Day 1 & 2: (Thursday - Friday, 21 - 22 August) – Enroute
Report to Los Angeles International Terminal by 9:30 p.m. and proceed to ticketing counter. Depart for Taipei and lose one day crossing the International Dateline.
Day 3: (Saturday, 23 August) – Ha Noi to Hoi An
After a short layover in Taipei, we depart for Vietnam. At Hanoi's Noi Bai Airfield (heavily bombed during the American War), we proceed through immigration, retrieve our bags, clear customs, and enter the domestic terminal. After our short flight to Da Nang, we board our coach and make a quick photo stop at My Khe Beach (China Beach) on the South China Sea and then we pass through the Marble Mountain Air Facility (MMAF) area. Our final stop will be a silk factory and wood shop in Hoi An. You can roam by yourselves the streets and shops of this ancient port city (formerly known as Faifo) where Dutch, Portuguese, Chinese, and Japanese traders once walked. Shopping is excellent here and one of the best places for tailor-made clothing. Tonight we enjoy our Welcome Dinner.
Meals: B (in flight) /_/D Hotel: Vinh Hung Emerald Resort
Day 4: (Sunday, 24 August) – Hoi An
This morning we board a local boat and travel west to where the Song Cua Dai meets the South China Sea. Reversing course, we cruise west into the Song Thu Bon and run parallel to the northern edge of Go Noi Island. We stop at the Liberty Bridge area to photograph the unique ferry system which crosses the river. Returning to our hotel downriver, we take time to enjoy the hotel pool.
Meals: B/L/D Hotel: Vinh Hung Emerald Resort
Day 5: (Monday, 25 August) – Hoi An to Da Nang
Today is devoted to a visit at the Cape Scott Limited Boat-building facility in Da Nang.
Meals: B/L/D Hotel: Brilliant
Day 6: (Tuesday, 26 August) – Da Nang
This morning we cruise the Song Han and Da Nang Bay. Extra time can be spent to follow up at Cape Scott.
Meals: B/L/D Hotel: Brilliant
Day 7: (Wednesday, 27 August) – Da Nang to Hue
Departing early this morning, we visit a marble carving shop and then climb Marble Mountain to explore the VC hospital area located within. Next is Red Beach II where the Marines made their amphibious landing in March 1965. Continuing north on Highway 1, we head up the Hai Van with a stop at the Pass to explore old French bunkers and take in a parting view of Da Nang and the bay. After our decent down the Hai Van, we stop for lunch in the fishing village of Lang Co. We then visit some fish farms in Dam Cau Lagoon, Vietnam’s largest inland sea. Our hotel is located on the southern bank of the Perfume River in Hue (the old Imperial Capital of Vietnam).
Meals: B/L/D Hotel: Huong Giang
Day 8: (Thursday, 28 August) – Hue to Dong Ha
Today we take a Dragon Boat cruise up the beautiful Perfume River to the Thien Mu Pagoda. After lunch we continue north to Quang Tri City where we visit Long Hung Church and Bo De School, which accurately depict the annihilation of this city during the 1972 Easter Offensive.
Meals: B/L/D Hotel: Saigon Dong Ha
Day 9: (Friday, 29 August) – Dong Ha
This morning we walk to the Dong Ha Bridge (destroyed by Captain John Ripley which stopped the initial NVA advance during the 1972 Easter Offensive). We then drive to the Port of Cua Viet on the Tonkin Gulf. At Cua Viet we commandeer a local fishing boat and venture westward on the Song Cua Viet, passing My Loc, Jones Creek, and Mai Xa Chanh. We cruise until meeting the confluence of the Song Bo Dieu and follow it passing the battlefield of Dai Do before coming abreast of Vietnamese Naval gunboats docked at the old U.S. LCU ramp in Dong Ha. Continuing west, we come to the Cam Lo Bridge and see the crash site of Bat 21 and then return to Dong Ha by boat.
Meals: B/L/D Hotel: Saigon Dong Ha
Day 10: (Saturday, 30 August) – Dong Ha to Hue
Taking the new beach road we cross into North Vietnam over the Song Ben Hai, the river that was the only true physical demarcation between the North and the South. We then explore the tunnel complex in the NVA artillery village of Vinh Moc. After lunch on a Tonkin Gulf cove, we board a local boat for a cruise west on the Song Ben Hai to the north side of the Peace Bridge. Disembarking, we walk over the bridge back into South Vietnam to our waiting coach. We then make a stop at Gio Linh FSB Forward (Alpha 2) located on the forward edge of the DMZ on the south, before returning to our riverside hotel in Hue City.
Meals: B/L/D Hotel: Huong Giang
Day 11: (Sunday, 31 August) – Hue to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Very early this morning, we head to Phu Bai Airfield for our flight south. Arriving at Tan Son Nhut Airfield (once the busiest airport in the world), we retrieve our bags and enter Ho Chi Minh City (still called Saigon by most Vietnamese). Our first stop is Cha Cham Church (where President Diem fled during the 1963 coup and was captured, removed, and murdered). Next is the War Remnants Museum. After lunch we tour the old Presidential Palace (now called Reunification Hall), Notre Dame Cathedral, the Old Post Office, and we drive past the former U.S. Embassy where the Viet Cong blasted an entry hole in the compound’s wall at the start of the 1968 Tet Offensive.
Meals: B/L/D Hotel: Asian Ruby
Day 12: (Monday, 1 September) – Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon
Today we visit the town of My Tho in the Mekong Delta where we take a boat trip on the Mekong River to visit Thoi Son Island (Coconut Island), local houses, and workshops. After returning to Saigon, you can take a walk along old Tu Do Street (now Dong Khoi Street) to explore a myriad of little shops where you can discover special gifts to bring home. Tonight we enjoy our Farewell Dinner Cruise on the Saigon River.
Meals: B/L/D Hotel: Asian Ruby
Day 13: (Tuesday, 2 September) – Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore
Today ends the guided portion of the trip. Very early this morning, you depart for Tan Son Nhut Airfield for the flight to Singapore’s Changi Airfield arriving at 12:10 pm. You are on your own in Singapore.
Meals: B/_/_ Hotel:
Day 14: (Wednesday, 3 September) – Singapore
Free day on your own
Meals: B/_/_ Hotel:
Day 15: (Thursday, 4 September) – Departure
Transfer on your own to Singapore’s Changi Airfield for your 1:10pm flight to Taipei. Departing from Taipei at 7:20 pm, you gain a day enroute to the continental United States by re-crossing the International Dateline, arriving in Los Angeles at approximately 4:45 p.m. this same day.
Meals: B/L/D (in flight)
