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Destination: Hanoi - Ha Long -
Whale Island
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 good local
restaurant.
You'll spend the night in Hanoi.
Day 2: Hanoi City tour (B, L, G)
9.00: You'll be picked up at your hotel to start a Hanoi city tour.
9.30 - 10.30: You’ll visit Ba Dinh Square, where silent sentries guard the
marble and Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum where Ho Chi Chi lies in state (closed on every
Monday & Friday and October & November). You’ll see the simple cottage where
Uncle Ho lived and worked. You’ll continue to visit the One Pillar Pagoda and
hear the legend of its construction, born from the love of an emperor in the
11th Century.
10.30 - 11.00: You’ll drive to visit the serene
Tran Quoc pagoda, the oldest in Hanoi, on the banks of Hanoi’s
West Lake.
11.00 - 12.00: You’ll also call the
Temple of Literature, built in 1070 and the dedicated to Confucius, it is a
serene retreat from the busy streets outside and later become Vietnam’s first
university.
12.00 - 13.30: Lunch at local restaurant
13.30 - 15.30: Visit the Ethnology Museum for an overview of Vietnam’s 54 distinct ethnic
15.30 - 16.15: Pass by
Ngoc Son Temple and Hoan Kiem Lake , also known as Lake of Restored Sword
from the legend that surrounds it en-route to one of the city’s fascinating
museums.
16.15 - 17.15: You’ll then take to the streets by cycle ride tour of the
Ancient Qurter of 36 streets District. This densely populated corner of the city
was once a centre of commerce where goods were sold under the street name of a
particular guild. Still a thriving community of sellers today, you’ll see
streets name such as Sugar Street, Tin Street and Paper Street. Ancient homes
and temples are interspersed with stores in this souvenir hunter’s paradise.
You’ll spend the night in Hanoi.
Day 3: Exploring villages around Hanoi (B, L, G)
8.30: Drive and guide will pick you at your hotel to Van Phuc silk village
9.30 - 10.30: You’ll arrive in
Van Phuc village, a small village where families have specialised in weaving
and dying silk over centuries, once the creators of fine material for the robes
of the Royal court.
10.30 - 12.00: Drive to
Bat Trang - a village famous for its fine ceramics. You can stroll through
the narrow streets to watch the manufacturing process and meet the craftspeople.
12.00 - 13.00: You'll have lunch box in the village.
13.00 - 14.30: You'll then be picked up to drive to visit the
Dong Ho handicraft village, famous for its traditional wood-paintings, and
spend time in an artist’s house to watch the creative process.
14.30 - 16.15: You’ll drive to one of a traditional village in the North of
Vietnam to enjoy its traditional Quan Ho music performed by villagers in the
commune house. The singers have recently been officially designated as part of
Vietnam’s ‘living heritage’.
16.15 - 17.15: You'll visit
Dong Ky village where most of the local families produce furniture inlaid
with mother of pearl. It’s a good example of how the villagers work
co-operatively on different stages of the manufacturing process.
You’ll return to Hanoi to spend the night.
Day 4: 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 5: 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 - 16.15: You’ll drive to one of a traditional village in the North of
Vietnam to enjoy its traditional Quan Ho music performed by villagers in the
commune house. The singers have recently been officially designated as part of
Vietnam’s ‘living heritage’.
You'll then drive back to Hanoi for overnight accommodation.
Day 6: Hanoi/Nha Trang (B)
Your time will be your own until you'll escorted to
Noi Bai airport for your
flight to Nha Trang. On arrival, you'll driven to Whale Island to spend the
night.
Day 7 to Day 13: Whale Island (B, L,
D)
All free days at Whale Island.
Whale Island Resort is a ‘get-away-from it all’ hideaway, the only buildings on
a sand island 80km north of Nha Trang. It’s small and basic but exclusive and
comfortable – a bit more expensive, but as all meals, transfers, the use of
sailboards, small catamarans, and equipment and a motor boat for snorkeling are
included, it’s good value. You can dive at Whale Island – the coral is
considered better than in Nha Trang. There is a pleasant bamboo restaurant and a
beachfront bar serving drinks at sensible prices. Accommodation is in simple
bamboo bungalows on the beach. Don’t expect resort hotel conveniences – you’ll
have to put up with occasional insects and geckoes in your room, no telephones
or televisions, and very few people. This is a place for relaxing au naturelle!
Day 14: Nha Trang/Ho Chi Minh City (B)
You'll be free and then be picked up to Nha Trang airport for your flight to
Ho Chi Minh City. On your arrival at the Tan Son Nhat airport, you'll transit
for your international departure flight.
Prices per person in US$:
|
Number of people |
2 |
3-5 |
6-9 |
10-15 |
Supplement for single
occupancy |
|
2 stars |
1184 |
1124 |
1070 |
1016 |
154 |
|
3 stars |
1322 |
1262 |
1207 |
1153 |
252 |
|
4 stars |
1466 |
1406 |
1351 |
1297 |
396 |
|
5 stars |
1694 |
1634 |
1579 |
1525 |
648 |
Contact Us
for more details
Valid until December 31, 2009
Surcharge for peak season of hotels are not inclusive in the prices above.
Prices include:
-
Breakfast and accommodation in double room.
-
One-way domestic flight
tickets: Hanoi - Nha Trang, Nha
Trang - Ho Chi Minh City, including domestic flight airport taxes.
-
Boats cruise as programme, sharing a luxury cruise on traditional junk
in Ha Long Bay.
-
Travel by private, air-conditioned
car with an experienced, safe
driver.
-
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 and on the
boat in Ha Long Bay.
-
Government Taxes.
Price 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
Hotel list for Four Stars standard
Hotel list for Three Stars standard
Hotel list for Two Stars standard
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. |
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