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Map of Premium Vietnam including Vietnam

From Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City – experience the heart of Vietnam.

Spend eight days in Vietnam discovering the highlights and traditions of this colourful country. Take part in enriching local encounters as your leader shows you the soul of this diverse pocket of Asia. Get lost in the districts of Hanoi, cruise past the limestone karsts of Halong Bay, discover the colonial charm of Hoi An, and navigate the winding streets and chaotic traffic of Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam is sure to surprise, delight and excite, so discover places of eternal beauty that have also played crucial roles in history.

Start
Hanoi, Vietnam
Finish
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Destination
Vietnam
Style
Premium
Theme
Explorer
Code
TVPS
Physical rating
Ages
Min 15
Group size
Min 1, Max 12

Why you'll love this trip

intrepid premium

premium comfort

Our best accommodation and highest level of service.

premium experiences

Unusual, exceptional and authentic on-trip experiences.

premium knowledge

Led by our most experienced and highest rated local leaders.

  • Explore the cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with your local leader who will help to uncover the vibrant mix of influences, from the French to Asian traders, settlers and indigenous peoples.

  • Feast on an included lunch at KOTO café in Hanoi – a social enterprise organisation aimed at providing vocational and hospitality skills to young workers.

  • Enjoy your Premium feature stay – an overnight cruise in Halong Bay on a boat as beautiful as its surroundings. Take in spectacular views while enjoying a candle-lit dinner on deck.

  • Discover a traditional musical art form of Vietnam with an exclusive Hat Xam performance - an art form that dates back over 700 years to the Tran Dynasty.

  • Visit the home of a descendent of the Champa Kingdom in Hoi An. Enjoy traditional Cham treats, folk singing and uncover their history and unique way of life.

Is this trip right for you?

  • In 2022, Tet (Lunar New Year) will run from the 31st of January to the 4th of February. This is a fascinating and rewarding time to see the country, however you do need to be prepared for some businesses to be closed, tourist sites to be very busy and for transport to be packed as many Vietnamese are travelling around the country. Please consider your travel arrangements carefully before booking travel for this period.

Passenger looks at lanterns from street vendor in Hoi An
Vietnam insights with Peregrine Adventures: Sample local food at a street market
Vietnam insights with Peregrine Adventures: Take a walk through Hanoi
Passengers on board boat as it cruises down halong bay
TVPS - Couple lounging in front of Halong Bay, Vietnam
vietnam_hanoi_pho_chicken
TVPS - Feature Stay: Halong Boat cruising
TVPS - Feature Stay: Halong Boat interior twin room
TVPS - Feature Stay: Halong Boat dining room
TVPS - Feature Stay: Halong Boat assortment of teas
Vietnam snapshot with Intrepid Travel: Sample local food at a street market

Itinerary
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Xin chao! Welcome to Hanoi, Vietnam’s vibrant capital city. You’ll be met on arrival at the airport and transferred to your hotel. Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6pm where you’ll meet your tour leader and fellow travellers. If you arrive early, Hanoi offers plenty of enticing experiences. Perhaps head to the city’s colourful old quarter and explore the charming jumble of shops and cafés, or check out the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum, showcasing ancient through to contemporary Vietnamese art. This evening, join your leader and small group for a welcome dinner at a beautifully decorated restaurant resembling an old-fashioned Vietnamese house. Dive into the exciting world of Vietnamese cuisine as your leader introduces you to a range of classic dishes made with the freshest local ingredients.
Accommodation
  • La Sinfonia Hotel or similar (1 night)
Included Activities
  • Complimentary Airport Arrival Transfer
  • Hanoi - Welcome Dinner
Meals Included
  • Dinner
Special Information
The arrival transfer is only valid if arriving on Day 1 or if you have booked pre-trip accommodation through us. Please provide your flight details at the time of booking, or at a minimum 14 days prior to travel, as we may not be able to confirm a request made within 14 days of travel.

It’s very important that you attend the welcome meeting as we will be collecting insurance details and next of kin information at this time. If you are going to be late please let your travel agent or hotel reception know. Ask reception or look for a note in the lobby for more information on where the meeting will take place.

Depart Hanoi and travel to Halong Bay, one of the great natural treasures of Vietnam. Board your feature stay accommodation for the evening, a gloriously beautiful and traditionally decorated junk-style boat featuring modern conveniences. Set sail in total comfort as unforgettable views of scattered islands and towering limestone outcrops slowly unfold in front of you. Explore the bay while enjoying a pleasant seafood lunch onboard. Learn about the fascinating geography of the region and its importance to the Vietnamese people, visit Surprise Cave where your leader will point out interesting rock formations, and in the warmer months you can choose a swim from Ti Top Island Beach or take an optional kayaking tour. Sit back with a drink on the upper deck and face out to the spirit-lifting view that will be stamped on your memory of Vietnam. Soak in the stunning surroundings with a candlelit seafood dinner on deck before settling in for a night of stargazing and swapping stories.
Accommodation
  • Secret Halong Cruise (Feature Stay) or similar (1 night)
Included Activities
  • Halong Bay - Overnight Boat Cruise
Optional Activities
  • Halong Bay - Kayaking Tour - VND250000
Meals Included
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
Special Information
Today’s total travel time is approximately 3.5 hours. Your main luggage can be left in the hotel in Hanoi.

Surprise Cave is accessed via staircases but the pathways inside can be a little uneven and slippery, so good walking shoes or sandals will be useful. Swimming in the bay from the boats is banned by the local authority. Kayaking is restricted to designated zones within the bay.

Your junk-style boat has twin-share cabins with en suite facilities and air-conditioning. Due to the limited cabins on board, the single supplement is excluded, and accommodation will be on a twin-share basis.

Local authorities only permit a limited number of boats to stay overnight in Halong Bay. To ensure all travellers can be accommodated on board available boats, on rare occasions you will stay on a larger boat (with up to 12 cabins) and share your boat with another group. Or your group may be split across different vessels, in which case a group leader will be present on each boat, and the route taken and inclusions

Start your day with a peaceful breakfast and perhaps take part in some Tai Chi on board the boat before returning to Hanoi. This afternoon you’ll take part in a once-in-a-lifetime experience and sit down to a soul-stirring traditional Hat Xam performance. Hat Xam is an art form of Northern Vietnam dating back to the Tran Dynasty. Originally, this was performed by blind performers, and was enjoyed by local working-class audiences, right up until the late 1950s, when a wave of communism deemed all art forms to be corrupting influences. Today these performances are rare, but you and your group will be taken to a private club house and treated to an exclusive performance in one of the few places where artists still sing acoustically. The performance takes around 90 minutes, and includes possible interaction with guests, so be ready to get involved!
Accommodation
  • La Sinfonia Hotel or similar (1 night)
Included Activities
  • Hanoi - Hat Xam performance
  • Halong Bay - Tai Chi
Optional Activities
  • Hanoi - Hanoi Street Food By Night Urban Adventure - USD29
Meals Included
  • Breakfast
Special Information
Today’s total travel time is approximately 3.5 hours.

This morning you’ll get to know Hanoi’s charms on a half-day tour with your leader. Discover a captivating city where traditional and modern sit side by side as your leader shares knowledge on the Temple of Literature, One Pillar Pagoda, and the former residence of Vietnam’s most famous revolutionary, Ho Chi Minh. Today’s lunch is extra special as you will visit the fantastic KOTO café, a social enterprise that provides hospitality training and experience while empowering at-risk and disadvantaged youth in Vietnam – not to mention a creative menu of food made with local ingredients. This afternoon you’ll say goodbye to Hanoi and fly south to Danang. Drive on to Hoi An and take in views of lush scenery along the way. Arrive in Hoi An in the late afternoon and check into your boutique accommodation. The rest of the day is yours – maybe make the most of your hotel’s fabulous pool.
Accommodation
  • Mulberry Collection Silk Eco or similar (1 night)
Included Activities
  • Hanoi - Temple of Literature
  • Hanoi - Koto Restaurant lunch
  • Hanoi - One Pillar Pagoda
  • Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh Complex: Ho Chi Minh, Stilt House and Museum
Optional Activities
  • Hanoi - Hoa Lo 'Hanoi Hilton' Prison - VND30000
Meals Included
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
Special Information
Today’s flight is approximately 1 hour and transfer from the airport is approximately 1 hour.

Set off on a tour of Hoi An’s Old Town and discover a blend of traditional treasures and cultural influences from historical traders. Your leader will discuss the city’s history as you wander the pagoda lined streets, visit a Chinese assembly hall, cross the Japanese Covered Bridge, enter the ornately decorated historic house of a former trader and check out a local museum. A significant port of the Champa Kingdom for centuries, many Cham descendants are still living in Hoi An today. This afternoon you will have the unique opportunity to visit the home of a Cham local for a special insight into their origins and way of life. Be welcomed with a warming cup of Cham tea, try some traditional sweets and desserts, enjoy some folk singing and chat to your host about the history of the Cham people and how the culture lives on today.
Accommodation
  • Mulberry Collection Silk Eco or similar (1 night)
Included Activities
  • Hoi An - Old Town walking tour
  • Hoi An - Good Afternoon Amaravati
Meals Included
  • Breakfast

The morning is free for you to enjoy more of delightful Hoi An and the surrounding area. Perhaps browse the market for silk and other materials or collect any garments that you might have had crafted by the efficient tailors, or hire a bicycle and ride along the lanes and out to a nice nearby beach. Your leader will have great recommendations for places to eat and drink. In the afternoon, transfer back to Danang and fly to Ho Chi Minh City. Check into your hotel and enjoy a free evening – the bustling food stalls at Cho Ben Thanh market might beckon you over with the sweet and savoury aromas of pho and bun mam. Delicious!
Accommodation
  • M Boutique Hotel or similar (1 night)
Meals Included
  • Breakfast
Special Information
Today’s flight is approximately 1 hour and transfer to the airport is approximately 1 hour. Rooms at the M Boutique Hotel (formerly the Millennium Boutique Hotel) , and in Ho Chi Minh City in general, are compact given the building style and central location.

Head out of the city to the nearby Cu Chi Tunnels, an extensive underground network dug by the Viet Minh and later expanded by the Viet Cong. Enter a widened section of the tunnels with your leader who will help you imagine what life underground must have been like and explain how the tunnels contained hospitals, accommodation and schools, and were used for refuge, storage and as a military base for the Viet Cong. Return to Ho Chi Minh City for a tour of the dynamic city where daily life plays out on the streets. Your leader will take you to the Reunification Palace, formally the Presidential Palace and the site of South Vietnam’s surrender in 1975, before visiting the War Remnants Museum. In the evening, perhaps spend some time with your fellow travellers and enjoy a final dinner at a local restaurant. Your leader will know of some wonderful options.
Accommodation
  • M Boutique Hotel or similar (1 night)
Included Activities
  • Ho Chi Minh City - Cu Chi Tunnels
  • Ho Chi Minh City - Reunification Palace
  • Ho Chi Minh City - War Remnants Museum
  • Ho Chi Minh City - Notre Dame Cathedral
Meals Included
  • Breakfast

Your adventure comes to an end after breakfast this morning. If you wish to spend some more time in Ho Chi Minh city, we would be happy to organise additional accommodation for you (subject to availability).
Optional Activities
  • Ho Chi Minh City - Mekong Discovery Urban Adventure - VND63
Meals Included
  • Breakfast
Want to tailor this itinerary?

Meals

7 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners

Transport

Boat, Plane, Private minibus

Accommodation

Hotel (6 nights), Overnight Boat (1 night)

Included activities

  • Complimentary Airport Arrival Transfer
  • Hanoi - Welcome Dinner
  • Halong Bay - Overnight Boat Cruise
  • Hanoi - Hat Xam performance
  • Halong Bay - Tai Chi
  • Hanoi - Temple of Literature
  • Hanoi - Koto Restaurant lunch
  • Hanoi - One Pillar Pagoda
  • Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh Complex: Ho Chi Minh, Stilt House and Museum
  • Hoi An - Old Town walking tour
  • Hoi An - Good Afternoon Amaravati
  • Ho Chi Minh City - Cu Chi Tunnels
  • Ho Chi Minh City - Reunification Palace
  • Ho Chi Minh City - War Remnants Museum
  • Ho Chi Minh City - Notre Dame Cathedral

Premium Inclusions

  • Arrival airport transfer
  • Tipping for accommodation, activities and transport
  • Luggage transfer
  • Daily breakfast and signature local meal experiences
  • 24/7 on-ground support

Dates & availability

Trip departures are unavailable.

There are currently no scheduled departures on our Premium Vietnam trip. If you are interested in other trips in the region visit one of the links below.

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Important notes

1. A complimentary airport arrival transfer is included; valid if you are arriving on Day 1 or if you have booked pre-tour accommodation through us. You must provide your flight details to your booking agent at least 14 days prior to travel.
2. A single supplement is available if you’d prefer not to share a room on this trip. The single supplement excludes Day 2 (boat) where you will be in shared accommodation, and is subject to availability. Please speak to your booking agent for further information. 
3. This trip includes domestic flights. The luggage allowance is 20kg for check in luggage and 7kg for carry on.
4. Full name exactly as per passport required at the time of booking (including any middle names listed on the passport), for internal flights. Ticketing fees may apply for amendments to details within 45 days of departure, and in some cases you will be required to cover the cost of issuing a new ticket.

Essential trip information

Want an in-depth insight into this trip? Essential Trip Information provides a detailed itinerary, visa info, how to get to your hotel, what's included - pretty much everything you need to know about this adventure and more.

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