Day 1: Arrival to Hanoi
Following your arrival at Noi Bai International Airport (HAN), you will be picked up and transferred to your hotel. In the afternoon, your culinary tour in Hanoi will start with orientation walk in Hanoi Old Quarter. Your guide will introduce you to some of the authentic local food like banh cuon (steam rice pancake rolled with minced pork and mushroom), bun cha (rice noodle with grilled pork - another Hanoi famous street food), pho (rice noodle soup with beef or chicken), and enjoy some coffee in local coffee shop.
Afterward, you will have a dinner at Cha Ca La Vong - the most famous and authentic local food in Hanoi serving rice noodle with grilled fish on the charcoal kitchen. Overnight will be in Hanoi. Today's meal includes dinner.
Day 2: Hanoi cooking class and city tour
You morning is reserved to Hanoi food tasting tour. First, you experience a bowl of "pho bo" (noodle with beef) at Pho Bat Dan or Pho Bo Hang Dong (subject to the availability of the restaurant) - the famous typical Northern Vietnam pho. At the pho traditional restaurant, people should wait in line and pay and get their own bowl of pho.
After breakfast, you will visit nearby noodle factory called Lo Banh Pho Ba Ngoan and will be guided by Mrs. Ngoan. Here, you will get to see the process of noodle making without additives. Mrs. Ngoan had made noodle since 1954 at the same address and now her daughter-in-law inherits the factory. This noodle factory provides noodle to all of the famous Pho places around Hanoi.
The pho place and the visit to the factory will be a really special experience for you. All chefs going with the group will love it. After that, you will have the opportunity to take a cooking class at La Verticale with Mr. Didier Corlou.
Class 1: Vietnamese traditional cooking course
Schedule: 09:30 to 13:00
- 09:30 Meeting with Chef at La Verticale and market visit
- 10:15 Demonstration and tasting with five dishes
Tasting menu:
- Vietnamese banana flower salad
- Hanoi nems (deep fried spring rolls)
- Grilled chicken with lemon leaves
- Bun cha
- Sautéed pumpkin branches
Later in the afternoon, you will have a visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex and Temple of Literature - the center of culture of Hanoi. In the evening, enjoy the great experience of water puppet show - the unique art of Vietnamese people from Red River Delta. Dinner will be at Indochine Restaurant and overnight is in Hanoi. Today, the meal plan includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Day 3: Hanoi to Halong Bay
In the morning, you will depart to Halong Bay through Red River Delta. Upon arrival to Halong, you will embark to the junk. You will have cruise briefing and then check in to cabins and you will begin cruise. Passage into the picturesque “Dragon descending to the sea” Bay has 1,969 limestone islets rising from the sea, many of them containing beautiful grottoes.
In the afternoon, enjoy lunch with deluxe Vietnamese and international set menu. You will cruise to Titop Island where you can take a short trek to a nearby summit for a panoramic view of the bay dotted with the junk, go swimming on a quiet beach or sunbathing on the sundeck. Then, transfer back to the boat and sail for approximately 45 minutes to the second destination - the Bat Cave.
Upon arrival, you can either take a 40 minutes kayaking session to the nearby Bat Cave, lagoon, and surrounding waters (kayaking is available if it already booked as part of your package) or visit the largest floating fishing village in Halong Bay with opportunity to interact with fishermen who have been living in the bay for almost three generations. You will then travel to the village and tour the village for approximately 20 minutes.
After your visit to the village, you will return on board and enjoy cocktails while watching the sunset before dinner. In the evening, you can watch the famous Indochina movie in the dining room or join squid fishing from the boat with the crew. Depending on weather conditions, you can travel by tender and you will be able to board the squid boat and see how the local fishermen catch squid and other fish. Overnight is on the junk. Today’s meal plan includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Day 4: Halong Bay to Tho Ha Village to Hanoi
Greet the day with a morning Tai Chi exercise and catch the opportunity to view the sunrise over the bay with coffee, tea, and breakfast pastries served in the dining room. You will cruise to Surprise Cave area then transfers to the cave by tender. This is one of two most beautiful caves in Halong Bay with a great collection of stalagmites and stalactites in the beautiful space. It is really a wonder of nature.
You will return to the boat for a final glimpse of the Halong Bay while cruising back to the dock with a set menu or buffet brunch served in the dining room. During the drive back to Hanoi, you will visit Tho Ha, a traditional village of terracotta products dating before the 20th century. Grab the opportunity to explore the village’s narrow and zigzagged alleys, and old houses constructed from broken pieces of old terracotta.
You will have tea with a local family in Mr. Viet’s house, enjoy a live folk music performance, and learn the ancient art of rice paper making from Madam Viet. You will also visit a 500-year-old pagoda with Mr. Viet as you stroll past friendly villagers, a cemetery and a view of the village over a beautiful lake. After that, you will drive back to Hanoi. Dinner will be at Season of Hanoi Restaurant.
Day 5: Hanoi and departure
Take your breakfast then this morning is free at your leisure until transfer to Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) for departure flight.
