Christmas/New Years Tour (16 Days/15 Nights)
                                                 (Tour Code: NYR 01)
 

Included in the tour prices: private English speaking guide, vehicle with A/C, driver, domestic flights or trains, hotels, boat trips as mentioned in the tour itinerary, breakfast, taxes, entrance fees to museums where mentioned.

Not included in the tour prices: visas, traveler insurance, international airfares, lunch & dinner (except where indicated in the itinerary), suggested and optional activities, tips for drivers and guides, and fees of a personal nature (for example, bar bills, laundry service, souvenirs, telephone).

Dates:

21 December 2006 to 05 January 2007

Prices:
2/3 star hotels - $1440 US per person (based on double occupancy)
4/5 star hotels - $2055 US per person (based on double occupancy)

Day 1 : Arrival HCMC (Saigon)
Arrive at Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) also known as Saigon. Your driver will meet you at airport and bring you to your hotel in the downtown district of HCMC.

Relax after your flight or spend the afternoon exploring the downtown shops of Nguyen Hue St. stopping at a cafe for a drink. Some historical sights to look for near your hotel: The Rex Hotel (formerly used as a base for American operations), Caravelle Hotel (used by foreign correspondents), Municipal Theater (formally used by the South Vietnam National Assembly), and Hotel Continental (its former terrace café used by journalists and diplomats).

Day 2 : Half Day City Tour & Cu Chi Tunnels
HCMC is the city that never sleeps. Go on a half day tour of the city highlights including the Reunification Palace, War Remembrance Museum and Cho Lon (China Town). Tour begins about 8 in morning and ends about noon.

In the afternoon drive outside HCMC to Cu Chi to explore the amazing underground tunnel system built by Vietnamese guerilla fighters during the American war. Return to HCMC in evening.

Day 3 : HCMC - Can Tho
Morning free to rest or shop. In early afternoon drive south to Can Tho in the Mekong Delta. Stop at Trung Luong Restaurant (in My Tho) for lunch. Arrive at Can Tho and check in at hotel. At about 6 or 6:30 pm take one hour walking tour of Ninh Kieu Park and market. Evening is free.

Day 4 : Can Tho - HCMC
At 8:00 in morning start boat trip to Cai Rang Floating market and fruit farm. Return to hotel between 10:30 and 11:00 for shower and check out. Drive to Vinh Long. Take a boat trip through small village canals to experience the lazy fishing trap, visit the village making thatch roof from the palm-water coconut leaves. Return to HCMC late afternoon.

In evening, drive to Tuan’s Village of Bien Hoa (about 30 km northeast of HCMC) with plans to attend a Catholic Christmas Eve Mass. Return to HCMC after service.

Day 5 : HCMC - Da Lat
In morning depart HCMC by van for approximately 6-hour drive to Da Lat with stop on the way to see a tea plantation. The city of Da Lat is located in the central highlands of Vietnam, some 1,500 meters above sea level. Founded by the French in the late 1890s, it served as a colonial retreat from the oppressive summer heat of Saigon. It later served as the summer residence for Emperor Bao Dai, the last emperor of Vietnam. Evening free.

Day 6 : Da Lat City Tour
In the morning visit the historical, ethnic and natural sights of Da Lat including Tuyen Lam Pagoda and XQ Village (which specializes in embroidery crafts).

Day 7 : Da Lat  - Nha Trang
Depart Da Lat and head to the central coast of Vietnam to visit Nha Trang. On the way, stop at the Ngoan Muc Pass and the Cham Temple called Po Klong Garai.

Evening is free to explore the 6 km stretch of beach.

Day 8 : Full Day Boat trip in Nha Trang
The coastal haven of Nha Trang is a great place to enjoy a boat cruise with swimming and snorkeling in the warm, clear coastal waters. The day long excursion also includes a visit to a local island and an excellent seafood lunch. Boat trip starts about 9 in morning and goes to about 5 in evening.

Evening is free. Maybe try Crazy Kim’s Bar for dinner and a drink and dancing at the Nha Trang Lodge.

Day 9 : Nha Trang - Da Nang - Hoi An
In morning transfer to airport for short one hour flight to Da Nang International Airport. Then, transfer to nearby Hoi An. In this ancient port town, Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese influences of earlier centuries are reflected in the charming architecture. It is also an ideal place for shopping, having a silk outfit tailored, relaxing on the beach or touring the countryside.

Your guide will accompany you through the Old Quarter of Hoi An with its Chinese community houses, tailor shops and merchant homes. Afternoon and evening free.

Day 10 : Hoi An Tour & My Son
Today we visit the ancient Cham temple complex of My Son, which is located 40 km southwest of Hoi An in a lush overgrown valley. Most of the My Son monuments date back between the 7th and 13th centuries when this region was under control of the Champa Kingdom. In its heyday there were more than 70 structures, mostly Hindu style brick towers dedicated to various deities and the god kings. After the Vietnamese took over the area in the 16th Century it was neglected and became overgrown as the surrounding forests slowly but surely engulfed the temples. Then in the 1960s the Viet Cong used the area as a base and the resulting bombing by B52s destroyed many structures. Now My Son is an UNESCO World Heritage site and is undergoing a renaissance.

Return to Hoi An in afternoon. Evening is free.

Day 11 : Free day in Hoi An & New Year Eve Celebration

Day 12 : Hoi An - Hue
In the morning depart Hoi An and drive north by van to the Imperial City of Hue. On the way to Hue, stop at the Cham Museum in Da Nang and famous China Beach. Stop at the Hai Van Pass for a spectacular view over the central Vietnam coast.

In the afternoon, take a walking tour of the Citadel, the former home of the Nguyen emperors. Evening free. Optionally, you may want to take part in an Imperial dinner.

Day 13 : Hue - Ha Noi - Ha Long
Take an approximately 70 minute flight from Hue to Noi Bai Airport outside Ha Noi. Our driver will meet us at the airport and drive us to Ha Long City. Evening free.

Day 14 : Ha Long - Ha Noi
Taking a boat cruise among the 2,000 towering limestone outcrops of Halong Bay is a serene experience. In the morning your guide and driver will take you to Halong Bay, where you will take a four-hour boat tour of this UNESCO cultural heritage site.

In the afternoon, drive to Hanoi with a stop at local handicraft shop.

Optionally, attend an evening performance of the famous water puppet theatre in the Old Quarter of Ha Noi.

Day 15 : Ha Noi City Tour & Bat Trang Village
Ha Noi is one of Asia's most enchanting cities because of its slower pace of life, tree-lined boulevards and French colonial architecture. Its busy alleys of the Old Quarter have changed little since the 15th Century. Your tour guide will take you on a half-day tour to the historical and cultural highlights of the capitol of Vietnam, including the Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake, Temple of Literature, Ho Chi Minh's Stilt House, Single-Column Pagoda and West Lake.

In the afternoon, we will go outside Ha Noi to Bat Trang, a handicraft village specializing in ceramics.

Day 16 : Departure
Today you say farewell to Vietnam. Your driver will take you to Noi Bai Airport outside Hanoi for your flight with wishes of good memories and hopes of seeing you again.