Vietnam For Lovers – 10 Days

Sleep in and linger over breakfast with a cup of strong Vietnamese coffee.

With your guide, visit the Reunification Palace, where the war ended in 1975, and the War Remnants Museum, a moving account of the conflict through Vietnamese eyes. See the elegant colonial Central Post Office, then explore the temples and wholesale streets of Chinatown and finish among the stalls of Ben Thanh Market.

Your driver and guide collect you for the drive to Cai Be. At the jetty, the crew greets you with cold towels and a refreshing drink before the Cai Be Princess sampan sets off along the busy waterways. Sip tea and nibble seasonal fruit as life on the riverbanks drifts by. Stop at a 19th-century ancient house and at small family workshops making coconut candy and puffed rice, the delta’s answer to popcorn.

Your cruise pauses at Le Longanier, a colonial-style villa set in a tropical garden by the river and surrounded by fruit trees, for lunch with a taste of life in the Indochina era.

Back on board, cruise along the Dong Phu Canal past Binh Hoa Phuoc and An Binh, two small islands known for their orchards, stopping at the old An Binh Church. Cross the wide Co Chien River to Vinh Long, where your driver is waiting for the drive to Can Tho.

Spend the night at a rustic eco-lodge, surrounded by the quiet of the delta.

Leave the lodge at first light and head by motorboat to Cai Rang floating market, where boats are piled high with everything from carefully balanced watermelons to bright bunches of flowers. Keep your camera ready.

Time allowing, visit the ancient house at Binh Thuy, where the romantic film L’Amant (The Lover) was shot, before transferring to Can Tho Airport for your flight to Da Nang.

Your guide and driver meet you in Da Nang for the drive to Hoi An, a remarkably well-preserved trading port that flourished from the 15th to the 19th century. Check in, then explore the town at your own pace or relax by the pool.

Enjoy a candlelit dinner on the riverbank as the lanterns glow over the water.

Meet in the old town for your cooking class with the Red Bridge Cooking School, beginning with a walk through Hoi An’s lively market to chat with the vendors and choose fresh ingredients. A short boat ride down the river brings you to the school, where you wander through its herb and vegetable garden before the class. Watch the chefs at work, then help prepare traditional dishes, finishing with an introduction to the art of Vietnamese food carving.

Sit down to lunch on the dishes you have prepared.

Drive to My Son Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage Site set in a green valley, where Cham kings held religious ceremonies and were laid to rest. Spend about an hour and a half exploring its brick towers and temples, and watch a performance of traditional Cham Apsara dance.

Return to Hoi An in the late afternoon, with the evening yours to enjoy as you please.

Spend the day as you like: browse the shops and galleries of the old town, have something made by one of its skilled tailors, or take the hotel shuttle to a nearby beach to swim and sunbathe.

For a livelier day, ask us about our rice planting and fishing tour. Plant rice in the paddies, ride a water buffalo, row a round basket boat and catch a fish for your own lunch.

Check out after breakfast and transfer to Da Nang Airport for your flight to Hanoi. Your driver and guide meet you outside the baggage hall at Noi Bai Airport and take you to your hotel in the city centre.

Climb into a cyclo for a ride through the narrow streets of the Old Quarter, a maze of workshops, shophouses and street food stalls. Pause at Hoan Kiem Lake, where couples in wedding dress pose for photos by the water, and take a few quiet moments for yourselves.

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 are the One Pillar Pagoda, rising from its pond like a lotus flower, and the yellow Presidential Palace. Continue to the Temple of Literature, dedicated to Confucius and home to Vietnam’s first university.

Visit Chua Ha (Ha Pagoda), tucked down a peaceful lane in busy Cau Giay district. Local people believe that singles who pray here soon find their match, and couples come hand in hand to ask for a hundred years of happiness together. Then explore the nearby Museum of Ethnology to learn about Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups.

End the day at the water puppet theatre, a uniquely Vietnamese art born in the flooded rice paddies of the Red River Delta, where puppets glide across a stage of water to tell stories of village life and legend.

After breakfast, your driver takes you through the Red River Delta countryside to the coast, reaching the dock around midday.

Step aboard your cruise and enjoy a seafood lunch as you sail out among the islands.

Cruise past the islets of Con Vit and Gia Luan, towering karst formations in a part of the bay few boats reach, through the area from Cat Ba Island to Ba Trai Dao. Try kayaking, or slip into the clear water for a swim at Ba Trai Dao.

Back on board, join a cooking class before dinner. Later, relax on the top deck with a drink from the bar, try your hand at squid fishing or watch a film in the restaurant, then fall asleep to the gentle rocking of the boat.

Rise early to see the bay at its most beautiful, with tai chi on the sundeck followed by a light breakfast.

Paddle by canoe around Sang Toi, the Dark Cave, then return on board for brunch as the boat cruises back to Gia Luan pier.

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