• 11 Breakfast (B)
• 4 Lunch (L)
• 2 Dinner (D)

• Bangkok: A modular trip means fellow travellers will join and leave at various locations. There’ll be some goodbyes, sure, but there’ll also be plenty of hellos with new like-minded travellers.
• Danang: Vietnam is wonderful to visit year-round. But the best time to visit depends on what you wanna do, and where in Vietnam you wanna go.Generally, April & May are thought to be the best months to visit Vietnam because of the beautifully bright weather. Between December and March is a slightly cooler period. So if hiking, or city-dwelling is what you want, that’s the best time to visit. And if you wanna avoid the crowds, off-season tends to be between April and June or September to November.
• Danang: The currency used in Vietnam (that can buy you a wholesome, delicious bowl of Pho) is the Vietnamese dong (?).
• Danang: Planning to visit Vietnam to taste all the wholesome flavours? Aren’t we all?You’ll find plenty of street food stop-offs, serving up freshly made gems including rice, noodle and battered pancake-based dishes, plus the world-famous Pho. Pork is a common feature of Vietnamese cuisine. Generally, Vietnamese food isn’t too spicy (except if your dish has fresh chillies in it!) Oh, and the best thing about the food here? It’s very very cheap.
• Danang: When you travel with Contiki, your accommodation, in-country transport and breakfasts are all included with the cost of your trip. So when it comes to budgeting, you only need to worry about your shopping! Luckily, Vietnam is heralded as an extremely affordable tourist destination too. As a rough guide, you should easily get by on US $50-80 a day.
• Danang: We’ll be visiting some traditional tourist hotspots – so don’t forget to keep your shoulders covered (it’s customary in Vietnam, and will probably be insisted). For all that beach exploration, it’s generally acceptable for tourists to dress in the swimwear of their choice.Vietnam tends to get very hot & humid, so make sure you pack lots of loose-fitting clothes made from a lightweight and breathable material. Big up the baggy shirts!
• Danang: Tipping is pretty common in Vietnam’s tourism and hospitality sectors. Usually you’ll pay 10% of the total bill, which will amount to roughly $1-5.
• Danang: On some days, the Free Time Add-Ons will be during different times. So you’ll be able to do them all! But on some days, you might have to pick just one. Don’t worry, your Trip Manager will do their best to manage all of this for you, and will be able to give you all the details you might need.
• Danang: You can bring one bag or suitcase of 73cm x 50cm x 25cm (29” x 20” x 10”), with a max weight of 20kg (44lbs) – plus one piece of hand luggage suitable as a carry-on for flights. Since our trips have included flights, your luggage needs to meet the weight & security restrictions imposed by airlines. On this trip, it’s necessary to use an overnight bag on the occasional nights when it’s not possible to access your luggage (overnight trips to Special Stays). It’s a good idea to bring an overnight bag, or hand luggage that’s big enough to double up as an overnighter when needed.
• Danang: Currently, the Golden Hands Bridge isn’t included on our itinerary. But that means, you get a free day to explore Hoi An – which you REALLY don’t wanna miss out on.The Bridge is part of a theme park called ‘Sun World Ba Na Hills’ and is about a 2-hour drive away from where we stay in Hoi An (and tends to be incredibly crowded!). But if you really wanna visit the bridge, you can always ask your Trip Manager who’ll sort it out for you!

• Mekong River Delta: Grab your buddies and take a shot at catching an elephant ear fish for dinner. FYI: it tastes better than it looks. 
• Mekong River Delta: Watch and learn as local craftspeople make rice wine, tea, sweets and more local delicacies. 
• Ho Chi Minh City: Brave this subterranean world. The hand-dug tunnels were built by the Viet Cong to hide out during the war. 
• Ho Chi Minh City: Tick off all of the landmarks on your bucket list – Notre Dame Cathedral, General Post Office and the Presidential Palace. 
• Ho Chi Minh City: A meaningful reminder of the atrocities of the Vietnam War and its impact on local people and wildlife. 
• Hoi An: This 15th century port and UNESCO site is best explored on two wheels with a local expert. Don’t forget your Go-Pro! 
• Da Nang: Next stop, Hanoi. But before we hit the streets, it’s time to hit the sky one more time.
• Hanoi:
  Step inside KOTO Restaurant  and enjoy a high-quality meal with a twist where you’re helping young, at-risk Vietnamese trainees sharpen their hospitality skills. KOTO (AKA  Know One, Teach One) is Vietnam’s first social enterprise, offering a 24-month free training program for disadvantaged youth, with a special focus on empowering women. 

  By eating here, you’re supporting more than just a meal. KOTO equips trainees with hospitality, entrepreneurship, and leadership skills, opening doors to long-term careers and breaking cycles of poverty. Each year, over 100 young people get a shot at realising their dreams—all while serving up delicious, expertly crafted dishes.

• Hanoi: Listen up culture-lovers. This shrine – dedicated to ancient philosopher Confucius – is known as ‘Vietnam’s first university’. 
• Hanoi: Take a look at the resting place of Vietnamese revolutionary leader and President Ho Chi Minh. This is where he, along with his party, declared the independence of Vietnam.
• Ninh Binh: Cool tropical breeze. Lush-green landscapes. And an unforgettable view of the sunrise over the shimmery silhouette.
• Halong Bay: Grab your new BFFs and hang out in this mini paradise. The powdery sand and turquoise waters will bless you with #islandvibes 
• Halong Bay: The best way to drift off into dreamy sleep? Drifting along the Gulf of Tonkin in a traditional Chinese-style Junk Boat, of course!
• Halong Bay: Yet another work of art from Mother Nature. These huge underground caves are made for exploring. But can you spot the ‘mammoth’?

Cook up to four traditional Vietnamese dishes in an optional class in Hoi An. Take a hands-on approach to the ingredients and techniques behind local food, rather than simply choosing a dish from a menu.

Hoi An’s cuisine reflects the town’s long history as a trading port and its connection to fresh regional produce. This experience gives food-minded travellers a closer look at Vietnamese flavours and is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Contiki

Travel by traditional boat along the Mekong Delta’s waterways, passing riverside homes and lush vegetation. Visit local makers to see how rice paper and regional delicacies are prepared, and sample rice whisky.

Experience the delta’s everyday hospitality at a local homestay, with a home-cooked meal and live music. There is also a chance to try catching elephant ear fish, a species associated with the region’s cuisine.

Discover central Ho Chi Minh City on a sightseeing tour taking in landmarks such as Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Central Post Office and the former Presidential Palace, now known as the Reunification Palace. The streets reveal layers of colonial architecture and modern city life.

Visit the War Remnants Museum for a sobering examination of the Vietnam War and its effects on people and the environment. Together, these stops offer contrasting perspectives on the city’s past and present.

Explore Hoi An by bicycle with a local expert, taking in the streets and historic architecture of this former trading port. Visit an old house and see the mix of Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and European influences that gives the town its distinctive character.

Hoi An’s well-preserved Ancient Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its merchant buildings, tiled roofs and tailoring tradition speak to centuries of trade, making a ride through town as culturally rewarding as it is scenic.

Dine at KOTO Restaurant in Hanoi, where a meal supports young Vietnamese people training for careers in hospitality. Enjoy food prepared and served in a working restaurant that puts practical learning at the heart of the experience.

KOTO stands for Know One, Teach One. The social enterprise provides free training for disadvantaged and at-risk youth, combining professional skills with a pathway towards employment. Eating here offers a direct way to support that work.

Visit Hanoi’s Temple of Literature, a Confucian complex of courtyards, gateways and traditional architecture. Walk through the grounds to discover a place devoted to scholarship and the honouring of learning.

Founded in 1070, the temple later became associated with the Imperial Academy, often described as Vietnam’s first university. Its stone stelae record the names of successful scholars, offering a glimpse of the importance education held in imperial Vietnam.

See the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi’s Ba Ðình Square, the monumental resting place of Vietnam’s revolutionary leader. Take in the setting of one of the capital’s most significant civic landmarks.

Ba Ðình Square is where Ho Chi Minh proclaimed Vietnamese independence in 1945. The mausoleum and surrounding square remain important places of national remembrance, adding historical depth to an exploration of Hanoi. The itinerary does not specify entry inside the mausoleum.

Climb roughly 500 steps above the Múa Cave area in Ninh Bình for a sweeping view of the surrounding countryside. From the limestone ridge, look out across waterways, fields and the region’s steep karst formations.

The climb is a more active way to experience a landscape often called “H? Long Bay on land”. Bring a camera for the layered cliffs and broad valley views; the elevated vantage point makes the scale of Ninh Bình’s scenery especially clear.

Spend time on Ti Top Island during the H? Long Bay cruise, with a chance to take in its small beach and the limestone-island scenery around it. The stop offers a different perspective on the bay from the view aboard the boat.

Surrounded by the Gulf of Tonkin’s karst formations, the island pairs a sandy shoreline with open views across the water. It is a place to pause amid H? Long Bay’s distinctive landscape and appreciate its quieter details up close.

Explore Sung Sot Cave in H? Long Bay, walking through spacious underground chambers within one of the bay’s limestone islands. Look for sculptural rock formations and the shapes visitors pick out in the cave walls.

Known in English as Surprise Cave, Sung Sot reveals another side of the karst landscape visible from the boat. Its chambers and formations were shaped over immense stretches of geological time, making the visit a close-up encounter with the processes behind the bay’s scenery.

Ride in a Vietnamese bamboo basket boat during an optional cultural outing in the Hoi An area. These round craft offer a distinctly different experience from a conventional riverboat, sitting low on the water as they are paddled along.

Basket boats are a familiar sight in coastal central Vietnam, where they have long been used by fishing communities. A ride offers a close-up introduction to that local tradition. The activity is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

See Hanoi after dark from the back of a motorbike on an optional city tour. Experience the movement and street-level energy of the capital as traffic flows past illuminated shops and evening gathering places.

A motorbike ride offers a different perspective from exploring on foot, bringing you into the rhythm of a city where two-wheeled travel is part of daily life. This evening experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Cycle through villages around Vân Long on an optional Ninh Bình adventure, taking in rural scenery at an easy-to-observe pace. Continue by sampan through waterways bordered by greenery and limestone formations.

The area’s karst scenery has earned Ninh Bình the nickname “H? Long Bay on land”. Combining a bicycle ride with a small-boat journey gives two perspectives on its villages, wetlands and cliffs. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Explore the C? Chi Tunnels outside Ho Chi Minh City and see concealed entrances, wartime traps and sections of the hand-dug underground network. Travellers who wish to can enter a narrow tunnel section for a sense of its confined conditions.

Used by Viet Cong fighters during the Vietnam War, the tunnels formed part of a much larger network beneath the countryside. This visit offers a tangible perspective on the ingenuity and hardship of wartime life.

Cruise H? Long Bay aboard a Chinese-style junk boat, travelling among limestone islands in the Gulf of Tonkin. Look out for forested cliffs, sheltered lagoons and grottoes while spending the night on the water.

This UNESCO-listed seascape is shaped by thousands of limestone formations rising from the bay. A seafood dinner and time on deck at sunset make the boat stay more than a sightseeing cruise, with the changing light revealing new contours in the islands.