Hanoi – Sapa – Halong – Da Nang – Ho Chi MinhVietnam in 9 nights

Welcome to Vietnam. Our guide meets you at Noi Bai Airport and takes you to your hotel (check-in from about 2 pm). In the afternoon, a guided visit to the Ho Chi Minh Complex: the Mausoleum (seen from outside, as it is closed on Mondays, Fridays and every afternoon), the Presidential Palace, Ho Chi Minh's stilt house and the One Pillar Pagoda. Then a walk through the Old Quarter's busy lanes, old shops and colonial buildings, before you are dropped back at the hotel.

Pick-up about 6:00 for the sleeper bus to Sapa, with breaks on the way; the last stretch climbs past terraced valleys. Arrive around 13:00 to a welcome drink, a briefing and lunch of local dishes, then check in. In the afternoon, a guided walk of about 2.5 km (two hours) down to Cat Cat village, home of the Black H'mong, past the waterfall and the old French hydro-power station, with a visit to a H'mong family. Dinner in Sapa, and the evening free in town.

After breakfast, a 20-minute cable car ride up Fansipan, the 'Roof of Indochina'. From the top station, visit the pagodas and climb the last 600 steps to the 3,143 m summit (allow about 1.5 hours). Back in Sapa, check out and have lunch, then the group sleeper bus returns to Hanoi, arriving around 20:30–21:00, and you are taken to your hotel.

After breakfast and check-out, the cruise's shuttle bus takes you to Ha Long Bay. Board the boat and set off over a lunch of local dishes, out among some 2,000 limestone islands and islets: a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose name means 'descending dragon'. In the afternoon, a guided walk through a cave of stalactites and stalagmites, then time on a small island to swim or climb to a viewpoint over the bay. Back on board, watch the sunset, join a Vietnamese cooking class and have dinner on deck; squid fishing is optional later. An English-speaking guide stays on board.

Start with tai chi on the sundeck at dawn, with tea and coffee as the boat moves on through the islets. Later, kayak or take a bamboo boat into a hidden lagoon if you like. Check out of your cabin around 9:00 and have brunch as the boat heads back to shore, then disembark around 11:00 and take the shuttle bus back to Hanoi. A driver (no guide) then takes you to the airport for your flight to Da Nang (air fare not included). Our guide meets you at Da Nang airport and takes you to your hotel.

Morning free. Pick-up about 12:00, back about 19:30. Start at Cam Thanh coconut village, where locals show you how to row a round bamboo basket boat and fish the traditional way among the palms. Then Hoi An Old Town: the Phuc Kien Assembly Hall with its dragons and ornate roofs, a 200-year-old merchant's house (Phung Hung or Tan Ky), a traditional arts show and the 400-year-old Japanese Covered Bridge, with time for the craft shops and quiet lanes. Dinner of a local speciality, then at 18:00 a boat on the Hoai River to float a paper lantern, and the lantern-lit night market before you head back.

Pick-up about 7:30, back about 17:30. Drive to Ba Na Hills and ride one of the world's longest non-stop cable cars (about 11.6 km) up the mountain. At the top: Le Jardin d'Amour gardens, the Golden Bridge held up by giant stone hands, and Linh Ung Pagoda. After lunch at a local restaurant, the French Village and Fantasy Park's rides and games, then the cable car down.

After breakfast and check-out, the morning is free until a driver (no guide) takes you to the airport for your flight to Ho Chi Minh City (air fare not included). You are met on arrival and taken to your hotel. In the afternoon, a guided tour of the city: Independence (Reunification) Palace, built on the site of the old Norodom Palace; the French colonial Notre-Dame Cathedral (seen from outside while it is restored) and Central Post Office; and the War Remnants Museum, on the Indochina wars. End at Ben Thanh Market for crafts, souvenirs and street food.

After breakfast and check-out. Pick-up about 7:30, back about 14:30. About 1.5 hours by road to the Cu Chi Tunnels. A short film explains how they were dug and how people lived underground; then you explore the tunnels themselves, with their kitchens, sleeping quarters, workshops, field hospitals and hidden trapdoors. Tea and cassava, the guerrillas' staple, to finish. A shooting range is there if you want it, at your own cost. Back to your hotel.

After breakfast and check-out, the rest of the day is free until a driver (no guide) takes you to the airport for your flight home.