• Beijing: city tours (3 nights)
• The Great Wall & Forbidden City
• Xian: city tour (2 nights)
• Terracotta Warriors
• Shanghai: City tour (1 night)
• Hanoi full day tour (2 nights)
• Halong Bay - overnight on luxury junk
• Saigon full day tour (3 nights)
• Mekong River cruise
• Floating market at Cai Be
• Mekong Delta - Binh Hoa Phuoc Island
• Cu Chi tunnel system

View Itinerary

Price & Departure dates

Day 1
Depart from Heathrow or your preferred airport for scheduled flight to Beijing. Meals on board.

Day 2 Beijing
Upon arrival in Beijing, you will be greeted at the airport by our English speaking guide and transferred to your hotel by private transport. The rest of the day is at your leisure to recover from jet lag and get ready for the adventure to come! (China is 8 hours ahead of UK GMT)

Day 3 Beijing (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
A full day city tour to soak up the atmosphere of Beijing. This includes visiting historical sites such as Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.

Our welcome dinner in the evening provides an opportunity to sample various type of Chinese cuisine.

Evening entertainment recommended *Optional:Acrobatic show.

Day 4 Beijing (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
The highlights of today's visit is to the Great Wall (Mutianyu Section), the quieter and less commercial section compare with some others. You will have plenty of time to walk along the wall and enjoy unforgettable views. For those who prefer an easier way up to the wall, a cable car is available (payment required locally approx £5).

Our memorable day continues with a trip to the Beijing Bird's Nest Olympics Stadia & the Water Cube swimming stadium (exteriors only). Have a stroll in the large Olympic square and enjoy great photo opportunities. Later we experience the famous Peking Roasted Duck dinner to conclude this unforgettable day.

Day 5 Beijing to Xian (Breakfast, Lunch)
Visit the 12th century Summer Palace, Kunming Lake and the Garden of Harmony before taking the ferry next to the famous Marble Boat. In the next part of the tour enjoy a fascinating Rickshaw ride through the 'Hutong' residential area of Beijing to see how local people live. Our guide will then escort you to Houhai, a popular relaxing eating out place for both Western and Chinese tourists. For travellers who would like to experience shopping in China, we can take you to the popular shopping street - Xiushui Silk Market.

In the evening, we take a flight to Xian, the former capital of China and starting point of the ancient Silk Road.

Day 6 Xian (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
An exciting day awaits you as we head to the Terra-cotta Warriors Museum. We will spend plenty time to visit the luxury underground palace of Emperor Qinshihuang, The Archaeological Museum of 6,000 life-size Terracotta Warriors and their horses. The warriors were the after life protectors of the first emperor who united China (221BC-206BC).

Enjoy our lunch include Xian's specialities. Following this we will visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, built as a Buddhist Monastery during the Tang Dynasty. We enjoy the jovial atmosphere around the beautiful Pagoda and picturesque boulevard where Xian residents come to meet & relax.

Evening entertainment includes: a re-enactment of the royal arts performance of a 7th century Tang Dynasty Show, with a special Dinner of dumplings included.

Day 7 Xian to Shanghai (Breakfast, Lunch)
In the morning, we take flight to Shanghai.

Our city tour of Shanghai includes visiting Yu Garden, famous for its rock gardens, pavilions, halls and ponds. We marvel at the futuristic landscape and magnificent towers on the famous promenade along the Huangpu River, the Bund and Nanjing Road. Finally our tour takes us to see the historic side of Shanghai. We visit the traditional low-rise homes, which was the former French quarter in colonial times and known locally as 'Heaven on Earth'.

Evening entertainment recommended *Optional:Martial art show, dance show etc.

Day 8 Shanghai to Hanoi (Breakfast)
Morning at your leisure, later on we take a flight to Hanoi, Vietnam where upon arrival you meet our guide and transfer to your hotel.

Day 9: Hanoi (B)

Today's full day tour includes Ho Chi Minh Memorial complex, taking in his mausoleum, the Presidential Palace and his idyllic wooden home built on stilts. Next we continue to the One Pillar Pagoda and the Temple of Literature, and become acquainted with Vietnam's two major religions, Buddhism and Confucianism. In the afternoon we visit the fascinating museum of Ethnology, which includes full size replicas of amazing ethnic minority tribal buildings found across Vietnam.

Later we explore downtown Hanoi including Ngoc Son Pagoda on Hoan Kiem lake and Ma May Street in Hanoi's Old Quarter to see a classic example of late 19th-century architecture. Afterwards we proceed to West Lake to see the beautiful Tao Sach Pagoda and enjoy coffee on a floating café. Free time in the evening allows you to walk along the historic French colonial Old Quarter of Hanoi. The Old Quarter provides a wonderful shopping experience and has a choice of many excellent restaurants. Overnight in Hanoi

(Optional evening tour to see the famed water puppet theatre, a traditional art form created by village farmers around the Red River Delta region. Ask for prices & details at time of booking).

Day 10: Hanoi-Halong (B, L, D)

After breakfast we journey east to Vietnam's greatest natural wonder, Halong Bay. We board our beautiful traditional wooden junk and spend a full day and night cruising the bay's 3000 magnificent limestone islets. In the evening when the boat is anchored in the middle of the stunning lagoon, we enjoy a wonderful seafood meal and later there is opportunity for an evening swim from the side of the boat. Kayaks are also available if specified at time of booking. Overnight on luxurious boat.

Day 11Halong - Saigon (Brunch)

Wake up to fresh coffee and take a small boat to a nearby sandy cove beach for an opportunity to relax and have a morning swim. For a great photo opportunity it is well worth walking up to the hill top pagoda which overlooks the entire Halong bay. Afterwards we return for a wholesome breakfast before cruising back to Halong City. En route the junk weaves through strange-shaped rock formations that invite comparisons from fighting cocks to mystical dragons!

Disembark and drive to airport for flight to Saigon (about 2.5 hours drive). on the way, we will visit some interesting handcraft places such as ceramic village to break up the journey. Upon arrival you will receive warm welcome from your local English speaking guide and transfer to the Hotel.

Day 12 Saigon (B)

Our tour today includes visiting the legendary network of underground combat tunnels in Cu Chi, where our guide will explain how the Vietcong survived and fought during the Vietnam war.

Later we visit the Saigon colonial Post Office, Reunification Palace and the Notre Dame Cathedral - the best of Saigon's architectural landmarks. Overnight in Saigon.

Day 13: Saigon-Mekong Delta (B, L)

This morning we drive to Saigon's China Town where we visit Thien Hau pagoda. Afterwards we continue our journey to the prosperous town of Vinh Long in the heart of the Mekong Delta, a world that lives and works on the water. We'll have an exciting boat trip to experience the floating market of Cai Be. Next we continue by sampan along small canals and narrow side arms of the Mekong River to observe the daily life along the river banks, visiting fascinating workshops where villages produce coconut sweets and rice crackers.

Our final destination is the beautiful Binh Hoa Phuoc Island. On the island we visit orchards of tropical fruits and for lunch we sample delicacies of the region, such as Elephant Ear fish. After lunch we return to Vinh Long Town for our transfer back to Saigon. Overnight in Saigon.

Day 14: Saigon - UK (B)

Transfer to the airport for your flight home. Extension in Saigon can be arranged.

China & Vietnam Holidays 2013 Departure Dates & Price

from £1800 per person (£)

Price Includes (The prices shown are 'per person')

• All flights within China and Vietnam including airport tax.
• All airport/hotel transfers where specified (private transfer).
• Selections of superior/deluxe hotel accommodation in well furnished rooms with private facilities.
• Sightseeing tours including entrance fee by professional English-speaking tour guide.
• Meals as specified in the itinerary.

Price Does Not Include

• International flight to Beijing, Shanghai - Hanoi and back from Saigon. We can arrange various airline carriers and from your local airport departure. Please enquire at the time of your booking.
• Visa fee (please go to Visa Service for details).
• Travel Insurance.

Accommodation for this tour: Carefully selected good 4 star hotels in China and good 3 star in Vietnam. Upgrad is available. For details of our hotel collection, please visit 'Accommodation' page.

Other operation fact: Our tour is arranged on a small group basis average 8 people per group, as we feel this gives our travellers more flexibility and enjoyment. By reducing the group size our experienced local guides are able to get to know you all individually and show you the true beauty of China & Indochina.

Our itineraries are designed at a sensible pace with a combination of escorted sightseeing, special activities and some free time. We Believe this give you the best combination to experience the real China & Vietnam and meet local people.

Your Meals We include all breakfasts (mixture of western & Far East cuisine) at your hotel and most local style lunches and dinners, which are all pre-booked as shown in your itinerary. Each lunch and dinner menu is selected to ensure you can try a wide variety of tasty traditional dishes whilst in the country. We feel it is also an important part of your holiday experience to try buying a few meals by yourself whilst you're in these countries and for your convenience the hotels we select provide a good choices of local cuisine with English menu. Alternatively there are plenty of restaurants to choose from around the main sightseeing area in most cities. A good meal (dinner) in a restaurant should cost about £8 per person.

The itinerary is designed according to the most updated information of flights and cruises sailing schedules available, although occasionally the sequence in which cities are visited and duration of time spent in each city can change due to local conditions which are out of our control. The above itinerary highlights the main attractions that are to be visited each day. Further places of interest may be visited during your stay, which will provide unique ethnic and cultural handcraft shopping opportunities. We reserve the right to change, amend or alter the itinerary, although we will act in your best interests to handle any amendments. Please refer to the booking form for detailed terms & conditions.