rising from a pond. Continue to the Temple of Literature, known as the first university of Vietnam built in 1070 by the Ly Dynasty to honor Confucius, sages and outstanding Vietnamese scholars. Lunch at local restaurant. Aftetnoon, continue city tour to one of the museums (Fine Art, History, Revolutionary, War, Ethnology Museum) of your choice (closed on Monday), Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple and experience a one hour cyclo tour. Finish your day off at the Thang Long Opera Theatre for a traditional Vietnamese water puppet show.

• Overnight in Hanoi

Today your private trip continues with Ninh Binh, which your private guide tells you about the history and culture of northern Vietnam and its landscape of limestone karsts. Ninh Binh is popular for the first imperial capital of Vietnam after several fights for independence.

• Overnight in Hanoi

Enjoy your free morning until transfer to airport for your flight back home.

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