Grand Tour of Vietnam via Sapa

Upon arrival the transfer from the airport to the hotel is scheduled. The tour starts with a half-day tour of the main attractions of "cultural" Vietnam capital. After passing the imposing Ho Chi Minh mausoleum you'll enter the park of the ancient Residence of the General Governor of Indochina. Here is the house where once the president lived, not far from here there is nice One-Pillar Pagoda built in 1049 and in front of it there is Dien Huu Pagoda.

Vian Mieu, the Confucian temple of Literature, was the oldest Asian university and dates back to 1070. In the heart of the city lies the Lake of the Restored Sword with the islet of the Temple of the Jade Mountain.

The day ends with a leisure hour at the Water Puppet Show; a unique show where actors are wooden puppets that revive old traditional stories, everyday life scenes and events from popular legends on the water,

Lunch in the hotel and dinner in a local restaurant.

Half-day sightseeing the "historic" Hanoi, beginning with picturesque Ethnography Museum where costumes, everyday objects and reconstructions of traditional houses provide a fascinating picture of the life of ethnic minorities, then it's on to the Army Museum with collections of weapons and the plastics that reconstruct the great battles of the past and finally reach the shores of West Lake, where in 1010 the Taoist Quan Thanh Temple dedicated to the Genius Tran Vu, protector of the North, was built.

In the afternoon, half day is dedicated to sightseeing in the "Ancient" Hanoi on a traditional cyclo along the narrow crowded streets of the old city where, passing between shops of embroiderers and manufacturers of votive objects in paper, traditional pharmacies, candy shops, clothing, hats, wooden puppets, bags, belts and watches, shopping becomes a fun hunt for curious and unusual object.

Lunch and dinner in local restaurants.

Transfer from Hanoi to Halong Bay. After a stop in an exhibition center dedicated to local silk, ceramics and stone sculptures productions, continue with the visit to Halong Bay, often called the "Eighth Wonder of the World", aboard a traditional wooden junk, carefully renovated, that will wind its way through countless islands, islets, stacks and cliffs where stalactites and stalagmites draw an extraordinary and amazing scenery.

Lunch and dinner on board.

The morning is dedicated to further exploration of the countless attractions of Halong Bay. Return to the pier for disembarkation.

In the afternoon transfer to Hanoi and visit evocative religious sites such as Chua Quan Su, called "Ambassador Pagoda", and Chua Ba Da, the Pagoda of the Saint Lady, located near gothic-like St. Joseph Cathedral. You'll also have the chance for some refined shopping in the stores and boutiques of this residential district.

Transfer to the station to catch the King Express train to Lao Cai with overnight on board. Brunch on board and dinner in a typical restaurant.

Arrival and transfer to Sapa. Breakfast in a restaurant, then set off to visit Lao Chai village, inhabited by the Black H'Mong minority. Short and easy trek to Tavan village, inhabited by the Dzay.

In the afternoon travel to Ban Ho village, inhabited by the Tay minority. Return to Sapa.

Local lunch in a house of the ethnic minorities and dinner at the hotel.

Visit traditional Sapa market.

In the afternoon visit Ta Phin village in which both the Red Dzay minority and the Black H'Mong minority live.

Lunch in a local restaurant and dinner in the hotel.

Departure from Sapa and stop in the largest traditional market of the region where, in a triumph of colors, all the ethnic minorities meet to barter products of their poor craftmanship and the fruits of the land.

Return to Hanoi by King Express train. Lunch and dinner in a local restaurant.

Arrival and breakfast.

Transfer to the airport and flight to Danang and then on to Hoi An. Half-day dedicated to sightseeing in Hoi An on a cyclo. Riding along its picturesque streets lined with dozens of shops, boutiques and art galleries, you'll reach the beautiful Japanese bridge and then visit a temple of the rich Chinese community. From here you'll proceed entering the ancient house of a powerful merchant of the past centuries. The tour ends at the silk factory where, among thousands of shopping temptations, the most refined travellers can also have some elegant tailormade clothes packaged for themselves.

Lunch and dinner in local restaurants.

Half-day tour of My Son, the ancient "Holy City", the kingdom of Champa, that was contemporary and enemy to the great Angkor empire, declared Unesco World Heritage Site.

In a superb rocky amphitheater sorrounded by thick wild vegetation, the ancient Cham kings had their shrines built in brick and sandstone between the 6th and 14th centuries and here rituals in honor of Shiva and Vishnu were celebrated for centuries.

Half -day visiting "Nature" Hoi-An.

The location where Hoi An was built is stunning and the best way to appreciate it is by being carried on a boat along the placid waters of the river in the warm light hues of the afternoon. The banks become crowded with people intent on small activities, carpenters assemble at the corners of small fishing boats, the smoke of some oven where the locals bake bricks or handmade pottery rises and the fishermen pull their nets and raise their pots full of succulent shellfish.

Lunch and dinner in a local restaurant.

Visit cosy Cham Museum in Danang, built in 1916 by the Ecole française d' Extrême-Orient and recently expanded and renovated. In its halls you'll discover the masterpieces of Cham statues from the 7th to the 14th centuries.

You'll then proceed to the rock massif of Ngu Hanh Son, the Five Marble Mountains or "Five Natural Elements" and Water or Thuy Son is the holiest among the mountains. At its foothills, in the village of Dong Hai, hundreds of families still dedicate themselves to the ancient art of working the stone.

Climbing a short stone stairway you reach halfaway up where, at the times of Minh Mang emperor, Linh Unh Pagoda was built against the rock wall and is now one of the most venerated religious sites of the area.

Transfer to Hue. Travelling along a road crossing Cloud Hill and the picturesque coastal lagoons you reach Hue, which was capital from 1805 to 1945.

Lunch and dinner in a local restaurant.

Day dedicated to sightseeing in Hue. Nguyen emperors had the imposing Citadel built, at its center lies the majestic Imperial City with the Pavillion of the Five Phoenixes, The Palace of Supreme Peace and the Dynastic Temple The Mieu: huge buildings set in a harmonic succession according to the rules of Chinese geomancy.

The tour continues up the valley of the Perfume River reaching the Imperial Mausoleums of Tu Duc and Khai Dinh.

You'll then visit the Pagoda of the Heavenly Lady, Thien Mu, situated on the left bank of Huong Giang, the Perfume River, finally ending your journey with a pleasant walk among the stands of the great Dong Ba market.

Transfer to the airport for the direct flight to Saigon. Arrival in Saigon and transfer to the hotel. Lunch in a local restaurant and dinner at the hotel.

Half-day visit to Cu Chi, the famous underground citadel of the Vietcongs, who managed to built an incredible network of subterranean warehouses, domitories, armories, kitchens, infirmaries and command posts connected by 250 km of tunnels and galleries who resisted, inviolate, to all bombing and the attacks made for years by the American troops.

In the forests some buildings accessible to the public rise and evocative mannequins of armed Vietcongs mount the guard to strategic spots. On the way to Saigon a stop is due at the lush ricefields of a local farm producing rice flour tortillas and at the gum trees that were planted by the French at the beginning of last century.

In the afternoon. half-day sightseeing in the heart of Saigon, starting with the War Remnants Museum. After a due stop in the square where the colonial period still lives in the Post Office designed by Gustave Eiffel and at Notre Dame neo-gothic cathedral, you'll visit the highest religious site of the Taoist cult, Chua Ngoc Hoang, the pagoda of the Jade Emperor, whose interiors furnishing, decorations, statues, the symbols of the gods' authority are incredibly rich, just thinly veiled by the clouds of smoke rising from the candles and the incense. Then continue enjoying the shopping in the bustling commercial area stretching from Dong Khoi Street, the "Rue Catinat" of the French settlers,  and Ben Thanh market square.

Lunch and dinner in a local restaurant.

Day of sightseeing in Cai Be region in Mekong delta.

You'll reach a pier on the Mekong where little local boats await to penetrate the river branches and pass between bustling banks to the place where small junks carrying all fruits, vegetables and handmade products from every corner of the delta to this important market meet.

Visit a welcoming family-run business where puffed rice, sweets, candies, palm sugar and rice cakes are produced manually using ancient techniques.

In the afternoon transfer to Can Tho. Lunch in a local restaurant and dinner in the hotel.

In the morning visit Can Tho, the so called "capital of the Delta", which has been the commercial heart of the immense and extremely fertile rural region sorrounding it for centuries and which thrives thanks to the beneficial waters of the great river that we will sail on a motorboat winding its way through two large floating markets in Cai Rang and Phong Dien.

Return to Saigon arriving in the late afternoon. Lunch in a local restaurant and dinner at the hotel.

The tour is over, after breakfast the day is free depending on the airport transfer.