14 Days Insight of Vietnam and Thailand

ITINERARY

Day 1: Saigon | Arrive in Saigon

International Flight: Excluded

Welcome to Vietnam! Upon arrival in Saigon, our tour guide and driver will greet you at the airport and escort you to the hotel in Ho Chi Minh.

Accommodation: Hotel Saigon Continental

Day 2: Saigon | Cu Chi Tunnels | Phuoc Vinh

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Take your adventures underground today for an adventure in history you won’t forget.

Wake up early to enjoy breakfast at the hotel before you depart for the Cu Chi Tunnels. Your private tour guide and chauffeur will meet you in the morning and escort you to the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh. Discover these amazing systems developed by the guerrillas fighting in the Vietnam War.

You’ll have an opportunity to see the various weapons used in the war on display. Then you’ll be taken to see the innovative ways the guerrillas survived and fought back in the war. See how they built an impressive underground system as your tour guide tells of the stories and history of the Vietnam War.

You’ll also have an opportunity to shoot the various guns used in the war at a firing range near the tunnels(extra charges apply).

Then you’ll have the chance to see rice paper and coconut candy being made. After, you’ll enjoy jasmine tea and a boiled cassava root snack that was a common food eaten by guerrillas during the war.

Underground tunnels of Cu Chi – 14 Days Insight Vietnam Thailand

Phuoc Vinh Combat Base

In the afternoon, continue to Phuoc Vinh(2 hours) – where the Phuoc Vinh Combat Base was located. Start by visiting the Phu Giao Memorial Park and the Phu Giao Cemetery. Stop at the local market to see how life is thriving in this town. You may also stop at a local café to mingle with locals and our guide can help translate. Then finish with a stop outside of the former Phuoc Vinh Combat Base, which is now occupied by the People’s Army of Vietnam. You will be able to see it from outside the perimeter. Return back to Ho Chi Minh City for overnight.

Accommodation: Hotel Saigon Continental

Day 3: Saigon | Vinh Long: Mekong Delta Discovery and Floating Market

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Discover the Mekong River, essential to life in the heart of Vietnam.

After you’ve finished breakfast at the hotel, we will take you to Vinh Long where you’ll embark on a boat cruise to the vibrant Cai Be floating market. Be prepared to see fresh spices, mints, and local fruits. If you’re adventurous, you can take one of the many colorful fruits in season.

The next stop is the Hoa Binh Phuoc islet, full of local homes where the families produce tiles and ceramics. You’ll visit the rice-paper kiln and coconut candy kiln where you can walk around and observe daily country life. You can have the opportunity to taste fresh-made coconut candy which has a soft and chewy consistency.

When the tour is finished, you’ll return to Ho Chi Minh.

As dusk is setting, take a cyclo tour around 45 minutes to Dang Pier on the Saigon River, where you’ll enter a replica of the emperors Saigon Boat Cruise for a magnificent and memorable dining and entertainment spectacle. The dinner cruise features soft traditional ethnic music while you enjoy the passing lights of the city. The captain will welcome you on board and introduce you to the specialties which have made this boat a culinary experience in Ho Chi Minh City. While onboard, relax on the upper deck and enjoy a panoramic view of Saigon lighting up the evening sky.

Accommodation: Hotel Saigon Continental

Day 4: Saigon – Hoi An | Flight to Hoi An | Hoi An Ancient Town at Dusk

Internal Flight: Included

Meals: Breakfast

Today, you will transfer by flight to Danang. Upon arrival, our guide will greet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel in Hoi An for check-in.

In the afternoon, transfer with our guide to Hoi An Ancient Town. This town features the 16th-century Hoi An port town in it’s preserved state. You’ll start the day visiting the Museum of Trade Ceramics. This museum houses art and pottery dating from the 1,500s to the 1,700s.

Then you’ll briefly visit the Chua Ong Pagoda, a temple from the 17th century which features China’s influence in the region. You’ll continue through the Ancient Town as the streets take on a magic of their own with old lanterns, French-style houses, intricately carved wooden doors, and more. You’ll take a stroll through the Old Tam Ky House to see it’s imperial styles meshed with French overtures. Continue on to stroll along the river and see traditional boats and locals on bicycles passing by. You’ll then approach the Japanese Covered Bridge. This bridge has connected the Chinese and Japanese sides of town over the waterway for centuries. The old wooden structure has shown amazing resilience for more than 400 years.

At dusk, enjoy walking along the riverside as old colorful lanterns light up the town. After you’ve finished the tour, return to the hotel.

Hoi An Ancient Town – 14 Days Insight Vietnam Thailand

Accommodation: Hoi An Central Boutique Hotel & Spa

Day 5: Hoi An | Leisure Day in Hoi An Ancient Town

Meals: Breakfast

Today is at your leisure to enjoy the resort facilities or explore Hoi An Ancient Town on your own. The town has many specialty shops, tailors, and curios.

Accommodation: Hoi An Central Boutique Hotel & Spa

Day 6: Danang – Hanoi | Flight to Hanoi | Hanoi Highlights

Internal Flight: Included

Meals: Breakfast

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

In the afternoon, go with our guide to visit unique sites in the Millennium Old Capital if Vietnam. Start with 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 teachings.

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. In the late afternoon, transfer to Tran Quoc Pagoda set on West Lake. 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.

Accommodation: Silk Path Boutique Hotel

Day 7: Hanoi – Halong Bay | Emeralds Isles of Halong Bay and Lan Ha Bay

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

In the morning, take a shuttle transfer to Haiphong where you’ll enjoy some time at Orchid’s Private Lounge for refreshments until boarding. Then board Orchid Cruise.

Receive a safety briefing and check in your cabins. The boat sets adrift for Da Chong islet, home to an old French lighthouse. Enjoy a sumptuous feast in the panoramic dining hall while en route to the isles of Con Vit and Gia Luan. The bay opens up to you with stunning green karsts towering above the water. This area receives very few cruise ships as it has just been newly opened up. Continue to Ba Trai Dao beach of Lan Ha Bay. A paradise with perfect beaches and natural beauty. Stop at one of the beaches for swimming or bamboo rafting during the afternoon.

As dusk approaches, welcome the sunset with a local specialty – “Ba Kich”(a liquor made from Noni fruit). Back on board, you’ll join a cooking demonstration to learn a few Vietnamese culinary secrets. Enjoy your creation! Then time for supper in the dining hall. Delicious Vietnamese cuisine and seafood in a romantic setting. After dinner, you may enjoy watching the stars from the sundeck, watching a movie in the restaurant, or give night squid fishing a try with the staff(subject to seasonal availability).

Accommodation: Orchid Cruise

Day 8: Hanoi | Sunrise in Halong Bay | Return to Hanoi and Leisure

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Rise early for one of the top best sunrises in the world. Then head to the sundeck for an invigorating Tai Chi session amongst a picture-perfect backdrop of karsts, sea, and nature. Enjoy breakfast in the dining hall before taking the journey to explore the area around Sang Tai sea cave via canoes.

Return to Hanoi for overnight.

Halong Bay Sunrise – 14 Days Insight Vietnam Thailand

Accommodation: Silk Path Boutique Hotel

Day 9: Hanoi – Chiang Mai | Flight to Chiang Mai

Internal Flight: Included

Meals: Breakfast

The morning is at your leisure to explore the Old Quarter in Hanoi, take a stroll around Hoan Kiem Lake, or visit a local cafe. You will transfer by flight in the afternoon to Chiang Mai. Upon arrival, our guide will greet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel for check-in. After getting settled in your room, feel free to take the hotel shuttle to explore the night markets and bazaars for some interesting souvenirs made by the hill tribes in the surrounding mountains.

Accommodation: Rimping Village Hotel

Day 10: Chiang Mai | Elephant Sanctuary Experience

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.

Accommodation: Rimping Village Hotel

Day 11: Chiang Mai | Doi Inthanon Mountain and Waterfalls

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

In the morning, you’ll transfer to Doi Inthanon, the country’s highest mountain peak along 30 miles. The windy and scenic road to the top. Views depend on atmospherics but interesting places, remarkable flowering rhododendrons, rare birds, and butterflies. Lunch at a local restaurant. On the way back, visit waterfalls, hill tribe village and the temple for the holy relics in Chomthong.

Gardens on Inthanon Mountain – 14 Days Insight Vietnam Thailand

Accommodation: Rimping Village Hotel

Day 12: Chiang Mai – Bangkok | Chiang Mai Old City | Flight to Bangkok

Internal Flight: Included

Meals: Breakfast

In the morning, visit the most prominent temples in Chiang Mai. Start with Wat Phra Singh which houses the famous Phra Singh Buddha image. It features Lanna art throughout and illustrates many famous Buddhist stories. Continue on to Wat Chedi Luang, which once contained the Emerald Buddha. The temple is partially in ruins due to an earthquake in the 1500s. Then stop at Wat Chiang Man which is the oldest temple in Chiang Mai and also houses one of Thailand’s greatest treasures: the Crystal Buddha.

Then continue to Wat Suan Dok, which houses many of the remains of generations of the old Chiang Mai Royal Family. Finally, visit Wat Jet Yot – this peaceful temple is surrounded by green and was built in the Mahabodhi style from India to house the Eighth World Buddhist Council in 1453.

In the afternoon, take a flight to Bangkok. Upon arrival, our guide will greet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel for check-in.

Beginning as a small trading village on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, Bangkok has expanded to be both Thailand’s largest city and serves as its booming and cosmopolitan capital. As a gateway to South East Asia, Bangkok has grown in international business significance and yet still maintains its grandeur, mystery, and tropical beauty. With its many markets, world-class restaurants and street food, extraordinary Royal Palace, and a myriad of pagodas, it continues to attract millions of visitors each year and is consistently rated as one of the world’s foremost Destination Cities.

Accommodation: Sala Rattanakosin

Day 13: Bangkok | Bangkok by Boat

Meals: Breakfast

In the early morning, take a traditional long-tail boat to Wat Arun – the Temple of the Dawn to enjoy a stunning view and explore the gem of Bangkok.

Continue to one of the must-see sights, the spectacular Grand Palace, undoubtedly the city’s most famous landmark. Built-in 1782- and for 150 years the home of the Thai King, the Royal court and the administrative seat of government – the Grand Palace of Bangkok is a grand old dame indeed, that continues to have visitors in awe with its beautiful architecture and intricate detail, all of which is a proud salute to the creativity and craftsmanship of Thai people.

Within its walls were also the Thai war ministry, state departments, and even the mint. Today, the complex remains the spiritual heart of the Thai Kingdom. Within the palace complex are several impressive buildings including Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), which contains the small, very famous and greatly revered Emerald Buddha that dates back to the 14th century. The robes on the Buddha are changed with the seasons by HM The King of Thailand and forms an important ritual in the Buddhist calendar. Thai Kings stopped living in the palace around the turn of the twentieth century, but the palace complex is still used to mark all kinds of other ceremonial and auspicious happenings. Then return to the hotel for leisure time in the afternoon.

Accommodation: Sala Rattanakosin

Day 14: Bangkok | Farewell!

Meals: Breakfast

Today, our guide will transfer you to the airport to catch your international flight back home and will bid you a fond farewell. Thank you for traveling with us!

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