VIETNAM CULINARY DISCOVERY TOUR from 678 USD/person only for 11 days 10 nights

Day 1 : Arrive Hanoi (D)
Hanoi, the country's capital has just celebrated its 1000 year anniversary. The city owns a long history, cultural richness and hospitality, which can be seen plenty charming facade, temples, pagodas and street insights. Hanoi is without doubt, one of Asia's most beautiful cities.
Upon your arrival at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, we will meet you with the Welcoming Board and then escort you to your hotel. We leave the rest of the day to you to relax from a long flight.
Evening, enjoy a Welcome Dinner with traditional Vietnamese food which will give you a first taste of Vietnamese cuisine and their culture. Stay overnight in Hanoi.

Day 2 : Cooking class – City tour & Evening Hanoi street food tour (B,L,D)
You will be picked up around 8.00am and driven to the Hanoi Cooking Centre for a half-day cooking course. The centre is the best place in Hanoi to gain a hands-on understanding of Vietnamese cuisine, and its long-time expatriate owner has written many cook books about Vietnam’s best-known dishes.
Sip a welcome tea on arrival, as your chef and guide explains the basics about the dishes you’re about to make. Walk to nearby Chau Long Market and stroll among hundreds of stalls selling everything from pumpkins to silkworms. Take in all the smells, and pause for photographs with the vendors!  Then it’s hands-on as you return to the centre and learn how to make a traditional dish. You also have the option to purchase many of the tools and spices used during the class. Enjoy your lunch with your own cooked dishes.
This afternoon, you will take a guided tour to visit Ho Chi Minh House on stilts , Ho Chi Minh Museum and the famous One Pillar Pagoda which was built of wood on a single stone pillar 1.25 m in diameter. After that, continue to visit the Temple of Literature (Vietnamese name is Quoc Tu Giam) – The Vietnam’s first University, which was built in 1070 in honor of Confucius, his followers and Chu Van An, a moral figure in Vietnamese education.  
In the evening, sample Hanoi specialities in a street-food tour of its old quarter. Feast on a Vietnamese-style BBQ, and stop at a street famous for serving gas beer, or “bia hoi,” the famous local brew.  Finish a day with a stop at the city’s most famous ice-cream parlour, and return to your hotel by about 8pm. Stay overnight in Hanoi.
 
Day 3 : Hanoi – Halong – Cooking demonstration on cruise. (B,L,D)
This morning we depart to Halong Bay .After a 3,5 hour drive through the Red River Delta with a stop on the way. We board our boat by the time we arrive Halong Bay ,enjoy a welcome drink followed by a special lunch on board while cruising to through a maze of islands .We also disembark the boat to climb up a mountain to visit a beautiful limestone cave before anchoring in a tranquil cove for swimming.
You will take part to a cooking demonstration on the sundeck. Let's see how to make the fresh/fried spring rolls and mix fish-sauce. Dinner and overnight on board.
 

Day 4 : Halong – Hanoi (B,L,D)
We will be waken up by a dawn chorus then join with the others for the taichi on sundeck. Breakfast will be served before cruising to a floating village where we start kayaking to the hidden lagoons. Brunch  on board before heading back to the pier then drive back to Ha Noi for overnight stay.
 
 

Day 5 : Hanoi – Danang – Hoian (B,L,D)
After breakfast, transfer to airport to take a flight to Hoian Ancient Town, an Unesco World Heritage site. On arrival, pick up and transfer to visit  Cham Museum and Marble Mountain in Danang before drive to Hoain  and spend the afternoon for a walking tour around this enchanting port town of Hoi an, follow the narrow lanes lined with centuries-old houses influenced by Chinese, Japanese, French and European architectures and visit its numerous places of interest: the 400-year old Japanese Covered Bridge, the Phuc Kien Assembly Halls, the Tan Ky old house, the local market … Around the town you can see numerous art galleries and tailor shops.  You are also free to get some made-to-order clothes if you like. Stay overnight in Hoi An.

Day 6 : Hoian full day cooking tour (B,L,D)
Cooking class in Hoi An is the great way to understand the culture of this ancient town. A full- day cooking class at The Red Bridge Restaurant & Cooking School will teach you from start to finish of 4 famous Vietnamese dishes including ‘Beef Noodle Soup (Pho) & Clay Pot Fish with Dill (Cha Ca). The tour is a fun and interesting way to learn about the local food.  Visit Tra Que organic herb gardens, purchase ingredients at the local village market, 3 hours of in-depth hands on cooking, lunch, and return trip to Hoi An by boat. Stay overnight in Hoi an.
 


Day 7: Hoian free at leisure (B)
Enjoy your whole free day at hotel for swimming and sunbathing or choose optional diving tour at Cham Island or fishing tour or farming tour in Hoian town . Stay overnight in Hoian

 

Day 8: Hoian – Danang – Saigon city tour (B,L,D)
Morning, pick up and transfer to the airport for a flight to Ho Chi Minh (other name: Saigon) is Vietnam's largest and most populated city. It is the heart of the country's commerce and the centre of culture. Ho Chi Minh City is an impressive mix of the ancient and the modern. It features ancient pagodas and temples alongside old wooden shops that sell merchandise such as silk and spices.
Afternoon, visit Reunification Palace formerly known as Independence Palace, built on the site of the former Norodom Palace, is a landmark in Hochiminh City. Next stop is the War Remnants Museum, operated by the Vietnamese government, an incipient form of museum opened on September 4, 1975, as the "Exhibition House for US and Puppet Crimes, located in the premises of the former United States Information Agency building.  Continue to visit City Hall, Ho Chi Minh Monument and Central Post Office which was constructed when Vietnam was part of French Indochina in the early 20th century.  Right nearby, you can see Notre Dame Cathedral, a magnificent building located in the heart of the city and was established by French colonists.  Stay overnight in Saigon.
 
Day 9: Saigon half day cooking & Cu Chi tunnel tour (B,L,D)
Morning cooking lesson at the Vietnam Cookery Center : the hands-on cooking course is conducted by a professional chef and translated by a MC who will explain the teaching of the chef and talk about the history and culture of Vietnamese cuisine. The lesson includes a market visit and lunch.
In the afternoon, continue our trip to visit the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, an incredible underground tunnel network constructed by Vietnamese resistance fighters during the long struggle for independence. It was an underground city with living areas, kitchens, storage, weapons factories, field hospitals, command centers. In places, it was housed up to 10,000 people who virtually lived underground for years.... getting married, giving birth.  Drive back Saigon for stay overnight.
 
Day 10 : Full day Mekong delta tour (B,L,D)
Travel to Vinh Long, a province located in the Mekong River Delta of southern Vietnam. Upon arrival, take a boat trip to explore the colorful Cai Be floating market, where you can observe all of busy trading activities of local traders with several kinds of agricultural product from one boat to another. You then continue the cruise to a local factory to visit and learn how pop rice, pop corn, rice paper and coconut candies are made. You also have an opportunity to taste these products served with hot green tea. Returning to the boat for an excursion to Dong Hiep Hoa Island and discover the beautiful and peaceful sceneries together with the typical life of the region along the Mekong River.
Drive back Saigon in the afternoon and check in hotel for the rest. Stay overnight in Saigon.
 
Day 11: Departure Saigon (B,L)
Free time for shopping before transfer to the airport for flight back home.
It’s time to say goodbye, we thank you for travelling with us and warmly welcome you back to Vietnam. Services end.

PRICE: 
This is our suggested price for your reference only. Prices may vary a little according to your service requests, your group size and your travel period or any personal requirements that you may have. We are happy to advise you on tours that suit your budget or to help you with prices to cover any special requests. Please send us your enquires and we will arrange the best price for you.
Price in USD / person in double or twin sharing room.

Notes:
  For group of 1 or 2 pax, we will use 4 or 7 seat car.
  Group of 4 to 8 pax, we will use 16 seat bus or van.
  Group of 10 pax + + +, we will use 29 seat bus.
  For the group of 3, 5, 7 and 9 people or group with children, please contact us for more details!
  Tips to low-down or upgrade this price or any further information, Never mind to contact us please! We will try with all our best to satisfy you!

Name your destination, we will bring you there!

What's Included:
•        9 nights at centrally located & well selected.
•        1 night on board in Halong bay
•        All meals as stated
•        Cooking classes and entrance fee and sightseeing tickets as listed in the itinerary
•        Professional English speaking tour guide.
•        All relevant transfers and transportation in private air-conditioned vehicles
•        Boat trip in Halong bay & in the Mekong delta
•        Local taxes & Service charge

What's Excluded:
•        Domestic flight tickets with airport tax  ( the airfares vary depending on the time of booking)
•        Visa stamp fee
•        All drinks and meals do not listed in itinerary.
•        Insurance, gratuities and personal expenses.
•        Tipping for guide, driver and hotel bell boys, etc.
•        Others not mentioned clearly
Airfare reference:
We will inform you the exactly airfares at the time of booking ( normally it's better than the reference), however, this is the reference price:    
Hanoi - Danang : US$ 105
Danang - Saigon : US$ 105