14-Day Vietnam Tour with Mai Chau & Ba Khan Lake: Hanoi to Mekong Delta

After breakfast, begin a full day exploring Hanoi's history, culture, and local traditions with your guide.

Start at Ba Dinh Square, in front of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, before continuing to Tran Quoc Pagoda, beautifully positioned beside West Lake.

Next, visit the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, where traditional houses, costumes, artifacts, and exhibitions provide an engaging introduction to the diverse cultures of Vietnam's ethnic communities.

After lunch at a local restaurant, continue to Hoa Lo Prison to learn about important chapters of Hanoi's colonial and wartime history.

The pace becomes more relaxed with a traditional Hanoi egg coffee experience. Discover how this distinctive local drink is prepared before enjoying a cup yourself.

Later, spend time around Hoan Kiem Lake before ending the day with a traditional Water Puppet Show, one of northern Vietnam's most distinctive performing arts.

Overnight in Hanoi

Leave Hanoi after breakfast and travel to Ha Long Bay, famous for its dramatic limestone islands rising from the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin.

Arrive at Tuan Chau Harbor around midday, complete the cruise procedures, and board your vessel. Enjoy a welcome drink before lunch is served as the cruise begins its journey through the bay.

In the afternoon, explore two contrasting highlights of Ha Long Bay. Walk through the impressive chambers of Sung Sot Cave, reached by a series of stone steps, before continuing to Luon Cave, where you can discover the quieter waterway by kayak or bamboo boat.

Return to the cruise in time to enjoy the changing colors of the bay at sunset, followed by Happy Hour and a Vietnamese cooking activity.

Dinner is served onboard, with the remainder of the evening free to relax and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of Ha Long Bay after dark.

Overnight in Ha Long Bay

Cruise schedules and activities may be adjusted according to weather, tides, safety requirements, and operational conditions.

Begin the morning with a light breakfast as Ha Long Bay slowly comes to life. Early risers may also choose to join an optional Tai Chi session on deck.

Continue to Titov Island, where active travelers can climb to the upper viewpoint for sweeping views across the bay. Guests who prefer a gentler morning may instead spend time around the beach and lower areas of the island.

Return to the cruise, prepare for check-out, and enjoy brunch onboard while sailing back toward Tuan Chau Harbor.

After disembarkation, meet your driver and continue overland toward Ninh Binh, passing through the changing landscapes of northern Vietnam.

Arrive in Tam Coc in the afternoon and check in at your hotel. The rest of the day is free to relax, stroll around the village, or simply enjoy the peaceful countryside atmosphere.

Overnight in Tam Coc

After breakfast, discover one of Ninh Binh's most recognizable landscapes on a traditional Tam Coc sampan boat journey.

Sit back as a local rower takes you along quiet waterways framed by rice fields, limestone mountains, and rural scenery, offering a peaceful introduction to the natural beauty of the region.

Later, continue to Mua Cave, where guests who wish to reach the viewpoint can climb approximately 500 stone steps to the top. The ascent is steep in places and is best suited to travelers with a moderate level of fitness, but the panoramic views over Tam Coc's rivers, rice fields, and limestone formations are particularly rewarding.

Comfortable walking shoes, drinking water, and sun protection are recommended for the climb.

After lunch locally, leave Ninh Binh and drive west toward Mai Chau, where the scenery gradually changes to mountains, valleys, rice fields, and traditional White Thai villages.

Dinner is served in a local setting this evening.

Overnight in Mai Chau

Wake up surrounded by the mountain scenery of Mai Chau and begin the day with an easy-to-moderate cycling journey of approximately 10 km.

Follow quiet village lanes through rice fields and traditional communities before stopping at Lac Village. Learn more about the lifestyle of the local White Thai community, see characteristic stilt houses, and observe scenes of everyday life in the valley.

After cycling, return to the Mai Chau area for lunch before continuing toward Ba Khan Lake.

Board a local boat for a peaceful Ba Khan Lake cruise, surrounded by forest-covered slopes, limestone formations, scattered islands, and wide stretches of calm water.

Unlike the more active experiences earlier in the journey, the boat trip is designed as a slow and scenic excursion, allowing time simply to appreciate the lake and surrounding mountain landscape.

Return to shore and continue by road to Hanoi, checking in at your hotel on arrival.

Activity level: Easy to moderate cycling; Ba Khan Lake is a leisurely boat experience.

Overnight in Hanoi

After breakfast, transfer to Noi Bai International Airport for your flight to Da Nang.

Upon arrival, meet your driver and continue south by road to Hoi An, with lunch arranged during the day.

After checking in at your hotel, the remainder of the afternoon is intentionally left free, giving you the opportunity to experience Hoi An at your own pace.

You may wander through the atmospheric old streets, browse local shops, pause at a café, or simply enjoy the relaxed character of this historic trading town.

The evening is also free for independent exploration, with dinner at your own arrangement.

Overnight in Hoi An

Today takes you beyond Hoi An's historic center to experience the rural communities and traditional livelihoods surrounding the town.

Cycle through the countryside to Tra Que Vegetable Village, where local farmers introduce traditional cultivation techniques and invite you to participate in simple hands-on farming activities.

Continue with a local cooking experience and lunch, followed by time to unwind with a herbal foot treatment.

In the afternoon, travel to Cam Thanh for a basket-boat journey through coconut-lined waterways, one of the area's distinctive local experiences.

The day concludes at Thanh Ha Pottery Village, where generations of artisans have worked with clay using traditional methods.

From farming and cooking to waterways and handicrafts, today's experiences provide a varied introduction to everyday life around Hoi An, complementing the historic character of the old town.

Activity level: Easy to moderate cycling and outdoor activities. Comfortable shoes, lightweight clothing, a hat, and sun protection are recommended.

Overnight in Hoi An

After breakfast, leave Hoi An and travel north through Da Nang.

Your first stop is the Museum of Cham Sculpture, where an extensive collection of carvings and artifacts introduces the art, religion, and cultural heritage of the ancient Champa civilization.

Continue north along one of central Vietnam's most scenic routes, crossing the legendary Hai Van Pass with views toward the coastline and Lang Co Lagoon.

Arrive in Hue and enjoy lunch before beginning the afternoon's sightseeing.

Take a boat ride on the Perfume River and visit Thien Mu Pagoda, one of Hue's best-known religious landmarks.

Continue to the Tomb of Emperor Minh Mang, where traditional architecture, courtyards, gardens, lakes, and surrounding landscapes were carefully designed to create a harmonious royal complex.

After the visits, transfer to your hotel and enjoy the evening at leisure.

Overnight in Hue

Begin your morning inside the Hue Imperial Citadel, once the political, administrative, and ceremonial center of the Nguyen Dynasty.

Walk through historic gates, courtyards, temples, and surviving royal structures as your guide shares the story of Vietnam's final imperial dynasty.

Continue to Dong Ba Market for a glimpse of everyday life in Hue. The busy market is filled with fresh produce, regional specialties, spices, handicrafts, and local products.

After lunch, leave the city center for the Tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh. More compact than many of Hue's royal tombs, the complex is renowned for its highly decorative design and unusual blend of Vietnamese and European architectural influences.

Complete the afternoon at Thuy Xuan Incense Village, where colorful bundles of incense and traditional production methods offer an intimate look at a craft closely connected with Hue's cultural and spiritual life.

Return to your hotel afterward, with dinner at your own arrangement.

Overnight in Hue

After an early breakfast, transfer to Hue Airport for your flight south to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's largest and most energetic urban center.

After arrival, meet your driver and transfer comfortably to your hotel. Early check-in will be arranged where possible, subject to room availability.

The afternoon is free for rest or independent exploration before the city reveals a different side after dark.

In the evening, join a guided Saigon Motorbike Street Food Tour, riding behind experienced local drivers through neighborhoods away from the main tourist streets.

Stop along the way to sample local dishes while discovering the lively atmosphere and evening food culture of Saigon.

Following the tour, return to your hotel and enjoy some free time.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City

After breakfast, travel northwest of Ho Chi Minh City to the historic Cu Chi Tunnels.

Your guide will explain how this extensive underground network supported daily life and military operations during wartime. Explore the above-ground displays and tunnel complex, with the option to enter a section of the tunnels for guests who are comfortable in confined spaces.

Return to Ho Chi Minh City and enjoy lunch before continuing with an afternoon focused on Vietnam's modern history and Saigon's major landmarks.

Visit the Independence Palace, also known as the Reunification Palace, followed by the War Remnants Museum. Together, the two sites provide contrasting perspectives on important chapters of Vietnam's recent history.

Continue into the historic center of District 1 to see the Saigon Central Post Office and the exterior of the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon.

If timing allows, complete the afternoon with photo stops at the Saigon Opera House and Ho Chi Minh City Hall before returning to your hotel.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City

Leave Ho Chi Minh City after breakfast and travel south to Ben Tre, where coconut groves, waterways, family workshops, and small villages introduce the quieter rhythm of life in the Mekong Delta.

From Ham Luong Pier, board a local motorboat and cruise along the Ben Tre River, passing riverside homes, fishing boats, coconut gardens, and scenes of everyday life on the water.

Step ashore at a traditional brick-making workshop to see how clay bricks are shaped and fired before continuing to a coconut-processing workshop, where you can learn how one of Ben Tre's most important crops is transformed into everyday products.

Visit a village workshop where woven mats are still made by hand, then pause for local tea and seasonal fruit.

Continue deeper into the countryside by motor cart or bicycle, following narrow rural lanes past gardens, homes, and fields for a closer look at local village life.

After lunch at a local restaurant, change pace once again and board a traditional rowing boat. A local rower takes you along narrower and quieter waterways surrounded by tropical vegetation before reconnecting with the main river.

Return to the pier and meet your driver for the journey back to Ho Chi Minh City, arriving in the late afternoon or early evening.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel and spend your remaining time in Ho Chi Minh City at leisure.

Depending on your flight schedule, you may relax at the hotel, take a final independent walk nearby, or simply prepare for your onward journey.

At the arranged time, meet your driver for the private transfer to the airport.

Any meals after breakfast today are at your own arrangement.

End of Your 14-Day Vietnam Adventure