Thanks to the tropical climate, the long coast and the gigantic range of mountains, Vietnam is blessed with numerous varieties of culinary offerings and consequently maintains a reputation as one of the healthiest cuisines in the world that still packs a punch.

Vietnamese food relies on fresh fish, vegetables, rice and a myriad of verdant herbs and spices; lemongrass, ginger, basil and lime all play an important role in the cuisine. The Chinese and French influence is felt throughout the country, where you are just as likely to be offered a banh mi (stuffed baguette) as you are pho (noodle soup).

Be sure to also seek out the national beverages. Vietnamese coffee is served iced and sweet with condensed milk, and beer hoi (local beer, brewed daily) is served on most street corners in the north out of large plastic jugs that are perfect for sharing.

Food is cheap in Vietnam, and you can generally avoid the spicier food if you wish. Western food is readily available almost everywhere, except in the Mekong Delta.

Vegetarian food is widely available; however, the offering will be fairly similar in most places. Please advise at time of booking if you have any dietary requirements.

Step through fortified gates to explore Hue’s Imperial Citadel, with audience halls, lotus ponds and traces of the Forbidden Purple City evoking Nguyen-dynasty ceremony.

Continue to Thien Mu Pagoda, its octagonal tower poised above the Perfume River. Your guide weaves tales of emperors, mandarins and wartime tumult as incense drifts and temple bells punctuate the riverside hush.

Taste northern Vietnam’s bold, fresh flavours as you meet your group for a hosted welcome meal in Hanoi. Guided by your Tour Leader, sample classics such as bun cha, cha ca and crisp spring rolls, raised with a glass of local bia hoi.

Set in a city of tree-lined boulevards and buzzy pavements, this convivial first night blends meet your Tour Leader moments with sample northern Vietnamese dishes. Expect the aromas of street-side grills and the light bitterness of bia hoi to set the tone for the adventure ahead.

Explore Hanoi’s cultural layers on a guided city tour taking in Hoa Lo Prison, the Confucian courtyards of the Temple of Literature, and an orientation of the Old Quarter’s 36 streets.

Hear stories spanning monarchs, revolution and French Indochina as you navigate guild streets still named for traditional trades. Expect incense curls, ochre facades and scooter-hum energy, with time to pause for photos and reflection by Hoan Kiem’s lakeside temples.

Trek through quilted rice terraces and bamboo groves in Hoa Binh Province, linking hamlets around Xom Chien. Along the way, visit a family farm to learn about traditional planting, irrigation and harvesting techniques still shaping daily life.

Guided by locals from the Muong community, you’ll trek among hill villages with panoramic views over Lung Van, the Valley of the Cloud. Hear the soft clang of cattle bells and the rustle of palms as you pause for photos and reflection on ridgeline paths.

Experience an intimate traditional music show hosted by your village hosts in Xom Chien, where folk melodies animate stories of harvests, courtship and highland life.

Performed in a shared longhouse setting, the evening blends rhythmic bamboo percussion with gentle vocals and communal warmth. It’s a window into Muong folk culture that complements daytime trekking, inviting you to connect over simple songs, laughter and the flicker of oil lamps.

Cruise the UNESCO-listed Ha Long Bay, gliding past limestone towers that rise from emerald waters. From your traditional junk, kayak beneath limestone karsts into quiet lagoons and sheltered coves reachable only by small craft.

Between island silhouettes and shifting light, watch fishing boats trace the horizon and seabirds wheel overhead. Return to the sundeck for sea breezes and, if conditions permit, savour the hush of sunset over the bay before anchoring amid the karst amphitheatre.

Visit Emperor Tu Duc’s Mausoleum, a serene complex of pavilions, courtyards and a pine-fringed lake designed as both retreat and resting place.

Stroll causeways where the emperor composed poetry and oversaw landscaping that mirrors classical Chinese ideals. Ornate stelae, carved gateways and royal pavilions reveal the aesthetics of the late Nguyen dynasty, framed by whispering pines and lily-dotted water.

Drive the storied Hai Van Pass, the ‘Pass of Ocean Clouds’, pausing to admire Lang Co lagoon, coastal sands and forested ridgelines that once marked a climatic and cultural boundary.

Continue to the Marble Mountains to climb steps into cool grottoes and pagodas carved from stone. War-era history lingers in cave chambers used as a field hospital, while summits reward you with stretching views over My Khe beach and Da Nang.

Walk the Ancient Town of Hoi An on an orientation walking tour, where wooden merchant houses and pagoda-temples line narrow lanes ribboned with silks.

Hear how centuries of Japanese, Chinese and European traders shaped facades, guild halls and quaysides. As lanterns sway above canals, your guide points out craft traditions and flavours to seek later, grounding the stroll in living heritage rather than museum-piece nostalgia.

Explore the Cu Chi tunnels at the Ben Dinh section, where enlarged passages allow you to crawl through the underground network that once sheltered Viet Cong fighters.

Above ground, see trapdoor camouflages and exhibits that decode tactics, supply routes and ingenuity. Underground, earth-cooled air and dim light evoke the spirit of guerrilla warfare, bringing recent history into sharp human focus.

Cycle quiet backroads through the Mekong Delta from My Tho to Cai Be, pedalling beneath coconut palms and over small canals where river life unfolds at handlebar height.

Dubbed the Rice Bowl of Vietnam, this fertile region yields mangoes, jackfruit and sugar cane, with friendly stops for tropical fruit tastings. Expect flat terrain, village scenes and a relaxed pace that favours pause for photos and reflection.

Glide by boat to the Cai Rang floating market, the Delta’s most animated trading hub, where a maze of produce-laden boats gathers in the morning light.

Watch sellers hoist pineapples, melons and gourds on tall poles to advertise goods at a glance — a traditional trading technique unique to river commerce. Photographers relish water reflections and candid scenes of breakfast noodles ladled boat-to-boat.

Cruise to family-run workshops around Cai Be to visit cottage industries crafting rice paper, puffed rice and coconut sweets.

See bubbling pans and hand-pulled confections before enjoying popped rice and coconut candy, plus optional rice wine tastings. Your guide explains how shifting trade routes are reshaping small enterprises while centuries-old techniques endure along the canals.

Discover the contrasts of Vietnam’s south on a guided city tour featuring the Reunification Palace, the sobering galleries of the War Remnants Museum and colonial-era Notre Dame Cathedral.

From Cold War command rooms to photographs that chronicle conflict’s cost, narratives converge on the moment of the fall of Saigon in 1975. Outside, motorbikes stream past incense-laced temples and glassy towers, underscoring a city constantly in motion.

Attend a performance of water puppets, an 11th-century Red River Delta tradition where wooden figures skim the water’s surface to enact village folktales. This is an optional experience at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Puppeteers work waist-deep behind a screen while a live traditional orchestra underscores harvest scenes and dragon lore with bamboo flutes, drums and cymbals. The result is playful, ingenious theatre rooted in Vietnam’s agrarian past.