Vietnam Solo Adventure - 10 Days

Once you have arrived at Tan Son Nhat Airport, you make your own way into the centre of Saigon and check in at your accommodation. With jet lag likely setting in after a long journey, the rest of the day is yours to relax and settle in before the tour gets underway.

After breakfast, our city tour begins at the Reunification Palace, the building at the heart of the Vietnam War's end in 1975 and now home to a museum and official reception halls. Nearby, we pass the colonial-era Central Post Office and the Notre Dame Cathedral, built between 1877 and 1883 and one of Saigon's best-known landmarks. Our final stop of the morning is the War Remnants Museum.

We stop for lunch at a local restaurant before driving overland to the Cu Chi Tunnels, the underground network built by Vietnamese guerrillas to defend the region against American attacks during the Vietnam War. Here, we can crawl through a section of tunnel and visit the former infirmary and kitchen to see how people lived and survived underground. We head back to our accommodation later in the day.

This morning, after breakfast, you depart for Cai Be by road via the Trung Luong Expressway. On arrival, you board a boat on the Tien River, cruising past the orchard gardens that make this stretch of the Mekong such fertile ground for fruit growing. Rambling through small villages, you visit an old house and learn about the area's traditional culture, before stopping at a small family business to see how locals make coconut fudge and crispy rice popcorn.

You try fresh local fruit while listening to traditional Southern Vietnamese folk music, closely tied to the daily life of the Mekong Delta's communities. A paddle through narrow canals gives you a quieter view of the Upper Mekong Delta, before you arrive on Tan Phong Island to take in its peaceful surroundings.

Lunch here is a hands-on affair, cooked by you in a local garden setting with guidance on preparing Vietnamese specialities. Afterwards, you cycle along village paths through the orchards and meet local islanders to learn more about daily life on the island, including a visit to Ba Kiet's ancient house. A boat then takes you back to Cai Be, where your bus is waiting for the return journey to Saigon.

After breakfast, you transfer to the airport for your onward flight to Danang. On arrival, you are picked up and taken to your accommodation in Hoian to drop off your luggage.

Together with our guide, we cross the tile-roofed Japanese Bridge and visit Hoian's Chinese Assembly Halls, its ancient houses and trading houses, and its pagodas, before strolling through the market beside the Thu Bon River. It's easy to see why the town's rooftops have long drawn artists in search of inspiration. Hoi-An is also a good place to shop for lanterns, soft silk and raw silk, or have clothes tailored within a day.-

After breakfast, today is free to spend as you like in the ancient town of Hoian, giving you a chance to relax and unwind after the past few days. You might use the time for a boat ride on the Thu Bon River or a coffee at one of the riverside cafes.

You also have the option to join a full day trip to Ba Na Hills, riding a cable car that holds four world records to the 150-metre Golden Bridge, supported by giant hands, at an additional cost. From here, you can visit Le Jardin and the French-built Debay Wine Cellar, then the Linh Ung Pagoda with its 27-metre Buddha statue, Loc Uyen Garden and Quan Am Cac.

Continuing to Gare Debay, a second cable car climbs to the top of Ba Na, where Fantasy Park offers rides including the Love Swing, Skiver Pilot, Fire Racing Track, Bumper Car and Ghost House. A buffet lunch is included, followed by free time to explore or the option to climb to the 1,487-metre peak of Chua Mountain to visit Ba Chua Thuong Ngan Temple and take in views over Danang City and Danang Bay, before returning by cable car to Danang and stopping for some local shopping on the way back to your accommodation.

After breakfast, you leave Hoian for Hue by deluxe minibus. On arrival, you transfer to your accommodation to drop off your luggage. Recognised by UNESCO as Vietnam's first Cultural World Heritage site, Hue is known for its royal architecture and traditional way of life.

This morning, we discover the city's character at the Royal Citadel and Forbidden City, then move on to the colourful Dong Ba Market, where local ingredients and everyday trade give a sense of Hue's business life. Around noon, we set off on a street food tour to explore another side of the city, starting with fried rice dumplings (Ram It) or filtered tapioca dumplings (Banh Loc) and continuing to Hue's well-known beef vermicelli soup, Bun Bo Hue. The tour finishes with a choice between sweet tapioca soup (Che) at a small local restaurant, or a Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk.

After breakfast, you have free time until your transfer to the airport for the onward flight to Hanoi. On arrival, you transfer to your accommodation to drop off your luggage.

This afternoon, we get an overall feel for the capital on a walking tour of the Old Quarter, stopping at Ngoc Son Temple on Hoan Kiem Lake, also known as Sword Lake, and at Bach Ma Temple. In the late afternoon, we take in a Water Puppetry show, a traditional stage art from northern Vietnam, before enjoying a relaxing 30-minute foot massage at a local spa ahead of returning to our accommodation.

You can start the day early with a walk to a nearby lake to see how locals in Hanoi spend their mornings, among locals practising tai chi, jogging, martial arts and classical dance. After breakfast at the accommodation, we head to Halong Bay, a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site recognised in 1994 and 2006, and check in to our overnight boat.

As we cruise into Halong Bay, there are stops to visit caves or swim, with time to enjoy the sunset over the water. Dinner on board features fresh seafood.

This morning, you can start the day with a tai chi or yoga session led by the crew, before breakfast is served as the boat cruises between the islets of Halong Bay and Lan Ha Bay.

Back at the wharf, a shuttle bus returns you to Hanoi around midday, arriving in the city between 3 and 4 pm.

After breakfast, the day is free for relaxing or shopping at your own arrangement, before making your own way to the airport for your flight home.

You also have the option to join a full day trip to Bai Dinh, Trang An and Mua Cave, at an additional cost. Around 7 am, a local guide meets you at your accommodation for a 110-kilometre journey by modern bus through the verdant countryside, with a short break en route. At Bai Dinh, the largest pagoda complex in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, set on the foothills of Dinh Mountain overlooking the river valley and surrounding limestone karsts, you can see highlights including 500 stone La Han (Arhat) statues, two huge bronze bells weighing 27 and 36 tonnes, a Quan Am statue depicted with a thousand arms and eyes, and a statue of Gautama Buddha.

Lunch follows at a local restaurant, before continuing to the Trang An Grottoes, a 20-square-kilometre limestone landscape rising from the rice paddies, with mystical valleys, freshwater ponds and jungle. A traditional sampan takes you along the river through Lam, Vang, Dai and Thanh Truot caves, passing Cao Son, Suoi Tien and Vu Lam temples. At Mua Cave, a trek leads to the top of Ngoa Long mountain for views over the rice valley, before returning by deluxe minibus to Hanoi around 7:30 pm.