DAY 1 – ARRIVE IN HANOI | WELCOME TO THE THOUSAND-YEAR CAPITAL
Touch down at Noi Bai International Airport and transfer by private car to your boutique hotel in Hanoi’s Old Quarter or French Quarter. The Old Quarter’s 36 guild streets date from the 13th century, each originally named for the trade practiced there: Hang Bac for silver, Hang Ma for paper offerings, Hang Gai for silk. The French Quarter’s wide tree-lined boulevards and art deco facades speak of a different era entirely. An early evening stroll around Hoan Kiem Lake before dinner at a rooftop restaurant: pho bo broth simmered since before dawn, cha ca La Vong turmeric-grilled fish with dill, and bun cha grilled pork — the three dishes that define northern Vietnamese cuisine in a single meal.
DAY 2 – HANOI | OLD QUARTER, TEMPLE OF LITERATURE & HO CHI MINH COMPLEX
Begin at the Temple of Literature — Van Mieu — Vietnam’s first university, founded in 1070, its 82 stone steles mounted on stone tortoises inscribed with the names of doctoral graduates from five centuries of imperial scholarship. The architecture — five successive courtyards of pavilions, ponds, and gateways — is the finest example of traditional Vietnamese civic design in existence. Continue to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex: the marble mausoleum, the One-Pillar Pagoda rising from a single lotus-shaped stone column above a small lake, and the stilt house where Vietnam’s founding leader chose to live rather than the adjacent Presidential Palace. Afternoon: a guided cyclo ride through the 36 Streets of the Old Quarter, past silk merchants and paper lantern makers and the workshops of craftsmen who have occupied the same addresses for generations.
DAY 3 – HA LONG BAY | OVERNIGHT BOUTIQUE CRUISE
A mid-morning transfer east through the Red River Delta toward Ha Long Bay, where 1,600 limestone karst islands rise from the Gulf of Tonkin in a landscape UNESCO designated a World Heritage Site in 1994. Board your boutique cruise vessel and move into the bay through the afternoon, the karst towers multiplying around the ship until the horizon is nothing but limestone and water. A kayaking excursion through a hidden lagoon accessible only through a low cave passage at the right tide, a swim in a cove of jade-colored water, and a seafood dinner on the upper deck as the bay settles into the silence of evening.
DAY 4 – HA LONG BAY | RETURN TO HANOI | FLIGHT TO HUE
Morning Tai Chi on the sundeck, brunch on board during the return sail, then your flight south to Hue — 700 kilometres and an entirely different Vietnam. Hue was the imperial capital of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 to 1945, and the city carries that history in its bones. Transfer to your hotel and an evening walk along the Perfume River. Dinner at a Hue restaurant: the cuisine of the former royal court — banh beo steamed rice cakes, bun bo Hue spicy beef noodle soup, and banh khoai crispy rice crepes.
DAY 5 – HUE | IMPERIAL CITADEL, ROYAL TOMBS & THIEN MU PAGODA
Begin at the Imperial Citadel — a walled city within a walled city, its Forbidden Purple City modeled on Beijing’s Forbidden City. The outer walls were heavily damaged during the 1968 Tet Offensive and have been under UNESCO-supported restoration since the 1990s. Continue by dragon boat along the Perfume River to the Tomb of Tu Duc — the most elaborate of the seven Nguyen royal tombs, built by the emperor himself during his own lifetime as a retreat for poetry and philosophical reflection. The complex includes a lake, a pavilion, a theater, a library, and the tomb itself, all enclosed within a pine-forested walled garden. Return upstream to Thien Mu Pagoda — the seven-tiered Phuoc Duyen Tower, built in 1601, the most recognizable symbol of Hue. Evening: a royal banquet dinner at one of Hue’s heritage restaurants, dishes adapted from court cuisine served in traditional lacquerware.
DAY 6 – HUE TO HOI AN | HAI VAN PASS | MY SON SANCTUARY
Depart Hue by road heading south, crossing the Hai Van Pass at 500 metres — a mountain promontory dividing the climatic zones of north and south central Vietnam, with crumbling French fortifications visible on the summit ridge. Continue south through Da Nang to My Son Sanctuary: a complex of Hindu temples built by the Cham civilization between the 4th and 14th centuries in a jungle valley. The Cham people were the dominant civilization of central Vietnam for a thousand years; My Son is what remains of their spiritual architecture — damaged by American bombing but still hauntingly beautiful, the brick towers rising from the jungle floor with carvings of dancers, deities, and mythological scenes. A guided tour with an art historian guide specializing in Cham civilization. Arrive in Hoi An in the early evening.
DAY 7 – HOI AN | ANCIENT TOWN, JAPANESE BRIDGE & RIVER LIFE
Hoi An is the best-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port from the 15th to 19th centuries, its Old Town a quarter of some 1,000 buildings of historical significance: Chinese merchant houses, Japanese architecture in the Covered Bridge quarter, French colonial facades, and Vietnamese tube houses all occupying the same streets in a layered architectural record of 400 years of international trade. Begin with the Japanese Covered Bridge — Chua Cau — built by the Japanese trading community in the early 17th century. A guided walk through the Old Town with a local heritage guide who grew up in the quarter: the Fukian Chinese Assembly Hall, the Tan Ky Ancient House — a 200-year-old merchant residence with Japanese roof beams, Chinese ceramic decorations, and Vietnamese carvings on the same wooden screen. Afternoon at leisure. Evening in the Old Town as the lanterns come on: the paper lanterns multiplying over the river in a soft, impractical light that makes the old buildings look exactly as they must have looked in 1850.
DAY 8 – HOI AN | FREE MORNING | FLIGHT TO HO CHI MINH CITY
A free morning in Hoi An before the afternoon flight from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City. Arrive in the late afternoon and transfer to your hotel in District 1 — Saigon’s colonial heart. A first evening walk down Dong Khoi Street — the old Rue Catinat — past the Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Central Post Office designed by Gustave Eiffel in 1886, and the Continental Hotel where Graham Greene wrote The Quiet American while staying in Room 214 and watching the war begin from the terrace. Dinner at a Saigon restaurant: banh xeo sizzling crepes, goi cuon fresh spring rolls with river herbs.
DAY 9 – HO CHI MINH CITY | CU CHI TUNNELS & WAR REMNANTS MUSEUM
Morning: 70 kilometres northwest of the city to the Cu Chi Tunnels — the 250-kilometre network of underground passages that sheltered Viet Cong fighters, supplied the 1968 Tet Offensive, and demonstrated that a war fought from beneath the ground cannot be ended by conventional firepower. The tunnel system included hospitals, kitchens, command centers, weapons workshops, and sleeping quarters — a complete underground civilization maintained for 20 years. The guide is a veteran of the tunnel period. Afternoon at the War Remnants Museum — its photographic documentation rigorous, its impact on visitors of any nationality consistently profound. The third-floor gallery of photographs by photographers killed during the conflict — from both sides — is among the most important collections of war photography in existence.
DAY 10 – HO CHI MINH CITY | MEKONG DELTA FAREWELL | DEPARTURE
A half-day Mekong Delta excursion southwest of the city. By sampan through the narrow canals of Ben Tre province: coconut candy workshops, rice paper makers, and the orchards of longan and pomelo. A lunch of ca loc nuong trui field-roasted snakehead fish and canh chua sweet and sour river soup at a family restaurant on the canal bank. Return to Ho Chi Minh City for transfer to Tan Son Nhat International Airport for your onward flight.
Tour Inclusions
- 9 nights accommodation — 1 night Hanoi boutique hotel, 1 night Ha Long Bay boutique cruise, 2 nights Hue heritage hotel, 2 nights Hoi An boutique hotel, 3 nights Ho Chi Minh City 5-star hotel (all with breakfast)
- Ha Long Bay overnight boutique cruise — all meals and kayak excursion on board
- Hai Van Pass scenic road transfer and My Son Sanctuary art historian guide (Day 6)
- Dragon boat along Perfume River to Royal Tombs (Day 5)
- Guided heritage tours: Temple of Literature, Imperial Citadel Hue, My Son, Hoi An Ancient Town
- Cu Chi Tunnels guided visit with veteran guide (Day 9)
- War Remnants Museum visit (Day 9)
- Mekong Delta half-day sampan excursion with lunch (Day 10)
- Royal banquet dinner Hue (Day 5)
- English-speaking heritage specialist guide throughout all 10 days
- All domestic flights: Hanoi–Hue; Da Nang–Ho Chi Minh City (economy class)
- All transfers by private air-conditioned vehicle
- Welcome dinner Hanoi (Day 1) and farewell lunch Mekong Delta (Day 10)
- 24/7 on-trip support from Sun DMC operations team
Tour Exclusions
- International flights to/from Vietnam — Visa fees — Travel insurance — Personal expenses — Optional tailor services in Hoi An
Practical Information
Best Time to Travel: February – April and September – November (optimal across all three climate zones; avoids peak summer heat in Hue and rainy season in central Vietnam)
Minimum Pax: 2 pax (FIT); 12 pax for group rates
Physical Level: Easy to moderate — all sites involve walking on uneven historic surfaces; Cu Chi tunnel crawl is optional
Accommodation Tier: Standard (4-star boutique) / Superior (5-star heritage) / Luxury (5-star throughout) — available upon request
Customization: Can be extended with Ninh Binh (Trang An), Phong Nha caves, or Phu Quoc island finale. Contact your Sun DMC account manager for NET rates.
Hanoi → Sapa → Fansipan → Bac Ha 
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