Vietnam Holidays » Unesco World Heritage

Ha Long Bay Experience!

admin — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:26:46 +0000

Hanoi – Halong Bay – Hanoi One of the great natural wonders of the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Halong Bay covers an area of 1,500 km over which are scattered thousands of limestone islands and grottoes rising from the clear, emerald waters of the Gulf of Bac Bo. Thousands of limestone islands jut out of the sea, sculpted into awe inspiring shapes and surrounded by colourful floating villages; Halong Bay is a truly one of the natural wonders of the world. The perfect way to see this UNESCO World Heritage Site is to spend a night aboard the Emeraude, a replica of one of the grand steamers of the colonial era. The mystical beauty of the bay and its islands is only fully appreciated while cruising among the islands, fjords and inlets. Eat, drink and take romantic walks while cruising amongst the islands. After a night on board wake up to see daylight filtering through the early morning mist and the towering rock formations, leaving a dream-like memory of your visit to Halong Bay. Travel east from Hanoi through the Red River Delta out to the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin where you will board The Emeraude for your overnight cruise. The Emeraude is a luxurious replica of the 1910 paddle steamer of the same name which was offering unforgettable cruises for visitors to what was then French Indochina. Today, the service and ambience reflect the glory of that era as the cabins are meticulously designed to evoke the nostalgic charm of colonial Indochina. With luxurious air-conditioned cabins, a divine restaurant, two bars and a sundeck this is the ultimate Halong Bay experience. Day 1 – Hanoi – Halong Bay (L,D) Depart Hanoi for Halong by road through the rich farmlands of the Red River Delta and the scenery of rice fields, water buffalos and everyday Vietnamese village life. Board The Emeraude and sip on a welcome drink before you begin your cruise through the bay. Feast on a delicious lunch as you cruise among hundreds of islets to discover unspoilt pockets of Halong Bay and visit Sung Sot cave, one of the most imposing grottos of the Bay. Swim or kayak in the turquoise waters or enjoy a Vietnamese cooking demonstration on board the boat. After the sun sets, enjoy a scrumptious international and Vietnamese buffet dinner. The Award Winning film Indochine will be screened on the sundeck should you desire to watch a movie before retiring to your cabin for a good nights sleep. Overnight aboard the Emeraude, Halong Bay. Day 2 – Halong Bay – Hanoi (B) For early risers complimentary tea and coffee are served on the sundeck followed by a Tai Chi class. As you return to Halong City, enjoy a wholesome brunch as your boat weaves through strange-shaped limestone rock formations. ? Arrive back at Emeraude’s exclusive private pier for disembarkation where your driver waits to take you back to your Hanoi. As an optional extra, and according to your flight schedule, your drive back to Hanoi can include various stops in the Red River Delta. Visit one of the oldest pagodas in Vietnam ‘But Thap’, the Bat Trang Pottery village, or a small village where you can watch a traditional water puppet performance. Contact us for further info. Tour Duration: 2 Days / 1 NightTour Operates: Year Round / On DemandTour Price: On request For an accurate quotation please send an Email us Our services include as follows: Private air conditioned vehicle for return transfersHanoi – Halong City. Entrance fees where mentioned Non private boat cruise on Halong Bay from 1200 onday 1 to 1000 on day 2 01 nights’ accommodation on the deluxe Emeraude. Vietnamese buffet lunch and dinner on day 1 & fullAmerican breakfast on day 2. Our services do not include as follows: Drinks, tips and extras. Any service not clearly mentioned in the program. Guide Creating Unique Touring ExperiencesAll the touring itineraries on this website have been carefully crafted by our in-country management teams and represent a series of experiences we can certainly recommend. However, we understand that every travel experience should be as unique and individual as each traveller. Our consultants are waiting to hear from you so that we can tailor or custom design a tour to your individual specifications.

Vietnam Tours Provide Brief Insight about Numerous Tourist Attraction Spots

admin — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:28:48 +0000

Are you looking for such a destination where you can unwind yourself in the beauty of natural surroundings? If yes, then with Vietnam, which is considered as one of the best travel destinations, your search is over. Vietnam’s culture, numerous religious monuments and sparkling beaches are some of the factors which lure myriad of tourists towards this beautiful place. Exploring Vietnam is an arduous task, especially when you do not have apt knowledge about major attractions of the country. So, assorted below, is a brief gist of some of the major tourist attractions of the country which require to be explored while planning Vietnam tour:Ho Chi Minh CityPopularly known as Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City is one of the most revered Vietnam destinations, visited by innumerable tourists every year. Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, museums, vestige, etc are some of the most notable historic figures and places of the city which one must visit while making Vietnam tours. Hanoi CityHanoi, capital and second largest city of Vietnam, is worth exploring destination with your friends and families. One Pillar Pagoda, Temple of Literature (Van Mieu) and Halong Bay are some of the places which are “must-to-explore” while planning Vietnam tour. Temple of Literature represents one of the finest architectural examples of 11th century; similarly, Halong Bay has been declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and well-admired worldwide for spectacular sceneries, caves and limestone grottos. Hue CityWhile discovering the beauty of central Vietnam, Hue is one such a city which boasts to offer some of the renewed tourist attraction spots in the form of Huong River, historical buildings like Flag Tower, Royal Citadel, Royal Palace and many more. Tranquil beauty of Vietnam is not limited to historical and architectural buildings. Vietnam tour can be best enjoyed in the surroundings of serene beauty of misty hills, mountainous terrain, etc. Even, while opting for adventurous activities like sea diving, fishing, etc undoubtedly, tourists going to have whale of time of their lifetime. It can be said that Vietnam is trying to wipe out the horrified memories of wars and miseries by offering some of the best places to hang out while making tours to Vietnam. One can explore the internet in order to find out the various kinds of Vietnam tours offered by numerous tour operators.

Travel to Vietnam for Having Fun and Excitement in a Foreign Land

admin — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:40:00 +0000

Although, there is no dearth of travel destinations in this world, yet Vietnam is one such an exotic destination which offers a host of places of tourists’ interest where one can spend some of the best moments of his life with his near and dear ones. With the passage of time, Vietnam tourism industry has increased by leaps and bounds as a large number of people travel towards Vietnam to have a spectacular view of tropical forests, beaches, mountains, hills, newly built resorts and hotels, etc. Vietnam boasts of offering innumerable ideal tour packages to its tourists which can be availed at rock bottom prices. Travelling to Vietnam is not at all a bad notion if you are really looking for fun and excitement. Some of the main attractions of Vietnam which are worth exploring are discussed below:Ho Chi Minh CityIf you really want to experience the heart and soul of Vietnam, then travel to Ho Chi Minh City. It is an industrial centre and an economic capital of Vietnam. Sights including Giac Lam Pagoda, Ben Thanh market, Reunification temple, War Remnants museum are worth watching. Moreover, one can find plethora of entertainment sources ranging from discos to bars where he can enjoy the night life of the city to the fullest. Nha TrangFor enjoying activities like snorkeling, fishing, diving, etc. Nha Trang is the best place to visit. Nha Trang is visited by plethora of tourists every year as it is considered as one of the major fishing ports of Vietnam. In addition to this, tourists can relish lip-smacking sea food by staying in this plush resort. HanoiThe capital, Hanoi, is a beautiful city where one can explore numerous destinations like Halong bay (one of the UNESCO World heritage Site), Temple of literature (which represents one of the best examples of architectural beauty of 11th century), one pillar Pagoda, etc. Apart from these places, people prefer travelling to Vietnam for a number of reasons such as for relishing the multi-Vietnamese cuisines, for uncovering the hidden beauty of national parks of Vietnam and many more. Therefore, if you really want to view the natural beauty of tropical landscapes, colorful royal palaces, folk culture, etc then, without a hitch, travel to Vietnam. In order to gather more information about Vietnam travel and tour packages, browse the web.

Travel to Vietnam for Exploring Beauty of Nature

admin — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:33:22 +0000

It is not wrong to say that long time ago, Vietnam is one such a country which is lesser known for tourism and more for horrified memories of Vietnam War. However, with the passage of time, the crucial fact has turned upside down, and now Vietnam is slowly emerging as a popular Asian nation which is well known for its diverse culture, natural beauty of mountains and hills… and the list goes endless. Travelling to Vietnam is surely going to add mesmerizing experiences of your lifetime as the country has lot to offer to its visitors. Prominent reasons for opting for Vietnam Travel• Travel to Vietnam if you want to add excitement and thrill by enjoying numerous recreational and adventurous activities like fishing, deep sea diving. etc. • Travel Vietnam, for reliving the historic memories of past era, explore the beauty of notable historic buildings like Royal Palace, Flag Tower, etc. • Without exploring the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Halong Bay, Vietnam travel cannot be enjoyed fully. • Do not forget to savor multi cuisines of Vietnamese like Nem and Pho while hanging out in the nearby restaurants and hotels. • Landscape with virgin beaches, majestic mountains and forests, spellbinding lakes, rivers, waterfalls and numerous gigantic caves extensively expresses the beauty of Vietnam country. • National parks of Vietnam encompass the largest collection of flora and fauna of tropical zone which is worth exploring while travelling to Vietnam. Travel Vietnam, for experiencing the cultural diversity in numerous Vietnamese cities like Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi city, etc. These cities are greatly influenced by French and Chinese culture, but have maintained their ethnic uniqueness; therefore, while discovering Vietnam one gets the lucrative opportunity of gaining information about the lifestyles, culture, etc. and interacting with local residents. In addition to this, availability of luxurious accommodations at reasonable rates throughout the year further aids in making the trip inexpensive and more affordable. Avail the service of tour and travel operators during Vietnam travelTour to Vietnam can be relished to the fullest by availing the proficient services of numerous travel and tour operators. Vietnam culinary tours, ethnic tours, Indo china tours are some of the most desired tour packages among tourists. It is pertinent to disclose here by availing the services of tour operators, one can travel towards Vietnam at the most inexpensive prices. For gaining more information about Vietnam, make an extensive search over the internet.

Exploring Halong Bay With White Dolphin Cruise

admin — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 12:01:54 +0000

Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a ‘must do’ in northern Vietnam. Lonely Planet says “Majestic and mysterious, inspiring and imperious, words alone cannot do justice to the natural wonder that is Halong Bay, were 3000 or more incredible islands rise from the emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin.” That’s a lot to live up to.

The bus collected us from the hotel a little after eight and we traveled 3 ½ hours to Halong Bay. There is a mandatory stop for all tour buses at a craft center where everything from jewelry to huge marble statues was for sale. The embroidered silk tapestries were very good, especially since the artists are all deaf. But we didn’t buy anything. In fact Connie is still feeling terrible and didn’t even get off the bus.

They are all called junks and some truly are. They come in all shapes and sizes and some are hardly seaworthy. Ours, “The White Dolphin” was brand new and quite exquisite. The food seemed never to end; clams, crabs, fish, squid, steamed morning glories, rice (of course) and fruit. All the boats line up to visit Awesome Cave, a limestone cavern on one of the islands. Most offer time for kayaking or a swim; dinner at seven. Everything is as regimented as on a tour bus and the group moves en masse. The organizers seem to know the schedule but are not forthcoming about sharing it with the rest of us. Not exactly our cup of tea.

There are about 40 junks of all sizes cruising pretty much together and spewing diesel fumes; the sails are for show only. At the peak of the season there can be ten times as many all jockeying for position at the caves or the beach. Whenever you stop tiny rowboats loaded with soft drinks, beer, cigarettes, chips and Oreos attack, a nautical version of “You buy from me!” The water is murky and oily, hardly emerald. On the plus side, our boat is nice, the food is great, our mates seem friendly and it isn’t raining! Dinner was fantastic but Connie is still off her feed and just picked at it. Twenty-five or so junks anchored in the same area creating a mini-city. The diesels ran all night to keep the A/C and lights working and the exhaust fumes permeated everywhere giving many of us carbon monoxide headaches.

After breakfast several of us transferred to the White Dolphin’s tender boat, in service for its second day, for a cruise around the bay while the mother ship returned to port for drop off and pick up. We were the only ones going to Cat Ba Island and we jumped off as the boat slowed near the wharf. Once on the island we went to Cat Ba National Park where the main attraction is a 3 hour hike/climb to the highest peak. Connie was feeling pretty awful, the trail was slippery and the vegetation was so thick we couldn’t see anything so we convinced our guide we would rather head to lower ground and look for birds. He was not only OK with the change, he was pretty good at spotting birds.

It was hard to give up the White Dolphin’s luxury but our hotel in Cat Ba City didn’t disappoint. It was much nicer than we would have chosen and the food was equally plentiful if not quite as scrumptious. There isn’t much to do in Cat Ba City except wander the quay and scope out the floating city. So we did. We were picked up this morning by yet a third boat and we slowly cruise back to Halong City where we were reunited with some of our original shipmates for the shuttle back to Hanoi.

See more on White Dolphin cruise with our special offer on Christmas and New Year occasion at: or refer more our Halong bay Deluxe cruise Collection

By: Yen Mai