Classic Vietnam Tour

Vietnam, formally the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia.

  • 14 days
Duration
14 days
Group size
15 people
Country
Vietnam

Classic Vietnam Tour Overview

Vietnam, formally the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia.

Vietnam, formally the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia.

Key highlights of the Classic Vietnam Tour

Itinerary

  1. • Arrive at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, where you are met and assisted. • Transfer to your hotel (early check-in is subject to availability). • Free time for the rest of the day. • Welcome dinner at a local restaurant. • Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

    Altitude
    20 m
    On foot
    None, arrival day
    Night in
    Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City
    Meals
    Dinner
  2. • Visit the Reunification Palace. • Continue to the War Remnants Museum, which covers the history of the Vietnam War in detail. • Lunch of Vietnamese specialities. Afternoon: • Visit the Jade Emperor Pagoda. • Visit Ben Thanh Market. • Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

    Altitude
    20 m
    On foot
    Easy walking, 2–3 hrs
    Night in
    Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City
    Meals
    Breakfast, Lunch
  3. • Depart from Ho Chi Minh City. • Drive through the Mekong Delta. • At My Tho, take a boat to an island with orchards. • Take a horse-drawn cart to Quoi Son to visit a bee farm and enjoy tea and sweets. • Travel by sampan through the narrow, tree-lined canals of the Mekong Delta. • Continue by boat to a family-run business making coconut sweets. Lunch. • Return by boat to My Tho and visit Vinh Trang Pagoda, if time permits. • Return to Ho Chi Minh City by late afternoon. • Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

    Altitude
    20 m
    On foot
    Easy walking, 1–2 hrs
    Night in
    Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City
    Meals
    Breakfast, Lunch
  4. • Morning excursion to the Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh. • Visit the Cu Chi Tunnels. • Drive back to Ho Chi Minh City in the late afternoon. • Transfer to the airport for a flight to Danang. • Drive to Hoi An. • Overnight in Hoi An.

    Altitude
    5 m−15 m
    On foot
    Easy walking, 1–2 hrs
    Night in
    Hotel, Hoi An
    Meals
    Breakfast
  5. • Visit the Chinese Assembly Halls, the old family houses, the Japanese Bridge and Hoi An Market. Afternoon: • Take a boat to visit the handicraft villages, which specialise in ceramics, and the boat-building yards. • Relax at Cua Dai Beach. • Overnight in Hoi An.

    Altitude
    5 m
    On foot
    Easy walking, 2–3 hrs
    Night in
    Hotel, Hoi An
    Meals
    Breakfast
  6. • Free time for shopping or the beach. • See the old town lit by lanterns in the evening. • Overnight in Hoi An.

    Altitude
    5 m
    On foot
    Optional 2–3 hrs
    Night in
    Hotel, Hoi An
    Meals
    Breakfast
  7. • Drive from Hoi An to Hue through green paddy fields. • Stop on the way for photographs at the top of the Hai Van Pass and at Lang Co Beach. • Visit Hue Citadel, including the Imperial City and the Forbidden City, a complex of palaces, ornate halls, libraries, residences and colleges. • Overnight in Hue.

    Altitude
    10 m+5 m
    On foot
    Easy walking, 2–3 hrs
    Night in
    Hotel, Hue
    Meals
    Breakfast
  8. • Morning boat trip on the Perfume River to visit Thien Mu Pagoda. • Continue by boat to Minh Mang Tomb. • Drive to Tu Duc Tomb, Khai Dinh Tomb and the Hue Kite Club, where you learn how kites are made.

    Altitude
    10 m
    On foot
    Easy walking, 2–3 hrs
    Night in
    Hotel, Hue
    Meals
    Breakfast
  9. • Transfer to the airport for a flight to Hanoi. Evening: • Attend a water puppet show, a tradition dating back more than a thousand years. • Overnight in Hanoi.

    Altitude
    20 m+10 m
    On foot
    None, flight day
    Night in
    Hotel, Hanoi
    Meals
    Breakfast
  10. • Take a short drive to the Ho Chi Minh Complex, which includes the Mausoleum, Ho Chi Minh's former home and the One Pillar Pagoda, followed by the Temple of Literature and Hoan Kiem Lake. Afternoon: • Visit the Museum of Ethnology and take a one-hour cyclo ride around the 36 streets of Hanoi's Old Quarter. • Overnight in Hanoi.

    Altitude
    20 m
    On foot
    Easy walking, 2–3 hrs
    Night in
    Hotel, Hanoi
    Meals
    Breakfast
  11. • Drive 170 kilometres to Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Vietnam's best-known natural landmarks. • Board a refurbished wooden junk for a cruise among the limestone cliffs and green waters of Halong Bay. • Anchor for the night near a remote island. • Overnight on the junk.

    Altitude
    Sea level
    On foot
    None, 3–4 hr drive
    Night in
    Junk boat, Halong Bay
    Meals
    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
  12. • Spend half a day cruising to new parts of the bay, stopping to visit colourful caves and to swim near deserted beaches. • Return to Hanoi in the late afternoon. • On the way, visit the Phu Lang or Dong Trieu ceramic village. • Overnight in Hanoi.

    Altitude
    20 m
    On foot
    Easy walking, 1–2 hrs
    Night in
    Hotel, Hanoi
    Meals
    Breakfast
  13. • Depart for Hoa Lu, the former capital of ancient Vietnam. • Take a sampan through the karst landscape to visit the Tam Coc caves. • Leave the sampans and visit Thai Vy, a small temple built in the 13th century. • Lunch is served at Thai Vy Temple. • Continue to Hoa Lu, the capital of the Dinh and Early Le dynasties in the 10th and 11th centuries. • Drive back to Hanoi in the afternoon. • Overnight in Hanoi.

    Altitude
    20 m
    On foot
    Easy walking, 2–3 hrs
    Night in
    Hotel, Hanoi
    Meals
    Breakfast, Lunch
  14. • Free time. • Transfer to Noi Bai Airport for your flight home.

    Altitude
    20 m
    On foot
    None, departure day
    Night in
    No overnight
    Meals
    Breakfast

What's included

  • Accommodation with breakfast at the hotels in the hotel list, or similar.
  • Private transfers as per the programme.
  • Local English-speaking guide.
  • Meals as stated.
  • Shared junk cruise in Halong Bay.
  • Train ticket Hanoi to Lao Cai to Hanoi (in a sleeper cabin shared with another group).
  • All boat trips as per the programme.
  • All entrance fees.
  • Two bottles of mineral water per person per sightseeing day.

Not included

  • All international air tickets and international airport taxes.
  • Vietnam visa on arrival ($25 per person).
  • Domestic economy class air tickets (Saigon to Danang and Hue to Hanoi).
  • Early check-in and late check-out at hotels.
  • Meals not mentioned in the programme.
  • Drinks with meals.
  • Travel insurance.
  • Personal expenses and anything not mentioned above.
  • Optional visits.
  • Gala dinners.
  • New Year's Eve.
  • Lunar New Year's Eve.
  • Christmas Eve and similar occasions.

Photos

A look at the trail, the villages and the mountains.

Reviews

Exceptional5.0 out of 5Reviews from Tripadvisor
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Showing 10 reviews from 901 on Tripadvisor

Amazing Earchbound Expeditions team

September 2019, Tripadvisor

Manas Sarovar and Mt. Kailash Parikrama with the amazing Rajan Sinkhada’s earthbound expeditions team! We are a group of 27 U.S. nationals, known friends and families with two doctors out of 27, who went on this trip. Rajan’s team lead by himself with his daily prayers in the morning and end of the day briefing in the evening took care of each of us with personalized care. Rajan’s right hand Dorjee handled all the security check points and permit issues so smoothly that we felt like we are in the U.S. Rajan’s customer service team lead by Arjun, took care of each one of us, whether it is monitoring our oxyzen levels daily or offering medical care or providing head messages to get rid of minor headaches or what not. Rajan’s cook Narayanji is so special. His team paid personal attention and offered no onion and garlic food to some and all vegetarian food to others while providing hot food anywhere to our amazement. With limited guidance he and his team learnt some South Indian dishes and offered them as well. Rajan’s customer service team lead by Ramji gave us hot chai to hot breakfast and ensured that we do not carry any bags and retain our depleted oxyzen levels to complete a successful trip. Sri. Rajan surrounded us with positive energy and once we met Sri. Rajan that we never had a doubt even once that we may not be able to complete such an amazing Mt. Kailash Parikrama. I personally would not hesitate to use their services again and highly recommend Earthbound Expeditions to any of my friends and family anytime.

Amazing Earchbound Expeditions team

September 2019, Tripadvisor

Manas Sarovar and Mt. Kailash Parikrama with the amazing Rajan Sinkhada’s earthbound expeditions team! We are a group of 27 U.S. nationals, known friends and families with two doctors out of 27, who went on this trip. Rajan’s team lead by himself with his daily prayers in the morning and end of the day briefing in the evening took care of each of us with personalized care. Rajan’s right hand Dorjee handled all the security check points and permit issues so smoothly that we felt like we are in the U.S. Rajan’s customer service team lead by Arjun, took care of each one of us, whether it is monitoring our oxyzen levels daily or offering medical care or providing head messages to get rid of minor headaches or what not. Rajan’s cook Narayanji is so special. His team paid personal attention and offered no onion and garlic food to some and all vegetarian food to others while providing hot food anywhere to our amazement. With limited guidance he and his team learnt some South Indian dishes and offered them as well. Rajan’s customer service team lead by Ramji gave us hot chai to hot breakfast and ensured that we do not carry any bags and retain our depleted oxyzen levels to complete a successful trip. Sri. Rajan surrounded us with positive energy and once we met Sri. Rajan that we never had a doubt even once that we may not be able to complete such an amazing Mt. Kailash Parikrama. I personally would not hesitate to use their services again and highly recommend Earthbound Expeditions to any of my friends and family anytime.

Outstanding Mount Kailash experience with Earthbound Expeditions

September 2019, Tripadvisor

Mr Rajan Sinkhada is such a pious man that we were highly blessed to have him with us throughout our Manasarovar Mount Kailash trip. He was very professional and helpful right from the beginning. He dealt every single detail with so much ease and positive energy. Like many expressed, 5 stars are not enough to describe our experience with Earthbound Expeditions We were a team of 27 from USA and we were 200% taken care of by Mr. Rajan and his awesome crew. Every detail was taken care of from the moment we arrived Lhasa till we left Kathmandu. Entire Rajan's crew including Arjun, Dorjee, Ram, Sargi, Gokul, Narayan and the rest were amazing in taking care of our team, exceptionally. Our kudos to them. Except for Parikrama lunch, we were served clean, hot, delicious meals throughout our trip! It was amazing to see such a positive attitude crew. Rest of the world has a lot to learn from that team - just like we did. Our guide Kumar in Nepal was very knowledgeable and did an excellent job explaining the sights to us. I highly recommend Earthbound Expeditions and I can not imagine any of our future arduous trips without them.

Outstanding Mount Kailash experience with Earthbound Expeditions

September 2019, Tripadvisor

Mr Rajan Sinkhada is such a pious man that we were highly blessed to have him with us throughout our Manasarovar Mount Kailash trip. He was very professional and helpful right from the beginning. He dealt every single detail with so much ease and positive energy. Like many expressed, 5 stars are not enough to describe our experience with Earthbound Expeditions We were a team of 27 from USA and we were 200% taken care of by Mr. Rajan and his awesome crew. Every detail was taken care of from the moment we arrived Lhasa till we left Kathmandu. Entire Rajan's crew including Arjun, Dorjee, Ram, Sargi, Gokul, Narayan and the rest were amazing in taking care of our team, exceptionally. Our kudos to them. Except for Parikrama lunch, we were served clean, hot, delicious meals throughout our trip! It was amazing to see such a positive attitude crew. Rest of the world has a lot to learn from that team - just like we did. Our guide Kumar in Nepal was very knowledgeable and did an excellent job explaining the sights to us. I highly recommend Earthbound Expeditions and I can not imagine any of our future arduous trips without them.

Wonderful Mansarovar Yatra and Kailash Parikrama

September 2019, Tripadvisor

We recently completed this tour and trekking expedition in September 2019 with Mr Rajan Simkhada and his team from Earthbound Expeditions. We were a group of 27 people and I have to say that this team surpassed all our expectations. Looking back, we couldn't have asked for a better tour company for this mentally and physically challenging trekking expedition. Mr. Rajan and his team were very accommodating to individual group member’s need and went above and beyond to cater to our comfort and convenience. They were flexible, personable and very attentive to the minutest and the biggest details of our travel. A bright smile on their faces and cheerful dispositions kept our spirits high all the time, but specially during the arduous ‘parikrama’ days. Food was amazingly delicious and was cooked fresh daily by Chef Narayan and his helpers. Crew members RAMJI, SHERPA TERKI and GOKUL made sure that each person ate well and we were all well hydrated. Highlight of the day used to be head and neck massage by ARJUN every evening while checking our Oxygen levels. I am looking forward to doing future trips with Mr Rajan and his team @ Earthbound Expeditions!! Thank you so much you all for this wonderful experience and your commitment to giving your customers the best experience!!!

Wonderful Mansarovar Yatra and Kailash Parikrama

September 2019, Tripadvisor

We recently completed this tour and trekking expedition in September 2019 with Mr Rajan Simkhada and his team from Earthbound Expeditions. We were a group of 27 people and I have to say that this team surpassed all our expectations. Looking back, we couldn't have asked for a better tour company for this mentally and physically challenging trekking expedition. Mr. Rajan and his team were very accommodating to individual group member’s need and went above and beyond to cater to our comfort and convenience. They were flexible, personable and very attentive to the minutest and the biggest details of our travel. A bright smile on their faces and cheerful dispositions kept our spirits high all the time, but specially during the arduous ‘parikrama’ days. Food was amazingly delicious and was cooked fresh daily by Chef Narayan and his helpers. Crew members RAMJI, SHERPA TERKI and GOKUL made sure that each person ate well and we were all well hydrated. Highlight of the day used to be head and neck massage by ARJUN every evening while checking our Oxygen levels. I am looking forward to doing future trips with Mr Rajan and his team @ Earthbound Expeditions!! Thank you so much you all for this wonderful experience and your commitment to giving your customers the best experience!!!

Excellent Manasarovar and Mount Kailash trip with Earthbound Expeditions

September 2019, Tripadvisor

Had an amazing trip with the excellent crew led by Rajan Sinkhada of Earthbound Expeditions. It was a two weeks trip to Mount Kailash and Manasarovar with 38 km hike and site seeing in Tibet and Nepal. The Earthbound expedition team took care of every possible details and made our trip very comfortable. Rajan and his crew exceeded my expectations. I would highly recommend Earthbound Expeditions.

Arti PothukuchyRead on Tripadvisor

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14 days

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