Your arrival at the Tan Son Nhat Internaioanl Airport marks the start of your tour. Our guide is waiting to welcome you and take you to your hotel. (early check-in is subject to the hotel’s availability). Being the heart and soul of South Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh is a bustling, dynamic and industrious city. It is not only the largest city but also the economic capital and trendsetter of Vietnam. Yet within the teeming metropolis are the timeless traditions and beauty of an ancient culture. You can enjoy a myriad of street markets, shops, pavements, cafes, stands-on-wheels and vendors all with their wares spread out on the sidewalks as well as history, culture and beautiful architecture.

After breakfast, we leave the City for a beautiful scenic drive through the Mekong River Delta, home to the richest agricultural lands in Vietnam. Enjoy a boat trip to an island that houses orchard gardens and the beautiful Cai Be floating market, a famous place in the Mekong Delta. The Cai Be floating market is a magnificent site to see as hundreds of small merchant boats anchor alongside the banks of the river trading their commodities with locals and tourists alike. We continue with our cruise through the maze of canals that crisscross around An Binh Island.

We start the day with a half-day tour starting with the Thien Hau Temple. Thien Hau is a 16^th century Chinese temple in Cholon, which is dedicated to Thien Hau, goddess of the sea who is said to protect fishermen and sailors. A trip to the War Remnants Museum is a tribute to the Vietnam/American war and offers interesting insights into that period of Vietnamese history. Don’t miss the photograph display on the 2^nd floor, examples and stories of the dedication of war photographers from many countries who risked their lives (and often died) to get the story to the world.

Enjoy a walking tour through the narrow and ancient streets of this charming town. Perhaps more than any other place in Vietnam, Hoi An retains the feel of centuries past. Once known as Faifo, Hoi An was an influential port along the Silk Road. For over 500 years, merchants from China, Japan, France and Portugal settled in the prosperous town resulting in a distinctive blend of culture, cuisine, religions and architecture. The town has the status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999, listed for having the ‘most unique’ architecture in Southeast Asia.It has been restored and protected by both the UNESCO funding and proud locals ever since. The tour takes in the Chinese Assembly Halls, the 400-year-old Japanese Covered Bridge and old family houses.

We leave Hoi An and travel north to Hue through the emerald-green paddy fields. Hue was the political, economic and cultural capital of Vietnam during the Nguyen Dynasty (1802–1945) and used to be the home of past emperors. You have the opportunity to stop en route to take pictures at the summit of Hai Van Pass of the Lang Co Beach. We also visit the Cham Museum located in Da Nang City. The museum offers the most extensive collection of Cham art sculptures throughout the world. The sculptures date from the 7^th to the 15^th century.

We spend the entire day exploring ancient Hue starting by taking a boat trip down the romantic Perfume River to the Thien Mu Pagoda, one of the oldest and most beautiful pagodas in Hue. We then go to the Minh Mang Tomb. Ming Mang was emperor of Vietnam from 1820 to 1841. Enjoy a vegetarian lunch and take the chance to chat with the nuns, learn more about Buddhism and gain insights into their daily lives and their calligraphy art.

After breakfast, you transfer to the airport to catch the flight Ha Noi. Ha Noi is over 1000 years old and is the current capital of Vietnam as well as being the commercial, political, and cultural heart of the country. After checking into the hotel, we start the city tour.

Leaving Ha Noi, we travel 80 km south to the Ninh Binh Province. This is an area of outstanding beauty, unrivaled historical and religious sites. Often known as the ‘Ha Long Bay on Land’, the area has large rock structures jutting out of the water and the land that are reminiscent of the Bay.

After breakfast, we drive to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay, one of the most beautiful and mystical places in Southeast Asia. The day starts with a leisurely boat ride through the breathtaking Ha Long Bay where you will see unique mountainous rock formations (karsts) reaching majestically out of the water. We can enjoy a delicious lunch of fresh seafood cooked in a characteristically Vietnamese style while cruising to Bai Tu Long Bay, Teapot Islet, Blockhouse Islet, and Goat Head Islet.

The cruise continues to explore karsts, some of which display fantastic shapes, many of which have ancient stories connected to them. We also pass Hoa Cuong and Ga Choi Islands on the way to visit the Luon Cave. Back onboard, we have an early lunch before saying goodbye to the boat and to the crew. On the way back to Ha Noi, we have a short stop at the Bat Trang ceramics and pottery village where they make and sell all kinds of ceramics, embroidery and marble statues.

After breakfast, we start our sightseeing tour in Yangon. Sightseeing features include the beautiful Kandawgyi Lake, Botataung Pagoda, the structure of which is hollow allowing you to walk through it to view many ancient relics and artifacts. We finish our tour today with a visit to the awe-inspiring Shwedagon Pagoda, which towers over all of Yangon. It is perhaps the most beautiful pagoda complex in all of Asia and is one sight that no visitor to Myanmar should miss.

Hotel in Yangon

After breakfast, we set out for a tour of one of Asia’s most popular archaeological and cultural destinations starting at the busy Nyaung Oo Market. We also see Bagan’s most distinctive pagodas including Shwezigon, a prototype of later Myanmar stupas and Wetkyi-in- Gubyaukgyi, a 13th century cave temple with interesting fine frescoes.

In the afternoon, we explore the Ananda Pagoda, one of the finest, largest and best persevered pagodas in Old Bagan. Ananda Ok Kyaung is one of the few surviving brick monastery buildings from the early Bagan period. The Htilominlo Temple is known to be the last Myanmar Style temple built in Bagan. As the sun goes down, we will be at the ideal viewing site for a panoramic sunset view over the temples.

Hotel in Bagan

After breakfast, we drive 90 minutes to Salay which is famous for spectacular woodcarving monastery "Yoke-Sone-Kyaung'', which was built in 1882. We also see the museum of Myanmar (closed every Monday, Tuesday and gazette holidays) and the lacquer ware "Man" pagoda built in 1300 made famous by the famous writer, U Pone Nya.

We leave Bagan for Heho Airport and then drive to Nyaung Shwe, the gateway village to Inle Lake. Along the way, you can see the wooden Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery, which features beautiful carvings and a collection of Buddha images.

Upon reaching the edges of Inle Lake, board a private motorboat to head out into the Lake. This is one of Myanmar’s most spectacular natural sights. Pass villages built on stilts over the lake, inhabited by the local Intha people. Observe the ‘leg-rowing’ fishermen and see their floating gardens built up from strips of water hyacinth and mud and anchored to the bottom with bamboo poles.

From the middle of the lake, continue down a small canal leading to the Pa-oh village of Indainn. At the dock, we take a short walk to Inainn area where we visit a local school, and wander through the beautiful Alaung Sitthou area. At Alaung Sitthou, you can climb the covered stairway to the top of a hill, which is covered with picturesque ancient stupas and has magnificent views of the lake below.

Hotel on Inle Lake