Vietnam Travel

Cooking Class Tour 8 Days

Destination: Hanoi - Halong - Hue

Highlights: Join this cooking tour, you'll learn to cook Vietnamese cuisine and traditional typical food at centres of culinary art. The trip also features remarkable sites for you to visit. You'll take the opportunity to discover the World Heritage Ha Long Bay famous for its marine limestone "karst" waterscape and beautiful caves, explore the majesty of Hue city where locates Royal relics, the Imperial Citadel, tranquil pagodas and the poetic Perfume River.

Details Itinerary:

Code: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, G = Guide

Day 1: Arrival at Hanoi (D, G)

Arriving at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, you'll be met and driven to your hotel.

17.15: You'll be picked up to watch the Water Puppet show an art form unique to northern Vietnam, and a good, light-hearted introduction to its rural culture.

18.30: Your Welcome Dinner will be served at one of the best local restaurant.

You'll spend the night in Hanoi.

Day 2: Hanoi (B, L, G)

In the morning, you'll be picked up from your hotel to the restaurant where you'll learn cooking Vietnamese cuisine. You'll have chance to buy or bargain as a local people in the market. When you come back the restaurant, Vietnamese teacher will prepare and help you to cook your lunch. The rest day will be free in the bustling Old Quarter. You'll spend the night in Hanoi.

Day 3: Hanoi/Ha Long (B, L, D, G)

8.30: You’ll leave for Ha Long Bay, one of the most spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Areas and the world’s largest marine limestone ‘karst’ landscape.

10.00: You'll take a short break at Hong Ngoc Embroidery workshop.

10.30 - 12.00: You'll continue driving to Ha Long Bay.

12.00: You’ll board your boat, a wooden junk built from the model of the old Vietnamese court vessels with sails, a wide transom and rectangular superstructure, that will take you first to the busy World Heritage area and then to some of the less well-known grottoes and caves. Weather permitting, you’ll be able to swim, fish, climb a hill for an overview of the Bay’s remarkable seascape. All your meals will be provided on board, usually based on fresh seafood.

You'll spend the night on the boat.

Day 4: Ha Long/Hanoi (B, L, G)

7.30: You'll have western breakfast on boat.

8.00 - 8.30: You'll venture into some of the sea level caves in a small sampan.

8.30 - 11.45: You'll spend the morning cruising Ha Long Bay, followed by lunch just before docking to the harbour.

11.45 - 15.00: You'll drive back to Hanoi for your overnight accommodation.

Day 5: Hanoi/Hue (B, G)

Your time will be your own until you'll be driven to the airport for your noon flight to Hue. On arrival, you'll check in your hotel in the city centre and have a Hue city tour in the afternoon.

14.30 - 16.30: You'll be picked up to visit Imperial Citadel, once the seat of the Emperors of the powerful Nguyen Dynasty that ruled Vietnam from 1802 to 1945. You’ll begin with a stroll around the area between the Citadel’s massive walls and the defensive moat, now filled with lotus flowers. You’ll then enter via the Noon Gate to wander around the Thai Hoa Palace, the Pavilion housing the Nine Urns of the Nguyen rulers, and the remains of the Royal Palaces.

16.30 - 17.30: You'll visit the bustling Dong Ba market, which is one of the most famous markets in the Centre areas. You'll spend the night in Hue.

Day 6: Hue (B, L, G)

7.30 - 8.30: Breakfast at your hotel

8.30 - 10.00: You'll be taken by car to visit Thien Mu Pagoda, a tranquil pagoda in the banks of the Perfume River.

10.00 - 12.00: Take a cruise along the Perfume River to the Royal Tombs of Minh Mang, the most majestic emperor and a staunch follower of Confucianism with many wives, concubines and a small army of children.

12.00 - 13.30: Drive back to Hue for lunch at a typical Vietnamese restaurant.

13.30 - 16.45: In the afternoon, you'll drive to visit Royal Tu Duc tomb, the "poet Emperor", is set in an elegant garden with a magnificent lake and pavilion complex and the Royal Khai Dinh tomb is an unprepossessing concrete construction on the side of a wide valley.

In the evening, you'll sit down for dinner in the pleasant surroundings and a comfortable atmosphere of another of the garden houses. The garden houses are a unique feature of Hue. The houses are traditional, privately owned, and set in attractive formal gardens.

You'll spend the night in Hue.

Day 7: Hue (B, L, G)

In the morning, you'll visit one of city's "garden houses" in Hue. You'll then learn to cook some traditional typical food in Hue, you'll also prepare for your dinner. By the time you finish your cooking is the time to sit down for dinner in the pleasant surroundings and a comfortable atmosphere of another of the garden houses. You'll spend the night in Hue.

Day 8: Hue/Hanoi (B, G)

Your time will be your own until your private car and driver arrives to take you to Phu Bai airport to take a flight back to Hanoi. You'll transit for your international departure flight.

Prices per person in US$:

Number of people	2	3-5	6-9	10-15	Single Supplement
Two Stars
Three Stars
Four Stars
Five Stars

Valid until December 31, 2007

Surcharge for peak season of hotels are not inclusive in the prices above.

Prices include:

Breakfast and accommodation sharing a double room.
Return domestic flight tickets: Hanoi - Hue - Hanoi, including domestic airport taxes.
Boats cruise as programme.
Travel by private, air-conditioned vehicle with an experienced driver.
Bicycles as mentioned in the programme.
Teacher and facilities to cook the meal in each place as mentioned.
The services of experienced English-speaking guides as indicated in the itinerary
Where necessary, entry fees for all visits as mentioned in the programme.
Lunches and dinners, as specified, in the local restaurants and full board on the boat in Ha Long Bay.
Government taxes

Prices do not include:

International flight tickets and airport tax.
Visas
Dinners, except as specified above.
Drinks, gratuities and personal expenses.
Insurance.

Hotel list for Five Stars standard

Hanoi: Nikko Hotel (***** overlooking the Thuyen Quang Lake, indoor swimming pool) or similar
Hue: Imperial Hotel (**** overlooking the Perfume River) or similar

Hotel list for Four Stars standard

Hanoi: Sunway Hotel (**** comfortable boutique hotel 15 minute’s walk from the city centre) or similar
Hue: Huong Giang Hotel (**** on the bank of the Perfume River) or similar

Hotel list for Three Stars standard