14 DAY VIETNAM CULINARY VACATION

Arrive at Hanoi, welcome and transfer to your hotel in the heart of the Hanoi’s old quarter. short rest and next head out for your first introduction to Vietnam’s lively culinary amazement. Your guide will decide where to Stop to let you savour a bowl of noodles with an unexpected secret ingredient! After dinner, enjoy a bia hoi. This foamy, light beer is made fresh each day and served in basic, enjoy the night and remember do not drink to get drunk. Overnight in Hanoi

After breakfast, our guide will be there to take you on a guided tour in Hanoi city starting by Chau Long Market, where you will learn all about the ingredients and flavours of northern Vietnamese cuisine. Be sure to sample the local coffee, typically served with condensed milk – or for the more adventurous – try the egg-coffee!

Continue touring the city and you will visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, one pillar pagoda and the nearby temple of literature which is dating back to at least 1000 years ago. Your Hanoi city tour takes you to visit Ethnology museum and the Hoan Kiem Lake as well.

In the evening, you will enjoy the street food tour lead by a local guide who knows the secrets of local cuisine and knows where to take you for tonight. There are several options on what to eat and try for tonight, so dont worry you have chance to try different foods.

Travel to the spectacular World Heritage-listed site of Halong Bay for an about 4 hours driving through the red river delta. Halong Bay spans an area of about 1,500 square kilometres and is dotted with innumerable beaches and grottos that were created over thousands of years by waves and wind. Check in and welcome board. After, you will visit one of the lesser known caves, then join a family on their boat to learn about the fishing culture which has been the way of life here for many, many generations. Return to the cruise late in the afternoon and enjoy a delicious seafood exquisitely prepared by an onboard chef.

Note: Kayaking, swimming, rock climbing and other activities are all included in your tour program and it may change depending on class of the junk boat / cruise. Learn more on Halong bay tours

On day 4 – we will enjoy the buffet breakfast on board, join the activity which prepared by the cruise before serving the lunch and travel back to Hanoi by car to take an overnight train to Hue in central Vietnam. The train journey takes ~ 12 hours

On arrival, you’ll meet by our guide, transfer to your hotel in Hue, check in and enjoy a classic breakfast of bun bo Hue, a popular Vietnamese soup containing rice vermicelli (bun) and beef (bo). After embark on a tour of the city’s imperial monuments on the back of a motorbike (or in a car if you would prefer that). Stop past Thien Mu Pagoda, an active Buddhist monastery since since 16th century. A dragon boat cruise on the Perfume River will be followed by a special lunch stop for a vegetarian Buddhist meal at a pagoda, finishing with a visit to the royal tomb of Emperor Tu Duc. The evening is free for your own food adventure.

After breakfast we will visit Forbidden Purple City with its foliage-covered ruins which are are still atmospheric and the gaping holes left by bombs give an idea of the destruction wreaked upon the country during the war. Next, head south by through coastal rice paddies and traverse the mountainous Hai Van Pass, to Hoi An (~ 4 hours). Arrive and check in, then, your guide will take you on an orientation walk around the Ancient Town.

On Day 7 – Start your day with a guided bicycle tour to famous Tra Que village (30 minute cycling) on the outskirts of town, followed by a trip to a rustic food market. This is a great place to get more familiar with Vietnamese cooking materials. Head back to Hoi An for a hands-on cooking class in classic central Vietnamese dishes, followed by lunch.

Tonight, you will get transferred by car to Danang from where you will take a night train to Coastal city of Nha Trang

Arrive early in the morning, meet up by our guide and transfer to your hotel, check in is 2 pm and you will be guided around the island to visit some of the historic monuments. Other option including boat trip off the Nha Trang coast. You will spend 2 day in this beautiful island to relax and re-charge for the rest of your trip.

Check out and get ready for a short flight to Ho Chi Minh City (~1 hour), Arrive and check in at your hotel. Our Saigonese tour guide will take you on a guided tour to get a feel for the city’s frenetic, fascinating blend of old and new, East and West. You will notice a strong French influence in Ho Chi Minh City, which means excellent coffee and baguettes. Stop past the War Museum, GPO and Notre Dame Cathedral, finishing up at one of Vietnam’s most pulsing markets, Ben Thanh. This is the perfect place to pick up any last-minute snacks, cooking utensils, ingredients, or presents for friends and family.

Tonight we arrange a street food tour for you on the back of motorbike to both enjoy the city locally and try some of the secret local foods you only find when you go with a local guide.

Embark on a day trip to the heart of the Mekong Delta to Ben Tre to take a cruise on the Mekong waterways. Paddle through the maze of palm-lined canals and get a glimpse of daily life on the Mekong Delta. Enjoy a lunch of typical Mekong dishes. Make a stop at Vinh Trang Pagoda en route back to Ho Chi Minh City.

Departing after breakfast head to the outskirts of Saigon to the small town of Cu Chi. Upon arrival it is hard to imagine the intense fighting and destruction that occurred here during the Vietnam War, but that is because the evidence is found deep underground. It is here that thousands of Viet Cong managed to survive during the war in a vast network of underground passages and rooms. Stretching over 250 kilometres in length the Cu Chi tunnels consisted of living areas, storage rooms, hospital treatment rooms, command centres and weaponries. Here families were formed, livestock cared for, and the Viet Cong defended themselves.

There are also several interesting exhibits explaining the life of the tunnel dwellers, including how they lived, spent their time and protected themselves with the use of various weapons and traps. Above ground you can also see abandoned American tanks that have not moved since they were deserted during the war, and demonstrations of how the tunnels were entered from the outside.

Drive back to Saigon around noon and enjoy the rest of the day on your own.

A free day at your own, you can explore the city or join with an option cooking class tolerant more about the southern Vietnamese cuisine. However, this is your last day and you can enjoy the last minute shopping as well.

Transfer to the airport well in a head of time take your departure flight back to your home-land. Thank you for traveling with “Vietnamese Private Tours”. End  of the Vietnam Culinary Vacation