Vietnam Highlights

Seven days and six nights run the length of Vietnam, from Ho Chi Minh City in the south to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay in the north, with Hoi An and Da Nang between them. Two domestic flights keep the pace up, and sightseeing is private: an air-conditioned vehicle, and an English-speaking guide for the guided parts of the trip. It is one of our Vietnam itineraries for first-time visitors.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Saigon And The Mekong Delta

You are met at Tan Son Nhat Airport, then head out on a half-day tour: the Reunification Palace, home of Southern Vietnam's President until the end of April 1975, the Old Saigon Post Office, the neo-Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral, the Jade Emperor Pagoda and the War Remnants Museum, ending at Ben Thanh Market if time allows. Day two runs two hours out to Ben Tre: a boat to kilns turning coconut shell into activated charcoal, fruit and honey tea with a family on Tam Hiep Island, a rowing boat along narrower canals, a cycle ride to a lá sâm leaf farm for herbal jelly, then lunch and hammocks at a local homestay.

Hoi An Old Town And Ba Na Hills

After breakfast you fly to Da Nang and transfer to Hoi An, where the Old Town is walked: merchant houses that have withstood 200 years of weather and war, the Japanese Covered Bridge, built more than 400 years ago to link the Japanese and Chinese communities across the water, and the Phuc Kien Chinese Assembly Hall with its dragon statues and elaborate roofs. Next morning a cable car lifts you to Ba Na Hills for Le Jardin D'Amour and its nine gardens, Linh Ung Pagoda, the Golden Bridge and the French Village, with a buffet lunch and Fantasy Park's indoor rides before the cable car down at 15:00 and the flight to Hanoi.

Hanoi By Day, The Old Quarter By Night

The Hanoi day starts at the Ho Chi Minh Complex, which closes on Mondays and Fridays, where the mausoleum is seen from outside, beside the Presidential Palace and house on stilts, then the One Pillar Pagoda and the Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first university. The afternoon goes to the Ethnology Museum, closed on Mondays, and its 54 ethnic groups. From 18:00 a local transport pick-up (inside the Old Quarter only) leads to bun cha, pho, banh mi and draught beer, a heritage house and the old city gate, closing with a barista-led phin filter and egg coffee session. If the north is your priority, see our five-day North of Vietnam Explorer.

A Full Day On Ha Long Bay

A three-hour drive through the Red River Delta reaches Tuan Chau harbour, where you board at 10:00 and sail past limestone islets such as Thumb Rock. A seafood and Vietnamese buffet lunch comes at noon; at 13:00 the guide leads you up roughly 200 steps into Sung Sot Cave for about 45 minutes, while anyone who would rather not walk stays aboard. Kayaking at Luon Cave lasts around 30 minutes, and Titov Island offers a half-climb for the panorama, before tea, fruit and snacks on deck. You are back in port by 18:00; weather or operations can change the cruise itinerary and food without notice. For a longer route, see our nine-day Panorama of Vietnam.

GOOD TO KNOW

Rooms are twin or double sharing, and meals are only those listed against each day: the lunch break on the Hanoi city-tour day and every other unlisted meal are by your own account. The English-speaking guide covers guided time rather than the whole trip: on the Ha Long day the guide is on board only, and the departure day has none. Flights, travel insurance and the Vietnam visa are excluded. Tipping for the local guide and driver is compulsory, at a fixed rate per person per day set by group size. Check-in is from 14:00, check-out at 12:00.