HISTORY & CULTURE

Exploring Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City

• After a refreshing restful night and breakfast, we will continue our city walking tour including the War Remnants Museum, Thich Quang Duc memorial, Bo Van Hoa Tet 1968 arms cache museum, and the Ben Thanh Market. Many of the sites we will visit today are associated with the Vietnam War and will provide meaningful, emotional context for the remainder of our visit in this country.
• Lunch on your own – we will have pointed out some places along the way and will provide recommendations.
• Afternoon: On your own time to visit the many incredible Saigon sites (museums, markets, etc) for a more in-depth experience of the sites that interest you.
• Dinner on your own.
• Hotel: Caravelle Saigon.

Hue and its Imperial Citadel

• Depart for Tan San Nhat International Airport for domestic flight to Hue. Arrive at Phu Bai Airport, an important American air base in the war.
• Group lunch at Les Jardins de la Carambole, a wonderful restaurant near The Citadel.
• Walking tour of The Citadel, the early 19th century city-within-a-city that was home to Vietnam’s last dynasty. It is a wondrous royal site with three layers of defense and living arrangements for the royal family and the mandarins that governed Vietnam. We will also discuss the incredibly difficult 1968 battle of Hue that occurred during the famed Tet Offensive. Here was the greatest urban fighting of the entire war. The Citadel is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
• We will depart for our hotel by auto rickshaws so that we can truly take in the pulse of the city.
• Check in to Azerai La Residence Hue hotel.
• Group dinner at the lovely Azerai La Residence Hue in a private room of Le Parfum restaurant.
• Hotel: Azerai La Residence Hue (subject to change).

DMZ

• We will depart for the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) area.
• All-day touring of famed military sites from the Vietnam War –the Marine hilltop base at Khe Sanh where a two-month siege occurred in 1968, the Rock Pile observation post that kept eyes on the critical route 9, the bridge at Dong Ha where an American captain saved South Vietnam with his incredible heroics on April 2, 1972, the DMZ and North Vietnamese tunnel complex at Vinh Moc, followed by our return to Hue.
• Group lunch enroute.
• If you prefer to remain in Hue, you will have time on your own to explore, including a Perfume River tour to visit the elaborate royal tombs and other sites. Our local guide will have relevant information available.
• On your own dinner in Hue. Option: Participate on a scooter foodie tour (each participant is paired with a local Vietnamese on his scooter).
• Hotel: Azerai La Residence Hue.

Danang Region – Le Ly Hayslip & Hoi An

• Depart for the drive down the mountainous Central Coast to Danang. The coast just south of Danang was known as China Beach in Vietnam War parlance.
• Visit RED Beach, where US Marines first came ashore in March 1965. Thus began the introduction of combat troops into the conflict.
• Visit China Beach in Danang – this city, port and airbase comprised one of the most important American base complexes of the entire war. China Beach was a R&R spot for soldiers to escape for a long weekend.
• We may have the amazing opportunity to experience authentic village life in Xa Hoa Qui (formerly known as Ky La) with renowned author Le Ly Hayslip at her ancestral home where we will enjoy an abundant lunch with her neighbors. Afterward, Le Ly will accompany us to the local children’s school and dental clinic she founded and still supports.
• When Heaven and Earth Changed Places tells the story of Le Ly’s life as a young peasant girl at the outbreak of the Vietnam War and on through the entire conflict. Oliver Stone subsequently brought the book to life as Heaven and Earth, the third film in his trilogy of the Vietnam War, following Platoon and Born on the 4th of July. Raised during a time of great conflict in her country, Le Ly has lived in the US since she married an American in the 1970s. Le Ly has made it her life’s mission to build bridges between the two countries and to support her ancestral village. We are incredibly blessed to have her as our guide for this special day!
• We would encourage you to read at least her first book, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places, to appreciate her experience and the role of ancestry in Vietnam. Her second book, Child of War, Woman of Peace, tells of her life in America and the founding of her East Meets West Foundation. Le Ly is still active with her Global Village Foundation.
• Drive to Hoi An, an ancient and perfectly preserved town on the coast. When you think “Vietnam” you are thinking of Hoi An with its markets, pedestrian-only lanes, shops, women in traditional ao dai, and a beautiful beach.
• Check in to Royal Hoi An Hotel, a Sofitel collection hotel. Located on the banks of the Thu Bon River in the UNESCO World Heritage town, the Royal Hoi An is a perfect blend of historical charm and modernity. Its refined style inspired by Art Nouveau has a delicate touch of Japanese and Vietnamese cultures and offers spectacular views of the river and ancient town.
• Either tonight or tomorrow morning, we will visit a silk and arts shop. If you want to have hand-designed and crafted clothing made-to-order, this is the place! You can order by 10am and it will be ready by 6pm that night.
• Dinner on your own in historic and lively old Hoi An.
• Hotel: Royal Hoi An (subject to change).

Unforgettable Hoi An

• Optional morning walking tour of Hoi An – markets, pagodas, Japanese Bridge, ancient houses, etc.
• After five action-packed expedition days, it’s time to relax! This day is yours – on the beach at An Bang or poolside at our gorgeous hotel or shopping in Hoi An.
• Options: Cooking class or guided bike ride through the countryside.
• Lunch and dinner on your own.
• Hotel: Royal Hoi An.

Hanoi’s Ba Dinh Square

• Check-out, drive a short distance to Danang International Airport for a morning flight to Hanoi.
• Arrive Hanoi and drive into the French Quarter where we will check-in to the classic Metropole hotel (on the border between the Old and French Quarters and near the Opera). Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi is a five-star historic luxury hotel, opened in 1901 as Grand Métropole Hotel in the capital of Vietnam. It is today one of the most important buildings of Vietnam in French colonial style.
• Lunch on your own at the hotel (with several restaurant choices) or nearby.
• We will take cyclos to the Ba Dinh Square area that was the former location of the French colonial government and is now the Vietnamese government center. Numerous museums to Ho Chi Minh, including his home and mausoleum, are here. Nearby is the ancient Temple of Literature, site of Vietnam’s first university, and the museum of Fine Art. As a group, we will visit Ho Chi Minh’s home and the Temple of Literature. You will have the opportunity to visit other nearby sites on your own.
• Group dinner at Moose & Roo BBQ (on the grounds of US Embassy recreation area). Classic American bar-be-que and craft beer and cocktails.
• Hotel: Metropole Hanoi (subject to change).

French & Old Quarters and OYO Exploration 

• Join us at 6am for optional group exercise in a park nearby to the hotel! The Vietnamese people are early risers and many flock to their neighborhood parks to partake in individual and group exercise. It is an amazing sight and we will join right in!
• Walking tour of the French and Old Quarters, the heart of the Vietnamese capital. The Old Quarter has been inhabited for over 1000 years and includes a maze of ancient shopping streets, today teeming with wares, restaurants and lively bars. Connecting the two quarters is the Hoan Kiem Lake, sacred to the Vietnam foundation story. The French arrived in the 18th century as missionaries and traders and in the 1860s as colonial overlords. They rebuilt a portion of the city and today its wide, tree-lined boulevards evoke those days.
• Of several museums in this area, we will visit Hoa Lo Prison, known to Americans as the Hanoi Hilton that housed US pilots captured in the war. St Joseph’s Cathedral is also well worth a visit.
• Lunch on your own.
• Afternoon on your own to explore the treasures of Hanoi. Optional activities could be a bike tour, cooking class, etc. We will discuss interests and options while in Saigon so that we can make reservations.
• Dinner on your own.
• Tonight is a great opportunity to enjoy Opera or Jazz. The beautiful Opera house, a twin to that in Paris, hosts a variety of music today and the Binh Minh Jazz Club is the best in the country.
• Hotel: Metropole Hanoi.

Halong Bay

• Check out and bus departs for the drive to Halong Bay.
• Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site with nearly 3000 limestone karst islands rising from the beautiful waters. It is a wonder of serene natural beauty, with caves, beaches, floating villages and markets and infinite natural beauty.
• Embark on the Paradise Legacy cruise ship and check-in to executive balcony cabins.
• Lunch in the ship restaurant while sightseeing along Halong Bay.
• Optional activities on the ship include luxuriating in a spa treatment, exploring the Sung Sot cave, or kayaking around the islets. (Spa and kayak require extra fees.) Squid fishing, movies in the restaurant or relaxation time. Cooking demonstration on the sundeck.
• Happy hour on the ship followed by sunset dinner.
• Lodging: Paradise Legacy Cruise Ship (subject to change).

Halong Bay & Hanoi

• Tai chi demonstration on the sundeck (optional).
• Light breakfast at dawn.
• Visit Titop Island for sightseeing, hiking, swimming or relax on board.
• After a full breakfast at 9am aboard the ship, enjoy a gorgeous morning cruise through the incredible limestone karst islands. The incredible beauty of this magnificent area cannot be overstated!
• Debark at Tuan Chau Marina. Return by bus to Hanoi.
• We will visit the West Lake area, where we will see the site where Lt Cmdr John McCain was captured in 1967.
• Check-in to Sheraton West Lake.
• Final group dinner and farewell at the hotel.
• Hotel: Sheraton West Lake (subject to change).

Battle & Culture in the Central Highlands

• Depart for day-long visit to Vietnam War battlefields at Kontum and Dak To. North of Pleiku and still in the Central Highlands, these two towns were scenes of rugged pre-Tet fighting in 1967 and again in the major NVA offensives in 1972 and in 1975.
• Visit indigenous settlement and temple in Kontum. Fourteen percent of Vietnam’s population consists of indigenous peoples and tribes. The Central Highlands are home to many of them. Their dress, food, music and culture are unique, and we will experience all of that today.
• Return to Pleiku for dinner and a final night in the Highlands.
• Hotel: Ngon Avatar Hotel.