Southern Vietnam Traditions
Culture
7 Days
Trip Overview
Gain a deeper perspective of southern Vietnam on this 7-day cultural retreat to Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho, the largest cities in their respective regions. Browse private collections and join artist-led workshops, learning about Saigonese heritage before discovering the vibrant traditions of the Mekong. Here you’ll gain insight into daily life, whether it’s situated around Can Tho Ecolodge or your overnight cruise to Cai Be.
Highlights
- Exploring the art scene of past and present Vietnam with an expert
- Attending workshops with local artisans and technicians in Saigon and Can Tho
- Attending the ground-breaking A O Show at Saigon Opera House
- Cruising the Mekong Delta in search of “the floating life”
This Tour is Perfect for
- Art lovers, culture aficionados, and history buffs
- Couples and families of all ages
- Leisure travel in a relaxed, upscale style
- Extending for a few days to northern or central Vietnam
Detailed Itinerary
Topas Travel creates tailor-made tours for our guests according to their specific requests. This itinerary has been designed to show you just one of many options
In Brief
Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City Arrival
Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City
Day 3: Ho Chi Minh City
Day 4: Ho Chi Minh City – Can Tho
Day 5: Can Tho
Day 6: Can Tho – Cai Rang – Cai Be
Day 7: Cai Be – Vinh Long – Ho Chi Minh City Departure
Day 1: Welcome to sophisticated Saigon | Ho Chi Minh City Arrival
Xin Chao and welcome to evocative Saigon, known officially as Ho Chi Minh City. Upon arrival to Tan Son Nhat International Airport, a Topas representative will welcome you before heading to the heart of the city to your cozy accommodation for the next few days.
Enjoy the day at leisure exploring old Saigon’s most popular attractions, mainly Notre Dame Cathedral and the Old Post Office before heading to the historic Caravelle Hotel for Happy Hour, sipping cocktails with a view of what you’ve seen from above. Then, sup at the contemporary Quan Bui Original for dinner amidst modern office skyscrapers, Oriental styled pagodas, and food stalls, sensing the dynamic urban feel of the new Ho Chi Minh City.
Included meals: Dinner
Distance and activities: 45’ drive
Day 2: Saigon through the years | Ho Chi Minh City
Discover Saigon through the years with Sophie this morning, a long-term resident of Ho Chi Minh City and an expert in Vietnamese art. View private collections of work housed in a traditional Saigon villa, seeing the similarities between Vietnamese students of the 1920s and their contemporaries in Paris. Then, move on to a private home converted into a gallery to see a collection of Vietnamese Combat Art and Propaganda Art, created during times of war. End the fascinating experience at the impressive HCMC Fine Arts Museum, learning about how artists were used by the government during resistance, revolution, and finally, the reunification of the country.
Lunch at Dining Room, a traditional Vietnamese Restaurant with a contemporary plating and enjoy the flavors of the set menu, which depend on the day.
The afternoon is at leisure for you to discover Ho Chi Minh City on your own until making your way to the Saigon Opera House in the early evening for the award-winning A O Show. A mix of cirque nouveau, acrobatics and modern dance, this performance brings tales of rural and urban life to the stage through usage of bamboo props and unique live music.
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Distance and activities: 3h sightseeing tour – 1.5h A O Show
Day 3: Evocative Saigon | Ho Chi Minh City
Leave the glitz and glamor of district 1 and discover a whole new world in the exotic alleys of Cho Lon, Ho Chi Minh City’s Chinatown. Peer inside ancient temples, traditional medicine shops, and more on your way to Vietnam Silver House. Learn about the history and development of the silver industry in Vietnam before joining a silver-making workshop guided by artisans and try your hand at both simple and complicated techniques to create your own masterpiece.
Return to district 1 for lunch at Bloom Saigon, a vocational training restaurant working to empower disadvantaged youth in Ho Chi Minh City by providing culinary training. The food is a mix of traditional Vietnamese and Asian fusion, served in a big French Colonial Villa.
The afternoon is at leisure to discover Ho Chi Minh City on your own.
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Distance and activities: 1.5h sightseeing tour – 1.5h silver workshop
Day 4: Off to the Mekong Delta | Ho Chi Minh City – Can Tho
Leave the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City behind today, heading into the fertile rice bowl of Vietnam: the Mekong Delta. Watch the lush land of palm trees and great rivers pass you by on a 3.5-hour ride to Can Tho, the largest city in the Mekong, traditionally known as “the river of poems” in Vietnamese. Check-in to the Can Tho Ecolodge, one of the most eco-friendly accommodation options in the entire Mekong Delta, dedicated to environmental protection and cultural preservation.
The afternoon is at your leisure save for a traditional southern Vietnamese cooking class to introduce you to the special flavors of the Mekong.
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Distance and activities: 3,5h transfer – 2h cooking class
DAY 5: The river of poems | Can Tho
Spend the day getting to know the enchanting Can Tho a little bit better. Stretch your legs with a morning cycling tour, getting close to nature on quiet paths hugging winding rivers and rice paddies. Then, in the afternoon, join a private workshop to gain insight into the daily lives of Mekong locals, whether its massage therapy, wood-carving, or seasonal farming.
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Distance and Activities: 3h cycling – 3h traditional workshop
Day 6: Cruising the Mekong | Can Tho - Cai Rang - Cai Be
Wake up in time for a sunrise breakfast cruise to Cai Rang Floating Market, the largest wholesale floating market in Southeast Asia. Bargain with merchants for the tastiest fruits, freshest vegetables, warm noodle soups, and regional handcrafted products. Since it is a wholesale market, you will see a bustling trading center as opposed to floating markets seen in Bangkok, Thailand.
Head back to Can Tho Ecolodge to pack your things in order to board your overnight Mekong River cruise to Cai Be at noon. Watch scenes of life pass you by as the boat lazily makes its way downstream, stopping at either a rice-farm or fruit orchard to meet with locals. Don’t forget to enjoy a sundowner on the deck of the ship as the sky turns radiant shades of red, purple, and gold.
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Distance and Activities: 2h sunrise breakfast cruise – overnight sightseeing cruise
Day 7: Farewell for now…| Cai Be - Ho Chi Minh City Departure
Let the sounds of the Mekong River Delta act as your alarm this morning, as the ship begins to cruise at 6:30. Watch locals going about their daily lives drying fruits and building ships in small wooden yards while eating breakfast.
Afterwards, board a sampan, a type of traditional Vietnamese rowboat, and wind through the canals of Cai Be, another river town, although much smaller than Can Tho.
Leave the boat and return to Ho Chi Minh City by road, stopping in Vinh Long for lunch. Transfer can be arranged to your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City or Tan Son Nhat International Airport for onward booked travel.
Included meals: Breakfast
Distance and Activities: 2h transfer
Tour Inclusions
- 1-way private A/C airport transfer
- All accommodation indicated as twin-shared room
- All meals as indicated in the program
- All workshops and tours mentioned in the program
- Refillable water in vans (Please check with your guide or driver)
- 1 x English speaking local tour guide on days with activities (except for overnight cruises)
- Government VAT
- 1 X sunrise breakfast cruise
- 2D/1N join-in cruise program from Can Tho to Cai Be
Important Notes
Tour Exclusions
- Drinks and alcohol
- Vietnam visa (On request with additional charge)
- Travel insurance (Compulsory with Topas Travel programs)
- Upgrades to higher standard rooms or single supplements
- Personal travel items (Please visit our Vietnam weather page for more information)
Essential Information
This program utilizes comfortable accommodation in the form of carefully curated hotels, lodges, and homestays. Hotels and lodges have been selected with the active traveler in mind, offering standard services and located as close to nature and local engagement as possible. Homestays are simple and equipped with western toilets and amenities such as fans and mattresses. If you have a specific property in mind you wish to stay at, please let your travel designer know so they can work it into your program.
All bookings are made with and through Topas Travel. By booking a trip with Topas Travel, you agree to the terms and conditions set forth here.