(800) 308-3483 Local: (805) 484-2863
2310 Ponderosa Drive Suite 3 - Camarillo, CA 93010
Avanti Destinations
OFFER ID 1325557
Taste of Vietnam
Explore Vietnam's culture through its mouth-watering cuisine on an exciting culinary tour, as well as an array of cultural highlights through three of Vietnam's most fascinating cities. Meet vendors at markets and learn to cook popular Vietnamese delicacies. Savor the culture and cuisine of Hanoi with its well-preserved colonial buildings, ancient pagodas, and unique museums. Hoi An, a charming UNESCO heritage fishing village, is replete with narrow, lantern-lit lanes dotted with French cafés, spas and beaches. Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, is rated as one the 10 best places in the world for street food. French colonization has left its mark on this vibrant city and you'll find lovely boulevards, historical museums, and pulsating markets around every corner.
Includes:
8 nights | Call for pricing
Avanti Destinations: Taste of Vietnam
Day 1 Hanoi
After clearing customs at Hanoi Airport, meet your driver for the private transfer to your hotel. Remainder of the day is at your leisure and dinner will be on your own this evening.
Centrally Located Hotel In Hanoi, ()
Day 2 Hanoi
After breakfast meet your guide for a private half-day tour of the modern day capital of Vietnam, Hanoi still retains the mystery and charm of bygone centuries. You'll begin by visiting the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where visitors can pay respects to the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh. You'll continue to the Temple of Literature, a peaceful series of walled courtyards and graceful gateways, and one of the best serving examples of traditional Vietnamese architecture. Finally, discover the "Old Quarter of Hanoi" by foot. This fascinating network of narrow alleys and shop houses is also known as "The 36 Streets", as each street is named after the merchandise traditionally sold there, ranging from fabrics to crafts to medicines and even tombstones.
Centrally Located Hotel In Hanoi, (B)
Day 3 Hanoi
An exciting adventure awaits you for a private market visit, and a street food tour with a culinary expert. You'll meet Mrs. Anh Tuyet, a famous Hanoi chef. Using cooking techniques passed down from her mother and grandmother, she is well known for mastering truly authentic Vietnamese dishes. The famous US chef and TV personality, Anthony Bourdain, visited her restaurant, and in his subsequent TV show praised her grilled honey chicken as the best Vietnamese dish he had ever tasted. Together with Mrs.Tuyet, we'll take a walk through the narrow streets for an introduction to the street food culture of Hanoi. Pass by steaming noodle stalls and aromatic outdoor grills. Stop to sample some mouthwatering local delicacies such as bun cha (rice vermicelli with grilled pork patties). Also try the famous Vietnamese pho made with chicken or beef, fresh green papaya salad, or a decadently sweet dessert. The afternoon is free at your leisure.
Centrally Located Hotel In Hanoi, (B)
Day 4 Hanoi, Hoi An
In the morning, you'll have a private transfer to Hanoi Airport and board a short 75-minute flight to Danang. Upon arrival, your driver will meet you for the private transfer to your hotel in Hoi An; a picturesque riverside town south of Danang. After checking into your hotel, your guide will escort you on a half-day tour. Hoi An, known as Faifo to early western traders, was one of South East Asia's major international ports during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Now, this beautifully preserved historic city is best seen on foot, and our walking tour will include five of the following sites: Quan Cong Temple, Phuoc Kien Pagoda, Japanese Covered Bridge, Tran Family Chapel, Sa Huynh Museum, Phung Hung House, or Quang Dong Pagod.
Centrally Located Hotel In Hoi An, B
Day 5 Hoi An
The morning is at your leisure as in the afternoon, we'll have a private cooking class at Tra Que. We'll pass through the surrounding countryside and past rice paddies to Tra Que Village, located on a quiet and peaceful stream. Tra Que village is famed throughout Vietnam for the quality and variety of its vegetable and herbs, grown using a special method of organic farming. Tour the gardens with a local farmer, with explanations of the different plants. Join the farmers in preparing the land and fertilizing it with algae from the local lake. You may have a hands-on experience by assisting with some of the activities, such as sowing seeds, watering greens, or picking vegetables. We'll make our way to the farmer's house and learn how to prepare special dishes with the local family. After a well-deserved lunch, we'll return to Hoi An by bus.
Centrally Located Hotel In Hoi An, B, L
Day 6 Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh
Take your private transfer to the airport for your short flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Upon arrival, meet your driver for the transfer to your hotel. The remainder of the day is at your leisure.
Centrally Located Hotel In Ho Chi Minh, B
Day 7 Ho Chi Minh
After breakfast, meet your guide for a private half-day tour of this vibrant metropolis that teems with energy, activity and motion. You'll begin with a tour of the historic center, strolling along Dong Khoi Street, formerly known as the Rue Catinat; the main shopping thoroughfare and heart of old colonial French Saigon. Pass by classic European-style landmarks such as the ornate City Hall (Hotel De Ville), and the old Opera House (both may only be viewed from the outside), and pay a quick visit to the neo-Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral and the Central Post Office. Afterwards we'll dive into modern history with a tour of the Reunification Palace. Formerly the Independence Palace of the South Vietnamese president, this 60's style building was famously stormed by tanks on April 30, 1975 signifying the fall of South Vietnam. It has been preserved in its original state, and the original tanks remain on display near the entrance gates. Continue to the harrowing War Remnants Museum, which comprehensively documents the travails of the long Vietnam-American War. Inside are detailed photographic exhibitions, outside is a collection of tanks, planes and weapons. A powerful experience, this museum is guaranteed to provoke strong emotions. Finally, visit the Emperor Of Jade Pagoda, one of Saigon's most interesting pagodas.
Centrally Located Hotel In Ho Chi Minh, B
Day 8 Ho Chi Minh
Today is free for independent sightseeing, but save your appetite for a private "Foodies Afoot in Saigon" tour. We'll head to the Ben Thanh market in the early evening to our meeting point at Pho 2000. Get ready to be fully immersed in the bustling streets of Saigon, and its world-famous street food culture. You'll hit the streets with your guide and peruse the sidewalk stalls most popular with locals. Enjoy this lively and informal atmosphere, sampling special dishes and popular local favorites. Try the Vietnamese version of pizza, banh trang nuong, with tasty toppings on grilled rice paper, and the famous banh mi, an airy baguette loaded with a medley of meats, vegetables and spices. Visit Saigon's walking street, a popular meeting point for Saigon's youth. Then cap off the evening with a cocktail at one of the city's lively rooftop bars, while enjoying panoramic night views of the city as you reflect fondly on your culinary tour.
Centrally Located Hotel In Ho Chi Minh, B
Day 9 Ho Vhi Minh
After breakfast, take your private transfer to the airport for your return flight, or onward to your next Avanti Destination!
Centrally Located Hotel In Ho Chi Minh, B
Meet with guide at the ship docking and transfer to town. Car and guide is at disposal.
Limited area: Hon Gai/Hai Phong - Hanoi only
Duration: Within 08 hours (From 08:00 – 18:00)
Meals: None
Hanoi Full Day Tour (10 hours)
On arrival to the port (Cai Lan /Hongai/ Halong port) disembark the ship and meet your guide. Then take 4 hours’ drive to Hanoi for an informative city tour.
With ochre-colored colonial buildings, tree-lined boulevards and scenic lakes, Hanoi is full of charm. Start the tour at the Temple of Literature, the first University for the sons of mandarins, for an overview about Hanoian culture and appreciation for ancient Vietnamese architecture. Then head to the Vietnamese Women’s Museum that offers a broad insight into Vietnam’s people including its 54 ethnic groups through a lens of women’s topics. Walk through diverse exhibitions from street vendors to marriage to family life to traditional fashion.
Lunch is on your own.
End the trip with a cyclo tour from the museum to the Old Quarter. Ride through its narrow streets to indulge yourself in the bustle and hustle of the local daily life. Later, drive back to Halong to embark the ship.
NOTES
· There is an extra charge for the transfer at the other ports.
· Tour duration: 10 hours
Meals: None
TOUR INCLUSIONS
| Inclusive of: | Non-inclusive of: |
| · Private transfers and transportation on tour · Sightseeing with Local English speaking guides · Entrance fees and boat rides if any · Cold towels and water on sightseeing days · Welcome pack · Dock permit · Tips & gratuities |
· Vietnam visa · Accommodation on board · Other meals where not mentioned in the program · Drinks/water at included lunches and dinners · All flights & airport taxes · Hotel early check in/ Late check out · Overweight luggage · Personal expenses · Travel insurance · Other services not listed in inclusive column |
Meet with guide at the ship docking and transfer to town. Car and guide is at disposal.
Limited area: Danang/Hoian
Duration: Within 4 hours OR within 8 hours
Meals: None
TOUR INCLUSIONS
| Inclusive of: | Non-inclusive of: |
| · Private transfers and transportation with Local English speaking guide · Cold towels and water on car · Dock permit · Tips & gratuities |
· Vietnam visa · Accommodation with daily breakfast · Entrance fees · All meals · All flights · Personal expenses · Travel insurance · Other services not listed in inclusive column |
Hoi An Culinary at Market Restaurant (5-6 hours)
On arrival in Danang (Tien Sa port), disembark the ship and meet your guide. Drive for 1 approximately hour to the ancient town of Hoi An. Learn the secrets of preparing traditional Vietnamese cuisine with a market tour and cooking class. Set off to a local market with a chef from the Market Restaurant and Cooking School. Your chef will share shopping tips including how to select fresh eggs and ripe fruit and which herbs are used in Vietnamese cuisine. Continue to the school, an elegant old building with a French colonial-style exterior and traditional Hoi An interior. Then participate in an entertaining, hands-on cookery course held in one of three teaching areas with modern equipment for a truly immersive cooking experience. Chat with your chef to learn more about typical ingredients of Central Vietnamese cuisine then enjoy tasting what you have prepared.
NOTES
| Inclusive of: | Non-inclusive of: |
| · Private transfers and transportation on tour · Sightseeing with Local English speaking guides · Meals as per specified · Entrance fees and boat rides if any · Cold towels and water on sightseeing days · Welcome pack · Dock permit · Tips & gratuities |
· Vietnam visa · Accommodation on board · All meals where not mentioned in the program · Drinks/water at included lunches and dinners · All flights & airport taxes · Hotel early check in/ Late check out · Overweight luggage · Personal expenses · Travel insurance · Other services not listed in inclusive column |
Cu Chi Tunnels & Sai Gon Highlights Tour – 10 hours - Saigon
Highlights:
Highlights of Ho Chi Minh City Tour – 10 hours - Saigon
Highlights:
Mekong Delta Tour – 10 hours - Saigon
Highlights:
Meet with guide at the ship docking and transfer to town. Car and guide is at disposal.
Limited area: Ho Chi Minh City
Duration: Within 4 hours OR within 8 hours
Meals: None
TOUR INCLUSIONS
| Inclusive of: | Non-inclusive of: |
| · Private transfers and transportation with Local English speaking guide · Cold towels and water on car · Dock permit · Tips & gratuities |
· Vietnam visa · Accommodation with daily breakfast · Entrance fees · All meals · All flights · Personal expenses · Travel insurance · Other services not listed in inclusive column |
Full Day Saigon City Tour (8 hours)
On arrival to Saigon (Nha Rong Port), drive 20mins to the city centre for a tour of some of Saigon’s historic landmarks reflecting its French and Chinese influences. Visit the Notre Dame Cathedral, a red brick edifice with twin spires constructed from materials imported from France (entrance is only permitted when no services are being performed). Then head across the square to the Central Post Office, completed in 1891. Appreciate the restored exteriors of the Saigon Opera House and the elegant City Hall (the former Hotel de Ville), two of Saigon’s most stunning colonial monuments. If time permits, we will visit the iconic Ben Thanh Market, one of the earliest surviving structures in Saigon and popular wholesale market for local handicrafts, textiles, souvenirs and street food.
Drive to the former residence of the US Ambassador of South Vietnam in the early 1960s, Mr. Henry C. Lodge Jr., who supported the overthrowing of the South Vietnamese Government. Enjoy a cold drink while watching a 10min documentary film about Saigon during that time.
After lunch on your own, we then drive to Saigon’s Chinatown to visit the beautiful Thien Hau Pagoda, built by the Cantonese community in the early 19th century to honour the Goddess of the Sea. Take time to make a wish, write it on a small card and attach it to one of the incense coils according to local custom. Continue your visit to FITO, the first museum of traditional medicine in Vietnam, offering insight into the history and application of traditional medicine in everyday life before taking the scenic route through the city back to the ship.
NOTES:
· There is an extra charge for the transfer at the other ports.
· Outside visit only due the renovation at Notre Dame Cathedral until further notice
· Tour duration: 08 hours
Meals: None
TOUR INCLUSIONS
| Inclusive of: | Non-inclusive of: |
| · Private transfers and transportation on tour · Sightseeing with Local English speaking guides · Entrance fees and boat rides if any · Cold towels and water on sightseeing days · Welcome pack · Dock permit · Tips & gratuities |
· Vietnam visa · Accommodation on board · All meals where not mentioned in the program · Drinks/water at included lunches and dinners · All flights & airport taxes · Hotel early check in/ Late check out · Overweight luggage · Personal expenses · Travel insurance · Other services not listed in inclusive column |
Half-Day Saigon: History of Architecture with History Researcher (4 hours)
On arrival to Saigon (Nha Rong Port), drive 20mins to the city center for a tour of some of Saigon’s historic landmarks reflecting its French and Chinese influences. Meet with a local cultural and history researcher at your hotel lobby and take a short trip to local coffee shop for an overview of the impressive history of the city once known as “The Pearl of the Orient”. Then take a step back in time to visit several of the very best examples of “storytelling” architecture. Start at Jade pagoda established in the early 1900s to get a glimpse of ancient history when a group of Chinese fled the new regime to Saigon around the end of 17th century under the reign of Lord Nguyen.
Then wind your way to Archbishop's Palace – with a prayer house more than two hundred-years old (outside visit) as the home for the first French Catholic missionary. Gain an overview about the first approach of the French during the Cochinchina period in the early 18th century. Stroll around the University of Social Sciences & Humanities which used to be the 11th infantry regiment colonial military barracks for an insight into French campaigns against Viet Minh at the time. Your stop will be at the former residence of the US Ambassador, Henry C. Lodge in the 1960s for a drink and watch 10-min movie about Saigon back in the day.
NOTES:
· There is an extra charge for the transfer at the other ports.
· Total duration: 04 hours
Meals: None
TOUR INCLUSIONS
| Inclusive of: | Non-inclusive of: |
| · Private transfers and transportation on tour · Sightseeing with Local English speaking guides · Entrance fees and boat rides if any · Cold towels and water on sightseeing days · Welcome pack · Dock permit · Tips & gratuities |
· Vietnam visa · Accommodation on board · All meals where not mentioned in the program · Drinks/water at included lunches and dinners · All flights & airport taxes · Hotel early check in/ Late check out · Overweight luggage · Personal expenses · Travel insurance · Other services not listed in inclusive column |
Half-Day Saigon: Retracing the Past (5 hours)
On arrival to Saigon (Nha Rong port), disembark the ship and meet your guide. Commence with a visit of the shrine outside of the US Consulate then continue to the former CIA building (outside visit only), where helicopters evacuated the remaining US citizens in 1975. Head to the rooftop café of the Rex hotel, a familiar landmark for Americans during the Vietnam War. Sit down for a drink, enjoy the view and this piece of history which your guide will help to explain. Then visit the Reunification Palace for a guided tour of the former headquarters of the South Vietnamese Government and residence of the presidents. Drive to the former residence of the US Ambassador of South Vietnam in the early 1960s, Mr. Henry C. Lodge, who conducted a mission to overthrow the South Vietnamese Government. Watch a 10 minutes documentary film about Saigon during that time while enjoying a cold drink. Then drive to a secret weapon chamber which VC used as a place to hide and store weapons during Vietnam War. Then weave through tiny back alleys and meet and chat with the locals who are living in tiny houses. Head to a historic venue for a late lunch of “pho” (noodle soup). The house number 07 on Ly Chinh Thang Street (former Yen Do street) is now known as Pho Binh restaurant which used to be the headquarters of Viet Cong Commanders where they gathered to plan for the 1968 Tet Offensive. Take a walk upstairs to learn more about the history through the family’s photo collection. Then drive back to the port to embark the ship.
NOTES:
· There is an extra charge for the transfer at the other ports.
· Total duration: 05 hours
Meals: None
TOUR INCLUSIONS
| Inclusive of: | Non-inclusive of: |
| · Private transfers and transportation on tour · Sightseeing with Local English speaking guides · Entrance fees and boat rides if any · Cold towels and water on sightseeing days · Welcome pack · Dock permit · Tips & gratuities |
· Vietnam visa · Accommodation on board · All meals where not mentioned in the program · Drinks/water at included lunches and dinners · All flights & airport taxes · Hotel early check in/ Late check out · Overweight luggage · Personal expenses · Travel insurance · Other services not listed in inclusive column |
Half-Day Saigon: Culinary Experience at Former Ambassador's Residence (4 hours)
On arrival to Saigon (Nha Rong port), disembark the ship and meet your guide. Drive 20 minutes to Ben Thanh market to buy all the fresh ingredients before continuing an historic Ambassador's home for a private hands-on cooking demonstration. The American Ambassador to South Vietnam in the 1960s, Mr. Henry Cabot Lodge, carried a mission of overthrowing the southern government at that time. When Lodge arrived in Saigon, an old villa in District 3 was converted into the Ambassador’s residence. Mr. Lodge lived in this home between1960-1965 and the architecture is a mix of Vietnamese, French and American. Today it remains a private residence owned by Trails of Indochina and it has been fully restored to its former glory. The guide will provide an orientation tour of the house while the chef prepares the ingredients. Learn typical Southern style dishes throughout the morning. The chef will show you how to serve each dish before the meal, and you will need to master the chopsticks before you can savor your own culinary creations in the old world ambiance of the villa.
After lunch, transfer back to your ship.
Note: There is an extra charge for the transfer at the other ports.
Meal: Lunch
TOUR INCLUSIONS
| Inclusive of: | Non-inclusive of: |
| · Private transfers and transportation on tour · Sightseeing with Local English speaking guides · Lunch · Entrance fees and boat rides if any · Cold towels and water on sightseeing days · Welcome pack · Dock permit · Tips & gratuities |
· Vietnam visa · Accommodation on board · All meals where not mentioned in the program · Drinks/water at included lunches and dinners · All flights & airport taxes · Hotel early check in/ Late check out · Overweight luggage · Personal expenses · Travel insurance · Other services not listed in inclusive column |
All fares are quoted in US Dollars.