Although officially a three-day affair, Tet festivities may continue for a week or more. Eating, drinking and enjoying social activities are what is all about. Tet is the time for family reunion, paying respect to ancestors and elders and gifts of food to friends, neighbors and relatives.
Join us and witness with your own eyes the vivid atmosphere all over Vietnam before, during and after TET.
Day 1: HANOI ARRIVAL (-/-/-)
Arrive at Noi Bai Airport. Welcome by Binhtours and transfer to a hotel. Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital city, boasts tree-lined streets and centuries-old temples. An afternoon sightseeing tour features both cultural and historical highlights, comprising the Temple of Literature, the Ethnology Museum.
Touring the Old Quarter by cyclo for an hour, a wonderful opportunity to withness the exciting asmosphere of those days before Tet. Businesses hang festive red banners which read "Chuc Mung Nam Moi" (Happy New Year) and city streets are festooned with colored lights.
Stalls spring up all over town to sell mut (candied fruits and jams), traditional cakes, and fresh fruit and flowers. Certain markets sell nothing but cone-shaped kumquat bushes. Others sell flowering peach trees, symbols of life and good fortune which people bring into their homes to celebrate the coming of spring. As vendors pour into the City with peach trees strapped to their bicycles, the streets look like moving pink forests.The sightseeing day ends with a water puppet show, a theatrical genre reflecting the agricultural civilization of thousands of years ago. Overnight in Hanoi.
Day 2: HANOI – HALONG (B/-/-)
Before leaving for Halong (roughly 180km), take an early morning drive to Nghi Tam Village to watch gardeners pick blossoming flowers and carry them by bicycle to market places. A wide variety of colourful flowers gives a unique opportunity for snapshots.
Onwards to Halong with a stop-over at Dong Ho Village, known for its traditional paintings, and 13th-century But Thap Pagoda, filled with impressive ornaments. Check-in hotel upon arrival Halong city. Free at leisure for your own exploration of Halong City. Overnight in Halong
Day 3: HALONG – HANOI (B/L/-)
In the morning, board a private boat for a cruise in Halong Bay (5 hours), a World Heritage site recognized by UNESCO in 1994. Visit some magical grottoes and relax in the best scenic beauty of Vietnam. Lunch of fresh seafood is served on board. Return to Hanoi with stop-overs at ceramic and hand embroidery workshops en route. Overnight in Hanoi.
Day 4: HANOI – TAY PHUONG PAGODA – LUNAR EVE (B/L/D)
Before leaving for Ha Tay (50km), enjoy a morning pedicab ride around Hanoi to One-Pillared Pagoda, Quan Thanh Temple and the old quarters. Wander about the bustling streets of Hang Dao and Hang Ngang teeming with eye-catching local goods.
Take a trip past villages and rice fields to Ha Tay. Visit Tay Phuong Pagoda standing on a hillock and famous for its intriguing wooden statues of arhat & buddha, and Mong Phu Village where ancient houses made of red laterite and rammed soil can be found. Meet with local families preparing for Tet. In the evening, join a Lunar New Year’s Eve party at the hotel. O/N in Hanoi.
Coming to Vietnam during the season of the Tet festival, the visitor is engulfed in an ocean of colorful flowers. Visiting flower shows, contemplating the buds and blooms, and purchasing blossoms represents one of the distinct Vietnamese cultural characteristics. The peach ( in the North ) and the apricot blossoms (in the South) are symbols of the Vietnamese Tet. The warm pink of the peach could very well match the dry cold of the North, but the hot South seems to be flourishing in the riot of the yellow of the apricot. The mandarin is symbolic of good fortune and, therefore, people tend to choose the little plants laden with fruit, big and orange, and verdant leaves for a longer display.
The Giao Thua ( New Year's Eve )
The Giao Thua is the most sacred point of time, the passage from the old to the new year. It is popularly believed that in Heaven there are twelve Highnesses in charge of monitoring and controlling the affairs on earth, each of them taking charge of one year. The giao thua is the moment of seeing off the old chieftain upon the conclusion of his term and welcoming in the new one upon his assumption of office. For this reason, every home makes offerings in the open air to pray for a good new year.
After the giao thua is the start of the new year with many customs and practices, amusements and entertainment, all of a distinct Vietnamese folk culture.
Day 5: FIRST DAY OF LUNAR NEW YEAR – HANOI – HUE (B/L/D)
Dress in new Vietnamese national costume: a set comprising a long dress, trousers and a turban (ladies: a choice of colours, gentlemen: black & white) individually tailored for every customer (complimentary). Pay a courtesy call (being the first visitors) at a local home for Lunar New Year greetings. Enjoy a warm party of New Year specialties at the home. In the afternoon, transfer to the airport for a short flight to Hue, a former royal capital city where centuries-old customs are still alive in daily life. Dinner and overnight in Hue.
Day 6: SECOND DAY OF LUNAR NEW YEAR – HUE – HOIAN (B/-/-)
Take a boat ride on the Perfume River to visit Thien Mu Pagoda, one of the oldest religious structures in Hue. Then overland to the Imperial Citadel, built in 1804 on a site chosen in accordance with the principles of geomancy, and a garden house, which used to be a royal property. Enjoy Hue cakes with the proprietor. In the afternoon, transfer to Hoi An (140km) with a stop-over on the Hai Van Pass overlooking the scenic Lang Co Lagoon. Arrive Hoian late afternoon. Check-in hotel upon arrival. In the evening, attend a folk show in an ancient house. Overnight in Hoi An.
Day 7: THIRD DAY OF LUNAR NEW YEAR – HOIAN - SAIGON (B/-/-)
Join a pedicab tour of lush Cam Nam Islet and attend an ancestral commemoration party at a local home. Then visit Hoi An, a centuries-old town with ancient houses, temples, markets and handicraft workshops. Transfer to Danang with a stop-over at the Non Nuoc stone-carving village where a wide variety of articles is sculptured from marble and sandstone. Take a short flight to Saigon. Check-in hotel and free for your own relaxation. Overnight in Saigon.
Day 8: SAIGON – MUI NE beach (B/-/-)
A morning city tour features the Binh Tay Market in Chinatown, Thien Hau Temple and a spring exhibition. Mingle with locals at New Year festivities, places of worship and flower markets. Leave Saigon for Mui Ne beach in Phan Thiet (200km) via a scenic road past rubber plantations. Check in the resort and free to relax. Overnight in Mui Ne.
Day 9: MUI NE BEACH RELAX (B/-/-)
Hidden among coconut trees, a chain of seaside resorts attracts every taste and all ages. Spend the whole day relaxing at a resort, or roaming over coloured sand dunes at Hon Rom. The coast offers spectacular views at sunset along the Cape Ne beach drive. Golfing at an 18-hole course is optional. Overnight in Mui Ne.
Day 10: MUI NE – SAIGON (B/-/-)
In the morning, relax by the pool side or lounge on the sandy beach. Later of the day, transfer back to Saigon (200km) with a visit to a dragon fruit farm en route. Overnight in Saigon.
Day 11: SAIGON DEPARTURE (B/-/-)
Spend last minutes for downtown shopping (embroideries, silk, lacquerware,...) or at leisure before check-out. Transfer to the airport for departure.
We hope that you have enjoyed every minutes of this special tour and look forward to welcoming you back.
End of services.
INCLUDE:
+ English-speaking tour guides.
+ Double/Twin-shared accommodation at Standard 3-star hotels
+ Special Tet activities as mentioned in the program.
+ Meals as mentioned in the program.
+ Transfer and transportation by A/C vehicle as per program.
+ Domestic air tickets: Hanoi – Hue; Danang - Saigon and airport tax.
+ All Boat trips as mentioned in the program.
+ Admission fees to tourist sights as per program.
EXCLUDE:
+ International flights to/from Vietnam and airport tax.
+ Visa arrangement.
+ Other meals; Drinks and personal expenses (laundry, phone calls, tips, emergency transfer, etc).