Caves, Cable Cars & Lanterns: A 6-Day Family Journey from Hanoi to Hoi An

An early start from the Old Quarter, with a short break on the road, brings you to Tuan Chau Harbour late in the morning. You board a five- to six-hour cruise through the bay’s most striking passages, past uninhabited islets that local people have named over the years for the shapes they seem to hold, a game your children will take up quickly.

Lunch of local food is served on board.

The afternoon is the active half. Surprising Cave opens into chambers of stalactites and stalagmites shaped like sea creatures; Titop Island has a sandy beach at the foot of a limestone peak, with a climb to the top for the panoramic view; and at Luon Cave there is kayaking or a bamboo boat into the lagoon.

Cruising back in the late afternoon there is time on the upper deck with tea and cakes while the light softens over the water, before the drive home to Hanoi in the evening.

Note: swimming at Titop Island depends on the season. Bring swimwear, sunglasses and insect repellent. The cruise itinerary may change with weather and operating conditions, and beverages are at your own expense. This is a long day out, so an early night beforehand helps.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Overnight in Hanoi.

After breakfast, free time in the morning until your driver collects you for the flight to Da Nang and takes you on to your hotel.

The afternoon and evening are yours, and Da Nang makes them easy. My Khe Beach is one of the finest in Vietnam and the obvious first stop, best at sunset. Son Tra Night Market has street food and souvenirs for an unhurried wander. A walk along the Han River takes in the Love Bridge and the illuminated Dragon Bridge, which on Saturday and Sunday evenings breathes fire and water at 9:00 PM, worth planning the day around if you are there for it. There is also an optional evening cruise on the Han River past the lit skyline and bridges.

Meals: Breakfast.

Overnight in Da Nang.

After breakfast, an early departure from the 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 the scenery opening up beneath you.

At Gare Marseille station you reach the Golden Bridge, an architectural wonder laid across the sky like a sash, 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 France in a cluster of squares, cathedral, town, village and inns, with shows by European and American artists. Buffet lunch follows.

The afternoon is the children’s half of the day: Queen Mountain at the top of the hill, then Fantasy Park, with rides and games from the gentle to the genuinely thrilling, including the Ghost House for anyone brave enough. The Wax Museum and its forty-odd figures are nearby. 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.

A slow morning in Da Nang, with time for My Khe Beach, a stroll along the Han River, Han Market or a Vietnamese coffee at a local café. Lunch is by your own arrangement.

Around midday your guide and van collect you for Cam Thanh Coconut Village, where the whole family takes a turn as local fishermen, learning traditional fishing techniques and how to row the distinctive Vietnamese bamboo basket boat along the quiet coconut palm waterways. The activities are hands-on, safe and suitable for everybody, and they give a genuine window into country life here.

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 explains the practice of ancestor worship. The old houses of Phung Hung and Tan Ky have withstood two hundred years of weather and war, and your guide tells the story of the merchant families who lived in them and traded 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 join the Japanese quarter to the Chinese community across the water, its carvings each carrying their own meaning. There is time afterwards for the handicraft shops, the galleries and the smaller laneways.

Dinner follows, with Hoi An specialties on the table, then a boat ride on the Hoai River where each of your family can release a flower lantern and make a wish for good luck. 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.

On the last day of the journey, enjoy free time at leisure until your family transfers to the airport (driver only, without guide) for your departure flight.

The lantern you let go of the Hoai River is still out there somewhere. Everything else fits in the suitcase.

End of services.