Journeys: Explore Vietnam

Arrive at any time. Arrival transfer is included.

Included Experiences

• Arrival Transfer: You will be met at the airport and transferred to the hotel to start your adventure.
• Welcome Moment - Meet Your Expedition Leader and Group: Your opportunity to meet your National Geographic Expedition Leader and fellow travellers, and learn more about your tour. Opt to join the group for a local meal afterwards. Don't forget to see the notice in the lobby (or ask reception) for the official time and place to meet up with the group.

Spend the morning discovering the bustling Vietnamese capital and connecting to history on a guided tour. Visit the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, one of Vietnam’s most influential political leaders. Learn more about his life at the Presidential Palace, a French colonial-style building that was designed to be his official residence. Gain insights into the Vietnam War at the Hoa Lo Prison, known by American POWs as the Hanoi Hilton; then jump on a cyclo, a three-wheel bicycle taxi, for a fun-filled ride through Hanoi’s colourful Old Quarter. After, travel to the verdant Mai Chau Valley, a patchwork of rice paddies, emerald hills, and charming traditional villages. Settle in for a two night stay in this lush, green paradise. Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is open until 11:00am and closed on Monday and Friday. Entry is dependent on what time the group arrives in Hanoi.

Included Experiences

• Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Guided Tour: Take a guided tour of the mausoleum where Ho Chi Minh’s embalmed body is housed in a glass case. During seasonal closures (see below), visit the Presidential Palace grounds for a short guided tour. Note: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is open until 11:00am and closed on Monday and Friday. Entry is dependent on what time the group arrives in Hanoi. The mausoleum will be close for 2 months every year for maintenance. It's usually from June 16th - August 16th every year, but this can vary.
• Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton) Guided Tour: Tour the museum of Hoa Lo Prison, referred to as Hanoi Hilton by American prisoners, to learn more about the Vietnam War.
• Hanoi Cyclo Tour: Take a seat on a cyclo for a tour of Hanoi’s lively Old Quarter. Let the driver navigate through the bustling streets and start taking some photos or just use the tour to help get familiar with the area.
• Free Time: Spend the evening free in Mai Châu.

Spend the day exploring the picturesque valley. Set out on a walk through the peaceful countryside, learning about the local tribes and customs, and visit a market for a fruit tasting. Choose to enjoy an authentic country lunch at a village home.

Included Experiences

• Village Walking Tour: Enjoy an easy walk through rice paddies, terraces, and scenic green hills. Visit Na Phon village and a local traditional stilt house, continuing to Lac Village (White Tai ethnic group) or Mai Chau market for some exotic fruit tasting. Enjoy stunning natural landscapes while learning about the local ethnic tribes of the Mai Chau valley.

Optional Experiences

• Mai Chau Village home meal: Enjoy a truly authentic dinner at a local home and get to know the ethnic White Tai culture first hand.

Return to Hanoi, stopping at KymViet Enterprise on the way. This G Adventures–supported program teaches stitching and sewing skills to local people with disabilities. Learn about KymViet meeting with the staff and make a small handicraft. Enjoy a tour of the workshop and interact with the team members by learning a few words in sign language. After, return to Hanoi and enjoy the rest of the day to explore exactly how you wish!

Included Experiences

• Kym Viet Local Enterprise Visit: Visit the staff and team at KymViet, a local enterprise supported by G Adventures. KymViet is a community organization that helps people with disabilities learn real life skills and create their own dignified source of income. With a focus on stitching and sewing, their team members lead travelers on handicraft workshops to make high quality products like stuffed animals and home decorations. Learn about the organization while having a regional refreshment, learning some sign language and enjoy a delicious lunch.
• Kym Viet Craft & Lunch: Connect with some local people in Hanoi and make your very own souvenir to bring home during our visit to KymViet, a social enterprise supported by G Adventures. We’ll be welcomed with a regional beverage, meet the staff and learn about the KymViet story. Under their guidance, local people with disabilities have been trained in stitching and sewing. While there we’ll each make our own stuffed animals, getting to know our hosts and learning some sign language. We’ll have a delicious lunch before touring the property to get to know the organization even better. Before we leave, enjoy a visit to their cafe where we can buy snacks and other souvenirs made by the team members at Kym Viet.
• Free Time: Spend the afternoon at leisure to explore Hanoi exactly how you'd like!

Optional Experiences

• Hanoi Foodie Culture Tour: Indulge your inner foodie with a street food tour through bustling Hanoi. Follow your guide through the back streets and markets of the city’s old quarter, sampling local fare along the way. Mingle with city natives and experienced street food artists alike, as you taste a variety of Hanoi faves like “nem ran” and “banh goi.” Stop at a streetside bar to savour a draught beer like Hanoians do. Cap off the tour at the Hanoi Food Culture restaurant, a G Values Fund Project, and try the city’s signature specialty coffee.
• Thăng Long Water Puppet Theatre Performance: Watch a traditional Vietnamese water puppet show with beautiful live music and intricate puppets dancing in a water stage.

Settle into your cabin on a traditional-style wooden boat or junk, where we’ll spend the night, and embark on a cruise of either Halong Bay or Bai Tu Long Bay (depending on boat availability). Continue to glide around the bay’s stunning karst formations, and explore with our local guide. This traditional wooden sailing boat offers a unique way of navigating the lime karsts of Ha Long Bay with all the comforts of a motorized, floating hotel. The boat crew will prepare an included seafood lunch and dinner. All cabins are twin share and have an en-suite bathroom. The boat features an enclosed dining and sitting area and of course plenty of outside deck space to enjoy your beautiful surroundings.

Included Experiences

• Ha Long Bay Overnight Junk boat Cruise: Cruise through the stunning bay. Relax on board our comfortable traditional wooden junk boat. Enjoy your time afloat eating fresh seafood, admiring the magnificent karst formations, and exploring. Spend a peaceful night anchored in the bay under the stars.

Optional Experiences

• Kayaking: Transfer from boat to kayak in this guided water tour, giving you the chance to get even closer to the stunning natural surroundings.

Enjoy an early lunch on board before returning to land and heading back to Hanoi to catch a short flight to Hue. A former imperial capital of Vietnam, this World Heritage-listed city boasts many architectural treasures; it was also the site of one of the Vietnam War’s most dramatic battles.

Included Experiences

• Plane: Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.

Set out on a guided tour of Hue’s imposing walled citadel, discovering lavish palaces, gardens, and courtyards. Visit the Forbidden Purple City, which served as the private quarters of the imperial family; then venture into the countryside to the magnificent tombs of Vietnam’s emperors, located along the banks of the Perfume River. Visit a Buddhist nunnery and enjoy a leisurely lunch following the traditions of vegetarian cuisine. Hue is the gateway to the treasures of Vietnam's royal past and remains one of Vietnam's major tourist attractions. This quiet city is widely known for the magnificent architecture of its citadel, royal tombs, pagodas, and temples built under the Nguyen dynasty on the lush banks of the Perfume River.

Included Experiences

• Imperial Citadel Tour: Tour this one-time capital city and UNESCO World Heritage site. See the walled fortress and former palace, which has many palaces, gateways, courtyards, and gardens to explore. The Forbidden Purple City (modelled on China's Forbidden City) inside the citadel was once home to the imperial family and was significantly damaged during the Vietnam War.
• Emperor's Tomb Guided Tour: Tour the tombs of Vietnam’s great emperors. Just outside of Hue, along the Perfume River are several impressive tombs dating back to the 1800s. Ranging in size and states of ruin, the ornate architecture and history make the sites a great place to learn more about the history of Hue.
• Lunch at a Buddhist Nunnery: Visit a nunnery and enjoy a leisurely lunch following the traditions of Buddhist cuisine, which features fresh, local produce and fermented or preserved ingredients. Today, we'll sample a set menu of six to seven dishes, such as pumpkin soup with mushroom, tofu and green beans; crispy noodles with rice crackers; fresh spring rolls with soy sauce; steamed rice with eggplant and green beans; fried rolls with potato curry; and bread with potatoes, carrots and onion. (Please note: the menu is seasonal and may vary from what is mentioned above.)

Drive to Hoi An this morning, a remarkably well-preserved river port and UNESCO World Heritage site. Stroll the narrow, winding streets of the atmospheric old town, lined with quaint merchants’ homes and decorated with colourful silk lanterns. Then try your hand at crafting a lantern of your own—a symbol of luck, wealth, and happiness—and leave with a beautiful souvenir. This afternoon, opt to visit a local tailor and be fitted for a custom-made shirt. The journey to Hoi An, via the Hai Van Pass, is an incredibly scenic and mountainous stretch of highway with spectacular views of Lang Co Beach.

Included Experiences

• Hoi An Old Town Walking Tour: Stroll through the narrow winding streets of Hoi An’s old town to see Chinese assembly halls, ancestral homes, The Japanese Covered Bridge, and well-preserved pagodas on this self-guided tour. Opt to try local delicacies and fusion food at one of the restaurants for which Hoi An is becoming famous.
• Traditional Lantern Making Experience: In Hoi An, it's said that hanging a lantern in front of your home will bring luck, happiness, and wealth to your family. Learn how to make traditional lanterns, handicrafts that are found hanging all over the Old Town of Hoi An. First appearing in the 16th century when the Chinese came to Vietnam, lanterns are used for decoration and in traditional celebrations like the monthly Hoi An Lantern Festival, which marks the full moon.

Delve into a local market this morning with guides from Oodles of Noodles, a G Adventures–supported program that trains local youth in the culinary arts. Taste dozens of varieties of noodles and pick out fresh ingredients at the market; then take your groceries to the Oodles of Noodles training kitchen, where you’ll learn to prepare mouthwatering noodle dishes and enjoy your creations for lunch.

Included Experiences

• Oodles of Noodles Local Market Excursion: Take a walking tour of a Hoi An local market led by youths who have come to Oodles of Noodles, a G Adventures-supported program, to be trained in the culinary arts. This excursion will empower the kitchen youth to lead insider noodle tours in Hoi An. There are currently over 26 types of noodles in this city alone and we will go to the market with two students and their trainer, learn about the ingredients at the market, and do a tasting of the different noodles while supporting local small women enterprises. We then pick the ingredients and return with our youth guides to the training kitchen where you will learn to cook and prepare noodles. After we enjoy our noodles for lunch, watch a video to learn more about the organization.
• Oodles of Noodles: Try some of the oodles of noodles (more than 26 types!) available in the city in this tasty cooking class. Run by our G for Good partners, STREETS International, this class was developed exclusively for G Adventures. Former street youth that are part of this hospitality training program, will help you prepare and cook a number of different types of noodles. This program helps these youth practice their English, increasing their skill-set and opportunities available to them in the tourism industry. Enjoy your yummy creations while learning more about the local cuisine and this initiative which empowers street youth through skills and employment training.
• Free Time: Spend free time this afternoon visiting a tailor, wandering through the temples and tombs at a UNESCO World Heritage site, or take a bike ride to a nearby beach.

The day is yours to explore enchanting Hoi An and its environs. Choose to take a day trip to World Heritage-listed My Son, a cluster of moss-covered Hindu temples dating between the 4th and 13th centuries. Alternatively, head to the nearby Cua Dai beach, or relax at your hotel by the pool.

Included Experiences

• Free Time: Numerous optional activities are available today.

Optional Experiences

• Thu Bon River Boat Trip: The Thu Bon River plays an important part in Hoi An's history and culture. Take a trip down the Thu Bon by river boat for an alternative tour of the city.
• Cua Dai Beach: Play in the surf at Cua Dai beach about 4km (2.5 mi) away from the Old Town. Make your own picnic of local food and rest under one of the palm trees lining the shore.
• Mỹ Sơn Excursion: Travel approximately one hour from Hoi An to arrive at My Son. Tour these Hindu temples built between the fourth and 14th centuries; the site is widely accepted as one of the most important Hindu temple complexes in Southeast Asia. Learn about the architectural style and history of a site that’s often compared to Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Bagan in Burma. Please note this optional activity is a half-day and includes a guide, transportation, and the entrance fee.
• Sunset Boat Ride On River: Jump on a local fishing boat for a lazy ride down the river and into the countryside. Spot fishermen casting their nets, locals going about their daily lives, and other unique Vietnamese river traffic. Make your way back to Hoi An as sunset approaches, and lanterns create a blaze of color to welcome your return. Opt to rent your own boat or join others on a shared cruise. Please note the price above is per group and a group includes 3-4 people per boat. The boat ride lasts for 30 minutes.

Fly to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. Immerse yourself in this vibrant metropolis—Vietnam’s economic hub—on a variety of optional activities. Discover the city on a cyclo tour, taking in iconic sites like the Notre Dame Cathedral and the ornate Central Post Office and City Hall. Visit the War Remnants Museum, a powerful reminder of the atrocities committed during the Vietnam War; or take a tour of the Reunification Palace, the site which marked the end of the war.

Included Experiences

• Plane: 30 minute transfer from hotel in Hoi An to Da Nang airport. One hour transfer from Ho Chi Minh City airport to hotel.
• Free Time: Free time to enjoy the city.

Optional Experiences

• War Remnants Museum Visit: Visit the War Remnants Museum, a gut-wrenching but worthwhile experience that includes three storeys of exhibits and military hardware. Learn about the devastation that occurred in Saigon during the Vietnam War, a period that greatly contrasts the joy and liveliness of the Vietnamese people today.
• Dam Sen Water Park Visit: Get away from the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City at this nearby water park. A lush setting and refreshing water make Dam Sen the perfect place for the whole family to cool off and have some fun—splash around or take a ride down one of the slides.
• Reunification Palace Visit: Wander the historic halls of the Reunification Palace (Independence Palace), a landmark in Ho Chi Minh City. This former home of the South Vietnamese president during the Vietnam War became the location of the end of the war when a North Vietnamese tank pushed through the palace gates on April 30, 1975.
• Ho Chi Minh City Cyclo Tour: Take a city tour on a cyclo (cycle rickshaw) – a great way to absorb the sights, sounds, and smells of Ho Chi Minh City while keeping your hands free for that camera action.

Venture to the legendary Cu Chi tunnels, a network of underground passageways that provided a base for Viet Cong soldiers during the Vietnam War. Visit subterranean hospitals and ammunition stores, and learn about the vital role that the tunnels played in the eventual victory of the North.

Included Experiences

• Cu Chi Tunnels Guided Tour: Take a guided tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels, a complex network of tunnels that the Viet Cong lived in to protect themselves from opposing forces during the Vietnam War. Try crawling through some of the tunnels (if you’re not claustrophobic). These tunnels stored ammunition, had underground hospitals, and served as a hidden base for attacking allied forces.

Depart at any time.