2022/2023 Hanoi > Ho Chi Minh City

The true spirit of Vietnam

Focusing on the must see highlights of Vietnam, this tour explores all three major regions in one compact journey.

In the north, vertiginous limestone islets and karsts provide an incomparable backdrop to Halong Bay. Spend two unforgettable nights exploring the subtleties and sensations of this incredible place. To truly appreciate the over 1000 year old city of Hanoi, you need three nights and time, all whilst staying in indulgent accommodation. In the cities of Hoi An and Hue, located in the center of Vietnam, discover the many World Heritage listed sites over four easy paced nights. Lastly, in the south discover over two nights Vietnam’s most vibrant and lively city of Ho Chi Minh, commonly referred to as Saigon.

Tour Code:: VIHS
Duration:: 12 days
Departure City:: Hanoi
Return City:: Ho Chi Minh City

Selected Itinerary

12 Day Itinerary

Day 1 - Hanoi

Welcome to vibrant Vietnam, a world of colour, culture and food. Enjoy the day at leisure and settle into a two night Special Stay. This colonial ‘grand old lady’ of Hanoi boasts luxury rooms and amenities with an exceptional staff to cater your needs and comforts.

Meals Included: Dinner
Day 2 - Hanoi

Rise and shine to a day of exploration in this nostalgic city with your first Scenic Freechoice.

Freechoice

Choose to visit the History Museum and Hoa Lo Prison. The National Museum of Vietnamese History displays monumental components stretching across every period. Housed in a colonial French building completed in 1932, the design incorporated French colonial and traditional Vietnamese architecture. Continue to Hoa Lo Prison, which was used by the French for political prisoners, and later by North Vietnam for prisoners during the Vietnam War.

Alternatively, visit Ho Chi Minh Quarter and his Mausoleum, the resting place of Ho Chi Minh himself before visiting the Temple of Literature, originally built in 1070 as a university dedicated to Confucius, scholars and sages.

Thirdly, you can discover the fine arts of cooking Vietnamese delicacies with a cooking class. Select ingredients from the local market before returning to cook up your own lunch for the day.

Enrich

In the evening for you Enrich Activity, attend a customary performance of Hanoi’s famous water puppets. As a VIP ticket holder, you will have premium seating as well as the opportunity to learn the secrets behind this illusionary show thanks to your special backstage pass.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 3 - Hanoi > Halong Bay Cruise

After breakfast, checkout of your luxury accommodation and begin your four-hour journey to Halong Bay. Along the way you will drive through the prosperous farmlands of the Red River Delta before joining a two-night cruise onboard the Au Co for an awe-inspiring trip through the picturesque waters of this spectacular World Heritage-listed icon.

This stunning vessel provides a first-class experience from beginning to end. The luxurious features and suites allow a comfortable and exquisite way to explore Halong Bay reaching areas of the bay far beyond the day trippers and overnight cruises.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4 - Halong Bay Cruise

After breakfast, enjoy a Tai Chi lesson on the Sun Deck as the ship sails deeper into the National Park. Take control and jump into a kayak to paddle your way through a limestone cave system, and later take a bike ride on Cat Ba Island. Cat Ba Island has to be one of the hidden beauties of the region. Twined with jungle and wildlife, the island remains mainly untouched from large development.

Sundowners

After your adventure ashore head back to the ship to enjoy an exclusive to Scenic guests Sundowners activity whilst at anchor. Soak up the aromas in a wine tasting set against the backdrop of the karst Islands at sunset.

Later, after enjoying the fine local cuisine in the onboard restaurant, try your hand at some squid fishing from the boat.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5 - Halong Bay Cruise > Hanoi

Relax during your morning cruise back to the harbour. After stopping for lunch and shopping en-route back to Hanoi, arrive back at Hanoi for an overnight stay. Later join a historical bunker tour at the hotel to learn about its place in the history of this capital city, a history that spans over 1000 years.

Freechoice Dining

Tonight, you have a choice of venues for your dinner through Scenic’s Freechoice. Dine in house at the La Terrace at your hotel, or following a short walk, enjoy a local Vietnamese meal in a classic French villa at Home Moc restaurant. For the more adventurous, ride tandem on the back on a Vespa with a guide for a foodie tour of Hanoi’s Old Quarter, stopping at local food haunts for authentic Hanoi Street food with free flow drinks enabling you get a feel of the nightlife and vibe of the local Hanoi culture.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6 - Hanoi > Hoi An

After breakfast, check-out and transfer to Hanoi Airport for your flight to Danang. Upon arrival continue south past Marble mountains to the ancient trading port town of Hoi An. Here enjoy a three night stay at, which includes a daily spa journey as part of your stay.

Freechoice Dining

After you have settled into your little slice of heaven, take the opportunity to enjoy a range of carefully selected dining venues for your Scenic Freechoice dining at either the Morning Glory Restaurant, Hoi An Café or alternatively visit Brother’s Café along the river, featuring a wide range of Vietnamese delicacies.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 7 - Hoi An

Step back in time as you take a walking tour of Hoi An’s World Heritage-listed Old Quarter, visiting the Japanese Bridge and central market where you can experience its incredible sights and aromas. Afterwards stop at the home of a former merchant to learn all about what life is like in the old town of Hoi An.

Enjoy the afternoon at your leisure, perhaps to get a massage using your included spa treatment, swim in the hotel’s large resort style pool or continuing shopping in the old town, visiting the many tailors the town is known for.

Sundowners

Before dinner attend your Scenic Sundowners, a time to relax at a cocktail reception in the Blue Bar, followed by a scrumptious dinner at Mango Mango Restaurant in town down by the water.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 8 - Hoi An

Start the day refreshed and ready to join your Scenic Freechoice activity.

Freechoice

The option of a half day drip to My Son provides a glimpse into the area’s ancient history and a truly cultural highlight of Central Vietnam. The remaining structures of the Tower Temples provide an atmospheric image of the majesty of the Champa Kingdom. Stroll through the ruins and visit the small museum at the entrance to My Son before a local lunch.

If you are a food lover, then a half day cooking class cooking class at Red Bridge is for you. In this second option transfer to Hai Scout Café, arrive to a welcome drink before exploring Hoi An’s colourful central market to source your ingredients. Then take to Thu Bon River on the Red Bridge boat for an idyllic cruise to the actual Red Bridge Cooking School. Enjoy a fun and mesmerizing way to indulge and involve yourself in the practice of local cuisine.

Alternatively, you have the choice of participating in a bicycle ride to a local farm in Tra Que Village. Soak in the beauties of the vegetable gardens and participate in the preparation of the land and fertilizing it with seaweed with the local farmers. You will learn how to prepare ‘Tam Hu’u’, a local delicacy before sitting down for a home cooked meal including ‘Banh Xeo’ a specialty savory pancake wrapped in rice paper.

After your morning of adventures, arrive back at your where you are then free to head back into town to explore on your own.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 9 - Hoi An > Hue

This morning travel via the breath-taking Hai Van Pass to Hue, the former imperial capital. In the afternoon, enjoy a cyclo ride to Hue’s Imperial Citadel before wandering though the grandeur of it’s ruins. Afterwards check into your hotel in Hue, your home for the night.

Enrich

Traditional Vietnamese cuisine is served family style at the private Garden House accompanied by Royal Hue court music and a glass of wine.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 10 - Hue > Ho Chi Minh City

Visit the Mausoleum of Emperor Tu Duc before flying to Ho Chi Minh City. After arriving at your hotel for the next two nights, take a leisurely guided orientation walk of the nearby sites.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 11 - Ho Chi Minh City

After breakfast, travel to the Cu Chi Tunnels and spend the morning learning about the development and establishment of this hidden covered tunnel network that the Viet Cong soldiers hid in for months on end. Return to the city for lunch and the remainder of the afternoon at leisure.

Freechoice Dining

Tonight, choose your Scenic Free Choice dining option from an exhilarating Vespa ride at night as your experienced driver winds in and out the hectic traffic of the streets, stopping at all the best local spots for the most scrumptious Vietnamese cuisines. Sample the best authentic street food and an unlimited supply of drinks and eating however much your stomach desires. Alternatively, dine in the surroundings of an old French Colonial house or a restaurant specialising in Saigon street food. Or, try traditional Italian at Basilico or international fare at Nineteen Restaurant at your hotel.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 12 - Ho Chi Minh City

After checking out from your hotel, learn all about Vietnam’s modern history during a visit to the Reunification Palace and War Museum. Following lunch, the remainder of the day is yours until your transfer to the airport for your flight home.
This itinerary is a guide only and may be amended for operational reasons such as high and low water. As such, the cruise may operate altered from that stated above.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch