Family-Friendly Vietnam Itinerary

What to expect on this itinerary
Step into a world of water that is presented by Vietnam’s enchanting highlights on this luxurious, 7-day family adventure. Southern Vietnam boasts a collection of geographical phenomena and culture-drenched landmarks across its beautifully diverse landscape. Many of these highlights are aquatic by nature, such as chestnut rivers that cascade over archaic rock formations, curved bays that are bordered by jade, and century-old temples that honor spiritual gods of water. From the open seas to gentle streams, you will escape the busy crowds in Southern Vietnam.
Customizable Itinerary
Ho Chi Minh City – The Water Goddess
Once you land and clear customs, you will meet your private transfer and cruise across the cityscape toward your luxurious accommodation. In the lobby, a guide will be waiting to lead you on an educational exploration of the city’s highlights. During your tour, you will weave through the cityscape and venture to Thien Hau Temple. The elaborate, spiritual complex is the sacred heart of Ho Chi Minh City’s Chinatown. Your tour may continue to a selection of must-visit locations, such as the Notre Dame Cathedral and War Remnants Museum, but where you venture will be entirely up to you and your family.
What's Included:
Ho Chi Minh City – Uncover Spectacles and Culture
Phan Thiet – Sand-Boarding and Dramatic Slopes
Phan Thiet – Trek through Time
Vinh Hy Bay – Sensational Sights and Flavors
Vinh Hy Bay – Wallow in Water Sports
Cam Ranh – Departure
Trip Highlights
- Indulge in a tour of the fabled Thien Hau Temple of Ho Chi Minh City to uncover Vietnam’s fascinating blend of spiritual influences
- Voyage across the iconic Mekong Delta on a guided speed boat tour to Ben Tre, which is a charming riverside village that is teeming with cultural intrigue
- Witness a celebrated Water Puppet Show that will share insight into Vietnam’s traditional performing arts while dazzling in its vivid display
- Hurtle across the sienna sands of Phan Thiet’s Red Sand Dunes on an enthralling sand-boarding expedition
- Trek through the soothing waters of Fairy Stream to encounter its unique rock formations and coconut palm landscape
- Soar to the summit of Ta Cu Mountain on a cable-car to reveal the unbridled panoramic spectacles that make up the greater Phan Thiet landscape
- Wallow in the aquatic allure of the venerated Vinh Hy Bay and enjoy an abundance of water sports for a new perspective of the bay
Detailed Description
Decadent in its contemporary design and elegantly adorned in traditional Vietnamese furnishings, your grand suite in Ho Chi Minh City will embody luxury and charm in addition to providing you with spectacular views of the cityscape. You will call this home for a few nights, and every detail will breathe opulence. From the repose of your room, you will be submerged in the unique atmosphere of Ho Chi Minh City on a guided tour to iconic landmarks. Your first destination will be Thien Hau Temple, and along your way, you will pass by markets brimming with enthusiastic visitors and fragrant street food.
Thien Hau Temple is an elaborately crafted spiritual pagoda that honors the ancient Chinese water goddess, Mazu. The curved roof is colorfully decorated, and intricately carved statues decorate the altar, while burning incense blankets the walkways. A peaceful ambiance will radiate from the temple, and you will delight in the tranquility as you learn more about Vietnam’s ancient customs. You will continue your educational expedition to more significant destinations, which will be selected specifically for their prominent value to the Vietnamese people.
The following day, you will be led out of the city along the Mekong Delta in a private speed boat. You will cruise down narrow canals that are fringed by mighty mangroves and onto the weaving tributaries, where you will explore traditional riverside life. In the modest town of Ben Tre, locals will welcome you with friendly smiles to their charming homes that are located within an intriguing landscape. Beyond witnessing timeless, cultural crafts, you will marvel at the stunning destination while being wowed by the Mekong’s unspoiled majesty.
Your voyage will continue along the coastline toward the humble fishing village of Phan Thiet. Time moves slowly in this endearing town because, in this city, warm-natured locals embrace the few foreigners who travel here. The Red Sand Dunes of Phan Thiet will be a spectacle to behold, and your family will delight in thrilling activities on the rolling slopes. From sand-boarding down the staggering peaks to dune-buggying over the velvety sand, a day on the dunes will provide you with breathtaking adventures and photos. When you wake up the following morning, you will yearn to discover more, and your knowledgeable tour guide will ensure that you do. You will then arrive at the gentle Fairy Stream, which is a chocolate-colored river that showcases stark topographic contrasts on both sides of its gentle stream. Both dune cliffs and luscious greenery embellish the surrounding terrain, creating a unique environmental display that you will adore and appreciate. A short cable-car ride up Ta Cu Mountain will then reveal the sprawling vistas of the greater Phan Thiet from a summit well above the rest.
Your final overnight destination will be Vinh Hy Bay, which is an idyllic crescent headland that is nestled off the beaten path on Vietnam’s coastline. You will venture down to the sea to experience all that it has to offer. There is a wealth of opportunity to experience in this aquatic destination, such as snorkeling, viewing vivid marine life, kayaking alongside forested rock formations, soaring across the water’s surface on a catamaran, and windsurfing. You will continue to Cam Ranh on your final morning, where you will delve into the delightful flavors of Vietnam’s famed cuisine before being whisked away to Ho Chi Minh City for your flight home.
Starting Price
$2,100 per person (excluding international flights)
Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.
What's Included
The starting price is based on travel during the low season for a minimum of two travelers staying in shared 3-star accommodations. Please inquire for a custom trip quote based on your travel preferences and travel dates.
Verified Traveler Reviews
Based on 656 reviews
Jon and I want Zicasso’s travel specialist to know how much we enjoyed and benefitted from the wonderful itinerary, great seats on domestic flights, caring and thoughtful tour guides, and more. What a great trip!
We spent three weeks in Vietnam and Thailand. The highlight of the trip was the wonderful guides and the unique itinerary. Great care was taken to arrive at destinations before the crowds and fast-track entrance with a personal guide with knowledge of the culture and history.
With six domestic flights throughout Vietnam and Thailand, we experienced the best of both countries. We loved the cooking classes and elephant sanctuary. Thank you for taking such good care of us.
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It was the best vacation ever!!! Zicasso’s travel specialist and the team made traveling halfway around the world to six locations in two countries seamless and a spectacular experience at every turn! Ten stars for all of your efforts to make this a very special experience for my wife and me.
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We want to thank Zicasso’s travel specialist for a fantastic and educational trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. The travel specialist created a well-designed trip based on our request. We requested small boutique hotels and they hit the spot on every one. They were well located, had comfortable rooms, and friendly, helpful staff, as well as great restaurants.
Our guides were experts in their areas and added their personal experiences to give us a more local feeling for what we were going to see and what we saw every day. All our guides were on time and met us at every airport and hotel with clear signs so we could see them. Three of our guides spoke excellent English, could communicate easily, and were easy to understand. One guide did not have strong English and at times needed to repeat himself many times for us to understand. His knowledge was not as strong as the others, but that could have been due to his ability to express himself well in English. He was still good, but just not on the same level as the other three. All of them were flexible, so if we decided to end the day earlier, they would discuss with us what options we had to get to what we missed the next day. One guide even took us to his parents’ house for tea and to a natural hot spring because the weather turned cold quickly and it would have been cold touring that day.
All of the drivers were courteous and helpful, getting our bags in and out of the van and into our hotels. The vans were all clean and gassed up. They also drove safely in the crazy traffic in Vietnam.
All of the restaurants we ate at were wonderful, and the guides explained what we were eating and how it is prepared. We had two fantastic cooking classes that were well laid out and taught us to cook many Vietnamese foods.
We had daily communication from one of the staff members, who checked in to ensure we were happy with how everything was going.
We only had one issue that happened because of our understanding and the travel company’s understanding of our request to have some e-bike opportunities. The guides didn't really know how to explain their meaning the day before we had an e-bike experience. In the US, the meaning is a pedal bike with a battery-assist motor. Their meaning is an electric scooter. Only one of the group had ever ridden a motorcycle, so we had to spend a lot of time getting the other three comfortable riding them in heavy traffic. They ended up having the van follow behind us to slow down the traffic. It ended up being OK, but everyone was a little stressed out because of the heavy traffic. We canceled another e-bike experience and just used the van to get us around.
We also need to thank all the staff we didn't meet or talk to, but who were behind the scenes doing all the work to make this another wonderful trip with Zicasso.
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The trip was extremely well planned as a whole.
We had great hotels and good guides.
The most important thing: Zicasso’s travel specialist understood what we wanted, gave suggestions to enhance it, and delivered exactly.
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We enjoyed an amazing two-week travel experience in Vietnam (north, central, and south), thanks to the thoughtful planning and suggestions of Zicasso’s tour operator. I can't say enough about all we saw, did, and learned while there, thanks to the tour operator's suggested schedule and attention to detail. We received first-rate service, from pick-up to drop-off, throughout!
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Our trip planning and experience with Zicasso’s travel specialist was perfect from start to finish. The travel specialist was knowledgeable, professional, listened to our needs and wants, and offered valuable suggestions. The handoff to another team member was seamless—he followed up on all the little details (visas, etc.) so we didn't have to. Our domestic coordinator contacted us periodically to check in and give us reminders, but wasn't obtrusive.
The itinerary was catered to our pace; the hotels were all fabulous and within walking distance to other activities that we might want at the end of the day.
Our guides were all knowledgeable, friendly, and made the experience feel personal. Exactly what we were looking for. They were flexible with our schedules and offered suggestions for other experiences when asked (where to have dinner, massages, etc.).
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