•  Explore Vietnam’s rich natural beauty & ancient cultures.
  
•  Cruise stunning Halong Bay, where more than 1,600 islands and limestone islets create a photographer’s delight.
  
•  Investigate Hue’s ancient walled Imperial City, UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  
•  Tour the charming riverside town of Hoi An.
  
•  Discover Hanoi’s 11th century Temple of Literature and One Pillar Pagoda.

Day 1:  Depart USA

Day 2:   En route

Day 3: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam

Arrive in Ho Chi Minh City, still frequently called Saigon. Your local representative meets you and transfers you to your hotel. The remainder of the day is yours to enjoy.  
Choice of Hotels
 
Day 4: Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam’s largest city.  Today, you tour its vibrant quarters.  The bustle of Vietnamese life is visible in the street markets, sidewalk cafes and sleek new bars.  This modernity rubs shoulders with 300 years of tradition found in pockets and neighborhoods throughout the city.  Cholon, “Big Market,” was a Chinese town in the 18th century.  Today, it is a fascinating jumble of shops, offices and houses packed into one big neighborhood.  Notre Dame Cathedral, built between 1877 and 1883, sits in the heart of Saigon's government quarter.  Its neo-Romanesque form includes two high square towers, tipped with iron spires. Next door, the French-style Central Post dates from 1886 and is the country’s largest post office.  Pass by City Hall, completed in 1908.  Also known as “Hotel de Ville,” it was designed to resemble a French town hall.  Tour the Reunification Palace and War Remnants Museum, which recalls the country’s more troubled times.  Take in the colorful and mysterious Jade Emperor Pagoda was a key meeting place for Chinese secret societies.  Explore fascinating Ben Thanh Market, the central marketplace.  See Giac Lam Pagoda, oldest in the city, built at the end of the 7th century and Thien Hau Pagoda. Choice of Hotels  
 
Day 5: Ho Chi Minh City / Danang / Hoi An

Fly to Danang, Vietnam's fourth largest city, and a major port.  It boasts a pleasant year-round climate as it sits on the northern boundary of the tropics.  Visit Cham Museum, founded in 1915, and its excellent collection of sandstone sculpture.  Champa Kingdom developed in this area more than 1900 years ago.  By road, drive to Hoi An, passing on the way China Beach, where US soldiers were brought for rest and relaxation during the war years.  Today, it is home to resort hotels and restaurants.  See five small hills made of marble, each Marble Mountain is said to represent one of five elements of the universe. The largest, Thuy Son, contains a series of natural caves, which both Hindus and Buddhists have used over the centuries as shrines and sanctuaries. Drive on to Hoi An. Choice of Hotels

Day 6: Hoi An

Today is yours to enjoy as you wish – relax on the beach, shop for fine silk, or take optional tour. Choice of Hotels
 
Day 7: Hoi An / Hue

Hoi An is a picturesque riverside town south of Danang. Known as Faifo to early traders, it was one of southeast Asia's major international ports from the 17th through the 19th centuries. The town is compact and easily explored on foot.  Quan Cong Temple, founded in 1653, houses a small Chinese-style temple. The Chinese Phuoc Kien Pagoda dates from about 1690, and is typical of Chinese ‘clans’ established here.  Japanese Covered Bridge sits on the site of the original bridge constructed in 1593 by the Japanese community of Hoi An to link them with Chinese quarters across the stream. See the 200-hundred-year-old Tran family chapel, designed as a place to worship ancestors.   Sa Huynh Museum, nearby, contains exhibits from the earliest periods of Hoi An history.  Continue on, via road, through beautiful Hai Van Pass, which crosses a spur of Truong Son Mountain Range that juts into the South China Sea.  Arrive in Hue and begin sightseeing the Old Imperial City, A UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The Forbidden Purple City was built early in the 19th century and modeled after the much larger original in Beijing.  The central passageway with its yellow doors was for the exclusive use of the emperor, as was the bridge across the lotus pond.  Visit Thai Hoa Palace, built in 1803.  Its spacious hall has an ornate roof of huge timbers supported by 80 carved and lacquered columns.  Saigon Morin (B)

Day 8: Hue / Hanoi

Fly to Hanoi, where you are met and escorted to your hotel. The remainder of the day is yours to enjoy as you wish.
Choice of Hotels
 
Day 9: Hanoi / Halong

From Hanoi, journey east along Highway 5 to Halong Bay, long known for its serene beauty and dramatic soaring islets of limestone.  Here, you board a boat for a four-hour exploration of the bay, part of the Gulf of Tonkin, passing a sprinkling of the thousands of islands dotting the gulf.  Many have natural caves that have been used through the centuries. You dock at one of the islands to get a glimpse of some of the remarkable formations such as Hang Dau Go, a huge, three-chambered cave reached via 90 steps.  This cave derives its name from the third of the chambers, which legend says was used by Trang Hung Dao during the 13th century to store bamboo stakes used against Mongol invaders.  Each seascape appears more beautiful than the last. Halong Plaza
 
Day 10: Halong / Hanoi

Journey by ferry across Halong Bay to Hai Phong, past Cat Ba Island, the largest island in the bay.  Drive west back to Hanoi. Choice of Hotels
 
Day 11:   Hanoi

Today’s focus is Hanoi, a city of lakes, shaded boulevards and public parks.  Vietnam’s capital is an attractive city with a blend of French and Asian architecture.  In the mid-11th century, Emperor Ly Thai Tong ordered the construction of One Pillar Pagoda. The wooden temple sits on a single stone pillar and resembles a lotus blossom.  A subsequent emperor founded the Temple of Literature in 1070, and dedicated it to Confucius to honor literary scholars.  Hoan Kiem Lake in the heart of Hanoi contains an islet with the tiny Tortoise Pagoda, topped with a red star.  Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is the somber resting place of Ho Chi Minh, and has become a site of pilgrimage for Vietnamese.  Pass by the magnificent 900-seat opera house built in 1911.  St. Joseph Cathedral, a neo-Gothic cathedral finished in 1886, is noteworthy for its square towers, elaborate altar and stained-glass windows. Bao Tang Lich, once the museum of the Ecole Francaise d'Extreme Orient, was finished in 1930, and exhibits artifacts from Vietnam's turbulent history as well as displays of proto-Vietnamese civilizations such as the Dong Son and Oc-Eo cultures and the Khmer Kingdoms. Choice of Hotels
 
Day 12:   Hanoi  / Depart

Depart today for your journey home. Crossing the international dateline, you arrive home on the same day.

12/08