An Essential Glance Through Vietnam – 9 Days

Begin in Cho Lon, the city’s Chinatown, where generations of Chinese merchants have filled the streets with wholesale shops, temples and herbalists. Close by, the FITO Museum tells the story of traditional Vietnamese medicine through the herbs, remedies and tools used to prepare them. Then browse the stalls of Ben Thanh Market, piled high with everything from coffee and dried fruit to lacquerware.

After lunch, visit the Reunification Palace, the former Presidential Palace, where the war came to an end in 1975, and the War Remnants Museum, a sobering account of the conflict told through Vietnamese eyes.

End among the French colonial landmarks of the city centre: the red-brick Notre Dame Cathedral and, across the square, the old Central Post Office, still in use more than a century after it opened.

Your driver and guide collect you from your hotel for the drive to Cai Be. Here the river becomes a marketplace, and your boat weaves between barges laden with fresh fruit and vegetables. Along the banks, stop at a few small family workshops to see how local goods are still made by hand.

Lunch is served in the shade of the orchards on An Binh Island.

Switch to a traditional rowing boat and glide deeper into the countryside along narrow canals, where the only sounds are the oars and the birds. At a nursery garden, learn how the delta’s farmers grow the fruit and vegetables the region is known for.

Your boat arrives in Vinh Long, where your driver is waiting for the return drive to Ho Chi Minh City.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for the short flight to Da Nang. Your driver and guide meet you on arrival for the short drive to Hoi An, a peaceful riverside town whose old quarter has been beautifully preserved.

Walk the lanes of the ancient town with your guide, from the incense-filled Chua Ong Pagoda to the ornate Chinese Assembly Hall, where traders once met and worshipped far from home. Step inside the 200-year-old Tan Ky house, then cross the Japanese Covered Bridge, the town’s best-known landmark.

As the light softens, take a gentle boat ride on the Thu Bon River and watch the old town glow at sunset.

Enjoy the morning in Hoi An at leisure: one more walk through the old town, a coffee by the river or a last fitting with one of its skilled tailors.

After lunch, set off for Hue over the Hai Van Pass, a road that climbs to nearly 500 metres through the mountains, with sweeping views of the coast below. Pause for a drink at Lang Co Beach, a long curve of sand facing the sea, before continuing to Hue, the former capital of Vietnam and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The rest of the day is yours to relax at your hotel or explore Hue at your own pace.

Begin at the Imperial Citadel, built in the 19th century and modelled on the Forbidden City in Beijing. Within its walls lie the palaces and temples of the Imperial Enclosure and, at its heart, the Forbidden Purple City, once the emperor’s private residence.

Continue to the tomb of Emperor Tu Duc, a peaceful complex of pavilions and lotus ponds set among the pines, then to Thien Mu Pagoda, whose tall tower has watched over the river for centuries. Finish among the stalls of Dong Ba Market, the busiest in the city.

Transfer to Phu Bai Airport for the short flight to Hanoi, where your driver takes you to your hotel in the heart of the capital.

Begin at the Ho Chi Minh Complex, where the granite Mausoleum stands beside the modest stilt house in which the country’s founding father lived and worked. Nearby, the One Pillar Pagoda rises from its pond like a lotus flower, and the yellow Presidential Palace shows the French side of the city. Continue to the Temple of Literature, dedicated to Confucius and later home to Vietnam’s first university.

Head to West Lake for the ancient Tran Quoc Pagoda, set on a small island joined to the shore, and the Quan Thanh Temple nearby. Then choose one of the city’s museums: the History Museum for the story of Vietnam through the ages, or the Museum of Ethnology for the traditions of its many ethnic groups.

End the day at the water puppet theatre, a folk art that dates back to the Ly dynasty about a thousand years ago. Hand-carved puppets, protected by layers of lacquer, glide across a stage of water to tell stories of village life, history and legend.

After breakfast, leave Hanoi for the drive to the coast, reaching the harbour around midday.

Step aboard your junk and settle in over a seafood lunch as the boat sails out among the islands.

Cruise past some of the bay’s best-known islets, among them Ga Choi and Dinh Huong, and step inside one of its great caves, such as Thien Cung, Dau Go or Sung Sot. Later, drop anchor at a sheltered cove with a white-sand beach and cool off in the warm water of the Gulf of Tonkin.

Dinner is served on board, and the night is spent on the water, with only the gentle rocking of the boat for company.

Rise early for tai chi on the top deck, or simply watch the sun come up over the islands with a cup of coffee or tea.

Explore the nearby islands by rowing boat, then return on board for brunch as the junk cruises slowly back to the harbour.

Your driver meets you at the dock for the transfer to Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport and your flight home.