10 Days Best of Thailand and Vietnam Family Vacation

ITINERARY

Day 1: Bangkok – Phuket | Flight Bangkok to Phuket | Relax on the Beach

International Flight: Excluded

You will transfer by a morning flight to Phuket. Upon arrival, our guide will greet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel for check-in.

The rest of the day is at your leisure to explore the beautiful beaches of Phuket.

Accommodation: Villa Iyet

Day 2: Phuket | Sea Caves by Starlight

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

World-famous kayaking inside marine limestone karst islands with macaques, water monitors, kingfishers, and Sea Eagles. Meet at the hotel around 11 AM to transfer to the pier (1 hour). Then continue by boat with a light lunch served on board. Self-paddle with your own sea cave guide through tunnels and lagoons.

When darkness falls, stars shine overhead in the circle of the black night, fireflies flash in the cliffside jungle and, most of all, the sea glows with phosphorescence. Enjoy a spiritual ceremony with your own made “Krathong”.

Have a magnificent dinner onboard. Then return to land. A truly magical and out of this world experience (Listed among National Geographic’s “World’s Top 50 Adventures”).

Accommodation: Villa Iyet

Day 3: Phuket | Relax on the Beach

Meals: Breakfast

Today is at your leisure to explore the beautiful beaches of Phuket.

Accommodation: Villa Iyet

Day 4: Phuket – Chiang Mai | Flight to Chiang Mai

Meals: Breakfast

You will transfer by a morning flight to Chiang Mai. Upon arrival, our guide will greet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel for check-in.

The rest of the day is at your leisure.

The old city walls still stand verdantly against the course of time, inviting pilgrims to come rest, and explore the lost treasures of the Lanna Kingdom. Established as the capital in 1296AD of the vast “Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields”, Chiang Mai carries a heritage lurking around every quiet cobble-stone alley and corridor. These days, cafes, boutiques, pubs, and spas are auspiciously peppered throughout, while colorful Meo and Akha hill tribes make their daily ritual visit to the valley to offer their hand made tapestries and handicrafts to curious adventurers. The Ping River weaves through the valley to the East of the Old City while a peaceful moat surrounds the time-worn walls.

Accommodation: The Garden Chiang Mai Pool Villa

Day 5: Chiang Mai | Elephant Sanctuary

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Today, you will visit an elephant sanctuary in the jungles near Chiang Mai. First, you’ll learn about the project and hear the amazing stories of each rescued and orphaned elephant. You will have an elephant just under both of your care for the day-with the mahout (elephant guide) to help you learn about your elephant and get acclimated with their behavior and personality. Learn how she became free from abuse and misuse. You’ll be shown how to approach your elephant, what spoken commands she respond to, how to read her body language, and how to check her health. Then have an opportunity to feed her. The mahout will also show you how to ride on her neck(no heavy howdah seats are used) or you can walk alongside your elephant if you prefer.

Continue to the nearby river. Here you will have the opportunity to observe or participate in bathing the elephants with the sanctuary staff. The sanctuary has a photographer who will capture these moments in high quality for you throughout the day and provide you a CD of the experience. Next, enjoy a picnic spread.

After you have said your farewells, return back to the hotel for some leisure time.

Note: Please note not to wear any perfume or strong fragrances as elephants are sensitive to smell. Also, bring a change of clothes for swimming, odorless sunscreen, and a towel.

Accommodation: The Garden Chiang Mai Pool Villa

Day 6: Chiang Mai | Flight of the Gibbon

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Early morning, join a trip to the Flight of the Gibbon zip-line deep within the Mae Kampong Rainforest. State of the art safety equipment is used and the Sky Rangers are ACCT certified.

Enjoy flying through the rainforest all morning from several platforms with the highest at 200 feet and the longest line spanning half a mile. Then have lunch hosted by a village family. After lunch, take a hike through the rainforest to Mae Kompong Waterfall for seeing the fauna and flora of Thailand along the way. You’ll visit the village and learn about their fermented teas. Return back to the hotel in the afternoon.

Accommodation: The Garden Chiang Mai Pool Villa

Day 7: Chiang Mai – Hanoi | Flight to Hanoi | Hanoi Highlights

Internal Flight: Included

Meals: Breakfast 

You will transfer by a morning flight to Hanoi. Upon arrival, our guide will greet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel for check-in.

After check-in, enjoy a stroll on your own around Hoan Kiem Lake outside your hotel. Feel free to also pick up a souvenir at the night markets or at one of the many trinket shops in the alleys and small roads of this historic part of town.

Hoan Kiem Lake – 10 Days Best Thailand Vietnam Family Vacation

In the afternoon, you’ll transfer with our guide to see the Tran Quoc Pagoda. This 1,400-year-old temple features ten tiers surrounded by gardens and which also hosts a bodhi tree grown from a cutting of the original Buddhist tree under which Buddha sat.

Historical Hoan Kiem Lake

Next, you’ll take a stroll around the Hoan Kiem Lake where you can see the Tortoise Tower sitting on the water. Then you’ll enjoy a half-hour cyclo tour through the Old Quarter in Hanoi. The cyclo is a historic mode of transportation in the cities of Vietnam where a cyclist escorts you while you sit in a seat affixed to the front with a canopy over top.

Next, you’ll visit the One Pillar Pagoda – a pagoda situated on a pillar made of a single stone, in the middle of a lotus pond. This pagoda was built by a 9th-century emperor who saw it in a dream and regarded this as divine inspiration to recreate the structure in the vision.

You’ll pass by the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum before visiting the highlight of this tour – The Temple of Literature. This ancient university was erected almost a millennium ago and has hosted many of the most prominent scholars through Vietnamese history. The site features many gardens, pools, buildings, and ancient trees where the best and brightest of Vietnam studied under the guidance of Confucius’s teachings.

Accommodation: Intercontinental Hanoi West Lake

Day 8: Hanoi – Lan Ha Bay | Emerald Isles of Lan Ha Bay

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Lan Ha Bay – 10 Days Best Thailand Vietnam Family Vacation

In the morning, transfer to Haiphong with our guide (3 hours) to the La Regina Private Lounge. Then board La Regina Legend Cruise.

Start with a welcome drink and a cold hand towel while the Cruise Manager gives the safety briefing. The boat starts to cruise to Lan Ha bay. A delicious set menu lunch is served in La Corona restaurant.

In the afternoon, take an excursion to discover Trung Trang cave, one of the iconic and historic caves in Cat Ba island.

As dusk approaches, welcome the beautiful sunset. Join a Cooking Class on the sundeck with the Chef to learn how to prepare an iconic dish. Then dinner is served on the sundeck, weather permitting.

In the evening, you can try Squid Fishing or watch a movie in the La Magia Restaurant on the third floor. Or perhaps some private time in your room. I do suggest keeping your eyes to the water for catching an iridescent light show from plankton and sea life, if conditions are right.

Accommodation: La Regina Legend Cruise

Day 9: Lan Ha Bay – Hanoi | Sunrise in Lan Ha Bay

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch 

Enjoy the sunrise over the bay followed by a Tai Chi session on the sundeck. A light breakfast is served in La Corona on the second floor. The boat anchors at Tra Bau area, where you’ll enjoy kayaking or swimming.

Return back to the boat for relaxing, packing up, and settling any bills. Brunch is served in the restaurant while the boat heads back to the harbor.

Bid the crew farewell and then transfer back to Hanoi.

Accommodation: Intercontinental Hanoi West Lake

Day 10: Hanoi | Farewell!

Meals: Breakfast

Today our guide will transfer you to the airport before your onward flight and will bid you a fond farewell. Thank you for traveling with us!

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