Heritage Tour - 10 Days

First Impressions of Historic Saigon

Upon arrival at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, you will be welcomed by your local guide and transferred to your hotel.

Depending on your arrival time, begin your introduction to Vietnam with an orientation through the historic center of Ho Chi Minh City, once known as Saigon.

Discover the architectural legacy of the colonial period through landmarks such as the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon, the Central Post Office, the historic City Hall and the Saigon Opera House. Together, these buildings reveal an important chapter in the city's transformation into one of Southeast Asia's major commercial centers.

The remainder of the day is at leisure.

Heritage Focus: Colonial-era Saigon • Urban history • Architectural heritage

Ho Chi Minh city - Opera House

The Historic Trading Port of Hoi An

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Da Nang. Upon arrival, continue to Hoi An Ancient Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Southeast Asia's best-preserved historic trading ports.

From the 15th to the 19th centuries, Hoi An flourished as an international commercial center where Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and later European merchants exchanged goods, ideas and traditions. This multicultural history remains visible in its remarkably preserved streetscape.

Explore the old town on foot, passing traditional wooden merchant houses, narrow lanes, temples and assembly halls. Visit landmarks including a Chinese assembly hall, the Japanese Covered Bridge and Tan Ky Ancient House, where generations of a merchant family lived and traded.

Beyond individual monuments, the experience offers insight into how international commerce influenced the architecture, beliefs and everyday life of this historic port.

Late in the afternoon, board a traditional boat for a gentle cruise along the Thu Bon River. As the light softens over the waterfront, observe the landscapes and waterways that once connected Hoi An with regional and international trading networks.

UNESCO Heritage: Hoi An Ancient Town
Heritage Focus: Maritime trade • Merchant culture • Vietnamese-Chinese-Japanese architectural influences • Living heritage

Hoi An - Japanese Bridge(Source: collection)

Legacy of the Champa Civilization

Travel through the countryside to My Son Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage Site nestled within a mountain valley southwest of Hoi An.

Between approximately the 4th and 13th centuries, My Son developed as one of the most important religious centers of the Champa Kingdom. The sanctuary's surviving brick towers and temples reflect the spiritual traditions, architectural achievements and cultural connections that once linked Champa with the wider Indian-influenced civilizations of Southeast Asia.

Walk through the archaeological complex with your guide and learn about Cham architecture, Hindu symbolism, religious rituals and the historical role of My Son as a spiritual center for Champa rulers.

A traditional Cham cultural performance provides another perspective on the living traditions maintained by Cham communities today.

Continue to Da Nang and visit the Museum of Cham Sculpture, home to one of the world's most important collections of Cham art. Sculptures originating from My Son and other archaeological sites provide deeper insight into the religious beliefs, mythology and artistic sophistication of the Champa civilization.

Later, visit the Marble Mountains, a group of limestone and marble hills that have long held spiritual significance. Explore Huyen Khong Cave and Buddhist sanctuaries built into the mountainside before visiting the nearby stone-carving community, where generations of artisans have maintained local craftsmanship.

Return to Hoi An for an evening at leisure.

UNESCO Heritage: My Son Sanctuary
Heritage Focus: Champa civilization • Hindu heritage • Archaeology • Cham sculpture • Buddhist traditions • Traditional craftsmanship

My Son Sanctuary of Champa Kingdom

Vietnam's Imperial Legacy

Depart Hoi An for Hue along one of Central Vietnam's most scenic routes, crossing the coastal landscapes that historically connected the country's central regions.

Situated along the Perfume River, Hue served as the imperial capital of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 to 1945. Today, the Complex of Hue Monuments is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and remains one of the country's most important repositories of royal architecture and court culture.

Begin with a boat journey along the Perfume River to Thien Mu Pagoda, founded in the early 17th century. Overlooking the river from Ha Khe Hill, the pagoda has become one of Hue's most enduring spiritual and architectural symbols.

Continue to the Imperial City, once the political and ceremonial heart of the Nguyen court. Walk through monumental gates, courtyards, temples and royal compounds while learning about imperial ceremonies, Confucian principles and the highly structured life of the Vietnamese court.

Experience Nha Nhac – Vietnamese Court Music, recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage. Once performed during royal ceremonies and important court occasions, this refined musical tradition provides a living connection to Hue's imperial past.

Later, explore two contrasting royal tombs. The Tomb of Emperor Tu Duc reflects classical Vietnamese aesthetics through landscaped gardens, pavilions and tranquil lakes, while the Tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh reveals a striking fusion of Vietnamese and European artistic influences.

UNESCO Heritage: Complex of Hue Monuments
UNESCO Intangible Heritage: Nha Nhac – Vietnamese Court Music
Heritage Focus: Nguyen Dynasty • Imperial architecture • Court traditions • Buddhism • Royal landscape design

Nguyen Dynasty (Source: Collected)

Entering the Thousand-Year Capital

Fly north to Hanoi, the historic heart of northern Vietnam and a city whose identity has developed through more than a thousand years of political, commercial and cultural change.

Begin your exploration with a cyclo ride through the Hanoi Old Quarter, traditionally known for its network of historic commercial streets. Many streets were associated with guilds and crafts, creating neighborhoods where merchants and artisans lived and worked together.

Continue foot around Hoan Kiem Lake and visit Ngoc Son Temple, situated on a small island connected to the shore by the distinctive, red-painted bridge.

After checking into your hotel, the remainder of the afternoon is at leisure.

In the evening, enjoy a traditional water puppet performance. Originating in the villages and rice-growing communities of the Red River Delta, water puppetry combines music, storytelling and folk traditions to portray scenes from rural life, legends and Vietnamese folklore.

Heritage Focus: Thang Long-Hanoi • Historic guild streets • Traditional commerce • Folk beliefs • Water puppetry

Hanoi - Hoan Kiem Lake

Dynasties, Scholars and the Story of Thang Long

Today is dedicated to the political, intellectual and cultural heritage of Vietnam's capital.

Begin at the Ho Chi Minh Complex, including the exterior of Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and the traditional stilt house where he lived and worked during the later years of his life.

Nearby stands the One Pillar Pagoda, originally constructed during the Ly Dynasty in the 11th century. Its distinctive design and Buddhist symbolism make it one of Hanoi's most recognizable historic monuments.

Continue to the Temple of Literature, founded in 1070 and closely associated with Vietnam's first national academy. Dedicated to Confucius and scholarly learning, the complex illustrates the central importance of education and Confucian philosophy within traditional Vietnamese society.

Of particular significance are the surviving stone stelae honoring successful candidates in royal examinations. Their inscriptions provide an extraordinary historical record of Vietnam's scholarly elite and educational traditions.

After lunch, visit the Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Established as the center of political power when the Ly Dynasty moved the capital to Thang Long in 1010, the site preserves archaeological and architectural layers representing successive Vietnamese dynasties.

Conclude with a visit to the Vietnam Military History Museum, providing historical context for Vietnam's struggles for independence and the major conflicts of the 20th century.

Return to your hotel for an evening at leisure.

UNESCO Heritage: Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long
Heritage Focus: Vietnamese dynasties • Confucian scholarship • Education • Political heritage • Modern history

Thang Long Imperial Citadel

A Natural Heritage Landscape

Leave Hanoi and travel toward the coast and Ha Long Bay, one of Vietnam's most celebrated UNESCO World Heritage landscapes.

Along the journey, observe the changing scenery of the Red River Delta before arriving at the harbor around midday.

Board your overnight cruise and begin sailing among Ha Long Bay's extraordinary limestone towers and islands. Formed through millions of years of geological processes, this dramatic seascape represents one of the world's outstanding examples of a mature karst landscape shaped by the sea.

Lunch is served as the vessel cruises deeper into the bay.

Depending on the cruise itinerary and weather conditions, afternoon activities may include exploring a limestone cave, kayaking through sheltered waters, swimming or climbing to an elevated viewpoint overlooking the bay.

As evening approaches, return to the vessel and enjoy dinner surrounded by the quiet limestone landscape.

Overnight on board.

UNESCO Heritage: Ha Long Bay
Heritage Focus: Geological heritage • Karst landscapes • Relationship between nature and coastal culture

Ha Long Bay

Begin the morning with an optional Tai Chi session on the sundeck as daylight spreads across the limestone formations.

After breakfast, continue exploring Ha Long Bay according to the cruise program, which may include a visit to one of its impressive limestone caves.

Cruise slowly back toward the harbor and disembark before travelling south toward Ninh Binh, a landscape of limestone mountains, rivers, rice fields and ancient settlements.

Historically, this region played an important role in the formation of an independent Vietnamese state and would become the setting for the next chapter of the journey.

Overnight in Ninh Binh.

Heritage Focus: Natural heritage • Red River Delta landscapes • Transition to Vietnam's ancient political heartland

Sung Sot cave

Where Nature and Vietnamese History Converge

Explore the Trang An Landscape Complex, recognized by UNESCO as a mixed Cultural and Natural World Heritage Site.

This remarkable landscape combines towering limestone karsts, river valleys, caves, archaeological evidence and historic religious sites, demonstrating a long relationship between human communities and the natural environment.

Begin at Hoa Lu, the capital of Vietnam during the Dinh and Early Le dynasties in the 10th and early 11th centuries. Visit temples dedicated to Emperor Dinh Tien Hoang and Emperor Le Dai Hanh while learning how this naturally protected landscape became the political centre of an emerging independent Vietnamese state.

Continue with a traditional sampan journey through the spectacular karst scenery of the Trang An–Tam Coc area. Drift along waterways surrounded by limestone cliffs, agricultural landscapes and caves that have shaped human settlement in the region for centuries.

Visit Bich Dong Pagoda, a historic Buddhist complex built into the slopes of Ngu Nhac Mountain. Its sequence of lower, middle and upper pagodas creates an intimate relationship between architecture, religion and the surrounding natural landscape.

The experience reveals one of the defining characteristics of Vietnamese heritage: the close relationship between spiritual traditions, human settlement and nature.

Return to Hanoi in the late afternoon.

UNESCO Heritage: Trang An Landscape Complex
Heritage Focus: Dinh and Early Le dynasties • Ancient Hoa Lu • Buddhist heritage • Cultural landscapes • Human relationship with nature

Trang An - Ninh Binh

Farewell to Vietnam

Enjoy your final morning at leisure until your scheduled transfer to Noi Bai International Airport for your onward flight.

Your journey through Vietnam concludes after tracing more than a thousand years of history—from the maritime heritage of Hoi An and the sacred monuments of Champa to the imperial traditions of Hue, the dynastic foundations of Hanoi and the extraordinary cultural landscapes of northern Vietnam.

End of Heritage Vietnam – 10 Days