8 Days, Three Vietnams: Halong’s Karst, Hoi An’s Lanterns & Phu Quoc’s Coral

After breakfast, an early departure from the Old Quarter runs to the coast by expressway, with a short break on the way. You board at Tuan Chau Harbour late morning for a five- to six-hour cruise through the bay’s most striking passages — uninhabited islets and outcrops, each named by locals for the shapes they seem to hold — with lunch of local food on board.

The afternoon brings Surprising Cave, its chambers full of stalactites and stalagmites shaped like sea creatures, then Titop Island, where a sandy beach sits below a limestone mountain and the climb to Titop Peak gives the panoramic view the bay is famous for.

At Luon Cave there is kayaking or a bamboo boat into the lagoon beyond. Cruising back in the late afternoon, there is time on the upper deck — tea, cakes, music, the light softening over the water — before the return to Hanoi in the evening.

Note: swimming at Titop Island depends on the season, and the cruise itinerary may change according to weather and operating conditions. Swimwear, sunglasses and insect repellent are recommended. Beverages are at your own expense.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Overnight in Hanoi.

After a relaxed morning, a private transfer takes you to the airport for the flight to Da Nang.

You are welcomed on arrival and taken to your hotel, with check-in as per the hotel’s standard time. The remainder of the day is free — to explore the coast, or simply to enjoy a quiet evening.

Meals: Breakfast.

Overnight in Da Nang.

Around midday your guide and van collect you from your hotel, beginning at Cam Thanh Coconut Village. Here you step into the role of a local fisherman, learning traditional fishing techniques and how to row the distinctive Vietnamese bamboo basket boat through the tranquil coconut palm waterways — hands-on activities that are safe, interesting and suitable for everybody, and a genuine window into the local way of life.

In the early afternoon you continue to Hoi An Old Town, beginning at the Phuc Kien Chinese Assembly Hall with its bright gates, dragon statues and elaborate rooftops, then Hoi An Central Market and a family altar where your guide introduces the practice of ancestor worship. The town’s remarkably preserved old houses — Phung Hung and Tan Ky among them — have withstood two hundred years of weather and war, and your guide explains the prosperous merchants who lived there, trading with buyers from around the world.

The Museum of Folk Culture and a performance at the Traditional Performing Arts House follow, then the Japanese Bridge, built more than four hundred years ago to connect the Japanese community with the Chinese who lived across the water, its carvings and paintings each carrying their own symbolism.

There is time afterwards for the handicraft shops, art galleries and smaller laneways where much of Hoi An’s charm still lives.

Dinner follows, with Hoi An specialties on the table, then a boat ride on the Hoai River to release flower lanterns and pray for good luck for you and your family. Lantern street and the night market fill the rest of the evening before the return to Da Nang.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner.

Overnight in Da Nang.

After breakfast, an early departure from Da Nang city centre takes you up to Ba Na Hills, the Sa Pa of central Vietnam, 1,487 metres above sea level, rising by a cable car that holds four Guinness World Records with marvellous scenery opening beneath you.

At Gare Marseille station you reach the Golden Bridge, an architectural wonder envisaging a sash-like route across heaven, alongside Linh Ung Pagoda and Le Jardin d’Amour gardens. A second cable car carries you to the summit and the French Village, a replica of classical and romantic France in a cluster of squares, cathedral, town, village and inns, with shows by European and American artists.

Buffet lunch follows.

The afternoon is free for Queen Mountain, the thrill rides and games of Fantasy Park, and the Wax Museum with its forty-odd figures. The cable car returns you to the valley in the mid-afternoon for the drive back to Da Nang.

Note: the Ba Na Hills programme may be adjusted to your requirements or the day’s conditions. Entrance to the Wax Statue Museum, the France Wine Cellar, the roller coaster, climbing games, prize games and the 10D cinema are not included.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Overnight in Da Nang.

Free time at leisure until your driver collects you for the transfer to the airport and the flight to Phu Quoc.

Welcome to the island. Your driver meets you on arrival and takes you to your hotel. The balance of the day is free at leisure.

Meals: Breakfast.

Overnight in Phu Quoc.

An early pickup takes you to Vinh Dam port, with a stop at a pearl farm along the way, before a speedboat carries you out into the archipelago.

May Rut Trong is the first stop, for swimming and a flycam video, followed by May Rut Ngoai, with photographs on a SUP board and more time in the water. Lunch is served at a local restaurant, with water sports available afterwards at your own expense. At Gam Ghi you swim with a life vest and snorkel over the natural coral reefs.

The afternoon turns to Hon Thom and the Aquatopia water park, with more than twenty rides and six themed zones. In the late afternoon you return to the mainland by cable car — twenty minutes above An Thoi fishing village, a different perspective entirely on the south of the island — and are back at your hotel by early evening.

Included: return transfers by car and speedboat, snorkelling equipment, lunch, cable car and Aquatopia entrance, SUP photography and flycam video, travel insurance, drinking water and a local guide.

Travel tips: bring a swimsuit, towel, sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat and a change of clothes. A waterproof phone pouch is useful if you plan to snorkel, and comfortable footwear helps, as there is walking between the attractions on the islands.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch. Overnight in Phu Quoc.

On the last day of the journey, enjoy free time at leisure until your transfer to the airport (driver only, without guide) for your departure flight. The island is a deliberate place to end a journey like this: on the last morning there is nothing to look at but the water.

End of services.