Family Adventure Holiday Vietnam

Welcome to Hanoi – the capital of Vietnam, often referred to as the “Paris of the East”, with its yellow ochre colonial buildings, tree-lined boulevards, and scenic lakes.

As soon as you deplane, the designated Immigration Officer and a guide will meet you at the end of the jet bridge or the entrance of the terminal.

The officer will assist you with immigration procedures to make sure that the process is as quick as possible.

From the airport, you will be driven to your hotel in the city center. Enjoy the ride through the busy streets. After check-in, take the rest of the day to relax and prepare for your exciting adventure in Vietnam.

Tour the city of Hanoi, with its ochre-colored colonial buildings, tree-lined boulevards, and scenic lakes by quaint, pedal-powered cycle providing an up-close view of the sights. Visit the historic Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, an imposing monument built to house the preserved body of beloved Vietminh leader Ho Chi Minh. Tour Ho Chi Minh’s House nearby, a simple wooden house in a tranquil setting where Ho Chi Minh lived and worked. Continue to the Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first national university built in the late 11th century. Enjoy the cyclo ride back to the city center to visit the scenic Hoan Kiem Lake (“Lake of the Returned Sword”) named after a magical sword once used by a legendary Vietnamese emperor to defeat the Chinese Ming Dynasty. On an island in the middle of the lake sits the Ngoc Son Temple accessible by the iconic Huc Bridge. Conclude the tour by exploring the famed Old Quarter known for its ‘36 streets of 36 wares’ named after the original 36 artisan guilds that date as far back as the 13th century.

PM: The venue of The Quintessence of Tonkin is in Sai Son Village, 20km outside of Hanoi. It is performed by nearly 200 local farmers.

Set in the open-air large amphitheater, the show draws inspiration from the spiritual history of the nearby Thay Pagoda and explains the ancient union between religion and the monarchy. The show blends different aspects of the culture: Poetry, Buddhism, Nostalgia, Music & Painting, Joy & Festivities.

The 1000 years old art of water puppetry will bring you vivid images of daily rural life in Vietnam.

Right before the show, you will have a chance to try some local dishes from the outdoor food village right at the venue.

Depart Hanoi for a 2hr drive to Hoa Lu, the ancient capital of Vietnam in Ninh Binh Province.

The ravages of time have destroyed the ancient citadel in town but some vestiges remain, including the temples to King Dinh and King Le among the rice paddies.

After lunch at a local restaurant en route, drive to the Van Long Nature Reserve, the largest wetland natural reserve in the Red River Delta. Enjoy a 2hr boat trip taking in stunning scenes of local villages dotted among the limestone karsts and caves. Bring along binoculars as you may encounter some rare langurs or birds.

End the day at the famous resort in Ninh Binh with the evening at leisure.

Depart for a 4.5hr drive to Mai Chau, famed for its splendid vistas of lush mountains and valleys and stilt-house villages inhabited mainly by the H’mong and White Thai ethnic groups.

After lunch, we’ll visit the H’mong hill tribe village of Xa Linh village. Your guide will facilitate chats with local hill-tribe people for insight into their daily lives including planting rice, herding buffalos, and building traditional houses.

Enjoy the evening at leisure at the Ecolodge.

After breakfast, take advantage of your free morning to unwind and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. You can cycle or trek through the valley, or just relax by the pool.

Lunch at the Lodge before driving back to Hanoi. Arrive at your Hanoi hotel in the early evening and enjoy the Old Quarter with its restaurants and busy night market.

Water puppetry is a unique art that originated in Vietnam’s wet rice civilization. After breakfast, take a short ride to a local house situated in a small alley of Hanoi to meet with a water puppet artisan.

Inheriting the talent and tradition from his father, Mr. Liem Phan has a passion for puppetry, creating a mini stage for water puppetry and bringing his solo performances to several countries outside Vietnam.

Sit down for a cup of tea and hear his stories about the origins of water puppets, and how he traveled to different corners of the world to bring Vietnamese culture onto the international stage. Then join a 30-minute show of lion dances, buffalo fighting, rice farming, and boat racing, etc. at his private mini water puppet stage on the top floor of his house.

After the show, you can try to handle the puppets in the water or join Mr. Liem Phan in making and painting the puppets.

After lunch transfer to the Hanoi airport for a flight to Saigon, where your driver will meet you for a short ride to your hotel in the city center. Evening at leisure, don’t hesitate to venture out and explore the busy surroundings!

This morning you might want to skip breakfast at the hotel!

Two of the greatest pleasures of visiting Saigon are exploring its markets and sampling its legendary street food. Combine both in this culinary half-day tour. Meet your guide and drive to one of Saigon’s most historic markets where you will learn about its history as you enjoy banh hoi nem nuong (grilled pork with rice vermicelli).

Walk around the market to learn about fresh vegetables, seafood, and spices used in Vietnamese cooking with a stop at a small tofu factory to see how tofu and soya beans are made. Back at the market, enjoy a Vietnamese sweet like fresh yogurt, crème caramel (flan), or flavored gelatin. Wander around some of the market stalls, possibly including a shoe stall that makes wooden clogs to order.

Cross the street for a taste of banh cuon Hanoi (steamed rice flour crepe stuffed with pork), washed down with a sinh to (Vietnamese smoothie) or nuoc mia (sugar cane juice). Taste savory rice flour cakes like banh xeo and banh khot or fresh spring rolls before ending with a Vietnamese sweet pudding back at the market. Return to your hotel.

In the early evening, another local adventure awaits. Transfer to a home of the family in the outskirts. In Vietnam, a typical family has three or four generations living under one roof. Tonight, you will be able to take a very close look into their lives.

Enjoy a traditional Vietnamese meal prepared by Mrs. Hong, a restaurant owner, and a cooking teacher. She’ll be happy to share her recipes and secrets with you.

After dinner, there will be time to interact with the hosts and learn about relationships in Vietnamese families and the traditions involved. Feel free to ask all questions.

Cu Chi District is best known for wartime battles and famous underground tunnels. But there is more to it to discover.

Explore the greener side of this district by visiting the Agricultural Village. Visit farmers and see how they grow buffalos, fish, and prawns. See a mushroom farm and participate in some farming activities, either at a garden or rice field (depending on the season). Sit down to a delicious lunch featuring vegetables picked from the garden.

Start your bicycle ride through the lush countryside. You will see large woven bamboo frames by the side of the road with circular rice paper sheets drying in the sun. Many of the locals in the area are involved in making rice paper. Stop to visit a rice paper workshop to witness the process.

Next, visit the ingenious Cu Chi tunnels, an immense network of connecting underground tunnels used by the Viet Cong as hiding spots during combat. The tunnels also served as living quarters, communication and supply routes, and housed hospitals, food, and weapons caches.

A visit to the underground compounds will provide a better understanding of the tunnels’ history, the hardship of life in the tunnels, and the Vietnamese resilience during combat.

This morning embark on a drive to the Mekong Delta. You will soon learn that the sampan boats are an important mode of transportation and livelihood in the Delta where the intricate network of waterways is often a cheaper, safer alternative to roads. Yet, despite generations of effort, some families still cannot afford their sampan, which is significantly impacting their economic situation.

Today you can donate a sampan to a family and significantly improve their life. Interact with the family receiving your sampan donation. Learn about their livelihood and ways of living in the Delta. Participate in a small sampan donation ceremony with local authorities and villagers as witnesses where all will share in the joy that your generosity has made possible.

From here we will take you to your resort, for a relaxed afternoon by the river. Enjoy the pool and the spa or choose to visit My Tho town and observe the locals go about their lives.

After a leisurely morning, we’ll bring you to the port where you embark the stunning Mekong Navigator.

As the upstream journey begins, experience the cordial hospitality on the Sun Deck at a welcome reception and introduction to the friendly and professional crew who will present a safety briefing. In the evening a “Mekong Delta” themed dinner offers a cultural and innovative introduction to Vietnamese cuisine.

AM: After a short sail to Cai Be, explore the famous Delta waterways by sampan, passing a colorful collection of local boats and the characterful stilted houses. Continuing into the narrower canals of Cai Be, a stop is made to visit Ba Duc House, traditional Vietnamese home and garden. Next reach a traditional rice factory where industrious artisans produce rice paper, rice wine, and popped rice.

On return to the ship, an elegant buffet lunch is served while sailing upstream through tranquil riverine scenery towards Sa Dec. 

PM: On arrival at Sa Dec port the traditional sampan is again used to navigate the canals. Visit a former home of Mr. Huynh Thuy Le, who was the inspiration for Marguerite Duras’ famous novel, L’Amant (The Lover). The next stop is a Chinese temple built in honor of the Huynh Thuy Le Family.

Return to the ship on foot through the town’s bustling market with many photo opportunities.

In the morning, we’ll make a landing on the charming island of Cu Lao Gieng to visit a local village where hundreds of sampans and rowing boats are made daily. An enchanting sampan cruise circumnavigating the island ends with a visit to the Cu Lao Gieng Cathedral. The peaceful villages are surrounded by flourishing orchards and verdant green lawns, far removed from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Mid-afternoon your sampans take you to the local island village of Hong Ngu. Here, a large number of traditional Khmer scarves are woven and exported to Cambodia. Observe the weaving process passed down many generations. The inhabitants of this rural area have only recently become familiar with western travelers and always offer a friendly welcome. Before returning to the sampans you can enjoy a walk around the beautiful evergreen island, stopping for a visit at the home of a local war veteran.

Today the ship’s staff will fully take care of your border formalities, while you can relax and enjoy leisure time on the sundeck, in the lounge, library, or wonderful La Vie spa until mooring close to the city of Phnom Penh late evening. Observe a fascinating transformation in the riverfront architecture. Exciting cultural activities will take place on board.