Meet on arrival at Hanoi / Noi Bai International Airport and transfer to the hotel. For morning arrivals, interesting optional afternoon excursions in and around Hanoi are available at surcharge. Accommodation at hotel in Hanoi.

FULL DAY HANOI CITY TOUR

Visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (closed on Monday, Friday and during the entire months of September & October) and his former residence (closed on Monday and Friday), One-Pillar Pagoda and the Temple of Literature, known as the first university of Vietnam and built more than 1,000 years ago.

Continue the city tour to one of the following museums (note that museums are closed on Mondays.):

• Fine Arts Museum

• Vietnam National Museum of History

• War Museum

• Museum of Ethnology

• Hoa Lo Prison Museum

After a delicious lunch at Au Lac restaurant enjoy a leisurely one-hour cyclo tour through Hanoi. Visit the beautiful Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple. Hoan Kiem Lake was already considered the most beautiful lake in Hanoi when Ngoc Son Temple was built on an island in the 19th century. Initially, the temple was called Ngoc Son Pagoda and was later renamed Ngoc Son Temple, since temples are dedicated to saints. Saint Van Suong, considered to be one of the brightest stars in Vietnam's literary and intellectual circles, was worshipped there along with other National heroes.  Enjoy a performance of the famous water puppet show.

WATER PUPPET SHOW

The Vietnamese traditional art of water puppetry has roots that date back to the 10th century when it originated in the Red River Delta area of northern Vietnam. The farmers in the region celebrated festivals and harvests by performing this unique art form. The puppets are made of wood and usually stand sixteen inches high, but can be as tall as three feet. Puppets are attached to a long bamboo pole and dipped in and out of the water by a person behind a rattan curtain. Learning to manipulate the puppets is usually a tradition that is passed on as a family secret. It takes a great deal of skill and because the puppeteer’s hands are underwater it is easy for them to hide their methods. The fascinating part is that the central stage is below the water line, and the puppeteers stand in the waist-deep water. A rattan curtain hides them, but they can see the stage and the audience through the bamboo slats.

Accommodation at hotel in Hanoi.

Time at leisure until transfer to Hanoi / Noi Bai International Airport for your departure flight.  If departure is in the afternoon or evening, you are welcome to join our interesting optional excursions in and around Hanoi at surcharge.