Cooking class tour 8 days

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.

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)

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$:

Valid until December 31, 2011

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

Prices include:

• Breakfast and accommodation in twin or double room.

• All pick up and transfer.

• Boats cruise as programme, enjoy a private cruise on traditional junk in Ha Long Bay.

• Travel by private, air-conditioned vehicle with an experienced driver.

• Return domestic flight ticket: Hanoi-Hue-Hanoi

• Experienced English-speaking tour guide as indicated in the itinerary.

• Entry fees for all sightseeing as mentioned in the programme.

• Lunches and dinners, as specified, in the local restaurants

• Government Taxes.

Price do not include:

• International flight tickets and airport tax.

• Visas.

• Dinners except as specified.

• Drinks, gratuities and personal expenses.

• Insurance.

Hotel list for Five Star standard

• Hanoi: Melia Hotel (***** modern high-rise building in one of Hanoi’s leafy boulevards in the city centre, uninspiring bland architecture, but high-quality facilities, restaurants, and service, ten-minute stroll from the city centre, Deluxe room)
• Hue: Imperial Hotel (***** in the heart of city centre, Deluxe River-view Room) or similar

Hotel list for Four Star standard

• Hanoi: Silk Path Hotel (**** modern boutique hotel in the old quarter, Deluxe Room) or similar

• Hue: Huong Giang Hotel (**** on the bank of the Perfume River, Deluxe Room) or similar

Hotel list for Three Star standard

• Hanoi: Thang Long Opera hotel (*** city centre, walking distance to Hoan Kiem Lake, Innova Superior) or similar

• Hue: Mondial Hotel (*** city centre with outdoor swimming pool, Superior Room) or similar

Hotel list for Two Star standard

• Hanoi: Nam Hai hotel (*** in the Old Quarter, Standard Room) or similar

• Hue: Canary Hotel (** city centre, Superior Room) or similar

Creating Unique Touring Experiences with Gia Linh Travel
  All the touring itineraries on this website have been carefully crafted by our in-country management teams and represent a series of experiences we can certainly recommend. However, we understand that every travel experience should be as unique and individual as each traveler. Our consultants are waiting to hear from you so that we can tailor or custom design a tour to your individual specifications.