Vietnam Family Adventure Holiday

Example Itinerary:

Day 1 - Arrive in Vietnam

Airport transfer from the airport to your hotel in Hanoi. Meet your guide at a welcome meeting with your group in the evening. Optional evening meal with the group.

Day 2 - Explore Hanoi

A tour of Hanoi takes you to visit many of the key sights such as the One-Pillar Pagoda, the Temple of Literatures and the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh. There is also time free to explore independently or join optional activities such as a food tour, a cyclo ride (a tricycle with a seat for passengers and a driver to pedal you), a visit to Train Street to see a train come through or a traditional water puppet performance.

Day 3 - Ha Long Bay Cruise

Today, hop on the group's bus to head out of Hanoi along the expressway to Ha Long Bay (approx. 2.5 hours). Here you will join a traditional Junk boat to cruise out among the towering forested islands. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a truly stunning landscape and one of the most popular sites in Vietnam. Cabins on the boat have en-suites and all meals are included. Optional activities in the afternoon and following morning include kayaking, a visit to a traditional fishing village and exploring the Thien Canh Son caves.

Day 4 - Overnight Train

It is well worth rising early today to see the sunrise over the bay. After a morning of optional activities and brunch on board, you will return to shore and re-join the bus back into Hanoi. There will be some free time to freshen up at a hotel before heading to the station to board the famous Renuification Express sleeper train to Hue. The train has compartments of 4 bunks, with bedding provided. Settle down to sleep as the train trundles along through Train Street and out along the coast.

Day 5 - Explore Hue

The train arrives in Hue, where your day's activities include a visit to the Royal Palace with its Terracotta Warriors, and to the iconic Thien Mu Pagoda. You'll also be able to get creative, designing you're own traditional Vietnamese kites at the house of a national champion kite flyer, and then later have a go at flying them in the grounds of the Citadel, home of the Imperial City.

Day 6 - Cycle Tour & Crafts

After a short boat trip on the Perfume River, you will swap to two wheels to explore by bike, peddling along country lanes between paddy fields and fields of fruit and vegetables. Stopping at some local villages, you'll learn how to make traditional wood paintings and paper flowers. Later, you return to Hue by boat before heading to a martial arts school, to learn the practice of Kinh Van, a Vietnamese martial art, similar to Kung Fu. Finally, you head out of Hue and over the Truong Son Mountains, through the Hai Van Pass (as seen on the TV programme Top Gear), to the seaside town of Hoi An.

Day 7 - Free Day - Explore Hoi An

Hoi An is another World Heritage site and is a joy to explore. You have the day free to do as you want - perhaps visit the fish market or search out the famous Japanese Covered Bridge. You could also choose one of the town's many tailors and have a suit or a dress made - they can have it ready before you leave town. Optional activities with the group may include a cycle tour to find out how coracle boats are made, and you can go out for a ride on the river in one. In the evening, be sure to go to the riverside to see the boats with their beautiful colourful lanterns.

Day 8 - Explore Ho Chi Minh

Heading north today, you go first to Danang, from where you'll fly south to Ho Chi Minh (formerly Saigon). Activities in Ho Chi Minh include a visit to the so-called "secret weapons" bunker, which played a key role in the TET Offensive in 1968. A fleet of cyclos will also take you on a tour through the city centre and you'll have some free time as well.

Day 9 - Cu Chi Tunnels

A bus will take the group out of the city to the infamous Cu Chi Tunnels, which were first constructed by the Vietnamese in their colonial war with the French, and then served as an underground command base for 10,000 Viet Cong troops during the Vietnam War. It's a fascinating place. Returning to Ho Chi Minh, the rest of the day is free for you to explore more at your own pace.

Day 10 - Mekong Delta

Leaving the city behind, today you head to the Mekong Delta, where you join a boat and then take bikes for a cycle ride. Following a flat path, you'll stop at villagers' houses and learn how to make rice paper the traditional way at one house and at another make (and sample) 'Banh Tieu' - the Vietnamese donut (delicious!). You'll then have a ride on a traditional boat called a sampan, to reach the homestay where you'll stay the night. Here, the family will show you how to make a traditional Vietnamese dish, which will form part of the delicious home-cooked evening meal. Later, enjoy some traditional entertainment.

Day 11 - End of the Tour

After breakfast at the homestay, you cruise back along the Mekong Delta past floating markets, paddy fields and villages before rejoining the bus back to Ho Chi Minh, where the tour ends. You can freshen up in a hotel before your flight home, or before continuing on the next part of your trip - add-ons available include an extension to Cambodia and Angkor Wat.

Group size (if joining a group for this itinerary, instead of a private tour): 14-20

Minimum age: 7 years

For full details of this itinerary, or to find out more about other options for group or private family adventures, please call our team on 020 3633 0653 or complete our enquiry form to find out more, for prices and to book.