Gourmet Vietnam Tours 12  days 11 nights

Day 01: Hanoi Arrival (D)

Our guide will meet you up at Noi Bai International Airport and then take you to your hotel in Hanoi for check-in. A short city tour to visit local markets in Hanoi with our guide will help you to experience the daily life of the locals at first sight.

In the evening, you will have dinner with Vietnamese cuisine at one of the Hanoi’s best and most fashionable restaurants.

Overnight at your hotel in Hanoi City.

Day 02: Cooking & Tours in Hanoi (B/L)

Your gourmet Vietnam tour will continue with a cooking class in the morning. Firstly, the Chef of the restaurant will walk with you to a local market to learn about Vietnamese ingredients. After that, you will join the cooking class to prepare for popular traditional dishes. At the end of class you will be delighted by your own prepared meal which will be served as lunch.

In the afternoon, you will have a mini trip tour to discover the Hanoi Old Quarter by “xich-lo”, a bicycle-type taxi, for sightseeing. During this tour, you can learn more about “36 streets”, most of which are named after the crafts or merchandise traditionally sold there as well as experience the daily life of Hanoians and enjoy local coffee. This second day will end with a performance of a traditional water puppet show in the Municipal Water Puppet Theatre located nearby Hoan Kiem Lake. Water puppetry is one of the traditional oldest arts of Vietnam in general and Northern in particular. Overnight in Hanoi.

Day 03: Hanoi - Ha Long Bay (B/L/D)

After the breakfast with Pho (noodle), you will depart for Halong Bay, one of Vietnam’s World Natural Heritages. On the way from Hanoi to Halong Bay, you will be surprised by the dramatic change in landscapes from city skylines to rice fields.

Reaching Halong Bay, you will embark into a boat and start your exciting five hour cruise passing majestic limestone karsts while the lunch with local specialties are surved. The jut upright out of the water, which creates a dramatic and mesmerizing landscape will make your lunch even more delicious. There are stops to visit a mysterious cave and leisuring time to swim in the deep blue water before a feast with fresh seafood is ready for dinner.

Stay overnight on the Junk Cruise.

Day 04: Ha Long - Hanoi (B/Brunch/D)

After a night on board, you will wake up early to enjoy the sun rising on the bay and taste your breakfast.After some more activities from the boat.

Brunch will be available for you before disembarking. You will be picked up at the pier and transfer back to Hanoi by car. You will reach Hanoi at around 16:00. Overnight in Hanoi before catching a morning flight to Hue city the following day.

Day 05: Hue city tour (B/L)

Arriving in Hue, you’ll meet our guide and driver then head to the hotel for leaving luggage and having local breakfast. You will then start you’re the  tour by visiting the citadels, palaces, tombs, pagodas and temples built under the Nguyen Dynasty.

In the late afternoon, on the way driving back to the hotel in the city center, we'll stop for a while and experience the daily life of Hue inhabitants at Dong Ba market.

Overnight in Hue.

Day 06: Cooking Tours in Hue (B/L)

When staying in Hue, you cannot miss Hue cuisine – as well as Vietnam food quintessence. If you are gourmets, a cooking class at local restaurant in the morning will be an exciting experience for you. During three hours of the cooking class, we will learn how to create locals dishes using traditional ingredients and techniques. Finish with a delicious meal, tasting the food you have prepared.

In the afternoon, we will sit in a boat floating along Huong River, take glimpses along the green banks visiting Thien Mu Pagoda and Ming Mang Emperor’s Royal Tomb. After that, you will be back to your hotel and spend rest of the day as you wish.

Day 07: Hue – Danang - Hoi An (B/L)

On the next day of this Gourmet Vietnam Tour, we will drive to Hoi An, crossing Hai Van Pass with a magnificent view of the sea. We will stop at Lang Co Beach for a short rest then visit Cham Museum, picturesque My Khe Beach and the Marble Mountains before arriving in the charming town of Hoi An.

Hoi An is a peaceful town having a unique concentration of monuments of various architectures of Vietnam, China and even Japan. Let yourself join a street food walking tour to discover Hoi An Ancient Town and try some local specialties. Moreover, you can spend some time on shopping around as this ancient town has a large number of tailor shops. Overnight in Hoi An.

Day 08: Hoi An Cooking Tours (B/L)

If you have ever tasted Cao Lau – a famous dish of Hoi An, you also should know one of the keys to its flavor is fresh raw vegetables from Tra Que village. In Hoi An cooking tour to visit Tra Que organic herbs village , you will have chance to become a real farmer and learn how the locals plant vegetables. After that, you will cook some Vietnamese dishes by yourself with the help of the local family.

Moreover, after turning back to Hoi An in the afternoon, you also join a cooking lesson. First, the chef will help you to boat to the market to pick ingredients for the lesson. Then you will turn back to the restaurant by cyclo and start your preparing three classic Vietnamese dishes. Enjoy dinner after lesson. Overnight in Hoi An.

Day 09: Hoi An - Ho Chi Minh city (Sai Gon) (B)

A cycling tour around Hoi An in the next morning will bring you one more chance to behold the ancient town and some of famous attractions. Then you will say goodbye to Hoi An, depart for Da Nang Airport to take a flight to Ho Chi Minh City.

Arriving in Ho Chi Minh City, you will have a short city tour to see how bustle and hustle this city is. In the evening, you will enjoy your dinner at a local restaurant near your hotel in Saigon downtown.

Day 10: Saigon Cooking Tours - Cu Chi Tunnels (B/L)

Another cooking class in Ho Chi Minh City is waiting for your cooking skill! In the morning, you will go to Vietnam Cookery Centre (Mai Home culinary center) to start your cooking class with an experienced chef. It’s time for you to learn more about the history and culture of Vietnamese cuisine. The lesson includes a market visit and lunch with the food you have prepared.

After enjoying your lunch, you will depart to Cu Chi Tunnels - an important base during the American War because of its strategic location. There you will understand the network of underground tunnels connecting command posts, hospitals, shelters, and weapon factories.

Spend some hours at Cu Chi Tunnel taking some nice photos, listening to interesting and magnanimous legends about Vietnam War then come back to Ho Chi Minh City. Overnight at your hotel in the city.

Day 11: Ho Chi Minh City - Vinh Long - Mekong Delta (B/L)

You will wake up early to stay in 3-hour-drive to Cai Be. On the route, you will stop at Trung Luong Bonsai garden for a tea break.

Upon arrival, you will embark on a motorized boat to visit the popcorn cake, rice paper making family before visiting the lively floating market of Cai Be. After that, you will move to Vinh Long Province and see the diverse fish traps to learn more about the locals’ daily life.

The tour program on this day will offer you a cruise along small canals to take glimpses along the green banks then disembark to watch a typical and interesting music show of the Mekong cultural life. The lunch will be served at a local family or a bonsai garden.

In the afternoon, you have a 30 minute-short-walk around villages to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of the countryside. In Mekong Delta area, you can see many of orchards and if you want you can stop and ask for some fruits. After that, you continue floating to visit the pottery workshop then drive back to Ho Chi Minh City in late afternoon. Overnight in hotel.

Day 12: Ho Chi Minh City Departure (B)

You have free time until transferring to Tan Son Nhat airport to take departure flight. You can go shopping or simply relax at your leisure.

English speaking guide. Other languages are available upon request
A/C private Cabin on Cruise in Ha Long bay 
3 star Hotels (accomodation)
Meals as mentioned in the program
All transfers and land transportation in private vehicles
Boat trips as mentioned in the itinerary
All entrance fees
Daily mineral waters

Domestic and International flight
Insurance, gratuities and personal expenses
Visa arrangement
Meals, drinks and personal expenses and other meals not mentioned on the program.

Children under 5 years old: Free of charge
Children from 5 to 10: 75% of adult's rate
Children over 10: Full rate
Private trip
B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner
Please DO NOT wear shorts or mini-skirts to show your respect when visit temples, pagodas and historical sites.
Tour program is subject to change due to weather and operating conditions