What if you could explore Vietnam with a small group of like minded travelers? You can when you join Girls Who Travel for a once-in-a-lifetime experience that takes you from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.
Sail through limestone karsts aboard a traditional junk boat and walk the streets of imperial capitals. From vibrant Hanoi, the natural beauty of Halong Bay, the atmospheric imperial capital of Huế, and the charms of Hoi An to the modern day life of Saigon, experience the energy of Vietnam in 10 jam-packed days.
WHAT YOU GET
- Curated 10 days of travel across Vietnam
- Travel in a small group with other like-minded Girls Who Travel community members
- Local tour guide
- Built in free time to explore on your own
- Dedicated Girls Who Travel trip lead
- Private Facebook group to connect with your fellow travelers before and after the trip
- Custom Girls Who Travel trip swag
- Free copy of the Girls Who Travel Safety For Women Travel Course
- "What To Expect" guide to help you pack and prepare
- The trip and memories of a lifetime!
A TRIP THAT DOES MORE
This trip supports the Girls Who Travel mission and promise of redefining travel to be inclusive, sustainable, and empowering. If you’re looking for a trip that does more and leaves a positive impact, this is the one!
- All of the services used to create this tour are locally owned
- Activities directly benefit the community
- Associated with Planeterra, the leading non-profit using community tourism to change lives.
March 23-February 3, 2024
$1,099 USD per person based on double occupancy
Single room upgrade available for $319 (does not include night 2 - overnight boat- and night 3 -overnight train)
Price does not include flights
$350 non-refundable deposit
Meet Carli
Hi! I'm Carli, I'll be your Girls Who Travel trip leader for this amazing Explore Vietnam tour. I'm so excited to go on this trip with you and to experience all that Vietnam has to offer. But we'll get to know each other long before you land in Vietnam. As soon as you sign up, I'll be with you every step of the way to make sure you've got what you need to get ready for the trip.
I can't wait to meet you and make the best travel memories together!
Itinerary
Day 1 - Arrival
Hanoi
There are no planned activities today until an evening welcome meeting. After the meeting, opt for dinner out with the group.
Welcome Meeting - Meet your guide and fellow Girls Who Travel travelers!
Day 2
Hanoi/Ha Long
Enjoy a Ha Long Bay cruise on a junk boat with visits to a cave and an island lookout. Savour a seafood lunch and dinner.
Drive to Bai Chay harbour, the jumping off point for Ha Long Bay. Thousands of islands with intricate cave systems rise dramatically from the waters. Sail past limestone karst mountains in the junk boat and stop to visit some of the islands and caves.
In the evening, devour a seafood dinner, then opt to enjoy a drink on deck under the stars.
Hanoi to Hạ Long Bay (3 hours)
Shared Van
Climb aboard and make friends with your seatmate en route to the next stop.
Ha Long
Junk Boat
On rare occasion Halong Bay is closed to tourist vessels by the government authorities due to extreme weather conditions. Should this occur, an alternate activity will be provided.
Meals included:
Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner
Day 3
Ha Long/Huế
Enjoy breakfast and lunch on board before sailing back to the port and return to Hanoi. Enjoy some time in the city before an overnight train to Hue. Interested in local cuisine? Opt to pre-book the "Hanoi Foodie Culture Tour" activity with us!
Hanoi
Spend a few hours in the afternoon exploring this beautiful capital city. Visit some shops, have a bia hoi on a street corner or grab a coffee in a lakeside café.
Hanoi to Huế (13-14 hours)
Basic Overnight Train (beds)
Hạ Long Bay to Hanoi (4 hours)
Private Vehicle
Meals included:
Breakfast | Lunch
Day 4
Huế
Guided tour of the Imperial Citadel, Royal Tomb and Tien Mu Pagoda.
Arrive early to Hue, once the imperial capital of Vietnam. Start the day with a visit to the Tien Mu Pagoda followed by a visit to the tomb of one of Vietnam’s former emperors. After, opt for a vegetarian lunch at a local nunnery.
While in the city, try some local Hue specialties such as banh khoai (Hue savoury pancakes), and banh bot loc boc tom thit (thin rice paper filled with meat and shrimp). Wash it all down with a Hue beer.
Opt to pre-book the "Hue Motorbike Tour" with us to add a little more excitement to your day!
Tien Mu Pagoda Visit
Imperial Citadel Tour
Tour this one-time capital city and UNESCO World Heritage site. See the walled fortress and former palace, which has many palaces, gateways, courtyards, and gardens to explore. The Forbidden Purple City (modelled on China's Forbidden City) inside the citadel was once home to the imperial family and was significantly damaged during the Vietnam War.
Royal Tombs Visit
Day 5
Huế/Hoi An
Drive the Hai Van pass. Take advantage of Hoi An's many options over the 2.5 days in town. Opt for a cooking class, riverboat trip, bike ride, beach time, tailor visit or My Son ruins.
Cross the Hai Van Pass (weather permitting), with fantastic views in all directions, before arriving to Hoi An in the afternoon.
With three nights here, there's plenty of time to explore all this charming town has to offer.
Huế to Hoi An (4 hours)
Private Vehicle
Hoi An
Free Time
Meals included:
Breakfast
Day 6
Hoi An
Explore all Hoi An has to offer. Dive into the culture, hang out on the beach or get clothes tailor-made in one of the many shops around town. Enjoy a noodle making demonstration and lunch at Oodles of Noodles!
Oodles of Noodles
Free Time
Day 7
Spend a free day exploring all Hoi An has to offer.
Hoi An
There's plenty to see and do in Hoi An, and we wanted to make sure that you had some time to take it all in. Feel free to relax so you're ready for the rest of your trip or try optional activities like learning about Vietnamese cuisine with a cooking class, trying your hand at making traditional lanterns, and visiting the ruins of My Son. Your tour guide has more ideas if you need them. Just ask!
Day 8
Hoi An/Ho Chi Minh City
Fly from Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh City with free time to explore this hectic city.
Drive to Da Nang for the flight to Ho Chi Minh City, once the capital of South Vietnam and the country’s commercial centre. Start exploring the small alleys and busy streets, keeping an eye out for laquerware shops and delicious local food stalls.
Hoi An – Ho Chi Minh City (1 hour)
Plane
Meals included:
Breakfast
Day 9
Ho Chi Minh City
Enjoy a guided tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels and learn more about the Vietnam War. Use free time in the afternoon to explore sprawling Ho Chi Minh City.
With some free time in the city, opt to visit the Thien Hau and Giac Vien pagodas and stroll through the immense Ben Thanh Market. Also well worth a visit are the Reunification Palace (the residence of South Vietnam presidents before 1975), the city's Chinese quarter of Cholon, and the War Remnants Museum.
Cu Chi Tunnels Guided Tour
Take a guided tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels, a complex network of tunnels that the Viet Cong lived in to protect themselves from opposing forces during the Vietnam War. Try crawling through some of the tunnels (if you’re not claustrophobic). These tunnels stored ammunition, had underground hospitals, and served as a hidden base for attacking allied forces.
Free Time
Meals included:
Breakfast
Day 10
Ho Chi Minh City
Depart at any time.
Not ready to leave? Your tour guide can help with travel arrangements to extend your adventure.
Meals included:
Breakfast
WHAT'S INCLUDED
- Welcome Meeting - Meet Your tour guide and Group
- Your Discover Moment: Hoi An
- Halong Bay caves entrance
- Halong Bay boat cruise with seafood lunch and dinner
- Imperial Citadel and Tomb entrance (Huế)
- Cu Chi Tunnels entrance and tour
- Internal flight
- All transport between destinations and to/from included activities
Accommodations
Hotels (7 nts), sleeper train (1 nt), junk boat (1 nt).
Meals
8 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 1 dinner
Allow USD100-130 for meals not included.
Transportation
Train, air-conditioned bus, boat, plane.
Staff & experts
Local guides.
February 23 - March 3, 2024
$1,099 USD per person based on double occupancy
Single room upgrade available for $319 (does not include night 2 - overnight boat- and night 3 -overnight train)
Price does not include flights
$350 non-refundable deposit
Girls Who Travel & G Adventures
We partnered with G Adventures for this trip. Talk about a match made in heaven! Girls Who Travel is the leader in women's travel communities. We don't want to just help women travel, we're working to redefine travel so that every woman has the opportunity to see the world and discover just how powerful, wise, and connected she is. We focus on education that ensures travel is safe - not just for the travelers, but for the communities they visit and for the world.
Guess what, G Adventures is the leader in small group travel for more than 30 years. How have they done that? By redefining the way travelers see the world. They create flexible and affordable trips that give back to the places they visit with locally based guides, connecting travelers with the local community, and using tourism dollars to support the people and places they visit.
Together, we're going to make sure this is a trip that you never forget and you come away with memories and friendships that will stay with you forever.
