Monday 9^th October – Ho Chi Minh City

• Arrive at your own leisure at Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in Vietnam
• Meet your YPT guide at our centrally located hotel at 2:00pm
• Head straight into history with a walk past South Vietnam’s Presidential Palace, now the Reunification Palace, to the War Remnants Museum, complete with scenes from the French occupation of Indochina, US military equipment from tanks to planes and vivid descriptions of the effects of Agent Orange and other leftovers from the war on Vietnam still today
• Dinner of Vietnamese pho – rice noodles – and other dishes before we grab a cold Saigon beer, a plastic stool and sit on the street for some refreshment and people watching, before seeing where the night takes us!
• Overnight in Saigon

Tuesday 10^th October – Ho Chi Minh City Morning

• Head out after breakfast to the Cu Chi Tunnels, where we see and experience the tunnel warfare carried out by the Viet Cong against the US military in South Vietnam
• Drive back into the city for some street food, we’re particularly fond of the famous Banh Mi thit pork sandwich!

Afternoon

• Visit the Ho Chi Minh Museum
• Head to the old American Embassy and see if we can climb up to “that place” where the last evacuations happened!
• Check out the war surplus market. YPT does love a good Soviet market but we’ll make do with looking for Vietnam War trinkets!
• Gather supplies for the train and head for our farewell dinner in the notorious District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City – The original Saigon
• Our first major train journey, the relatively short trip from Saigon to Nha Trang, in our 4 berth private cabins
• Overnight on the HCMC – Nha Trang train

Wednesday 11^th October – Nha Trang Morning

• Morning arrival in Nha Trang – have an early check-in into our hotel, so will have some time to relax and freshen up before heading out for the day.
• Breakfast in the hotel before we go for a walk through the backstreets of Nha Trang – the best place to see the real city far from its beachfront – up to the Po Nagar Cham Towers, built in the Cham Civilisation between the 7^th and 12^th centuries and which is located on a hill with good views
• Walk back through a traditional Vietnamese fishing village, and remind ourselves that fish definitely does smell like fish

Afternoon

• After lunch walk past Nha Trang Cathedral and visit the Thanh Dien Khanh Fortress, an old citadel designed by a French officer in the late 18^th century
• Dinner and drinks — we might just head to Crazy Kim bar, because we like the place and the name!
• Overnight in Nha Trang

Thursday 12^th October – Nha Trang Morning

• After a relatively late rise, we will head out on a short drive to Bai Dai beach, getting away from the city and into one of the best coastal areas of Vietnam.
• Stop on the way for a jungle walk and a dip in a waterfall pool

Afternoon

• Swim in the sea or relax on the beach with a cocktail or two
• Head back to Nha Trang, grab supplies and head for dinner by the sea, before heading up to pick up our bags and supplies
• We are treated to another relaxing, and beautiful train journey with our overnight trip in private 4 berth cabins from Nha Trang to Hue
• Drinks and overnight on the train to Hue

Friday 13^th October – Hue Morning

• Morning arrival in Hue, the old imperial capital of Vietnam where we transfer to the Jade Hotel
• After a bite to eat we head to Hue’s main attraction – the Imperial Citadel. It’s huge, and we’ll wander around the rooms and gardens for a few hours taking in different parts of ancient Vietnamese history

Afternoon

• After lunch, we head out for a slice of more modern history, hiring motorbikes and heading to Phu Bai Airport, built and garrisoned by the Americans in this key part of former South Vietnam
• Grab our motorbikes again for some countryside exploration. It just wouldn’t be Vietnam without motorbikes and rice paddies, and the countryside around Hue is some of the most beautiful in the country, and its people the most welcoming
• Head back in Hue and go for dinner and drinks in this bustling Vietnamese town, starting of course and unavoidably at The DMZ Bar
• Overnight in Hue

Saturday 14^th October – The DMZ Morning

• Early rise and drive out to the old Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between North and South Vietnam, at the 17^th parallel. The journey takes 2 hours, with us stopping at a war memorial on the way, as well as various other places.
• Lunch on the way to the DMZ

Afternoon

• Visit the Hien Luong Bridge that was the official border crossing for much of the war, with classic halfway point selfies a must.
• Vinh Moc Tunnels and museum, the main part of the DMZ Tour
• See Khe Sanh Combat Base, Camp Carroll, and The Rockpile, former US military bases and outposts
• Before driving back to Hue, we stop for dinner at a quiet seaside village for fish BBQ, and an amazing sunset.
• Stop back at the hotel for a freshen up and to pick up supplies for our last train journey.
• Night train to Hanoi in our private 4 berth rooms. This truly is one of the most stunning train journeys you can take in Vietnam, as we witness the countryside roll into what is the bustling capital city of Hanoi
• Overnight on the train

Sunday 15^th October – Hanoi Morning

• Morning arrival in Hanoi
• Transfer to hotel and a super quick transfer to the highlight of our trip to Vietnam, by joining the hordes of people that line up daily to see the father of the nation, Ho Chi Minh, lying in state. People still take this very seriously, and it is a big deal
• Head straight to the Ho Chi Minh Museum for an in-depth look at his life

Afternoon

• Lunch of Pho Ha Noi – more savoury than Saigon’s version
• Visit the Museum of the Vietnamese Revolution, detailing history going right back to the struggle against the French
• We head to Lenin Park, complete with statue, before some people-watching then go for dinner and drinks in the Old Quarter, our last Vietnamese night out!
• Overnight in Hanoi

Monday 16^th October – Hanoi Morning

• Free morning to gain up on much needed rest or to hit the markets in Old Quarter

Afternoon

• Lunch of Bun Cha Ha Noi
• Head out to Hoa Lo Prison, otherwise known as the Hanoi Hilton, where the French imprisoned and executed Vietnamese revolutionaries during the colonial period, and in which the US POWs captured by the North Vietnamese were kept, including a certain John McCain
• Group A members tour concludes
• Group B members continue to for dinner and grab last minute supplies for the train
• Catch the 9:25pm night train to Nanning, China, stopping and getting off at both borders
• Overnight on train

Tuesday 17^th October – Nanning and Xingping Morning

• 9:30am arrival in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi province where we head for a late breakfast/early lunch before heading to Nanning East Railway Station

Afternoon

• Board our 12:48pm train from Nanning East to Yangshuo Railway Station arriving at 4:24pm
• Yangshuo Railway Station is actually located in the picturesque town of Xingping, which is where the picture on the back of a 20 RMB note is from. We head directly to our hotel in the old town, before doing a short city tour, followed by dinner and drinks in this amazingly picturesque old town
• Overnight in Xingping

Wednesday 18^th October – Yangshuo Morning

• Morning transfer from Xingping to Yangshuo
• Here we head out on our Yangshuo Motorbike tour exploring the countryside and amazing karst geological scenery

Afternoon

• Lunch of local Guangxi food
• Carry on our motorbike tour, stop for beers by the river and spot cormorant fishermen or go for a swim yourself
• Head back to Yangshuo and go for dinner
• Overnight in Yangshuo

Thursday 19^th October

• Tour concludes with morning transfer to Guilin for our flight to Beijing for those continuing on with our Ultimate Leaders tour to Beijing and onwards to Pyongyang!

Read More