8 Day Essential Vietnam - Wednesday Departure
Dates & Prices
Please Note: Land Price does not include airfare, departure or arrival transfers, airline taxes and fuel surcharges.
Start Date | End Date | Offers | Brochure Land Price | Brochure Land & Air Price | Quote |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wednesday, Apr 02, 2025 | Wednesday, Apr 09, 2025 | Get Quote | |||
Wednesday, Apr 16, 2025 | Wednesday, Apr 23, 2025 | Get Quote | |||
Wednesday, May 07, 2025 | Wednesday, May 14, 2025 | Get Quote |
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DAY 1, Wednesday - Depart for Vietnam
Depart for Vietnam
DAY 2, Thursday - Arrive in Ho Chi Minh
Arrive in Ho Chi Minh (formerly Saigon), the largest city in Vietnam. Transfer to your hotel and spend the balance of the day at leisure
Overnight: Ho Chi Minh
DAY 3, Friday - Full Day in Ho Chi Minh
Today is at leisure or, join the optional morning half day tour to Cu Chi Tunnels. They were part of an underground tunnel network built by the Viet Cong to control a large rural area near Saigon. The Cu Chi network includes 125 miles of tunnels with many branches connecting to underground hideouts, weapon factories, hospitals, shelters and other tunnels. In the afternoon, choose to participate in an optional half day tour of Ho Chi Minh City, which includes the neo-Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral, the Central Post Office with its French style architecture, City Hall, and the magnificent Saigon Opera House. From here, visit lively Ben Thanh Market. View an unbelievable assortment of wares and crafts all sold under one roof. Continue to Dong Khoi Street, a major shopping thoroughfare in the center of the city. In the evening, attend an orientation meeting with your Tour Manager at approximately 6 PM. Remainder of the evening is at leisure. Be sure to check out the diversified dining scene in this culinary rich city
Optional: Half Day Cu Chi Tunnels (AM)
Optional: Half Day Ho Chi Minh City Tour (PM)
Overnight: Ho Chi Minh
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 4, Saturday - Full Day in Ho Chi Minh
Spend another day at leisure to further explore the city on your own or, join the optional full day Mekong Delta River Tour. Today's journey into the Mekong Delta region will take you along the newly built highway, picturesque countryside and seemingly endless paddy fields. Upon arrival at My Tho, you will board a private motor boat for a fascinating cruise along the river, observing the daily life of local people on the waterways. The tour includes a visit to a coconut factory, handicraft workshop and honey bee farm. You will be introduced to the daily life of the local people, learning about local fruit and plants as well as an opportunity to sample some local tropical fruit in an orchard. The tour ends with lunch at a local restaurant by the river bank
Optional: Full Day Mekong Delta River Tour
Overnight: Ho Chi Minh
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 5, Sunday - Flight to Hanoi, Transfer to Halong Bay
Depart Ho Chi Minh on a flight to sparkling Hanoi, cultural center of the country. Upon arrival, travel overland and through the lush Vietnamese countryside to picturesque Halong Bay, considered one of Vietnam's most celebrated attractions. As you approach, you'll see thousands of limestone islands rising out of the sea creating a truly magical scene. Arrive at your hotel in Halong Bay for overnight
Overnight: Halong Bay
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 6, Monday - Cruise Halong Bay, Travel to Hanoi
Halong Bay is considered one of the most breathtaking places on the planet, added to the list of UNESCO Heritage sites and declared recently as one of the New Seven Natural Wonders of the World. There are over 3,000 islands in the emerald waters and over 1,000 have their own names. Numbers of caves and grottos of all sizes and shapes are filled with small waterfalls, stalactites and stalagmites. Sail on a traditional wooden boat on the tranquil bay with lunch served on board. Visit one of the caves and afterwards, travel to Hanoi, Vietnam's vibrant capital and check into your hotel. This city's history is tied to French colonialism. Its architecture, cuisine and local culture still bear evidence of the French influence
Overnight: Hanoi
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
DAY 7, Tuesday - Full Day in Hanoi
Spend the day at leisure discovering all of the delights of Hanoi independently, or join the optional full day tour of Hanoi City and Water Puppet Show with Lunch. Embark on a city tour of Hanoi that includes a cyclo ride around the bustling Old Quarter of Hanoi. Visit the Ho Chi Minh historic complex, and walk through its grounds to view the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (where the late president's embalmed body is displayed), the Presidential Palace, House on Stilts and One Pillar Pagoda. Afterward, learn the craft of Vietnamese cooking! Visit the local market with a chef, followed by a private cooking class. Sample and savor your personally cooked lunch. In the afternoon, visit Ngoc Son Temple, Hanoi's most visited temple and one of the city's Tube Houses, a tall dwelling with narrow frontage, to see firsthand how residents once lived. Later, attend a performance of the world-famous Water Puppet Show, accompanied by a traditional Vietnamese orchestra and Cheo (a form of opera). The show depicts a series of ancient Vietnamese folktales, acted out by puppets over a pool of water. Tonight, join your Tour Manager for a reception
Optional: Full Day Hanoi City Tour and Water Puppet Show with Lunch
Overnight: Hanoi
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 8, Wednesday - Depart Vietnam
Transfer to the airport for your departure flight
Meals: Breakfast
Please Note: Land Price does not include airfare, departure or arrival transfers, airline taxes and fuel surcharges.
OR Call Us For a Free Quote 1-800-935-2620
Please Note: Land Price does not include airfare, departure or arrival transfers, airline taxes and fuel surcharges.
Escorted Package Includes
Other departure cities available.
Special Features
♦ Flights from the USA may arrive on DAY 3.
†Transfers are available for purchase for land only or on alternative flight dates
Not Included:
Optional tours and gratuities.
Additional Information:
Land only price does not include arrival/departure transfers, but does include flight Ho Chi Minh-Hanoi.
Passengers should select flights that arrive no later than 3 AM on Day 3.
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Northern Charm Hotel
This first class hotel is located in Ho Chi Minh with easy access to the city's attractions.
Halong Palace Hotel
This first class hotel overlooks the magnificent Halong Bay.
Sunway Hotel
This first class hotel is located near the city center, in Hanoi's Hai Ba Trung neighborhood.
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Speaking for my wife and I, we are of the age where we need slower guided tours. For example, we would be with the local guide and they would point out various shops, etc., but we would not be able to stop until the end of tour. We could not remember how to back track and find our way back in time.
I really liked this tour! It was nice only unpacking once.
Rui Miguel, tour guide could not have been a better match for the group of experienced travelers which made our group. Knowledgeable, professional, and humorous. Passionate about his country, his work and enjoyable to be around. Likewise the 2 other city guides, Pedro (Lisbon) and Marta (Porto). These tour guides were all cracked out of the same egg. Excellent!!! We have toured with two other companies. Gate 1 has something the others do not. Exceptional guides, exceptional communication, and exceptional itineraries which are affordable and fair. Because we choose to travel off season or shoulder I feel we get the best of all worlds. I always feel that we got the best we could at a price we were happy to pay. I have referred many to Gate 1. I will continue. (No, I did not collect a referral fee; they failed to mention, but they have all become Gate 1 travelers). Suggestions on the Affordable Portugal Itinerary: *Shorten Lisbon stay to 2 nights to allow personal time in Tomar or Porto. *Change "Bed options" in booking. It is not to my liking, as well as those we chatted with, to have to request a bed type at check in. I would like to preface this concern with the fact that the check-in rep was lovely, kind, and well spoken. The compaint: A tour reservation, (although many hotels do same thing),bed preference should be known and booked at time of booking. Our room, (we checked in at 3PM) was offered at twin, request was made for queen/double at desk. The request was given to a desk manager, then to the front Supervisor. Finally 15 minutes later with the desk lined up with check-ins were told "ok" and were told it was a very quiet room, in which we were most pleased. No, it was NOT a quiet room. Room 410 and those along that corridor were very noisy. EXTREMELY! Air conditioners/recycling bottle dump at 2AM/trash trucks/voices. Not a good sleeping experience at the Hotel Mondial. Others experienced same and mentioned as casual chit-chat.
Everyone loved our Tour Director, Jared, who was very competent and professional with a great sense of humor. We were lucky to have such a compatible large group of congenial and friendly people from all over the U.S. and a few from Canada.. The hotels, whether new and deluxe or in historic haciendas, exceeded our expectations as did the fully-packed itinerary of enjoyable museum and home visits, activities.
The trip was much more than i expected. Even though we had a relatively large group all activities ran very smoothly. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and informative. He answered questions easily and thoroughly. Several stops on the tour showed the life of the Turkish people.
Columbia SA has changed, the violence is gone and the tour was informative and interesting with great guides. Right now, the value for everything is a bargain compared to US prices
Chile, Patagonia, Argentina & Rio trip, 17 days, fast paced....wonderful! Gate 1 did a fabulous job coordinating everything, flights, transfers, attractions, etc. Special shout out to Silvana Cohen who was our tour director! Amazing job, attention to every participant!
Only thing that I didn’t like was that there are no airport transfers included.
This tour has exceeded my expectations. The place has so much to offer. Our tour manager (Eranga)was excellent and so was the driver and the assistant. Excellent accommodations and food.
This trip is for dedicated travelers who recognize the North American roads and customs are not universal so we need to adapt quickly to what appears to be chaos, but in fact there are socially accepable systems and behaviors in place. We just have to learn them!
I was not picked up at the airport as I booked and paid for. I had to hire a cab which cost $150 and took 2 hours because the non-English speaking cab driver got lost several times. When I reached the hotel I learned that the hotel for the early nights in Playa del Carman had been changed. I never got an email telling me about the change. The Allergo Hi tower told me that they had never heard of Gate 1 even though this was the hotel on my itinerary. Fortunately there was another Gate 1 participant at the reception guest at the same time and gave me the name of the new hotel and I had a cab take me there. By the time I reached the original hotel Gate 1's office was closed and there was no one to contact. Due to this failure I would never book a Gate 1 tour again and have advised friends not to take any Gate 1 tours. Hopefully I will get reimbursed for the expense I incurred from Cancun Airport to Playa cel Carmen since I was not met and picked up as expected. The tour director was excellent and I saw marvelous sights. All hotels were unsatisfory and the food was mediocre to poor. I am ambivalent about having taken the tour and would never recommend it to anyone.
This is a great tour. We saw so much of this beautiful country during the 2 weeks. Our tour guide and drivers were exceptional. Hotels were very nice. The meals that were included in our package were delicious and highlighted the local cuisine. Highly recommend this tour.
A wonderful trip from day one until we boarded the plane for flight back home. Our tour guide was exceptional with her knowledge of Thailand and keeping us informed regarding the sights we would experience.
I have to strongly commend our tour guide , Ahmed, for his excellence in knowledge of Eqyptian history and his superb efficiency in conducting the tours. He truly was fantastic .
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