Explore Nature’s Serenity in Vietnam

Highlights & Route

Vietnam is a long, thin country, and this programme travels its whole length from north to south in a week, using two domestic flights to avoid days on the road. It is a mix of three things Indian families enjoy: sacred places, from the thousand-year-old pagodas of Hanoi to the Hindu towers of My Son; scenery, especially the limestone karst and rivers of Ninh Binh; and towns with character, imperial Hue and the lantern-lit old port of Hoi An.

The north comes first. Two nights in Hanoi cover the Ngoc Son temple on Hoan Kiem lake, the Tran Quoc pagoda on West Lake (the oldest in the city, dating to the sixth century), the One Pillar pagoda and the Temple of Literature, a Confucian academy founded in 1070. A day visit south to Ninh Binh brings the vast Bai Dinh pagoda complex and a rowing-boat ride through the caves and rice paddies of Trang An, a UNESCO landscape. Then a flight to Hue, the nineteenth-century capital, for the Perfume River, the seven-storey Thien Mu pagoda, the walled Imperial City and the emperors’ tombs.

From Hue the road crosses the Hai Van pass to My Son, where the Champa kings built brick towers to Shiva, worshipped as Bhadreshvara, between the fourth and thirteenth centuries; it is the most important Hindu site in Vietnam and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The night is in Hoi An, and a second flight takes you to Ho Chi Minh City for the Jade Emperor pagoda and the Thien Hau temple in Cholon, with an optional Mekong Delta excursion. Vegetarian breakfast and dinner are included every day, which in Vietnam needs planning and is why we arrange them.

Route

Hanoi (2 nights) → Ninh Binh: Bai Dinh and Trang An (1 night) → fly to Hue (1 night) → Hai Van pass → My Son → Hoi An (1 night) → fly from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City (1 night) → Tan Son Nhat airport

Good to know before you book

Indian passport holders need a Vietnam e-visa, applied for at evisa.gov.vn (USD 25 single entry, USD 50 multiple entry, stay of up to 90 days). Allow five to seven working days for issue, print the approval letter, and make sure your passport has six months’ validity. We guide you through the form but the application is in your name.
Two domestic flights (Hanoi to Hue, Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City) are part of this programme and are included in the price; international flights into Hanoi and out of Ho Chi Minh City are not. Vietnamese domestic baggage allowance is usually 20 to 23 kg checked plus 7 to 10 kg cabin.
Vegetarian food is well understood in Vietnam because of the Buddhist tradition (ask for ‘an chay’); fish sauce is the hidden ingredient to watch, and our guides brief every restaurant. Dinners are at vegetarian or Indian restaurants.
Weather varies by region: Hanoi and Ninh Binh are cool and misty from December to February and hot from May to August; Hue and Hoi An have their rainy season from September to December; Ho Chi Minh City is warm all year with afternoon showers from May to October. February to April is the most even month range for the whole route.
Pagodas and the Imperial City expect covered shoulders and knees. Shoes are removed inside pagoda halls. The My Son towers are in open sun with little shade; carry a hat and water.

Yatra Highlights

Tran Quoc pagoda, Ngoc Son temple and the Temple of Literature in Hanoi
Rowing-boat through the caves of Trang An and the great Bai Dinh pagoda complex
The Shiva towers of My Son, imperial Hue, old Hoi An and the temples of Ho Chi Minh City

Day 1 :

Arrival in Hanoi, Hoan Kiem lake and Ngoc Son temple

Welcome at Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi, at your arrival point (airport, railway station or hotel) at the agreed time; the drive into the Old Quarter is about 45 minutes. Check in and rest. In the late afternoon walk around Hoan Kiem, the Lake of the Returned Sword, and cross the red wooden bridge to the Ngoc Son temple on its island, dedicated to the general Tran Hung Dao and the scholar Van Xuong. The streets of the Old Quarter around the lake are pedestrian in the evening at weekends.

Vegetarian dinner at a restaurant near the lake.

Overnight: Hanoi

Day 2 :

Hanoi's pagodas and the Temple of Literature

After breakfast drive to West Lake for the Tran Quoc pagoda, founded in the sixth century and rebuilt on this small island in 1615, with its eleven-storey red stupa; it is the oldest Buddhist foundation in Hanoi. Continue to the One Pillar pagoda, a tiny wooden shrine on a single stone column rising from a lotus pond, first built in 1049 and dedicated to Quan Am (Avalokiteshvara). Nearby is the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum complex, seen from outside.

In the afternoon visit the Temple of Literature (Van Mieu), a Confucian temple of 1070 that housed Vietnam's first university; its courtyards hold stone steles recording the names of doctoral graduates from 1442 onwards. Optional evening: the water-puppet theatre, a Red River delta tradition (tickets at your cost). Vegetarian dinner.

Overnight: Hanoi

Day 3 :

Ninh Binh: Bai Dinh pagoda and the Trang An boat ride

Check out and drive about two hours south to Ninh Binh province. Bai Dinh is the largest Buddhist complex in Vietnam, an old cave pagoda on the hillside and a vast new complex below it with a 100-tonne bronze Buddha, a 500-arhat corridor and a thirteen-storey stupa; electric carts cover the long distances inside. Lunch locally.

In the afternoon board a sampan at Trang An, rowed by a local boatwoman, for about two hours through flooded caves and between limestone peaks, past small temples set against the cliffs. The whole area, with the old capital of Hoa Lu, is a UNESCO mixed heritage site. Check in to a hotel or homestay in the Tam Coc or Ninh Binh town area. Vegetarian dinner.

Overnight: Ninh Binh

Day 4 :

Fly to Hue: Perfume River, Thien Mu pagoda, the Imperial City and royal tombs

An early drive back to Hanoi airport (about two hours) for the morning flight to Hue, around 75 minutes. On arrival take a dragon boat on the Perfume River to the Thien Mu pagoda, whose seven-storey octagonal tower, built in 1844, is the symbol of the city; the pagoda itself dates to 1601 and is still a working monastery.

After lunch walk through the Imperial City, the walled citadel of the Nguyen emperors modelled on Beijing's Forbidden City and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its Ngo Mon gate, Thai Hoa palace and restored temples. Then drive out to one of the royal tombs, usually Khai Dinh with its mosaic interior or the garden tomb of Minh Mang, and finish at the Dong Ba market. Vegetarian dinner; Hue is known for its Buddhist vegetarian cuisine.

Overnight: Hue

Day 5 :

Hai Van pass, My Son Sanctuary and Hoi An

After breakfast drive south over the Hai Van pass, the Pass of the Ocean Clouds, with views down to Lang Co lagoon and the coast, and on past Da Nang to My Son, about four hours in all with stops. My Son was the religious centre of the Champa kingdom from the fourth to the thirteenth centuries; some seventy brick towers once stood in this valley, dedicated principally to Shiva as Bhadreshvara, with lingams, Nandi and carvings of Vishnu and Krishna. About twenty towers survive. Electric carts take you from the gate to the groups. A short Cham dance performance is staged at fixed times.

Late afternoon continue 40 km to Hoi An, the old trading port with its Japanese covered bridge, Chinese assembly halls and wooden merchant houses, a UNESCO site. The old town is lit by silk lanterns at night and closed to cars. Vegetarian dinner in the old town.

Overnight: Hoi An

Day 6 :

Fly to Ho Chi Minh City: Jade Emperor pagoda and Thien Hau temple

A free morning in Hoi An for the market, a tailor or the beach at An Bang, then drive 30 minutes to Da Nang airport for the midday flight to Ho Chi Minh City, about 80 minutes. On arrival visit the Jade Emperor pagoda, built in 1909 by the Cantonese community and dedicated to the Taoist supreme deity, dense with carved wooden figures and incense. Then Cholon, the Chinese quarter, for the Thien Hau temple to the sea goddess, with its spiral incense coils and ceramic roof friezes.

Drive past the Notre-Dame cathedral, the old post office and the opera house on the way to the hotel. Optional: for those arriving a day early, a Mekong Delta excursion to My Tho and Ben Tre can be added. Vegetarian or Indian dinner in District 1.

Overnight: Ho Chi Minh City

Day 7 :

Departure

Breakfast and check-out. Depending on your flight, a free morning for Ben Thanh market or the Saigon Central Mosque and Mariamman Hindu temple, which stand a few streets apart in District 1. Transfer to Tan Son Nhat International Airport at your departure point (airport, railway station or hotel), about 30 to 45 minutes from the centre, three hours before departure.

Overnight: not included (departure)

Night	Place	Hotel (or similar)	Room type
1	Hanoi	Hotel confirmed at booking	Standard room, sharing basis
2	Hanoi	Hotel confirmed at booking	Standard room, sharing basis
3	Ninh Binh	Hotel confirmed at booking	Standard room, sharing basis
4	Hue	Hotel confirmed at booking	Standard room, sharing basis
5	Hoi An	Hotel confirmed at booking	Standard room, sharing basis
6	Ho Chi Minh City	Hotel confirmed at booking	Standard room, sharing basis

Frequently Asked Questions

Expand all

Do Indians need a visa for Vietnam?

Yes. Apply for the e-visa at evisa.gov.vn: USD 25 for single entry (USD 50 multiple), valid for stays up to 90 days, normally issued in three to five working days but allow a week. Print the approval and carry it with your passport, which must be valid for six months. Enter Hanoi and exit Ho Chi Minh City on the same visa. We send a step-by-step guide and check your form before you pay.

Are the domestic flights included?

Yes. The two internal flights, Hanoi to Hue and Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City, are included in the price with standard checked baggage. Only your international flights into Hanoi and out of Ho Chi Minh City are extra; they are on different airports, so book an ‘open-jaw’ ticket or let us help you find one.

How do you manage vegetarian food in Vietnam?

Vietnam has a strong Buddhist vegetarian tradition (‘com chay’ restaurants exist in every town, and many Vietnamese eat vegetarian on the 1st and 15th of the lunar month). Hue in particular is famous for it. Our guides brief each restaurant to leave out fish sauce and shrimp paste, and dinners are at vegetarian or Indian restaurants. Jain requirements can be met in the cities with notice.

What is My Son and why does it matter to Hindu visitors?

My Son was the holiest site of Champa, a Hindu kingdom that ruled central Vietnam for a thousand years. Its brick towers, built between the fourth and thirteenth centuries, were dedicated mainly to Shiva under the name Bhadreshvara, and the sculptures show Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha, Nandi and scenes from the Mahabharata. It is Vietnam’s equivalent of a lost Khajuraho and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A guide explains the groups and their inscriptions in Sanskrit and Cham.

Which is the best month for this route?

Because the route spans three climates, no month is perfect everywhere. February to April is the best compromise: the north is mild and clearing, Hue and Hoi An are dry, and the south is warm before the rains. October and November are good in the north and south but wet in Hue. Avoid the week of Tet (late January or February), when much closes and transport is full.

Can elderly parents manage the pace?

Yes, with some adjustments. The two flights and the early departures on Days 4 and 6 are the tiring parts. Electric carts are used at Bai Dinh and My Son, boats are calm, and the vehicle drops you at each gate. We can replace the Khai Dinh tomb (many steps) with the level garden tomb of Minh Mang and shorten walking in the Imperial City. Tell us about mobility needs when booking.

How much cash should we carry?

The Vietnamese dong is the only currency in general use; US dollars are accepted in some hotels but at poor rates. ATMs are everywhere and cards work in hotels and larger restaurants. Carry around VND 300,000 to 500,000 per person per day for lunches, snacks and small purchases, and some small notes for temple offerings.

Can we visit the Mariamman Hindu temple in Ho Chi Minh City?

Yes, if your flight allows. Day 7 morning is free before the airport transfer, and the Mariamman temple stands in District 1, a few streets from Ben Thanh market and the Saigon Central Mosque. Our guide can take you there for darshan. If your flight leaves early, you can try to fit it in on Day 6 evening, after the Jade Emperor pagoda and Thien Hau temple. Shoulders and knees should be covered, and shoes come off inside.

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Explore Nature’s Serenity in Vietnam (this page)	7 days / 6 nights	Hanoi	From ₹50,000
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Bali Spiritual Journey	4 days / 3 nights	Denpasar (Bali)	On request
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Divine Sri Lanka: Ramayana Circuit with Leisure	8 days / 7 nights	Colombo	From ₹60,000

Explore Nature’s Serenity in Vietnam

Highlights & Route

Route

Good to know before you book

Yatra Highlights

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Inclusions & Exclusions

Included

Not included

Hotels

Documents & Fitness

Documents to carry

Fitness and health

Cancellation Policy

Frequently Asked Questions

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