VIETNAM SPAR AND WELLNESS TOUR ITINERARY

Day-1: Arrival in Hanoi

Arrival in Hanoi and transfer to your hotel. This evening, attend a water-puppet theatre performance. The art of water puppetry began a thousand years ago, possibly in the flooded rice fields of Vietnam. Puppeteers stand in waist-high water and manipulate their charges in such a way that you can't help but be swept up in the legend being told.

Day-2 (B, L, D) Hanoi- Halong Bay

We leave Hanoi for a 3.5 hours drive to Ha Long city with a short break en route. Indochina Sails boarding time is at 12:15 pm. Upon boarding guests are greeted with a welcome drink and gather in the dining room for a comprehensive safety and boat orientation briefing. After the briefing and check in we have a bit of free time till lunch is served at 1:00pm. Lunch is a multi-course Vietnamese and Western set menu. Any and all dietary needs will be catered to.

During lunch we cruise through the Bai Tu Long Bay, cruising through the most beautiful and quiet area in Bai Tu Long Bay and Halong Bay to visit Cua Van Floating Fishing Village (the largest fishing village on the Bay). At the village, which has a population of about 600 residents living in about 150 floating houses, guests can choose between kayaking through the village or visiting on small bamboo boats (sampans) rowed by the villagers. Back on board after visiting the village there will be free time of about one and a half hours before a Cooking Class held by our Chef and all the passengers could attend to this. In addition we will have the first of our double happy hour from 6:00 till 7:00 during which time one free drink will be received for each one ordered. The dinner is served at 7:30pm.

Dinner is a sumptuous buffet featuring an array of salads, seafood, meat dishes, seasonal fresh fruits and deserts. After dinner guests can relax in the dining room and lounge or on the upper deck and enjoy the second happy hour from 9:00 till 10:00. Board games and playing cards are available and massage services as well (massage service is available throughout the cruise).

Day-3 (B, L) Ha Long Bay - Hanoi

The next morning coffee, tea and breakfast pastries are on offer from 6:45. Tai Chi lessons are led by our tai chi master at 7:00 before we leave the boat at 7:45 for a walking tour of Titov Beach Island. About one hour is spent on the island allowing time for a climb up the steps to the peak for a breathtaking 360 degree view of the Bay (there is also an expansive viewing deck half way up.

After the climb there is time left to relax on the beach and have a swim. Back on board it is time for final packing and freshening up before enjoying a full breakfast buffet, including traditional Vietnamese Noodles (Pho). After breakfast guests may relax in the dining room and lounge or on the deck enjoying the last Bay views before disembarkation at 11:00am. You will then travel back to Hanoi.

Day-4 (B) Hanoi - Nha Trang

This morning, transfer to Hanoi airport for a flight to Nha Trang. Upon arrival at Cam Ranh airport, you will be transfer to Evason Ana Mandara & Six Senses Spa - Nha Trang. Here you will enjoy a free day to relax on the beach or enjoy some of the best treatment at the resort's spa. The Six Senses Spa presents a Vietnamese experience of specialty treatments together with an extensive menu of traditional therapies, and provides a truly relaxing and revitalising experience to rejuvenate the senses. The treatment is at your choice and cost.

Day-6 (B) Nha Trang

After breakfast, a car will arrive to take you to board a boat for a morning cruise to some of the small islands in the bay. You'll anchor off Mun Island for snorkelling and a glass bottom boat ride to see colourful corals and the mysterious marine life. You'll then cruise to Tam Island to swim or relax on the beach before heading to visit Tri Nguyen Aquarium on Mieu Island. This afternoon, after a brief visit to the impressive Ponaga Cham tower, you'll be driven to the Thap Ba hot spring spa. After relaxing in the mud baths and mineral water pools, you'll be driven back to your hotel. Nha Trang's Thap Ba spa is well worth a visit. You can wallow in mud in an outdoor bath, shower in spring water, and bathe for as long as you like in a large hot mineral water swimming pool set in beautiful gardens. There are two bath options - private and communal. The private baths each accommodate two people and are shielded by bamboo screens. The communal bath takes up to six or eight people, are cheaper, and are much more fun. Bathing costumes (functional, but definitely not fashionable) and towels are supplied. The baths are on terraces on a rocky slope, and the gardens are bedecked with colourful 'paper trees'.

Day-7 (B) Nha Trang- Dalat

A free morning at leisure in Nha Trang to enjoy the resort facility. After lunch, drive to the highland city of Dalat. Dalat is an odd sort of place. Established as a hill resort at the beginning of the last century, it attracted homesick French colonials longing for the city's spring-like weather and pine forests. Today's architecture is a mix of standard Vietnamese dwellings and European style villas, many in art deco style.

Vietnamese people call it the 'romantic city', but the name owes more to comfort of the cool temperature than rings and roses where nuptials are concerned. We reach Ana Mandara Villas Dalat Resort & Spa in the late afternoon.

Day-8 (B, L) Dalat

In the morning, you'll ride a cable car to Truc Lam Pagoda and Tuyen Lam Lake. The pagoda is quite plain, but is surrounded by an attractive flower garden. There are good views of the lake, which lies below and can be reached by steps, and the thick forests on the far side. You will then visit Emperor Bao Dai's Summer Palace, the Crazy House and Dalat market. We'll return to your resort for an afternoon treatment at La Cochinchine Spa at your own choice and cost. There is a possibility to enjoy the resort facility such as heated swimming pool, entertainment center or joining a cooking class.

Day-9 (B) Dalat - Cooking Class - Ho Chi Minh city

In the morning, you'll enjoy a 3-hour cooking class at the hotel with a skilled chef. He'll take you to a local market to learn the differences between Northern and Southern cuisine. Upon returning to the restaurant, you'll learn how to cook some typical Southern dishes representative of the South of Vietnam. In the afternoon, fly to Ho Chi Minh city and enjoy free time for shopping.

Day-10 (B,L): Cao Dai temple and Cu Chi tunnels

After breakfast drive to the town of Tay Ninh, headquarters of the religion Caodism, an eclectic fusion of Eastern and Western religious philosophies. We see the noon mass at the temple (appox.1 hour). In the afternoon, your guide will take you to visit the famous Cu Chi tunnels, a maze of underground passages, chambers, rooms and booby traps used by both the Vietminh and the Viet Cong.

Day-11 (B, L):Ho Chi Minh city - Mekong delta

Morning departure from Saigon through urban sprawl. You will travel to Cai Be. There, you'll cruise on the Mekong River, visit, fruit orchards, traditional family-run brick kilns, and drop in to look at some traditional cottage industries. Spend some minutes rowing through dense palm tree-canals. Get to visit another islet for a short walk in a peaceful atmosphere and shade of fruit trees. You'll also call in at a local house to listen to the traditional music of the Delta performed by local people. Late in the afternoon, you'll drive further into the Mekong Delta to Can Tho where you'll spend the night.

Day-12 (B,L) Mekong delta - Saigon

After breakfast and a boat cruise, you'll arrive at the bustling Cai Rang floating market - the largest floating market in Mekong River . Both the journey and the market provide insights into the unique Mekong rural lifestyle. Feel free to take photographs, talk or bargain while our boat siding with them. Afternoon drive back to Saigon. Alternative for Day-10+11: Mekong Eyes cruise

Day-12 (B): Saigon

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