Overland Adventure: Discover Northern and Southern Vietnam in 8 Days

Upon arrival, you will be met outside the baggage claim area by your guide who will escort you to a waiting vehicle for your transfer to downtown with a brief introduction en route. 

Your friendly driver will be holding a welcome signboard with the Sun Getaways Travel Logo & Your name. The rest of the day is at your leisure to explore the tree-lined boulevards, French Indochinese architecture and tranquil lakes of this unique city.

Night 1: Overnight in hotel in Hanoi

After breakfast at your hotel, our driver and tour guide will come to pick you up at about 8:00 am for a city tour. You will visit the Ho Chi Minh Complex, which includes Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum (viewed from outside; closed Mon and Fri and from Oct-Nov), – the final resting place of the beloved national hero, Uncle Ho – and President Ho Chi Minh’s stilt house where he lived off and on from 1958 to 1969. 

9.30: You’ll visit the One Pillar Pagoda, which is a group of structures that collectively make up a pagoda built over the water in the middle of a square lake. After that, you’ll have a chance to explore the Tran Quoc Pagoda on the shore of West Lake. From there, it’s onto the Temple of Literature, which was Vietnam’s first university and is dedicated to Confucius. 

12.30: You have lunch at the restaurant in the Old Quarter. Afterward, you’ll visit Hoan Kiem Lake – the heart and soul of Hanoi.

Option 1: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday

You’ll stop in at MUSEUM OF ETHNOLOGY. This superb museum showcases the depth of Vietnamese cultural diversity with an astounding collection of 15,000 artifacts gathered from throughout Vietnam. Maps, displays and dioramas are labelled in Vietnamese, French and English.

Displays portray a typical village market, the making of comical hats and a Tay shamanic ceremony; videos show the real thing. You can also check out a traditional Black Thai house reconstructed in the museum. There’s also a centre for research and conservation where scientists from all over the world study traditional Vietnamese cultures

Option 2: Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Visit Women museum

15.30 – 16.00: We will come back to your hotel. Free day for shopping or relaxing at your hotel. 

Night 2: Overnight in hotel in Hanoi

Have breakfast at hotel in Hanoi

About 8h30am: We pick you up at your hotel, and departure for Hoa Lu – Tam Coc, enjoying the beautiful sceneries of the rural areas on the way

10.30: After arriving in Ninh Binh province, the guide will take you to visit Hoa Lu – the Ancient Royal capital of Vietnam. We will visit Dinh King temple and Le King Temple in the 10th century, the heroic histories of these two Kings in the Chinese Wars.

After that, we go to Tam Coc (10 km away from Hoa Lu). Have lunch at local restaurant. After lunch you will get on a bamboo boat – rowed by the local people – in Hoang Long River to visit Tam Coc (three caves) on the way. You pass through three enormous caves that provide a brief respite from the intense summer sun. It takes approximately two hours to go up and down the river and along the way, you witness local fisherfolk, village life along the river, of course, the striking limestone karst formations that Tam Coc is famous for.

If you like to go biking, it is a good idea. You will have a chance to visit real villages and amazing landscapes by bicycle about one hour (from the Restaurant).

16.00: We take the car and come back to Ha Noi.

18.30: We arrive in Ha Noi. Free time and overnight at hotel.

Night 3: Overnight in hotel in Hanoi

Early in the morning, arrive in Hanoi, the guide will pick you up and transfer you to a mini hotel to take a daily room for relaxing and showering. The driver of Sun Getaways Travel will come to pick you up around 8:00 to 8:30 am with our shuttle bus to start the 3-hour-and-a-half drive to Halong Bay through the paddy fields in the Red River Delta.

12:00: At Tuan Chau International Marina, a tender boat will take you to our  Cruiser. A refreshing welcome drink is served and you can check into your cabin.

13:00: When you are putting all of your stuffs into your cabin, our boat starts gliding out to the centre of the World Heritage Site. Your set menu lunch, at the boat’s restaurant, is would be served with fresh local seafood, but vegetable menu is always available at your request. From the marina area, our cruiser passes by Duck then Thumb Islands before reaching to Luon cave area for kayaking.

15:00 – 16:00: We have time to gear up for one hour kayaking around Luon cave area .Our guide will show you some basic safety guidelines and techniques to paddle before helping you to sit on our brand new sit-on-top kayaks. After that our boat will help you visit the Titop Island one hour for swimming, sun-bathing or getting a panoramic view on island peak.

17:00: As the sun sets over the bay, we head back to our cruise and relax. Coffee, tea and fruits will be available on the sundeck or you can order your favorite drink while our boat cruises to the night’s anchorage area.

19:00: Dinner will be served with local seafood. After dinner you may choose to enjoy drinks from the bar or top deck or experience squid fishing before retiring.

Night 4: Overnight on Cruise

The day starts early onboard with Tai Chi session on the sundeck. Tai chi also called Tai chi chuan, combines deep breathing and relaxation with slow and gentle movements. Coffee, tea and pastries for breakfast are served in the dining room with a morning view of the bay’s landscape.

07:00 – 07:45: Enjoy the morning view of the beautiful landscape with a cup of coffee or tea. Have breakfast in the fresh air.

08:00 – 09:00: You will visit the impressive Cave of Halong Bay – Surprising Cave (Sửng Sốt) with your tour guide, a truly awesome and amazing cave to experience.

9:00 – 9:30: Check out of your cabin and settle your bill as our boat begins cruising back to the harbor. Experience more views of Halong Bay such as Fighting Cocks Island (Symbol of Halong Bay), Incense Burner and Stone Dogs Islands.

10:30: A cooking demonstration onboard shows you how to make authentic Vietnamese Spring rolls. You will learn about the recipes and techniques that create this popular dish of Vietnamese people.

11:00: Lunch is served on board during cruising towards the harbor.

11:45: Depart the Cruiser and travel by tender boat back to Tuan Chau International Marina where you then board the bus for your return journey to Hanoi.

Drop off at Aeon Mall Long Bien at around 14h30.Our driver with private car will pick you up from the van on the way to Hanoi then transfer you to Noi Bai airport. Arrive in Hochiminh, pick you up and transfer to the Hotel. Free time.

Night 5: Overnight in hotel in Ho Chi Minh City

Breakfast at your hotel, transfer for visiting Cu Chi Tunnels. After lunch in Cu Chi, the driver back to Ho Chi Minh City.  This afternoon, depending on your preference, visit either the War Remnants Museum or History Museum, and the former Presidential Palace. Finish the day with a stroll around the city’s colonial architecture, including the Old Saigon Post Office, Dong Khoi Street (formerly Rue Catinat), Continental Hotel, Opera House and City Hall

Night 6: Overnight in hotel in Ho Chi Minh

About 08:30 am: The guide will pick you up at your hotel and transfer you to Ben Tre.  On the way stop over at Mekong Restop for relaxing around 15 minutes.

10:30 am: Arrive at Ham Luong dock, you will take a boat and then cruise along Ham Luong River, a tributary to the Mekong River. The cool breeze from the river and lush tropical islands along its banks will immediately get you excited to explore all the great things ahead.

Arrive and visit various local workplaces to find many wonderful examples of how local people use ageless techniques to create their crafts, including activated charcoal, dried coconut, handy coconut husk brooms, and many family businesses using coir, or coconut fiber, to create amazing art. Cruise around the village roads by “Xe Lôi”, the local vehicle, which is a kind of motorized rickshaw. Kayak through the natural canals to get a unique experience of the peaceful beauty of the Mekong River as well as the rural life there. Having lunch at a local host house.

After lunch, you will have some time to relax before taking a car back to Ho Chi Minh City. Arrive in Ho Chi Minh City around 4:30 pm. Drop you off at your hotel. 

Night 7: Overnight in hotel in Ho Chi Minh

Your time will be your own until your private car and driver arrive to take you to the airport for your flight to your next destination. Finish an unforgettable Vietnam Tour with Sun Getaways Travel. Goodbye & see you the next time!

Note: Check-in time- 2.00 pm and check-out time- 12.00 pm