Head on culinary and culture adventure in Vietnam, where you find timeless beauty combined with amazing natural setting. Discover seasonal delights, stroll the streets of the ancient cities, see unique architecture, and experience the people's hospitality. Throughout the holiday, you will learn how to prepare Vietnamese dishes, tour to historic buildings and sites, including Cu Chi Tunnels, which played huge role in the American War. Experience a memorable culture holiday in Vietnam!
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Day 1 - Saigon Arrival
Upon arrival, you’ll receive cordial welcome upon arrival at Tan Son Nhat airport at and transfer to hotel for check-in and tour briefing. . In the afternoon, you’ll tour the outstanding sights of Saigon taking in the Notre Dame Cathedral, the French Post Office, Hotel De Ville, Reunification Palace, Chinatown, Ben Thanh market. We also visit Cho Lon, Saigon’s Chinatown, noted for the big market of Binh Tay and the ornate pagoda of Thien Hau. Overnight at hotel.
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Day 2 - Saigon Cooking class (L/D)
After breakfast at hotel, you’ll take a cooking class in Saigon. Follow our Chef through the vibrant Ben Thanh market to purchase necessary ingredients for your cooking lesson. At 9:40 am our Chef will bring you back by Taxi to our cooking class. In a warm atmosphere, participants cook all together following step by step our Chef but everyone has their own material and ingredients for a better understanding of cooking techniques. You will use Vietnamese kitchenware to realize and enjoy a tasty 4 courses meal. After lunch, you’ll pay a visit to Cu Chi Tunnels, an incredible tunnel network constructed by Vietnamese resistance fighters during the Vietnam War. Part of a larger network of tunnels, the tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerrillas as hiding spots during combat. They also served as communication and supply routes, hospitals, weapon caches and living quarters for numerous guerrilla fighters. Back to Saigon for the night. Overnight at hotel.
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Day 3 – Mekong Delta – Can Tho (B/L/D)
We leave the hustle and bustle of Saigon behind and journey to Mekong Delta, a world that lives and works on the waters. Arriving in My Tho, a prosperous town just 80 km from Saigon, we take a boat to an insular village to visit family workshops producing handicrafts and candy from coconut. Tasting seasonal tropical fruits in an exuberant orchard, we ride a horse cart to a typical Delta house and enjoy folk music by amateurs. Proceed by local sampan through the small canals and side arms of the river to further experience river life. For lunch we’ll sample regional specialties such as Elephant Ear Fish, Rice Ball, etc. After a pleasant break we travel to Can Tho where we take a spin around Ninh Kieu Quay – bustling and exciting with river life on Hau River.
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Day 4 - Culinary adventure – Saigon (B/L)
On early morning, you will board a boat for a three-hour cruise to Cai Rang and Phong Dien, two big floating markets, with stops at a Bun Tau noodle factory and a short trek before arriving at a rice-husking mill. You can even try passing one of the many fragile monkey bridges along the canals for photo shoot.
At the floating markets, you will discover a typical way of displaying and advertising farm products. Then, drive back to Saigon with a lunch stop at My Tho. Overnight in Saigon
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Day 5 – Saigon - Hoi An (B)
This morning, you will join a transfer to the airport to take a flight to Danang. There will be a pick-up upon your arrival at Da Nang International Airport, then transfer to charming Hoi An. Known as Faifo to early Western traders, it was one of South East Asia’s major international ports and today, it still retains that special old-world feel. In Hoi An, you can enjoy a walking tour through the Old Quarter and try some of the local specialties. Hoi An is also famous for its large number of tailor shops, so if you want to have a new wardrobe made up, this is the time to do it. The meals included during this day are breakfast and lunch.
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Day 6 - Hoi An cooking session (B/L)
This morning, you will start the day at 08:45 with a drink at Hai Scout Cafe as meeting point. Next, you will visit Hoi An’s colorful market and experience the amazing sights, sounds, and aromas of this busy market. You will have the opportunity to interact with local sellers and purchase some of the ingredients to be used in the cooking lesson later.
Next, you will board the Red Bridge boat for a 25-minute leisurely cruise along the Hoi An River to the Red Bridge Cooking School. This is a chance to view local river life, so make sure your camera is handy. On arrival, you will have a chance to explore the cooking school’s herb and vegetable garden, before learning about some of Hoi An’s and Vietnam’s well-known dishes.
The cooking class is an interesting and fun way to learn about the local cuisine. The class runs for about an hour and 15 minutes, and includes demonstrations from the school’s chefs as well as the chance for you to help prepare some dishes. Included in the demonstration is a brief introduction to Vietnamese food carving (plate decoration).
In the afternoon, you are free to spend your time at leisure. You may explore the ancient town of Hoi An or shopping at tailor shops on your own. Overnight at hotel.
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Day 7 – Hoi An – Da Nang – Hanoi (B)
This morning, you will join a transfer to Da Nang International Airport for a flight to Hanoi. In the afternoon, we take a half day tour visiting the mystical Lake of Restored Sword and the Old Quarter of 36 guild streets from a rickshaw ride. The Old Quarter is a series of 36 ancient streets where peddlers still trade the way they have done for centuries. The rickshaw tour ends up at Ma May Old House, an example of dwellings in the 19 century. Overnight at hotel.
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Day 8 – Food tour in Hanoi (B/D)
After breakfast at hotel, we will pay a visit to the memorial complex to Ho Chi Minh to know his amazing life. Continue to the Single Pillar Pagoda and the Temple of Literature to gain understanding of the two driving forces in Vietnam culture. Later, you’ll enjoy Street Eats & Market Tour in Hanoi. The tour begins with an introduction to the local food scene over a hearty bowl of pho; noodle soup, the quintessential Hanoi street food. Then it is off to a bustling local market where your chef will demystify the local produce, and encourage you to taste some of its most exotic ingredients . A further 5 venues are included in the tour and all travel between venus is by taxi or on foot, the tour lasts for 4 hours and finishes with a typical Vietnamese ca phe, or che (Vietnamese tea) and local sweets. Your chef and guide will also share some of their favourite eating and shopping secrets in Ha Noi for you to explore furth.
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Day 9 – Hanoi – Halong (B/L/D)
After breakfast we check out and journey east to Vietnam's greatest natural wonder, Halong Bay. Arriving in Halong by 12:30, we’ll board a beautiful traditional wooden junk and spend a full day and night cruising the bay's 3000 magnificent limestone islets. We also visit a floating village and a huge cave filled with eye-catching rock formations. In the evening when the boat is anchored in the middle of the stunning lagoon, we enjoy a wonderful seafood meal and later there is opportunity for fishing from the side of the boat. Overnight on board.
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Day 10: Halong – Hanoi (B/L)
Wake up to fresh coffee and take a small boat to a nearby sandy beach for relaxing & swimming & sightseeing. For a great photo opportunity it is well worth walking up to the hill top pagoda which overlooks the entire bay. Afterwards we return for a wholesome breakfast before cruising back to the shore. En route the junk weaves through strange-shaped rock formations that invite comparisons from fighting cocks to mystical dragons! Disembark at 11:00 AM and transfer to Hanoi for the night. Overnight at hotel.
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Day 11: Hanoi – Departure (B)
Today, you will spend the day at leisure until it's time for your transfer to airport for a flight departure.
