HOPE CENTER AND LA CHU VILLAGE
ITINERARY IN BRIEF
DAY 1: ARRIVAL IN HANOI
DAY 2: HANOI
DAY 3: HANOI - LAN HA
DAY 4: LAN HA - HANOI - HUE train
DAY 5: HUE
DAY 6: HUE - HOI AN
DAY 7: HOI AN
DAY 8: HOI AN - DA NANG - SAIGON flight
DAY 9: SAIGON - BEN TRE
DAY 10: BEN TRE - SAIGON - DEPARTURE
DAY 1 - HANOI
Arrival in Hanoi, welcomed by our tour guide and transfer to the city. Hotel accommodation (rooms are normally available from 14h00). Rickshaw ride in the dynamic center of Hanoi would allow you to explore the old 36-street district. The tour offers the opportunity to fully experience the lively and unique atmosphere of the area, discovering the flavors, colors and noises of the city center. Overnight stay in Hanoi.
DAY 2 - HANOI
Starting the tour with the discovery of Ha Noi, a thousand-year-old city: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (outside part) where the old wooden house on stilts and its bucolic garden are located (closed on Monday afternoon), One Pillar Pagoda dating back to 11th century and linked to the legend of the Ly Dynasty, founder of Hanoi the capital. Following is the water puppet show. Continue to visit the Temple of Literature - the first university in Vietnam and the Museum of Ethnology (close on Mondays) where you can admire the reconstructions of daily life, the uses and customs of the 54 ethnic groups present on Vietnamese territory. Overnight stay in hotel.
DAY 3 - LAN HA BAY
Departure by private car to the port, and accommodation on cruise boat. Buffet lunch with Vietnamese and international dishes served on board, while passing the islet of Da Chong, through the most beautiful and peaceful areas of Cat Ba Island. Disembark to reach Viet Hai village where you ride a bicycle around to discover the peaceful daily life of the inhabitants. Return to the boat. Free time to participate in the cooking demonstration and enjoy some traditional Vietnamese dishes. Special dinner on board. Relax time with various activities such as: card games, board games, chess, ... Squid fishing possibility straight from the boat. Peaceful night in the idyllic bay.
DAY 4 - LAN HA BAY - HUE train
Another morning to practice Tai Chi while admiring the sunrise. Breakfast on board and transfer to Ao Ech - where you can discover the hidden charms of Lan Ha bay on a kayak. Return to the boat, check out from the room. Brunch and tea ceremony demonstration. Disembarkation and transfer by car to Ha Noi. Then an hour of massage in a social enterprise that offers therapeutic massages and a healing herbal bath, employees are blind people taught to work as true skilled therapists. Dinner in local restaurant before reaching the train station. In the evening boarding on night train to Hue in an air-conditioned wagon with bunkbeds.
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DAY 5 - HUE
Arrival in Hue around 09:00, transfer to the hotel for breakfast. Visit of Thien Mu Pagoda and the Citadel, made up of the Royal Fortress and the Forbidden City. Departure by car to La Chu village, located about 9km north of the center of Hue, it is famous for the culture of maceration of various aromatic herbs. Walk or bike ride around the village, stop at a local house made the votive offer on paper, it is called "vang ma". Continue to visit the vegetable garden, discover everyday life and talk to the inhabitants. Before having dinner in a local house, visit a family that makes edible rice snack with shrimps, a dish called "Banh Loc".
Overnight at the hotel in Hue.
DAY 6 - HUE - HOI AN
Visit to Minh Mang Emperor’s tomb - the best known emperor among the 13 of the Nguyen Dynasty and "Hope Center Hue", a professional and sustainable training center that creates work for people with disabilities or children and young people with poor living conditions, to guarantee them a safer and self-sufficient future. Transfer by car to Hoi An by crossing Hai Van Pass. Possibility to stop along the way to take photographs. Overnight stay in hotel in Hoi An.
DAY 7 - HOI AN
After breakfast, morning dedicated to visiting the ancient city of Hoi An: the market, the ancient house of Tan Ky, the Chinese Temple of Phuc Kien, the Japanese covered bridge and free time for shopping. Free afternoon for beach activities which is located about 4km from the city center (transportation at your expense). Overnight stay in hotel.
DAY 8 - SAIGON
Free time until transfer to Da Nang airport for the flight to Saigon. Arrival after an hour and a half of flight, transfer to the city. Accommodation in hotel. Overnight stay in Saigon.
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DAY 9 - SAIGON - MEKONG DELTA
Discovering the city: Central Post office, Ben Thanh market, War Remnants Museum where an historically important part of Vietnam is mapped out, the Indochina war, better known as the "Vietnam War". Departure for the Mekong Delta to the town named: Ben Tre. Arrival to the town after about 2 hours, accommodation in Home. Free time to stroll around the village or take a cooking class to prepare Banh Xeo, a traditional Vietnamese dish. Local dinner at Home. Then a foot massage with lemongrass and ginger. Overnight stay in Ben Tre.
DAY 10 - DEPARTURE
Cycling around the village, stop to visit a family of craftsmen who work the coconut and join a workshop to learn how to create baskets with coconut leaves. Continue cycling around the village to see the daily life of the inhabitants and reach the fish farm where you can see two typical Vietnamese species. Return by boat to Home. In the afternoon, drive back to Saigon. Free time until direct transfer to the airport for your flight back home.
