Name: 11 Day Into the World of Vietnam: Food, Yoga, Relax, and Explore
Brand: Little Vietnam Tours
Price: 2950 USD
Availability: InStock

Accommodation

Check-in Time:

14:00

Check-out Time:

12:00

During this holiday, you will be accommodated at the following hotels

Ho Chi Minh City: The Northern Charm Hotel (4-star), 3 nights in a Premier City View room
Hue: Eldora Hotel (4-star), overnight in a deluxe City View room
Hoi An: River Town Hoi An Hotel (4-star), spend 3 nights in a Deluxe River View room
Hanoi: Palago boutique Hotel (4-star), stay 2 nights in an Executive room
Ha Long Bay: Signature Cruise (4-star), 1 night in a Junior Suite Cabin

Program

Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City - Arrival (guide pick-up)

Arrive in Ho Chi Minh City, the most bustling metropolis of South Vietnam, you’re welcomed by your guide and transferred to your hotel. Following is leisure time for refreshment after a long flight. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Hotel: The Northern Charm Hotel 4* - Premier City View room
Meal: none

Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City - Cooking class, cyclo ride (with guide)

Today you will discover Southern Vietnamese cooking style. Meet your chef and visit a colorful market to approach to culinary aspect and the culture of Vietnamese gastronomy. You will explore Vietnamese ingredients, learn more about Vietnamese food, and its spices. Then gather at your cooking center where the chef will introduce you to the dishes and the ingredients that will be used. Put an apron on, everybody would be busy cutting and chopping, preparing food for cooking.

Carving fruit or vegetables is also offered by the chef to amaze your dish with its beautiful presentation! Throughout the course, you have the opportunity to observe all the skills of the chef and the tricks that can achieve any recipe, even those that seem the most difficult.

However, observation only is not enough! The chef would like you to create it yourself, to repeat the same gestures. Finally, savor your own creation. Enjoy this moment to share the experience with the chef.

After learning how Saigon people cook their food and getting to know how the food tastes, continue to explore Saigon’s French gothic architecture by the local traditional vehicle of cyclo or rickshaw ride. Ride cyclo slowly through Saigon’s French quarter with the significant buildings of the Opera House, Notre Dame Cathedral, and Old Centre Post Office. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City

Hotel: The Northern Charm Hotel 4* - Premier City View room
Meal: Breakfast and lunch

Day 3: Saigon - Private yoga class (driver only / no guide)

Free your mind and body with a yoga class. Regular exercise can improve mood, increase self-esteem, reduce anxiety, promote sleep, reduce high blood pressure, and help weight loss while making you look younger and more radiant. Start today with the first step toward optimum health. Return to your hotel with a healthy body and peaceful mind, take a relaxation or walk around and go shopping. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Hotel: The Northern Charm Hotel 4* - Premier City View room
Meal: breakfast

Day 4: Ho Chi Minh City - Hue - Yoga class (with guide in Hue)

Breakfast at your hotel and transfer by the driver (no guide) to the airport for a flight to Hue. Landing in Hue, you’re welcomed by your guide and transferred to a yoga center in Hue. Enjoy a private yoga class and relax your body before a vegetarian lunch.

After lunch, transfer to your hotel in Hue. Check-in and overnight.

Hotel: Eldora Hotel - Deluxe City View room
Meal: Breakfast & veggie lunch

Day 5: Hue’s highlights - Hoi An (with guide)

Breakfast will be at your hotel. You will visit the Imperial Citadel of Hue, Minh Mang King’s Tomb (typical formal oriental style), and Thien Mu Pagoda which is Hue’s best-preserved religious monument. It is a historic pagoda with its seven-story tower on the banks of the Perfume River, apart from its scenic riverside and hilltop location. After lunch at your own expense, you will travel to Hoi An along the center coast of Vietnam with the amazing scenery of Hai Van Pass and Lang Co Beach. Arrival in Hoi An, check-in at your hotel and overnight.

Hotel: River Town Hoi An Hotel 4* - Deluxe River View room
Meal: Breakfast

Day 6: Hoi An - Joined cooking class (transfer with driver / shared local guide at a cooking class)

After breakfast, gather at the Hai Scout Café in Hoi An’s old streets to meet the chef. Visit a local market to buy the ingredients to be used in the cooking lesson later. Board a boat for a leisurely cruise along the Thu Bon River to the Red Bridge Cooking School. On arrival, explore the school’s herb and vegetable garden, before learning about some of Hoi An and Vietnam’s well-known dishes, which are a mix of Vietnamese and Chinese cuisines.

The cooking lesson lasts about 2 hours - each dish is first demonstrated by the Red Bridge’s chef before you prepare the same dish by yourself. The class also contains a brief introduction to Vietnamese food carvings (plate decoration). After the lesson, sit down and taste what you have cooked.

Then the boat will take you back to Hoi An town. In the afternoon, you will be free at leisure. Overnight in Hoi An.

Hotel: River Town Hoi An Hotel 4* - Deluxe River View room
Meal: Breakfast and lunch

Day 7: Hoi An - Private yoga class (breakfast / driver only / no guide)

Transfer by car to your private yoga class which is located along Cua Dai Beach. Spend your time to learn and practice more yoga poses. After the class, return to your hotel and free time at leisure! Overnight in Hoi An.

Hotel: River Town Hoi An Hotel 4* - Deluxe River View room
Meal: Breakfast and lunch

Day 8: Hoi An - Hanoi - Private yoga class (with guide in Hanoi)

Breakfast at your hotel and be free at leisure! In the afternoon, board a flight to Hanoi. Upon arrival, you’re greeted by your guide and transferred downtown. Check in at your hotel and be free to relax. Then, you will be transferred to a peaceful and small alley of Hanoi where you will meet your yoga master and have a 2-hour private class of yoga and meditation. Based on your level, your yoga teacher will choose a different style for you to practice.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Hotel: Palago Boutique Hotel 4* - Executive room
Meal: Breakfast

Day 9: Hanoi - Bai Tu Long Bay (shared local guide on boat only)

After an early breakfast, take a 2.5-hour drive to Ha Long Bay. Upon arrival around noon, transfer to a cruise for traveling around Bai Tu Long Bay with a delicious local seafood lunch served on board. The cruise passes through the limestone rocks and islets in many unique and funny shapes. Before dinner and after a half day of sightseeing, you will have a cooking class onboard. Savor what you have cooked as snacks or appetizer! Again, your dinner is served on board. In the evening, enjoy drinks and overnight on board anchored in a peaceful bay.

Hotel: Signature Cruise - Junior Suite cabin
Meal: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 10: Bai Tu Long Bay - Hanoi (shared local guide on boat only)

Why not rise early to witness the bay at its very best whilst enjoying an invigorating Tai Chi session on the sundeck? After which the team serves breakfast. Upon completing breakfast, continue your journey and head out to explore the bay in the area where Vung Vieng fishing village and pearl farm are situated. You enjoy on your own for kayaking to discover the hidden charm of the bay. Brunch will be served while doing further cruising to explore the beauties of the bay before returning to the wharf. Disembark the boat and return to Hanoi.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Hotel: Palago Boutique Hotel 4* - Executive room
Meal: Breakfast and lunch

Day 11: Hanoi - departure (driver drop-off / no guide)

Breakfast at your hotel and you will have free time for shopping or relaxing before transferring to the airport for your departure flight.

Included excursions

Cyclo tour in Ho Chi Minh City
Joined cooking classes in Ho Chi Minh City & Hoi An
Private yoga classes in Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Hoi An, and Hanoi
Hue city tour
2 days/1 night boat cruise in Bai Tu Long Bay

Location

Ha Long Bay

The scenery of Ha Long Bay is unique and relaxing, with thousands of small limestone karst outcroppings dotting the 1500 square kilometers bay. Most of them small and vertical, which has kept humans from ever living there, and others larger, that have sustained fishing villages over the past 200 years.

You’ll love watching the locals set off to fish in their traditional wooden boats, hearing the single-engine putt-putt-putt-putt pierce the quiet while docked, watching birds launch as the lush green islands glide by, and just relaxing on a boat.

There are different ways to experience Halong Bay, its neighboring Bai Tu Long Bay, and Lan Ha Bay. Both have the same beautiful experience, but Bai Tu Long Bay and Lan Ha Bay are less touristic and hide more blue lagoons, untouched beaches, and caverns.

Hanoi

When you step off the bus in the old quarter of Hanoi and wander through the streets, you will find yourself in awe of just about everything. The warmth of the old buildings, the simplicity of life as women and men sell fruit off the back of their bicycles, wearing traditional cone shaped hats, happy, relaxed, and welcoming.

There is so much to see in Hanoi, walking the old quarter and through the old city walls from Hoan Kiem Lake, Silver Street, Hang Ngan, Hang Dao, Dong Xuan Market, Hat Street, Bronze Street, etc. Strolling around Hoan Kiem lake and across the brightly painted red The Huc bridge, the atypical Ho Chi Minh museum, and Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

There is the One-Pillar pagoda and the Tran Quoc Pagoda for a taste of Buddhist culture and Hoa Lo prison for a glance of the American-Vietnamese war. There are many war sights and it is a true experience to learn about that period from the Vietnamese’ perspective. But the real sight in Hanoi are the people.

Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City is formerly known as (and still referred to by locals as) Saigon. It has a different weather than Hanoi and people’s lifestyle is faster and more open. But Saigon changes its pace when the dark falls. It becomes more lively and charming at night.

There is a big gap in the temperature between day and night time. Wind from the Saigon river cools down the city in the evening. Ho Chi Minh City’s must-see attractions are mostly within walking distance and they will take you a half day to visit.

Reunification Palace, War Remnant Museum, History Museum, Ben Thanh Market, Opera House, Notre Dame Cathedral, and Saigon Old Post Office are all located in the district 1. If you have a full day, you can extend your visit to district 5, including Chinatown, Thien Hau Cantonese temple, and Fito Chinese medicine Museum.

Hoi An

Hoi An has many things to offer. You can come to the town, find an isolated hotel / village resort for relaxation, get rid of the stress of busy life and work. With the combination of both sightseeing and beach, you can stay here for three nights up to a week or more.

If you come to the town for sightseeing only, you can spend at least two nights. The charming ancient town of Hoi An itself will take you a half day to explore. Its Japanese Covered Bridge, Chinese Assembly Hall, Chinese old houses dating back to the early nineteenth century, house of an artisan making lanterns, a local market, and many more are all worth visiting.

One night can't be enough for Hoi An as you never feel bored with this town, even if your time is only spent wandering around the streets, sipping coffee in the old-style coffee shops, and looking at the daily life of local people or tasting local street foods.

Hue

Hue, in the center of Vietnam, can be reached by an 11-hour overnight train or a one-hour flight from Hanoi. Night trains help you save time and also save money for a hotel night. Hue is famous for its history and natural beauty such as the Imperial Citadel, old temples, romantic Perfume River, and king’s tombs that reflect a personal perspective and knowledge of each king about art, Fengshui theory, architecture, and nature.

The city is divided into two parts, Northern and Southern, by the Perfume River. The Northern bank is the location of the Imperial Citadel, Thien Mu pagoda, and King Minh Mang tomb. Meanwhile, six other king’s tombs are on the Southern bank of the river, from upstream to downstream.

Hue is the only city in Vietnam that has the harmonious combination of architecture, culture, and nature. The city is protected by Ngu Binh Mountain and fertilized by the Perfume River. The best way to visit Hue and learn about its historical stories is with an escorted tour by private car and an experienced guide. You will find Hue much more interesting when you know the stories hidden behind the moss walls. Each tomb is a full life story of its king, his knowledge, and his rule.

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Food

During this holiday, you will be provided with 10 breakfasts, five lunches, and one dinner in the best local restaurants or on a boat in Ha Long Bay (food only). Two mineral water bottles will also be provided for each full day sightseeing.

The following meals are included:

Breakfast
Drinks

The following drinks are included:

Water

The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:

Vegetarian
Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
Pescatarian

If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation

What's included

10 nights accommodation in a twin/double room with breakfast
Travel in an appropriate private air-conditioned vehicle with an experienced safe driver
The services of an experienced local English-speaking guide as mentioned in the program
Boat cruises as specified in the program comply with current safety regulations
Where necessary, entry fees and permission to enter border areas for all visits mentioned in the program
Lunches and dinners as specified in the itinerary in the best local restaurants or on a boat in Lan Ha Bay
Joined cooking class in Ho Chi Minh City and Hoi An
Private yoga class in Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Hoi An, and Hanoi
Two domestic flights: Ho Chi Minh City- Hue and Danang to Hanoi, including taxes and checked luggage
Bottle mineral water and wet wipe in the car during the tour
VAT and other taxes

What's not included

International flight tickets and airport tax
Other meals, except as specified above
Drinks, gratuities and personal expenses
Camera fees (if any)
Insurance

How to get there

Recommended Airports

SGN

Tan Son Nhat International Airport

6 km

Transfer included

Arrival by airplane

Please book your flight to arrive at Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN). Transfer from and to the airport is included. Little Vietnam Tours guide will pick you up from the airport.

Airport: Tan Son Nhat International Airport Airport transfer included: Tan Son Nhat International Airport No additional charges. You can request this in the next step.

Cancellation Policy

A reservation requires a deposit of 14% of the total price.
The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
The rest of the payment should be paid on arrival.

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