Absolute Vietnam

Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest metropolis. A guide and driver will meet you at the airport for the transfer to your hotel.

Today’s tour starts at the Independence Palace, also known as the Reunification Palace. This widely-recognized landmark of Ho Chi Minh City was designed by the architect Ngo Viet Thu and was the sight of the fall of Saigon, which ended the Vietnam War. Continue past the beautiful structures from the French Colonial times, such as the Notre Dame Cathedral and the historic Central Post Office to visit the War Remnants Museum and its vast displays of the Indochina wars. 
Have lunch at a local restaurant and return to your hotel.

 

Hue is a former imperial capital of Vietnam full of rich history and cultural heritage. Meet your guide at the hotel lobby and immerse yourself in the heritage of this magnificent place. 

Start your exploration with a boat trip along the Perfume river to Thien Mu pagoda, the oldest pagoda in Hue. Then visit the Imperial Citadel, where the Nguyen Dynasty ruled between 1802 and 1945. Here you will also visit the Royal Antiques Museum to see the collection of ornaments from the Nguyen dynasty. Then head to the bustling Dong Ba market to see the daily life of local people. 

Enjoy lunch at the local restaurant.

In the afternoon, you will visit the elegant Khai Dinh Royal Tomb, whose architecture combines the elements of Eastern art and Western design. It is smaller compared to many other tombs. However, it is more flamboyant, with the giant dragons forming the side walls, blackened concrete exterior, and colorful mosaic interior with elegant murals. 

Then continue to Tu Duc Royal Tomb, the most impressive of all the royal mausoleums built by Emperor Tu Duc between 1864 and 1867. While the complex includes a tomb with pavilions and temples, no one knows where king Tu Duc is buried, as all the servants who buried the king were beheaded to keep his final resting place a secret. 

After exploring the tombs, you will be transferred back to your hotel.

The imperial city of Hue is known for its beautiful kites, so why not spend your morning getting to know more about this traditional craft? Today’s tour will begin at 08:30 and we will learn about Hue’s rich culture and heritage from a local artisan.

This morning, we cycle 3 miles to meet your instructor, a local kite lover, who is also a third-generation kite maker in Hue. To begin the day you’ll take a tour of his house and listen to the history of kite flying in Vietnam, a form of once entertainment favoured by the aristocracy and mandarins of the Nguyen Dynasty. Then step into his workshop where he uses the traditional methods to make his one–of–a–kind kites, and then you’ll get a chance to try painting your own. Kite painting requires a delicate hand, but with your instructor who will guide you, you will produce a masterpiece.

Wrap up this kite making Hue experience with a truly unique handmade souvenir – a reminder of Hue’s rich artistic heritage. Once you are finished learning about the local arts stop for a short break at a local cafe for a cup of delicious Vietnamese coffee before returning to your hotel by bicycle.

Princess Ngoc Son’s house of worship is a well-known garden house in Hue. It is an independent area in ancient Gia Hoi landscape, east of Hue’s imperial city. This place is to worship Princess Ngoc Son, the daughter of King Dong Khanh (1885 – 1889). She was married to the head of the Nguyen’s military, Nguyen Huu Tien, the son of academician Nguyen Huu Thang, a high-ranking mandarin of the Nguyen Dynasty.
In 1921, Mr. Nguyen Huu Tien built a garden house on an area of 2,400m2 to worship Princess Ngoc Son, his first wife. This is where he, his second wife and 7 children also lived. For more than 90 years, descendants of Nguyen Huu Tien have been protecting, worshiping, and preserving the garden house despite the constant changes of Gia Hoi and Hue city
At present, the owner of the house is Mrs. Nguyen Thi Suong, grandchild of prince consort Nguyen Huu Tien. Her husband is a well-known historian in Hue, Mr Phan Thuan An. It is their understanding about Hue’s history and culture that makes Princess Ngoc Son Worship House preserved and protected carefully.

This spirit is passed down to their three children, who are working in preservation and heritage fields in Hue.

Visiting Princess Ngoc Son Worshiping House, you will not only have a chance to witness the standard architecture of a Hue garden house, but also discover the traditional life-style of Hue people and deep corners in Hue’s soul, which is a part of Hue’s heritage.
You will be picked up at your hotel at 16:30pm by our local host to Princess Ngoc Son Residency. You will have chance to talk to Mr Phan Thuan An’s daughter, PhD. Phan Thuan Thao who spent most of her life to learn about Hue. After understanding about the house, enjoy a meal of traditional Hue specialties prepared by the family at their historical home, while you unearth Hue’s fascinating past. Then our driver and tour guide transfer you back to your hotel. End of services!

Today you’ll take a guided sightseeing tour of Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital and cultural heart. Begin with a trip to Hang Be Market in the Old Quarter. Locals have shopped here for hundreds of years, sourcing everything from fresh produce to raw meat.

Right in the center of the serene lake is Ngoc Son Temple, a prominent temple sitting on a small island. The sacred temple, along with other architectures, create a historical complex that has been the pride of Hanoian for hundreds of years.

Then visit The Temple of Literature. It is often cited as one of Hanoi’s most picturesque tourist attractions. Originally built as a university in 1070 dedicated to Confucius, scholars, and sages, the building is extremely well preserved and is a superb example of traditional-style Vietnamese architecture.

 

After breakfast, check out of your hotel. A driver will pick you up at the hotel lobby around 7 am to transfer to Sapa. It will take around six hours. On arrival, check in to your hotel and unwind after a long journey.

Sapa is a mountain retreat and former French colonial garrison, surrounded by lush green mountains and rice terraces. Breathe in the cool alpine air while wandering the town’s steep streets, stopping to buy handicrafts made by local Hmong women wearing bright, colorful traditional clothing, or pausing at a café for a cup of Vietnamese coffee.

 

Today, transfer to the airport in Da Nang for your 90-minute flight to Ho Chi Minh City, where a driver will be waiting to take you to your hotel.

A driver will transfer you back to Hanoi. It will take around six hours. Check in at the hotel by yourself.

At around 08:30-09:00 am, you will be picked up by the cruise team to Halong Bay to take your overnight cruise. It will take 2.5 hours to arrive at the harbour.

 

06:00: Enjoy sunrise and admire the never-ending miraculous scenery of the Bay.
06:30: Light breakfast, coffee and tea served. 
07:00: Visit Dark & Bright Cave and islets by local rowing boats which is a wild and mysterious beauty in the middle of the World Heritage. 
09:15: Back to our La Pandora Cruise, relax before checking out. 
10:00: Lunch is served on board.
12:00: Disembark at the Tuan Chau marina by tender.