Vietnam is the country of World Heritage sites and eternal beauty. Discover Vietnam tour is a perfect opportunity to explore the depths of architectural beauty, natural diversity and the fascinating culture and history of this country.

Explore the vibrant mix of culture and friendly people of the Vietnamese.  The intriguing country has stunning landscapes and mystical eastern coastline. From the chaos of the Ho Chi Minh City to the old world nature of Hanoi, the tumultuous history and modern culture of this unique country are an attraction to many. The colonial charm, inspiring scenery and delicious food and cuisine of this country are another added attraction that makes this tour an exceptional opportunity to sway away from a regular life into the wondrous views of the world. Come explore the labyrinth of streets and towns in the beautiful country, and you are surely set to come back looking for more. Explore the rich culture and traditions of the naturally blessed country.

Itinerary

  • Day Arrival in Hanoi

    The incredible tour of Vietnam starts with an arrival to the capital of this mysterious country. Hanoi is home to several sightseeing locations including the Temple of Literature. Temple of Literature is the oldest University in Vietnam and has over 2000 graduates. Other locations include the Hoa Lo Prison, and the quarter of the country with 36 streets, each selling a particular type of shop.

    After arriving at the airport, you will be driven to the hotel to spend the night. The afternoon is free for exploration of the capital city. Explore the bustling nightlife and taste the unique cuisine that Vietnam is famous for. You can also attend the Puppet Show and welcome dinner.

    • No meals included
    • Overnight at hotel in Hanoi
  • Day Drive to Hanoi to Halong Bay

    We start the day early, to embark on a 4-hour journey to Halong Bay. Halong Bay is an interesting creation of nature. This can be considered to be one of the most stunning sights in Sub Asia. There are roughly 3000 limestone peaks rising directly from the emerald blue sea in the Gulf of Tonkin.

    We will start the cruise through the amazing karst scenery. Enjoy exceptional seafood on board. We will spend the night in the luxurious cruise boat with twin share cabins and en suite facilities. We can also embark on an optional excursion to ThienCung cave or Dau Go Cave. Spend the night in the tranquility of the waters of the Halong Bay. Approximately 4 hours of drive.

    • Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
    • Overnight at hotel in Halong bay
  • Day Halong Bay to Hanoi

    We will continue our exceptionally satisfying cruise today. After this, we return to port and drive back to Hanoi. Upon arrival in Hanoi, we are free to embark on sightseeing in some locations strewn through the city. Explore the Temple of Literature, to the Hoa Lo Prison. We can also do some shopping in 36 Streets. Each street is home to shops selling particular products. Another stop worth exploring is the Presidential Palace.

    • Breakfast & lunch included
    • Overnight at hotel in Hanoi
  • Day Fly from Hanoi to Hue

    It is time, to fly to Hue today. After breakfast, we will be transported to the airport whereby we will embark on a beautiful flight to Hue.

    The city of Hue holds historical significance as it was the feudal capital of the country from 1802 to 1945 when ruled by the Nguyen dynasty. Its magnificence is reflected in the number of pagodas, temples, palaces and citadels which are strewn all across the city. All the architectural delights were laid in accordance with the Geomancy or FengShui. It is also home to the green beaches of the incredible Perfume River.

    The most important destination to visit in Hue is the Tomb of TuDuc, considered to be one of the most beautiful works of royal architecture of the Nguyen Dynasty. The tomb lives up to its reputation as it is a set in a sprawling pine forest and the construction of the tomb, which started on 1864, was completed bu 1867. It is the final resting place of the Emperor TuDuc, who is known to have enjoyed the longest reign of the Nguyen dynasty.

    Another outstanding sight is the Imperial Citadel which has walls which are six miles in length and has palaces and halls. It is also home to the remains of the Forbidden Purple City where concubines and eunuchs were only allowed. The gaping holes left by bombs indicate the idea of the destruction wreaked upon the country during the Vietnam War. There are more than 100 buildings in the Imperial Citadel and with its abundance of palaces, temples, and fortresses; it also stands out as an interesting place to visit. Other added attractions worth visiting are the Thien Mu Pagoda, Imperial Citadel, the mausoleum of TuDuc etc. Also, embark on a boat cruise on the Perfume River and listen to the Vietnamese traditional folk song during the cruise.

    • Breakfast included
    • Overnight at hotel in Hue
  • Day Hue to Hoi An

    The day starts early today. We will embark on a relaxing boat ride on the Perfume River to reach the Thien Mu Pagoda which was created on 1601 and is the most famous architectural structures situated in Vietnam. Its striking 21 m high octagonal tower and the 7 storiedPhuocDuyen Tower offers an incredible, picturesque sight. The sight is the unofficial symbol of Hue.

    We will continue from the Thien Mu to the Tomb of Emperor Minh Mang. This tomb is the most majestic of all Royal Tombs for sure as its magnificence cannot be put into words. The tomb was created for Minh Mang, who ruled from 1820-1840.

    Our 130 m journey drives through Lang Co between the South China Sea as we leave Hue behind. The drive also takes s past the spectacular Hai Van Pass, also known as the Pass of the Ocean Clouds. Stunning views of mountain peaks from atop the pass please the eye and with the views in mind, we reach Danang. In Danang, we explore the Cham Museum, home to statutes and decorative pieces of architecture. All the delights, more than 300 in numbers, have been collected from Hindu and Buddhist temples from the Kingdom of Champa.

    Also climb the Marble Mountain, from where we can explore the views of the large caves used by Viet Cong as a hospital base during the long and fearsome Vietnam War. The peak offers exceptional vies of the China beach and the surrounding countryside. We finally reach Hoi An and spend the night there.

    • Breakfast included
    • Overnight in hotel in Hoi An
  • Day Sightseeing around Hoi An

    Today, we will spend the entire day on sightseeing around d the spectacles offered by Hoi An. Hoi An is the ancient European trading port in Vietnam, which dates back to the sixteenth century.

    Hoi An can surely be called a living museum as it is filled with attractive wooden merchant’s houses and pagoda styled temples. The picturesque town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site on 1999. The tour of this wonderful town starts off with the Culture and History Museum. This endeavor will be followed by walking around the authentic market. Also, walk along the ChineseAssemblyHall of the Fujian Chinese Community.

    The Community was created on 1967, as a dedication to the Goddess of the Sea or the Holy Mother (ThienHau). It is also a perfect meeting spot for the Fujian Chinese Community. Walk along narrow streets to the riverbank with old houses on both sides.

    The beautifully decorated shops, colorful lanterns, and souvenirs almost create a mystical aura that is evident all through the city. Observe the Japanese Covered Bridge which was created in the 17th century. The bridge is shaped like a pagoda and is the official symbol of Hoi An as of now.

    The day ends by visiting a historic old house. There is also an option to embark on a public boat ride to visit Cam Kim, a small carpentry village. Clay objects are created in the beautiful pottery village of Thanh Ha, another destination worth exploring.

    • Breakfast included
    • Overnight at hotel in Hoi An
  • Day Fly from Hoi An to Saigon

    Today, our destination is the absorbing and exciting city of Saigon. We start off the day with a drive to the Danang Airport. From the airport, we fly to the Saigon airport and proceed to the Cu Chi Tunnels directly.

    The Cu Chi tunnels are an evidence of the courageous past that Vietnam holds. The tunnels were part of an extensive battleground in the Vietnam- American war. The visit to Saigon cannot be complete without the visit to this massive underground village. The village is an intricate network of 200 km long tunnels. It is suited 75 kilometers from the Ho Chi Minh City at Ben Duoc.

    A simple visit to a short segment of this labyrinth of underground residence gives a clear picture of the ingenuity of the local people who created it. If you are claustrophobic, this place is not for you to visit.

    Saigon is a city which consists of temples standing defiantly alongside modern development. The bustling free market city was surely devastated by the Vietnam Wat, but has emerged tall and proud as a bustling free market city. Apart from the Cu Chi tunnels, we also embark on a visit to the Thanh market, Reunification Palace, and the interesting War Remnants Museum. The museum holds photogenic records of the beautiful Vietnam War. Discretion is advised, however, as some images in the museum are extremely graphic.

    • Breakfast included
    • Overnigh night at hotel in Saigon
  • Day Saigon to Mekong Delta & return to Saigon

    We visit the amazing Mekong Delta to experience the lifestyle of people in the Mekong River today. We start off with a drive to Vinh Long. Vinh Long is aptly called as the ‘rice bowl’ of Vietnam as it produces most of the country’s coconuts, sugarcane, and fruits, owing to its geographically strategic location.

    After reaching Mekong Delta, we embark on a cruise of the mighty Mekong River and cruise our way to Cai Be. Friendly locals and beautiful orchards bless our path/ en route, we can also stop off to visit small cottage industries making rice paper and coconut candy. Sample local produce and spend the evening on a tranquil dinner experience in the Mekong Delta River. After visiting the beautiful floating market, it is now time to return back to Saigon  and spend the night there.

    • Breakfast included
    • Overnight at hotel in Saigon
  • Day Depart transfer

    Today, we will explore remaining areas of the Saigon City, before finally bidding goodbye yo the beauty and the ingenuity and interesting history of Vietnam.

    Saigon, also known as Ho Chi Minh, is known to be the largest city in Vietnam. It is also a city that never sleeps as people are one the go, 24 hours a day. Buying, selling, studying and working local people delight yours to the core. High rise buildings have surely begun to appear in the premises of the large city, however, its history and culture remain embedded in the souls of every passer-by that ou encounter.

    Places of interests, to visit in the better half of the morning, include the likes of Notre Dame Cathedral. Opera House, Central Post Office, City Hall etc. shop around the Dong Khoi Street and the Ben Thanh Market before making your way to the airport, in order to leave the beauty of this wonderful country behind. Depart with heavy hearts from this luxurious tour of Vietnam, only with a promise to come back for more.

    • Breakfast included

Trip Info

  • Accommodation & meals
    • Pre and post tour accommodation at 4 star hotels in Hanoi & Saigon.
    • 8-night accommodation in the 4 Star hotels on twin sharing basis.
    • 8 Breakfasts included during the trip as mentioned in the itinerary.

  • Inclusions & Exclusions

    Inclusions

    • Round-trip airport/hotel transfers specified in the itinerary
    • All domestic air tickets (HAN-HUI and DAD-SGN / Economy Class)
    • English speaking tour guide
    • Admission fees to sites listed in the itinerary

    Exclusions

    • Round-trip International air ticket
    • Visa fee
    • Travel insurance
    • Meals and drinks (unless specified in the itinerary)
    • Service beyond the itinerary
    • Personal expenses throughout the tour
    • Gratuities (optional, not required)

  • Transportation

    Transports by van, mini-bus, and/or coach

  • Visa & documentation

    All travelers must have at least 6 months valid passport from return schedule date to travel overseas.

    A Visa required traveling to Vietnam

    US and Canada Citizen require valid passport and Visa to enter the country.
    The tourists Visa allow staying up to 30 day from issuing date.

    - Vietnamese Visa application form
    - Original Signed US or Canada passport
    - One Passport picture 2x2 (Color picture only)
    - Proof of status: Legal status evidence as original document such as US Visa,1-20,H1B approval notice and Green card.

  • Insurance Policy

    We personally don’t recommend or advertise any particular insurance organization but we can help you figure out what kind of insurance company you should make a deal with. We kindly advise our guests that travel insurance is mandatory before any other travel and trek agreements.

    Ways of triggering your insurance:

    • There are actually two ways that your insurance fund can be triggered and brought into action. The first type is where you will have to use your own money if any injuries occurs or any medical attention is needed. Then the insurance company will pay you later when you return home and show them the documentation of insurance as proof.
    • Another type is where if any medical attention is needed and your insurance needs to be triggered the insurance company will cover all the cost up front and you won’t have to spend a single penny that is not meant for such incident.

    Personally we recommend you to pick an insurance company who are willing to pay you while you need medical attention in Nepal during the time of evacuation and other medical emergencies and not after you return from Nepal.

     

    Main conditions to look for in an insurance policy:

    General insurance only offers medical evacuation up to 4000m but we will attain maximum height of more than this, so we advise our clients to search for a company that provides medical insurance and evacuation plans up to 6000m. If you are planning to climb any peak along with trekking please make sure your policy also pays for “Climbing” as an option.

    You will need to find a policy where your insurance is activated only for the days that you are trekking. If you suffer from altitude sickness and have to be evacuated in an instant you will have to trigger your insurance. These insurance can cost up to $5000. Although these kinds of evacuations are very rare we still need to be prepared for it. So to make any insurance claim you firstly need to get a medical report from a hospital of Nepal as proof before triggering your insurance claim. You will be charged about $150 as a medical fee by the hospital to get your medical reports and documentations before claiming your travel insurance. Some insurance also cover for minor interference and obstacles like flight cancellations to Lukla or even from Kathmandu to your home.

    As mentioned before, please look for an insurance policy that pays you during the time of emergency while trekking and not after you get back to your country.

    What you need to know:

    We inform you that any kind of medical fees that your insurance does not cover will be your responsibility. So we want you to have a very good and thorough look at the insurance policy before applying for it. We do not take any kind of responsibilities for insurance related payments and fiscal managements but we will help you get required documentations and reports for the insurance.

     

    Examples of insurance companies:

    Bigcattravelinsurance.com, WorldNomads, travelguard.com, Squaremouth.com

     

    Important highlights to remember:

    1. Makalu travels do not hold any kind of insurance related financial management work but we will help you acquire important documentations needed for processing your insurance policies.
    2. Choose an insurance policy where you don’t have to pay your own money while trekking in Nepal while in need of medical attention. In other words look for a policy where your insurance company will cover all the money related process if you need any kind of medical attention.
    3. Choose policy with evacuation plan up to 6000m and with an option “climbing” if you are climbing any peak as well as trekking.
    4. Some companies like WorldNomads have a policy where clients have to pay their own money while trekking if they need any kind of medical attention and you will be payed once you return home. So please make sure you have a very good understanding of what type of insurance policy you are agreeing to.

     

  • Cancellation & Changes

    There are two ways to deal with modification in travel plans. First is you can cancel the trip completely and second is you can postpone the date. But for any of these change to take effect we need to be informed 6 weeks before your booked trip date before cancelling or postponing the trip.

    Important note: In case of natural disasters and national political issues our hands are tied so we cannot undertake any kind of activities which we will take full responsibility of and make sure our clients get the flexibility of making decisions to either postpone or cancel the trip they initially advocated for. There will be no extra fees or cost for rescheduling but if you decide to cancel the trip volunterily our cancellation fees apply which is listed and described below.

     

    Cancellation fees rules:

    These are our specific rules for trip cancellations and refund fees involved:

    1. If we are informed by our clients at least 43 days before the travel date then the full deposit amount will be refunded after deducting 4% bank surcharge on total deposit amount.
    2. If we are informed by our clients 6 weeks before the travel date then we can refund complete deposit by just deducting $195 per person.
    3. If cancellation is done between 4 and 6 weeks of travel date then we can refund your deposit after deducting $395 per person. This is because we will have to pay to the hotels, guides and other personals involved to make this trip possible to recover their financial plans.
    4. If we are not informed between 4 and 6 weeks of travel date there will be no refund as there are many other workers and organizations that needs to be paid by us for planning your trip. Losing you as a customer means losing their employment opportunity which will harm involved worker’s financial status.

    So, we request our respectful guests to inform us about any kind of modification plans (postpone or cancellations) at least before 43 days of travel date. This will help us to refund your designated deposit and also maintain financial status of every worker and organization involved.

  • Payments & Deposits

    Makalu Travels offers easy & reliable online payment through credit/debit card, & Paypal. All online payments are processed through the our highly secured online payment partner Authorize.net Please kinldy be informed that all online payments are subject to additional 4% bank surcharge & processing fee. 

    If you would like to avoid the 4% transaction fee then you also have an option to deposit the money into Makalu Travels' bank account in Wells Fargo Bank, USA. The bank details will be provided on request. You will receive a notice from us after a successful deposit or any kind of financial transaction. We will make sure that your transfer amount has arrived to us before sending you any type of confirmation invoice or notification.

  • Hotel & Room Bookings

    The hotel we will accommodate you to is Hotel Le Himalaya pre and post trek in Kathmandu. We will book the hotel rooms for you as per your request with a good pricing than that of online booking. We will transfer all your luggage while being transferred from one accommodation center to another. In Kathmandu we will have a very standard hotel but while trekking we won’t have such luxury so we will have to spend our nights in tea houses. These tea houses are fairly of good standard, you can’t be too picky in the Himalayas! You can contact us if there is any specific query you have about the accommodation structure.

     

    In Kathmandu

    Rooms are very spacious and have private bathrooms and toilets. You will not have to compromise even a bit while your stay at Kathmandu. Hotel Le HImalaya is where you will be before and after the trek as we will have pre booked everything for our respected guests. In case of extending your vacation in Nepal we can help you book rooms for extra nights but we will need to be pre informed. If it is a peak season it will be difficult to manage room in same hotel but we will make an utmost effort to accommodate you in the hotel of same caliber.

    Note: Our guests will not have to pay for the nights that they don’t spend in a hotel room in Kathmandu. We can always come to an agreement if there are certain flight delays or cancellations. During these kind of situations we will accommodate our guests fitting best to their requirements.

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The Advantages of Booking with Makalu Travels

Access to Local Expertize

We take pride in our carefully selected well-trained, experienced tour guides and leaders who have an insider access that is certain to enhance your experience.Their knowledge of meticulous details of all the local places without exaggeration is what will make a world of difference to your travel experience.

Quality Assured

Each of our trips are monitored and regulated by our office in USA because we want to maintain the highest standards of service at all times. At our destination, you will always be hosted with seamless service, the best of hospitality with clean hygienic rooms and tasty and healthy variety of foods.

No Middleman to
Meddle In

With the help of our extended network of travel partners, we directly connect with the local service providers giving you a cost advantage rightaway. We assure you that you will only have to pay for the services you take with no middleman squeezing in your bill.

Guaranteed Departure Dates

If you have signed up and made a payment for our fixed departure packages, the tour departure is automatically guaranteed. When you book our fixed departure trips, you can be assured that the tour will surely operate on the day it is scheduled and will not be cancelled.

Your Safety,
Our priority

It goes without saying that your safety is our topmost priority. The difference in climate, altitudes and geography can cause a certain level of distress for some, which is why our tour guides and leaders are trained and well-equipped for first aid services throughout the trip. Our super tour guides and leaders will ensure your safety at all times.

Transperency and
Honesty

Makalu Travels maintains a strong ethics of business. We therefore assure you there are no hidden charges applied in our packages. Unless you opt for additional activities other than those mentioned in the pre-booked itinerary, even in cases of unforeseen circumstances, the extra costs would be ours to bear.

24/7 Service and
Support

Round the clock support, operations and monitoring. Our services are available round the clock, 7 days a week. If you have any queries regarding the destination, itinerary, safety or duration among others, you can call us or send us an email any time. We are a travel agency that never sleeps.

Secure Online
Payment Options

With Makalu Travels your online payments are secure and simplified with the best transaction & data security methods applied . We offer you flexible and transaction fee free options to pay for your trip. We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and Paypal with no additional transacation fee.

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