Coleman Adventures- North Coast 500
6 – 18 May 2025
ITINERARY
Our route through Vietnam:
Hanoi – 6 days
Phong Nha Farmstay – 6 days
Hoi An beachside villa – 5.5 days
Ho Chi Minh City – 4.5 days
FRIDAY 29 MARCH (GOOD FRIDAY) (DAY 1)
11am – Depart London Heathrow, Terminal 4 on Vietnamese Airlines Flight VN 56.
Direct flight, flight time 11 hours 40 minutes
SATURDAY 30 MARCH (DAY 2)
05.40 – Arrive Terminal 2 at Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi (10.40pm UK time)
Met by driver and minibus and driven to our Airbnb. Cost VND 700,000 (£23).
Airbnb address: 10 P. Nhà Hỏa Street, Hàng Bồ Ward, Hoàn Kiếm District
Cost £985 for 7 nights
Morning – Rest from the flight
6.30pm – With a Student from Hanoi Free Tour Guides visit the Night Market (10 minutes’ walk from our Airbnb) which runs for 3km from Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square (famous roundabout by Hoan Kiem Lake) to Dong Xuan Market Gate. Wide range of food stalls plus stalls selling a wide range of goods.
Then walk to Hoan Kiem Lake (10 minutes’ walk) which is a large freshwater lake in the centre of Hanoi. At weekend vehicles are prohibited from the streets around the lake so it becomes very busy, people turn out in their best clothes, together with their families, young children, pets and teenagers gather to meet their friends and play music.
Have a drink in Legends Beer, 1 Dinh Tiên Hoàng, a 3rd-storey bar with a sweeping terrace overlooking the Lake.
To the West side of the lake is St Joseph’s Cathedral which was built in 1886. It is one of the biggest churches in Hanoi where many local Vietnamese Catholics come to pray.
Finish up the evening in Beer Street (Ta Hien Street / P.Luong Ngoc Quyen), in the Old Quarter, 10 minutes’ walk from Hoan Kiem Lake and our Airbnb. Beer Street is a very busy and vibrant area, with locals, tourists and backpackers crowding into the bars, cafes and clubs housed in the narrow streets.
SUNDAY 31 MARCH (DAY 3)
Morning private tour with a tour guide provided by Eric from ‘Get Up and Go Vietnam’
Walking tour of the Old Quarter and French Quarter, then visit Ngoc Son Temple and the Temple of Literature.
Cost £35pp includes tour guide, entrance fees, transport and lunch
8.30am – Picked up from our Airbnb
Hanoi Old Quarter – Sometimes referred to as 36 streets, this quarter used to be the residential, manufacturing and commercial centre of Hanoi. Each street specialised in one specific type of manufacture or commerce.
French Quarter although the French colonial period ended in 1954 there are still many French deco style buildings in the city.
Ngoc Son Temple meaning the Temple of the Jade Mountain is on an island in the centre of Hoan Kiem lake. It was erected in the 19th Century in commemoration of Tran Hund Dao, a great Vietnamese Army commander in the 13th Century. You get to the temple by crossing the bright red wooden Rising Sun Bridge.
Afternoon – Free
Private Food, Culture and sight Seeing Tour as pillion passengers on the back of Vintage Minks motorbikes with Hanoi Backstreet Tours. Cost £44pp
4.50pm – Our tour guides pick us up from our Airbnb
5.00pm to 9.30pm – Tour.
First part of the tour explores the maze of backstreets, tiny alleyways, local homes, schools, markets, and black markets that are off the beaten path. Second part of the tour visit the must-see places of Hanoi, such as Ho Chi Minh mausoleum-the Mecca of Vietnamese, The 1000-year-old Buddhist temples of Tran Quoc, the amazing Hanoi Train Street, the enchanting French Quarter, The hustling & bustling Old Quarter, the romantic lakes of Hoan Kiem and West lake & famous Long Bien bridge. The last part of the tour is all about food! We visit the Hidden Gem Cafe where we savour seven of the tastiest dishes and delicacies of Hanoi.
MONDAY 1 APRIL (EASTER MONDAY) (DAY 4)
Private Handicraft villages day tour with a tour guide provided by Eric from ‘Get Up and Go Vietnam’
Cost £50pp includes driver, car, tour guide, entrance fees and lunch
8.15am – Picked up by our tour guide from our Airbnb
Visit Quang Phu Cau village which is famous for making incense. Stop at an incense factory to learn more about how incense has been made from the past to the present and how important it is in Vietnamese life and culture. Later stop at a dying yard to take some awesome photos with the colourful incense bundles.
Visit Chuong village, where the villagers have been well-known for making conical hat for over 300 years. We will visit the home of a local artisan where we will have lunch. While lunch is being prepared, we will paint our own conical hat.
Visit Ha Thai village which has been famous for producing lacquer for more than 400 years. Visit a lacquer artisan and craft our own lacquer product.
On the way back to Hanoi visit a large, big brand export surplus store.
17:00: Dropped off at our Airbnb
Evening – Free
TUESDAY 2 APRIL (DAY 5)
8am to 3.30pm – Private Hanoi-Red River Delta Countryside-Co Loa Citadel cycling tour.
Distance 40 miles, easy riding.
7.30am – Leave Airbnb walk to the Get Up and Go Vietnam Offices, 24 Hang Buom Street. A 10-minute walk from our Airbnb.
7.45am – Meet tour guide (Eric), set up our bikes
8.00am – Tour begins
We first cycle to Dong Xuan Market a local wholesale market before crossing the famous Long Bien Bridge to Ngoc Thuy Village. Take a local boat ferry to the left side of the river which is pure countryside, traditional houses, pagodas, temples, local markets, but mainly rice fields and vegetable gardens. Cycle to Co Loa Citadel, visit An Duong King Temple. Have lunch in a local restaurant. After lunch we pedal to a dike of the Red River passing further villages before heading home.
3.00pm – Arrive back at Get Up and Go Vietnam Offices
Evening
7pm – Picked up from our Airbnb by 7-seater limousine taken to Paradise Suites Hotel, Tuan Chau Marina, Halong Bay.
Cost £80
9.30pm – Arrive hotel
WEDNESDAY 3 APRIL (DAY 6)
Luxury Day Cruise in Halong Bay & Lan Hay Bay organised by Eric from ‘Get up and Go Vietnam’
£87pp
Hạlong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is known for its unique and breathtaking beauty, its emerald waters and thousands of towering limestone islands worn down by 500 million years of tropical downpours, topped by thick jungle growth and rainforests. Lan Hay Bay is a neighbouring Bay to Halong and is equally stunning but receives a fraction of the visitors.
9.30am – Board luxury sailing boat in Tuan Chau Marina
Cruise in Halong Bay one of the Seven Wonders of the World
11am – Lunch on the boat
1.30pm – Explore stalagmite caves in a rowing boat rowed by locals. Discover hidden lagoons amidst a maze of incredible rock formations rising majestically from jade-green water
3.00pm – Swim in a quite area in Lan Hay Bay
4.00pm – Cooking demonstration, how to make traditional Vietnamese spring rolls
4.30pm – Watch the magnificent sunset over Halong Bay
5.20pm – Disembark and travel back to Hanoi in Limousine bus
7.30pm – Dropped off at our Airbnb
Evening – Free
THURSDAY 4 APRIL (Day 7)
Morning private tour with a tour guide provided by Eric from ‘Get Up and Go Vietnam’
Cost £35pp including tour guide, transport, entrance fees and lunch
8.30am – Picked up from our Airbnb by our tour guide
Visit Hoa Lo Prison, Military History Museum and Imperial Citadel of Thang Long
Lunch and finish around 1.30pm
Hoa Lo Prison – Known as the Hanoi Hilton by American POWs. The prison was built by the French and opened in 1901. The prison was used to lock up political prisoners fighting the French for independence and then during the Vietnam war to lock up and torture US prisoners of war. Most of the prison has been replaced by new buildings, so what visitors see is just a small part of the original buildings.
Military History Museum – The museum tells the story of Vietnamese history which is mainly about war and fighting for independence not just against the Americans but also against the French, the Khmer Rouge, Japanese, Chinese and Mongol hordes. The outdoor exhibition includes Soviet built MiG-21 jet fighter, US F-111, tanks, helicopters, artillery pieces, rockets and mortars.
Opposite the museum is Lenin Park (Cong Vien Lenin) with a commanding statue of Lenin.
Imperial Citadel of Thang Long is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Citadel was the hub of Vietnamese military power for over 1000 years. It was built in the 11th Century by the Vietnamese Ly dynasty. It was home to Vietnamese kings and emperors for hundreds of years. During the Vietnam war it was the centre of North Vietnams Military High Command and a major political base as the Communist Party Politburo held their meetings in a reinforced bunker here.
Afternoon – Free visit Dong Xuan Market the largest indoor market in the city
Booked VIP Tickets for the 5.20pm performance. Cost £15pp
Exchange Viator Voucher for tickets at the Box Office at the Theatre.
5.20pm to 6.20pm – Puppet Theatre Show
This is a traditional Northern Vietnamese art form. It originated in the 11th Century in the villages of the Red River Delta. When the rice fields would flood villagers would use this type of puppet play to entertain each other. The shows are performed by the puppeteers in a waist deep pool, so it appears that the puppets are moving over the water.
Evening – Meal then back to pack
FRIDAY 5 APRIL (DAY 8)
6.30am – Picked up by driver from the front gate of our Airbnb
Taken to Terminal 1 at Noi Bah Airport, Hanoi in Minibus. Take 45 minutes. Cost 700,000 VND (£22) pay driver.
08:55am – Fly to Dong Hoi on Vietnam Airlines flight VN 1591. Flight time one hour fifteen minutes.
Three business class seats booked. Cost £66pp.
10:10am – Arrive Dong Hoi
Picked up at the Airport by a driver holding a ‘Nha Farmstay’ sign and taken to Phong Nha Farmstay for 6 days in a 7 seater car. Cost £20.
Journey takes 45 minutes so should arrive at the Farmstay around 12 noon
Book into a Jungalo Collection two-bedroom villa with private infinity swimming pool, kitchen with full size fridge freezer, gas burner and all the necessary utensils. Each bedroom has an indoor and outdoor bath and shower.
Cost £904 for 6 days
https://www.youtube.com/@benphongnhaembassy2926/videos
Phong Nha Farmstay website: https://phong-nha-cave.com/
Evening – Free
SATURDAY 6 APRIL (DAY 9)
8.30am – Breakfast
Morning and afternoon – Visit Phong Nha river Cave & Tien Son Cave.
Travel to Phong NHA Village either on mountain bikes from the Farmstay or on the back of motor bikes with the Phong Nha Riders. It’s a 9km journey along flat back roads.
Take a dragon boat to the Phong Nha river cave, cost 1,000,000 VND (£33). Local people motor you up the river taking in the view of the stunning natural Karst Mountains and local river life and then row you through the cave.
In the Vietnam war the North Vietnamese army used the caves in which to hide the floating pontoons which they would use to get the trucks across the river at night. They also housed a hospital in the caves and used them for storage of food, supplies and weaponry before it was taken South to their fighters.
The caves have also had older inhabitants, the Chan People from the 10th Century whose writings you can find on the walls in certain parts of the cave.
Then climb 400 stairs to visit Tien Son cave which is situated above Phong Nha Cave for magnificent views of the surrounding countryside.
Evening free
SUNDAY 7 APRIL (DAY 10)
8.30am to 4.30pm – Village Cycling Tour around Phong Nha
Discover traditional village life, mostly unchanged over the last few hundred years with a tour guide. You will be introduced to local farmers, fishermen and entrepreneurs and invited to join in local farming activities in the rice paddies and peanut fields. Learn how Vietnamese popcorn and rice wine is made. Have lunch at a local farm run by a VC Veteran Couple, Mr Vi and his lady. Learn how they farm the land while you wait for your lunch to cook. On your way home call in at Pub With Cold Beer, enjoy your cold drink, the lovely views and have a swim in their pool.
Cost £34pp
Evening – Massage
MONDAY 8 APRIL (DAY 11)
All day National Park one day jungle hiking tour.
8am – Depart for Ma Da Valley National Park
The tour takes in 8km of trekking in the Ma Da Valley in primary jungle, exploring the Vietnamese tropical forest. Explore Tra Ang Cave and Hang Voi cave, swim in Ma Da lake. Porter team prepare a barbecue lunch in the jungle with traditional foods.
Cost £53pp
Evening free
TUESDAY 9 APRIL (DAY 12)
Day & Afternoon – Paradise Cave Trek
Enjoy a 7km trek through Paradise Cave. Start in the well-lit tourist section of the cave. Then enter a private section, step down onto the cave floor for a spectacular caving adventure with only the light from your head torch. Marvel at the wonders of this huge cave which is 100m wide and 150m high in sections. Swim through one section or take a boat and emerge in the light of the Doline Chamber. Enjoy lunch underground.
Cost £85pp
Evening – Free
WEDNESDAY 10 APRIL (DAY 13)
Half a day out exploring the Bong Lai Valley on the back of a motorbike with The Phong NHA Riders.
Bong Lai Valley is a rural valley interspersed with farms and small villages. There are now a number of attractions in the Valley making it a great relaxing day or half day out in the countryside. Attractions include The Pub With Cold Beer, The Duck Stop, The Bong Lai Swing, rubber tapping, Pepperhouse and Moi Moi Restaurant.
Evening – pack
THURSDAY 11 APRIL (DAY 14)
Morning & Afternoon – Travel to Hoi An in a minibus accompanied by a English speaking tour guide.
Distance 200 miles. Takes 6.5 hours. With stops 8 or 9 hours.
Cost for minibus and driver £168 plus English-speaking tour Guide £25.
On our way to Hoi An stop off at:
Ben Hai River Museum which contains images and items left over from the Vietnam war.
Vinh Moc Civilian Tunnels & Museum. During the period 1966 to 1972 this area was strategically situated between North and South Vietnam and was thus very heavily bombed by the US. So the village and villagers went underground and lived there for 6 years.
Lap An Lagoon
Lap An Lagoon is a beautiful tidal lagoon protected by a sand spit and dotted with oyster farms and wooden stilt houses. It is surrounded by the imposing Bach Ma Mountain.
Go over Hai Van Pass famous for being called the world’s most beautiful road by the Top Gear presenters.
Book into our Airbnb Beachside Villa:
‘Hidden Beach Pool Villas’, Lac Long Quan, 24 Ward Road, Hoi An for 5.5 days
Quiet and secluded villa 100m from the beach. In house staff who clean and can prepare breakfast and other meals
Cost £1,059 (6 nights)
7pm – Evening meal prepared by Airbnb staff.
HOI AN
Graceful, historic Hoi An is Vietnam’s most atmospheric and delightful town. Once a major port, it
boasts grand architecture and beguiling riverside setting. The original street grid plan remains as it
was and 844 out of the 1107 buildings making up the old town are on the UNESCO World heritage
list. So walking round Hoi An is like moving through a living museum. Hoi An is also unique in that
the 21 st century curses of traffic and pollution are almost entirely absent.
Merchants from China, Japan and later Europe settled in Hoi An from the 15 th to the 19 th Centuries.
Its melting-pot history is reflected in its architecture, a mix of eras and styles from wooden Chinese
Shophouses and temples to colourful French colonial buildings, ornate Vietnamese tube houses and
the iconic UNESCO World Heritage Japanese Covered Bridge with its Pagoda.
Hoi An is known as the city of lanterns. There is a law stating that every shop must hang lanterns
from their façade. As the sun sets, the lanterns turn on, lighting up the town in the warm glow of
yellow, red and green light.
Fabric, particularly silk is woven into Hoi Ans history. During silk road times, it was the currency. Over
time many families took to selling fabrics or making garments. Now Hoi An is a hot spot for travellers
wanting quality items tailor made.
Back in the 15 th Century, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese merchants began to settle around
the port. As communities grew in different areas, so did their interactions. Around 1593 the
Japanese built a bridge to link their neighbourhood to the Chinese one. All these years later the
Japanese covered bridge still stands strong.
Unsurprisingly, the old quarter is full of museums that offer detailed insight into the story of this
stunning town. Among these are five top attractions:
The Museum of History and Culture gives a comprehensive overview, with artifacts spanning about
2,000 years.
The Museum of Folklore looks at traditional crafts and includes a performance.
The Museum of Sa Huỳnh Culture gives insight into the Sa Huỳnh period;
The Museum of Trade Ceramics showcases pottery and ceramics.
While Tan Ky Old House is a stunning example of Asian architecture and Oriental philosophy. Built in
1741, it’s been home to seven generations of one Vietnamese family and is a great example of an
18th-century merchant’s home. At Tan Ky House, look out for the stunning One Hundred Birds
lacquered board. Written in 100 letters, each stroke of writing is actually an image of a bird in flight.
FRIDAY 12 APRIL (DAY 15)
Morning – Free time on beach.
Scott visit Ms Kim in Hoi An to get a suit made to measure. She has a stall opposite LAC Viet Jewellery, 23 Hoang Dieu Street
See separate sheet on Hoi An Food
Afternoon – Free time on beach
Evening – Free
SATURDAY 13 APRIL (DAY 16)
Five-hour tour of Hoi An with a Local Tour Guide booked via Trip Advisor.
Cost £63pp
3pm – Picked up from our Airbnb travel to Hoi An (10 minutes)
Walk round Hoi An, colourful lanterns boat ride, visit night market
SUNDAY 14 APRIL (DAY 17)
Morning – Free on beach
2pm – Picked up from our Airbnb by a car and tour guide from Andy tours Hoi An to visit
Thanh Ha Pottery village and the Silk Village
Andy tours Hoi An. Andy Tran (+84 983 264 629)
Thanh Ha Pottery Village – Some call the Thanh Ha Pottery Village a ‘living museum’. Villagers havebeen making pottery here for over 400 years, and most still use a two-man pottery wheel. The kilns are red brick ovens built in the backyards of simple riverfront homes. So the smell of cooking terracotta permeates through town, thrusting visitors back to simpler times. The village is equipped with all kinds of activities for visitors including a museum with ever-changing exhibits and history, pottery-making workshops, a temple, and hands-on pottery-making experiences.
Legend goes that artisans from the Thanh Hoa province settled in Hoi An at the beginning of the 16th century and established the Thanh Ha Pottery Village. They practised their traditional craft and handed it down through the generations, and over the years, the craft flourished.
Pottery makers provided products to provinces from Thua Thien Hue to Binh Dinh. The village also began exporting products overseas to countries such as Japan, China and Spain via the Hoi An Trading Port. Word got out and so during the Nguyen Dynasty, the Thanh Ha villagers were asked to create decorative pieces for the palace. After this, their work became so popular that their reputation spread worldwide, and it has persisted for centuries. Now, Thanh Ha’s entire culture is shaped around pottery.
The Silk Village displays and maintains the tradition of silk weaving from the Champa – Dai Viet era and helps tourists learn about the origin of the Maritime Silk Road. You will learn about the process to make silk from growing mulberries, raising silkworms to reeling and weaving silk. You will be able to admire a wide range of silk products, especially an Ao Dai collection of 54 ethnic groups across Vietnam. Currently, there are about 100 sets of Ao Dai showing the cultural development of Vietnam through its 3000-year history.
You will also see the ancient mulberry tree which dates back to the Champa period. The tree was brought from Que Son to the silk village in 2012. It has a wide canopy and is more than 10 meters high. What makes this tree special is that its leaves have the shape of a crow’s foot.
Apart from the ancient mulberry tree, visitors will be able to learn about the gourd mulberry of Quang Nam. This type of mulberry requires a substantial level of care. In order to harvest lots of its leaves, people have to carry out pruning depending on the season. Every year, there will be enough mulberry leaves to provide for 8 generations of silkworms.
You will also learn how to distinguish between fake and real silk. According to the artisans, fake silk can be produced with a high level of sophistication and similarity to real one. Therefore, one way to test the quality of the silk is to burn it. Real silk will not catch fire, rather, it will emit white fumes, smell like burned hair and clump. Fake silk will easily catch fire, emit black fumes and clump like burned nylon.
The final destination on the journey to discover Hoi An Silk Village is a buffet restaurant. The restaurant is designed with open space, appealing Vietnamese decoration and serves a variety of Hoi An well-known dishes.
A highlight of this restaurant is that all of the waitresses are required to wear a traditional costume called the “South Vietnamese Pajamas”. The whole place seems to have the vibe of a traditional marketplace in the Vietnamese countryside.
5.30pm – Dropped off at the Lune Centre, Hoi An
6pm to 7pm – ‘Teh Dar’ Cultural Show, Lune Centre, 01A Nguyen Phuc Chu St, in Hoi An
Booked the best seats £53pp (Paid). Take E-Ticket to swap for our tickets. Teh Dar, which means ‘traveling the circle’ in the K’Ho tongue, is an epic tale of the birth, death and rebirth of every living being on earth, told with the captivating colour and flare of Vietnamese tribal culture combining breathtaking handling of bamboo, storytelling, circus arts and enchanting live music.
7pm – After the show go for something to eat either at ‘Son Restaurant,’ 232 Cua Dai Road (0235 386 1172). Or to Tuyet (seafood restaurant), the third restaurant right hand side at An Bang Beach.
MONDAY 15 APRIL (DAY 18)
Morning – Taste of Hoi An group Food tour
Cost £59pp
7.00am – Picked up in a car from our Airbnb transfer us to the start of the tour. Don’t have breakfast as this is part of the tour.
11.45am – Returned to our Airbnb
Afternoon – Free
Evening – Free
TUESDAY 16 APRIL (DAY 19)
Morning – Free on beach
Afternoon – Free on beach
Evening – Packing
WEDNESDAY 17 APRIL (DAY 20)
9.30am – Picked up by a driver and travel to Da Nang airport Terminal 1 in a minivan
Cost 500,000 VND (£16.25)
12.40pm – Fly to Terminal 1 at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Ho Chi Minh City on Vietnam Airlines
Flight VN123. Flight takes 1 hour 45 minutes.
Economy seats £118pp
14.25 – Arrive Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Ho Chi Minh
Around 4pm book into La Vela Saigon Hotel, 83 Ly Chinh Thang, District 3
Hotel offers three restaurants, rooftop bar and lounge, well equipped gym and rooftop infinity pool
Evening
‘Saigon By Night’ private scooter tour as pillion passengers with XO Tours and their female tour guides.
6.50pm – Pick us up in front of our hotel
7pm to 10pm – Tour
Drive down the newly built Saigon freeway. Gaze upon the Bitexco Tower one of the tallest buildings in Vietnam. See the crowds at the makeshift sidewalk cafes and bars. Visit local districts and places in Saigon which tourists don’t frequent see and the contrast between old Saigon and the new modern city. On our way try some delicious Vietnamese street food. Note this is not a food tour so any additional food will need to be paid for.
THURSDAY 18 APRIL (DAY 21)
‘Sights of Saigon’ private scooter tour as pillion passengers with XO Tours and their female tour guides
Cost £65pp
9.50am – Pick us up in front of our hotel
10.00am to 1.30pm – Tour
The tour visits the Central Post Office, The Notre Dame Cathedral, The Reunification Palace, The Secret CIA Building, Tan Dinh Market, The Burning Monk Memorial, Ho Thi Ky Flower Market, The Hidden Weapons Arsenal and The Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda.
XO Tours ‘Sights of Saigon video
The Central Post Office – Saigon Central Post Office, was built during the French colonial period and was designed by Gustave Eiffel, who was the architect of some iconic constructions including the Eiffel Tower (Paris), Statue of Liberty (New York) and Long Bien Bridge (Hanoi).
Thich Quang Duc Memorial – Thich Quang Duc was a Buddhist monk who died by self-immolation at a busy Saigon Road intersection on 11 June 1963. He was protesting against the persecution of Buddhists by the US backed South Vietnamese government.
Afternoon – Free
5.30pm – Picked up from front of our hotel for a scooter tour as pillion passengers with tour guides provided by Lee Hogan:
Cost: £31pp includes tour guide, any entrance fees
Visit Nguyen Hue pedestrian Boulevard, Ba Song Bridge great views of the city, Pink Church, China Town, Japan Town, finishing up in Bui Vien Street, the main party and nightlife street in the city, very busy and lively.
Nguyen Hue pedestrian Boulevard is the cultural hub of Ho Chi Minh City. Home to lots of restaurants, bars and entertainment venues.
Pink Church – Vibrantly pink and crafted in a Romanian architectural style the Tan Dinh church or the Pink church is a Roman Catholic church built in 1876 by the French.
Japanese District covers an area of less than 2km. It a space filled with Japanese architecture, cuisine and massage bars. Its home to the largest Japanese population in Vietnam.
Chinatown also called Cholon, meaning big market. Its home to Binh Tay Market a very busy wholesale market, temples, pagodas, restaurants and buildings reminiscent of Honk Kong or China itself.
Bui Vien Street is a hub for backpackers and party going tourists. It offers clubs, cheap bars and restaurants. In the evening it gets very busy and noisy with a raucous atmosphere. Street performers entertain passers-by as drinkers in plastic chairs watch. Bui vien Street is also the Red-Light District and you will find lots of girlie bars and attractive young females trying to lure men into suspect massage parlours and clubs.
FRIDAY 19 APRIL (DAY 22)
8.30am to 4pm – Scott going on a private trip, driving a 250cc motorbike to the Cu Chi Viet Cong Tunnels accompanied by a tour guide from Saigon Riders
Cost £140
Chu Chi tunnels are an immense network of connecting tunnels built by the Viet Cong as a place to house troops, transport communications, and supplies. It also enabled them to move undetected and to launch surprise attacks. At their peak the tunnels in the Cu Chi district covered a distance of some 250km from the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh city to the Cambodian border.
Private Mekong Delta Day Tour with a tour guide provided by Lee Hogan
Cost £165 for the two of us. Includes transport costs, lunch and entrance fees
7am – Picked up by tour guide from our Airbnb for a two-hour drive to Ben Tre Province.
The Mekong Delta is a vast maze of rivers, swamps and islands, home to floating markets, Khmer pagodas and villages surrounded by rice paddies. Boats are the main means of transportation.
We will visit a local market, then board a boat for a cruise down the Mekong River. Visit a coconut processing factory, switch to hand rowed sampan to go through the smaller canals, then a 40 minute cycling trip through villages, have a beautiful lunch and then travel back to Saigon.
Evening – Free
SATURDAY 20 APRIL (DAY 23)
War Remnants Museum & Independence Palace Tour with a guide provided by Lee Hogan
Cost £31pp including tour guide, transport costs and entrance fees
8am – Picked up in front of our hotel
War Remnants Museum contains exhibits relating to the First Indochina War and the Vietnam War. Outside in the grounds there are exhibits of tanks, planes, helicopters.
Independence Palace this was the home and residence of the president of the Republic of Vietnam. It’s the place where a Vietcong tank went through the gates when the Viet Cong took over the city.
Evening
Private ‘Saigon River Sunset Sightseeing’ tour by speedboat
Cost £74.50pp
4.15pm – Picked up by car from front our hotel taken to the central pier
4.30pm to 6.30pm – River Tour
Cruise from the city centre to the peaceful rural districts, stunning scenery at every turn. See the sunset and witness the transformation of Saigon as the sun dips below the horizon and the lights of the city come on.
Evening
7.00pm – Visit Bitexco Financial Tower Sky Deck
The Bitexco Tower is the second tallest building in Saigon at 861ft. The Sky Deck is on the 49th floor and offers spectacular views of the city.
8.00pm – Go for something to eat in Bui Vien Street
SUNDAY 21 APRIL (DAY 24)
Morning – Free (Maybe visit Cho Ben Thanh Market)
Afternoon – Free
4.30pm – Travel to Tan Son Nhat Airport, Terminal 2
19:40 – Catch Singapore Airlines flight SQ185 to Singapore (Flight time 2 hours)
22:40 – Arrive Singapore, Changi Airport
Layover 2 hours 30 minute
MONDAY 22 APRIL (DAY 25)
01:10 – Depart on Singapore airlines flight SQ306 for London Heathrow. Flight time 13 hours 35 min
07:45 – Arrive Heathrow terminal 2
11:02 – Train to Sheffield
13.00 – Arrive Sheffield
Coleman Adventures- North Coast 500 