Cooking Class Tour 8 Days

 Hanoi - Halong - Hue

Code: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, G = Guide  

Day 1: Arrival at Hanoi (D, G)

Arriving at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, you'll be met and driven to your hotel.

17.15: You'll be picked up to watch the Water Puppet show an art form unique to northern Vietnam, and a good, light-hearted introduction to its rural culture.

18.30: Your Welcome Dinner will be served at one of the best local restaurant.

You'll spend the night in Hanoi.

Day 2: Hanoi (B, L, G)

In the morning, you'll be picked up from your hotel to the restaurant where you'll learn cooking Vietnamese cuisine. You'll have chance to buy or bargain as a local people in the market. When you come back the restaurant, Vietnamese teacher will prepare and help you to cook your lunch. The rest day will be free in the bustling Old Quarter. You'll spend the night in Hanoi.

Day 3: Hanoi/Ha Long (B, L, D, G)

8.30: 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.

10.00: You'll take a short break at Hong Ngoc Embroidery workshop.

10.30 - 12.00: You'll continue driving to Ha Long Bay.

12.00: You'll board your boat, a wooden junk built from the model of the old Vietnamese court vessels. It will take you first to the World Heritage area where you'll visit Amazing Cave and a famous beach in Ha Long Bay. You'll be able to swim, fish, climb a hill for an overview of the Bay's remarkable seascape. All your meals will be provided on board, usually based on fresh seafood.

You'll spend the night on the boat.

If you don't like seafood during this trip, please let us know what you like so we can arrange for you.

Day 4: Ha Long/Hanoi (B, L, G)

7.30: You'll have western breakfast on boat.

8.00 - 8.30: You'll venture into some of the sea level caves in a small sampan.

8.30 - 11.45: You'll spend the morning cruising Ha Long Bay, followed by lunch just before docking to the harbour.

11.45 - 15.00: You'll drive back to Hanoi for your overnight accommodation.

Day 5: Hanoi/Hue (B, G)

Your time will be your own until you'll escorted to Noi Bai airport for your flight to Hue. On arrival, you'll check in your hotel in the city centre and have a Hue city tour in the afternoon.

14.30 - 16.30: You'll be picked up to visit Imperial Citadel, once the seat of the Emperors of the powerful Nguyen Dynasty that ruled Vietnam from 1802 to 1945.

16.30 - 17.30: You'll visit the bustling Dong Ba market, which is one of the most famous markets in the Centre areas.

You'll spend the night in Hue.

Day 6: Hue (B, L, G)

7.30 - 8.30: Breakfast at your hotel

8.30 - 10.00: You'll be taken by car to visit Thien Mu Pagoda, a tranquil pagoda in the banks of the Perfume River.

10.00 - 12.00: Take a cruise along the Perfume River to the Royal Tombs of Minh Mang, the most majestic emperor and a staunch follower of Confucianism with many wives, concubines and a small army of children. Planned by the Emperor and built shortly after his death in formal Chinese style, it’s opulent and exotic, and a good example of classic Sino-Vietnamese architecture.

12.00 - 13.30: Drive back to Hue for lunch at a typical Vietnamese restaurant.

13.30 - 16.45: In the afternoon, you'll drive to visit Royal Tu Duc tomb, the "poet Emperor", is set in an elegant garden with a magnificent lake and pavilion complex. The simplest of the actual tomb (a monument - he was buried elsewhere to thwart grave robbers) is at odds with the lavish opulence of his reign. You'll then be picked up to visit the Royal Khai Dinh tomb is an unprepossessing concrete construction on the side of a wide valley. Its interest lies in the uneasy combination of Vietnamese and European features, the use of fragments of ceramics and glass for decoration, and the striking views from the courtyard in front of the mausoleum.

16.45 - 17.30: The last famous site in your programme will be Tu Hieu pagoda, which is one of the most famous pagodas in Hue.

Day 7: Hue (B, L, G)

In the morning, you'll visit one of city's "garden houses" in Hue. You'll then learn to cook some traditional typical food in Hue, you'll also prepare for your dinner. By the time you finish your cooking is the time to sit down for dinner in the pleasant surroundings and a comfortable atmosphere of another of the garden houses. You'll spend the night in Hue.

Day 8: Hue/Hanoi (B, G)

Your time will be your own until your private car and driver arrives to take you to Phu Bai airport to take a flight back to Hanoi. You'll transit for your international departure flight. 

Prices per person in US$:

Valid until December 31, 2008

Surcharge for peak season of hotels are not inclusive in the prices above.

Contact Us for more details

Prices include:

• Breakfast and accommodation sharing a double room.

• Return domestic flight tickets: Hanoi - Hue - Hanoi, including domestic airport taxes.

• Boats cruise as programme. 

• Travel by private, air-conditioned vehicle with an experienced driver.

• Bicycles as mentioned in the programme.

• Teacher and facilities to cook the meal in each place as mentioned.

• The services of experienced English-speaking guides as indicated in the itinerary

• Where necessary, entry fees for all visits as mentioned in the programme.

• Lunches and dinners, as specified, in the local restaurants and full board on the boat in Ha Long Bay.

• Government taxes

Prices do not include:

• International flight tickets and airport tax.

• Visas

• Dinners, except as specified above.

• Drinks, gratuities and personal expenses.

• Insurance.

Hotel list for Five Stars standard

• Hanoi: Nikko Hotel (***** overlooking the Thuyen Quang Lake, indoor swimming pool) or similar

• Hue: Saigon Morin Hotel (****colonial building overlooking the Perfume River) or similar

Hotel list for Four Stars standard

• Hanoi: Sunway Hotel (**** comfortable boutique hotel 15 minute’s walk from the city centre) or similar

• Hue: Huong Giang Hotel (**** on the bank of the Perfume River) or similar

Hotel list for Three Stars standard

• Hanoi: Army hotel (*** city centre with swimming pool) or similar

• Hue: Heritage Hotel (**** city centre with swimming pool) or similar

Hotel list for Two Stars standard 

• Hanoi: Nam Hai Hotel (** city centre) or similar

• Hue: Thanh Noi Hotel (** city centre, local standard) or similar