Fly to Bangkok and onto to Hanoi.
Arrive in Hanoi in the morning and transfer to the deluxe Sofitel Metropole Hotel for two nights.
Enjoy a tour of the city including the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Museum, the One Pillar Pagoda, the Temple of Literature – Vietnam’s first university, established in the 11th century – and the Ngoc Son temple, on the Hoan Kiem Lake. In the afternoon you walk through Hanoi’s Old Quarters, which are over a thousand years old, each of the 36 streets originally dedicated to selling a different merchandise. Enjoy the unique Vietnamese water puppet show in the evening.
Drive to the World Heritage Site of Halong Bay to board a traditional style junk for an overnight cruise. Explore the bay, passing the islands of Trong, Mai, Am, Chen and Cong Troi. Stop at one of the islands to visit the illuminated grottoes. (Alternatively, you can stay overnight in a hotel.)
Disembark in the morning and transfer back to Hanoi visiting the ceramic village of Bat Trang en route. Take the evening flight to Hue and check in at the first class La Residence Hotel and Spa for two nights.
Visit the Imperial tombs of Tu Duc, the longest reigning Vietnamese Emperor, and Khai Dinh, the last monument of the Nyugen dynasty. The afternoon sightseeing includes a tour of the Old Imperial City, modelled after the Forbidden City in Beijing. You also visit the Thien Mu Pagoda before taking a boat on the Perfume River back to the hotel.
In the morning drive to Danang, crossing the picturesque Hai Van pass. Also have the chance to visit the Cham Museum which houses the finest examples of Cham art, reflecting 1,000 years of Hindu influence in Vietnam. Continue the drive south past the Marble Mountains and numerous villages to Hoi An, before checking in at the first class Life Heritage Resort for two nights.
Enjoy an excursion to My Son, a World Heritage Site, and take a walking tour of Hoi An.
Fly from Danang to Ho Chi Minh City, the largest of the Vietnamese cities. Stay at the deluxe Caravelle or Renaissance Riverside Hotel for three nights. (You can upgrade to the Park Hyatt hotel.) Visit Chinatown, Thein Hau Pagoda and the lively Ben Thanh market.
Enjoy a morning excursion to the Cu Chi tunnels before visiting the Reunification Hall, the War Museum and the Notre Dame cathedral.
Tour the Cai Be floating market and cruise aboard the Cai Be Princess along the canals of Phu An where life continues largely undisturbed as it has for decades.
Evening fly to Bangkok to board your return flight to the UK.
