Vietnam and Thailand Holiday 16 Days

Arriving at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel. You’ll have time to relax after your journey. You’ll spend the night in Hanoi.

In the morning, you’ll be driven to Ninh Binh. Upon arrival, you’ll relax on a local rowboat trip in Tam Coc (three caves), a peaceful valley among limestone ‘karst’ hills, There, you’ll be rowed along a gentle river between paddy fields and through the caves.

You’ll come to a host family to enjoy a special lunch prepared by the home chef with the local cuisine featuring the yin-yang balance of the Asian culture. In the afternoon, you’ll pick up your bike to ride along a scenic canal with walking around open rice fields and looking around at the amazing folds of the rock formations. You’ll have a chance to learn about Vietnamese agriculture and cycle through different villages and a unique area known for its magnificient limestone peaks. Then you’ll visit Mua Cave, the most beautiful place to view in Ninh Binh, where can see the city far from the standing in front of Tam Coc in back and the limestone mountain along to the south of Vietnam. In the late afternoon, you’ll be driven to your hotel in Ninh Binh for overnight. You’ll spend the night in Ninh Binh.

After an early breakfast, you’ll leave for Ha Long Bay, one of the most spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Areas and the world’s largest marine limestone ‘karst’ landscape. There you’ll board a deluxe junk to take you round the Bay before stopping off at a beach on an island. Weather permitting, you’ll be able to swim, fish, and climb a hill (not a mountain!) for an overview of the Bay’s remarkable seascape. From there, you’ll continue your cruise to visit a fishing village – you’ll also have an opportunity to investigate one of the bay’s sea level caves in a small sampan or a kayak. Back on board, you can enjoy cocktails while watching the sunset. Later, unwind with a lavish dinner before an overnight stay on the board. The route is designed to avoid the busy areas and includes a very quiet location for your overnight stay.

You’ll wake in the fresh air on the bay with a swim and/or a Yoga or Taichi session on the large sundeck (beginners welcome!). After a light pastry and a tea or coffee for breakfast, you’ll dock to visit one of the most famous caves in the Bay. You’ll return to the junk for a brunch while cruising back to dock around noon whereupon you’ll be picked up back to back to Noi Bai airport in Hanoi for an afternoon flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Arriving at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel. You’ll spend the night in Ho Chi Minh City

7:00 am:  Early in the morning, your guide will meet you at your hotel’s lobby and bring you by car to your boat at Tan Cang pier.

7:20 am:  Then you will depart Saigon by speedboat. Within 15 minutes, the banks of the river change from city sprawl to lush jungle. A light breakfast of sandwiches or pastries, fresh tropical fruits and Vietnamese iced coffee (Ca phe sua da) is served, as your guide explains rural traditions and aspects of riverbank life.

8:50 am: You will arrive at the Cu Chi Tunnels site before the majority of larger bus tours arrive. Watch a brief introductory ‘propaganda’ video to the Cu Chi area.

9:00 am: Explore the tunnel site, which includes weapon and booby trap exhibitions, navigating authentic Viet Cong tunnel, visiting different underground bunkers (kitchens, meeting rooms, ammunitions etc.), a firing range and much more. Try the local cassava root that sustained Viet Cong fighters for years.

11:00 am: Enjoy a delicious traditional Vietnamese lunch by the river, consisting of authentic fried spring rolls, chicken and beef dishes and soup.

11:30 am: Say goodbye to Cu Chi Tunnel and return to Ho Chi Minh City.

13:00 pm: Arrive back at Tan Cang’s pier. Les Rives staff will take you back to your hotel by car. You’ll spend the night in Ho Chi Minh City.

At 08.00, depart for a 1.5-hour drive from Ho Chi Minh City to Ben Tre, one of the country’s southern provinces, situated in the Delta of the Mekong River. Take in the highway as you leave behind the busy city. Pass Rach Mieu bridge before reaching Huu Dinh hamlet. Get on a tri-motor cycle (xe loi) ride to enjoy the lush surroundings of rice paddies and fruit farms alongside the narrow village roads.

Arrive at the waterfront, board the charming Mango Cruise for a glimpse at the Delta scenery while enjoying coconut juice. First stop for a visit at the coconut processing, then back to your cruise and the cruise will stop at a brick making shop, where the locals still use centuries-old traditional methods to make the bricks by hand where you will start a Bicycle trip around Phong Nam village around 4km, through gardens and stop at a coconut spirits factory, which is a popular drink among the natives in Vietnam. It is a sweet, fresh or mildly fermented sap taken from tapping the young expanded flowers of the coconut, good for the health. Continue bicycle trip about 10-15 minutes to Mrs. Huong’s home. Her family live on fishing, shrimp and farming. Enjoy the tropical fruits and in her garden before taking the rowing sampan, be paddled by a personalized rower trip to discover the maze of small canals.

Then rowing you back to your mango boat and head to Mango home restaurant, enjoy your 5 course lunch and freshen up before switch to a bicycle and ride 500m About 4 minutes (or 7-10 minutes walk) on village roads past green gardens and local houses, and stop at another local house of Mr Sau Tuong, a former Vietcong soldier who survived two years fighting the Khmer Rouge in Phnom Penh. Now he and his wife live on making rice paper which is the most famous specialty of My Long village. Have a chat with him and enjoy the crispy rice paper made by his wife, and see how it is made.

After the visit, the boat will be waiting for you at the pier nearby to bring you back to Ben Tre city where your car will be ready to take you back to Ho Chi Minh City. Your overnight stay will be in Ho Chi Minh City.

Your time will be your own until your private car and driver arrives to take you to Tan Son Nhat airport for your departure flight to Bangkok. When you arrive in Bangkok, the country’s chaotic capital on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel. You’ll spend the night in Bangkok.

You’l join one of our cooking classes for a real grass roots experience where you learn to master a couple of Thai dishes while encountering life within the Klong Toey community. After pick up at 8:30 am in front of Emporium Suites, we take you to the Klong Toey wet market. There you learn about the local Thai produce, much of which you will use and taste afterwards in your cooking class at our small cooking school in the slum. You’ll spend the night in Bangkok.

Thursday menu:

• Spicy Beef Salad
• Green Curry
• Thai Noodles with Prawns
• Mango with Sticky rice (Thai Dessert Tasting)

After breakfast, you’ll be taken to the airport for your flight to Chiang Mai – the ‘Rose of the North’. Upon arrival, you’ll be met and taken to the hotel. You’ll spend the night in Chiang Mai.

07:30-7:45 Pick up from your hotel and transfer to Patara Elephant Farm. Briefing on history of domestic elephant in Thailand.

08:30-9.00 Arrive at the farm. Make registration. Get change to our training outfit. Prepare for training.

09:00 Training session includes, hiking to find the elephant in the bush. Learn about elephant farm management and our breeding program.

Train to approach and be near elephant. Learn to observe elephant temperament. Introducing to every of our elephants. Morning feed.

Daily health care for elephant. Pregnancy test for elephant and care taking for mother with small baby.

Learn about elephant skin care and bath your elephant. Instructed training to get on the elephant neck with difference technique, sitting on

the elephant, basic riding skill and spoken commands for elephant Practice on getting upon and coming down from the elephant.

12:00 Bare-back riding session.

13:00 setting of for a long up hill trip to visit waterfall for picnic lunch and refreshing in the water with your elephant. Elephant riding trip back to the farm for evening feed.

14:30 Transfer back to your hotel. You’ll spend the night in Chiang Mai.

After breakfast, you’ll be picked up to visit Doi Suhtep temple, the most sacred temple upon the hill with its enormous mythological Nagas staicase of 306 steps and inside the cloister is an intriguing copper-placed chedi topped by five-tier gold parasol, which contains relics of Lord Buddha. On a clear day, there are incomparable views over the city of Chiangmai from the temple grounds. Then transfers by pick-up truck to Meo Hilltribe village named Doi Pui with their everyday surrounding. On the return to hotel, stop for lunch at restaurant. You’ll spend the night in Chiang Mai.

After breakfast, you’ll be transferred to the airport for your flight to Krabi. Upon arrival, you will be picked up and transfer to the hotel. After check in, your time will be your own! You’ll spend the night in Krabi.

After breakfst, you’ll be picked up by minivan from your hotel and transferred to Nopparat Thara Pier. Once there, you’ll board the speedboat for your journey to Hong Island. On the way, you’ll stop for snorkeling at a small island, where you’ll explore colorful coral reefs and vibrant marine life. Then, you’ll head to Hong Island, where the captain will take you into the hidden lagoon, or ‘Hong,’ meaning ‘Room.’ You’ll be amazed by the stunning rock formations and the unique plants living on the cliffs.

Next, you’ll stop at Hong Island Bay, where you can relax, sunbathe, swim, or snorkel among thousands of fish that will swim around you. You’ll enjoy a picnic lunch on the beach at Hong Island Bay under the shade of the trees. If you’re lucky, you might spot water monitors or large lizards on the island.

In the afternoon, you’ll head to Pak Bia Island, where you can relax on the beach or take a leisurely stroll along the soft, sandy shore. After that, you’ll visit the final island of the day, Lading Island. Here, you can swim or meet the colorful fish that will surround you as soon as you dip into the water. They are always hungry, so if you have a piece of bread or some fruit, they’ll be thrilled!

At around 14:30, you’ll board the speedboat to return to Nopparat Thara Pier, and then you’ll transfer back to your hotel, arriving around 15:30. You’ll spend the night in Krabi.

Your time will be your own! You’ll spend the night in Krabi

Your time will be your own! You’ll spend the night in Krabi

Your time will be your own until your car arrives at the hotel to take you to the airport for your flight to Bangkok in good time to connect with your homeward flight.