For many, the culinary offerings in Vietnam are a highlight. Across the country, the influence of the Chinese and French is still strong and you’re just as likely to be offered a banh mi (stuffed baguette) as you are a flavour-packed bowl of pho (noodle soup).

Be sure to seek out the national beverages: Vietnamese coffee is served iced and sweet with condensed milk, a real sugar and caffeine hit, 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 dishes if you wish. Western food is readily available almost everywhere, except for the night in the Mekong Delta.

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

Drift into Vietnam’s ‘rice bowl’ on a river journey. Board a wooden boat on the Mekong River from Vinh Long to Cai Be, passing fruit orchards and stilted homes, and sample coconut candy and rice-paper at family workshops along quiet canals.

At dusk, share a home-cooked island dinner with your hosts before turning in at a simple guesthouse. The Delta hospitality, night insects and soft river breeze frame an intimate window onto rural life.

Explore Hanoi’s historic heart on a guided immersion. Visit the scholarly Temple of Literature, the solemn Hoa Lo Prison (Maison Centrale) and the maze-like Old Quarter, where narrow guild streets hum with food stalls, market chatter and the ballet of scooters.

On the Presidential Palace grounds, step into Ho Chi Minh’s stilt house to glimpse the modest lifestyle of Vietnam’s revolutionary leader. Stories of Confucian learning, colonial-era incarceration and modern street life reveal a city balancing memory with momentum.

Cruise a UNESCO seascape of limestone pillars and hidden coves. Cruise Ha Long Bay aboard a traditional junk boat, drifting past mist-wreathed karsts and floating villages. Savor freshly prepared seafood and watch sunset over the bay from the open top deck.

Go ashore to climb a forested isle for sweeping views and pause for a swim in emerald water. Sleep in a twin-share cabin as gentle waves tap the hull—an atmospheric way to experience Vietnam’s most cinematic landscape.

Explore the Nguyen dynasty’s walled capital. Enter the Imperial Citadel via ornate gates to courtyards, audience halls and the evocative ruins of the Forbidden Purple City. Dragon motifs, lacquered wood and lotus ponds hint at imperial ceremony and courtly life.

At the riverbank, the seven-tiered Thien Mu Pagoda anchors Hue’s skyline. Hear how sections of the Citadel were scarred during the Tet Offensive, and view the Austin car linked to monk Thich Quang Duc’s 1963 self-immolation.

Visit the poetic resting place of a scholar-emperor. Walk shaded paths to the Tu Duc Mausoleum, a landscaped retreat of lotus-dappled lakes, pine groves and pavilions where the Nguyen ruler once wrote poetry and staged performances.

Completed in 1867 after vast expenditure, the complex sparked unrest and even an attempted coup. Intricate reliefs, stele inscriptions and serene temples reveal imperial ritual, personal melancholy and the aesthetics of a ruler who prized verse as much as power.

Climb a cluster of marble-limestone hills named for the five elements. Climb the Marble Mountains via stone steps to cavern shrines where sunbeams pierce incense haze, and explore Viet Cong hospital caves that once hid supplies and treated the wounded.

Emerge to broad views over My Khe Beach and Da Nang’s coast, then pass artisan hamlets famed for stone carving. The blend of Buddhist sanctuaries and war-era history makes this an arresting stop between Hue and Hoi An.

Walk a preserved trading port shaped by Asia’s merchants. Stroll Hoi An Ancient Town to see timber shop-houses, the arched Japanese Covered Bridge and incense-scented Chinese Assembly Halls, threaded by lantern-lit alleys along the Thu Bon River.

Step into a heritage merchant home to admire carved beams and mother-of-pearl inlay, and browse the riverside market. Tailor shops continue Hoi An’s cloth trade, while UNESCO status safeguards the cross-cultural character of this graceful town.

Explore Vietnam’s foremost Cham site in a lush valley. Visit My Son Sanctuary to wander red-brick Cham towers, weathered by jungle and time, where Hindu deities presided over royal rites.

From the 4th to 13th centuries these sanctuaries honored Shiva; war-time bombing damaged many structures, yet intricate lintels and linga-yoni altars endure. UNESCO inscription recognizes both spiritual resonance and mortar-less engineering.

Survey Saigon’s layered history on foot. Enter the Reunification Palace, admire the neo-Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral, and reflect within the War Remnants Museum, whose compelling exhibits trace the human cost of conflict.

At Ben Thanh Market, stalls brim with spices, coffee and lacquerware as vendors trade with practiced rhythm. French avenues, bold modern towers and temple courtyards reveal a metropolis balancing ambition with remembrance.

Go underground into a wartime labyrinth. Explore the Cu Chi Tunnels, a 75-mile (121km) network of narrow passages, hidden trapdoors, kitchens and air vents that supported guerrilla strategy northwest of Ho Chi Minh City.

Surface exhibits include rusting tanks and recreated booby traps. Those comfortable with confined spaces can crawl through widened sections to sense the heat, closeness and resilience required to live and fight below ground.

Glide through backwater channels by traditional craft. Board a traditional sampan to slip along palm-shaded canals, brushing past fruit orchards and river hamlets where morning routines unfold inches from the waterline.

Step ashore at a colorful Cao Dai temple to learn about this 1926 syncretic faith—blending Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and Christianity—identified by the all-seeing eye emblem. The mix of quiet waterways and vivid ritual captures the Delta’s spiritual mosaic.

Watch lacquered figures skim a liquid stage. Enjoy a traditional water puppet performance, an art form from the Red River Delta where puppeteers stand waist-deep behind a screen as scenes of village life unfold to drumbeats and the twang of the dan bau.

Live musicians accompany humorous vignettes, fireworks and splashing dragons. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour with your leader; seat availability can vary by season.

Paddle close to limestone walls and secret coves. Take a guided sea kayaking excursion on Ha Long Bay, gliding beneath towering karsts and into tranquil inlets unreachable by larger boats.

All equipment and life vests are provided; routes are chosen for calm conditions. This optional activity is weather-dependent, at additional cost, and can be booked on tour with your leader.

Pedal quiet lanes from town to sea. Join a guided countryside ride past rice paddies, water buffalo and village shrines, finishing at the sands of Cua Dai Beach for a breezy coastal pause.

Bikes and helmets are supplied; routes follow mostly flat terrain with frequent stops for photos. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour with your leader.

Taste northern Vietnamese cuisine at a convivial start to your journey. Meet your Tour Director and share a group welcome dinner in a locally run restaurant amid the lantern-lit lanes of Hanoi’s Old Quarter. Aromatic herbs and wok-fire aromas set an energising mood.

Sample bun cha, cha ca turmeric fish and crisp spring rolls, perhaps with a frosty glass of bia hoi or sweet egg coffee. The menu showcases Hanoi’s balance of fresh herbs and charcoal-kissed depth, shaped by imperial traditions and subtle French accents.