Friday, May 10, 2013

Family tour in Vietnam interacting with Vietnamese people and experience daily life.

 Travelling with children: We recognise that travelling with children can be difficult. This tour is aimed at families and includes activities designed to attract the interest of young and old alike. Vietnam is very much a ‘child friendly’ country with plenty to see and do. We’ll provide you with an experienced guide who can interpret Vietnam’s rich culture at on different levels so that each member of your family tour will be able to interact with local people and experience their daily life.

This 12-day family tour is based in the south of Vietnam between four destinations: Ho Chi Minh City (Indochina’s largest metropolis), the Mekong Delta and its unique lifestyle, Dalat (built by the French in the Central Highlands), and Nha Trang (Vietnam’s version of the Côte d'Azur). Highlights include Ho Chi Minh City’s famous Ben Than market, the wartime vestiges and Cholon, better known as Chinatown.

The Mekong Delta Cruises offers a fascinating waterborne culture – floating markets, a myriad of tiny islands interlaced with narrow channels, exotic fruit orchards and rich biodiversity. Perched on the edge of a series of plateaux, Dalat and its hinterland have many attractions.

It’s Vietnam’s market garden – glorious flowers, fruit and vegetables in abundance, as well as the bizarre Crazy House, a cable-car ride, remarkable temples, riding on the back of an elephant and more besides. Nha Trang is the nearest thing to a traditional seaside resort. Strung alongside a magnificent bay, its long sandy beach, offshore islands, hot springs and other attractions makes for a satisfying conclusion to the family tour.

Travelling with children: We recognise that travelling with children can be difficult. This tour is aimed at families and includes activities designed to attract the interest of young and old alike. Vietnam is very much a ‘child friendly’ country with plenty to see and do. We’ll provide you with an experienced guide who can interpret Vietnam’s rich culture at on different levels so that each member of your family tour will be able to interact with local people and experience their daily life.

The activities on your itinerary will be carefully tailored for a variety of levels of participation. For example, we can include a visit to the underground tunnels used by the Viet Cong during the war, having  photography tour next to a Dalat cowboy next to an orchid nursery, an elephant ride, and a boat trip in Nha Trang Bay complete with snorkelling, entertainment and even a floating bar.

Another ‘thrilling’ experience is riding on the back of a motorbike – much safer than it sounds! For older and more venturesome youngsters (and parents?), you might consider a firing range where you can shoot an AK 47 and other weapons near the Cu Chi Tunnels, or venturing onto the back of an ostrich in the Mekong Delta. We choose mature guides who are happy to assist with children and teenagers so that offspring and parents can both enjoy Vietnam’s rich culture and environment at an appropriate level.

Best time to go: The weather for most of this tour is suitable all year round. The only exception is from the middle of October to late December when the sea is muddy during the rainy season in Nha Trang.
Day-by-day itinerary

Day 1:    Ho Chi Minh arrival. Arriving at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel. You’ll have time to relax after your journey before a Welcome dinner. You’ll spend the night in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 2:    Ho Chi Minh City/Cu Chi Tunnels/Ho Chi Minh City. A morning drive will take you to visit the famous Cu Chi tunnels, a Byzantine maze of underground passages, chambers, rooms and booby traps used by both the Vietminh and the Viet Cong to suddenly materialise as if from nowhere, launch a lightning ambush, and vanish equally rapidly. Continue the family tour You’ll visit the huge Ben Thanh market, one of the liveliest areas of Ho Chi Minh City, is packed with every conceivable commodity. You’ll also call in at the Jade Emperor Temple. It’s one of the best Taoist temples in Vietnam, with superb effigies, remarkable carved panels of the descent to Hell and somewhat incongruous terrapin and tortoise sanctuaries. In the evening, you’ll cruise ride in a cyclo to discover the city. You’ll spend the night in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 3:    Ho Chi Minh City/Vinh Long/Can Tho. After escaping from Ho Chi Minh City’s urban sprawl, you’ll travel to Vinh Long. There, you’ll cruise on the Mekong River, visit Cai Be floating market, fruit orchards, a traditional family-run brick kiln, and drop in to look at some traditional cottage industries - a workshop making the huge coffins unique to the Mekong is particularly interesting. You’ll then drive further into the Mekong Delta to Can Tho where you’ll spend the night. Free optional Ostrich riding and Crocodile ‘fishing’.
Day 4:    Can Tho/Ho Chi Minh City. The day begins with boarding a boat to cruise to Cai Rang and Phong Dien floating markets on the Mekong Delta – both the journey and the markets provide insights into the Mekong rural lifestyle. In the afternoon, you’ll return to Ho Chi Minh City where you’ll spend the night.
Day 5:    Ho Chi Minh/Dalat. In the afternoon, you’ll fly to Dalat City. On arrival, you’ll be met and driven to the city centre for your check-in. You’ll then visit Dalat market, followed by dinner. You’ll stay in Dalat.
Day 6:    Dalat. In the morning, continue the family tour, a cable car will sway you downhill to the Truc Lam Pagoda. It’s quite plain, but is surrounded by an attractive flower garden. There are good views of the lake that lies below and can be reached by steps, and the thick forests on the far side. You’ll then cruise across the Tuyen Lam Lake for an hour’s elephant ride on the island in the middle of the lake. You’ll spend the night in Dalat.
Day 7:    Dalat. You’ll have the whole day to explore Dalat on the back of a motorbike tour . Your guide will take you to visit Emperor Bao Dai’s Summer Palace, the Crazy House, and the Lam Ty Ni Pagoda. If he’s in a good mood, you might be granted an audience with the ‘Mad Monk’, famous for his prodigious output of artworks. You’ll spend the night in Dalat.
Day 8:    Dalat/Nha Trang. In the morning, you’ll leave for Nha Trang. The car and driver will take you to your hotel, which will overlook the Bay. You’ll spend the night in Nha Trang.
Day 9:    Nha Trang. After breakfast, continue the family tour, a car will arrive to take you to board a boat for a whole-day cruise to some of the small islands in the bay. You’ll anchor off Mun Island for snorkelling (snorkel and fins available on the boat at a small charge), and eat lunch on board near Mot Island with ‘entertainment’ and a wine and fruit party. You’ll spend the night in Nha Trang.
Day 10-11:    Nha Trang free. The day will be free for strolling in the town, lazing on the beach, or whatever takes your fancy. You’ll spend the night in Nha Trang. As an alternative, you may choose to visit the mud baths in Nha Trang or take a river tour and visit rural areas engaged in a variety of cottage industries.
Day 12:    Nha Trang/Ho Chi Minh City departure. You’ll be free in the morning until your car and driver arrive to take you to Nha Trang airport for your flight to Ho Chi Minh City to connect with your departure flight.

Tailor made the family tour

This family tour can be tailor made to create a unique holiday for your individual requirements by travel experts with intimate knowledge of the destination. It is a more luxurious trip that will suit those who enjoy immersing themselves in new cultures and environments before relaxing in comfort in some of the best and most characterful local accommodation! Quality and value are the hallmark of these trips.
How Tailor made family holiday in Vietnam makes a difference

We have built strong links with local communities, craftspeople, singers and musicians who are maintaining threatened traditions. We offer visitors an opportunity to meet them, thereby valuing their activities and thus helping towards their survival.

For example, at Vinh Long in the Mekong Delta, the local people will welcome an opportunity to perform their traditional Tai Tu music for you. You’ll help raise awareness of the need for conserving the old houses that are significant relics of the Mekong history.

Wherever possible, we contract local indigenous suppliers, assist them to improve the quality of their services and pay them direct rather than through intermediaries. By booking this tour, you’ll be helping us to support Vietnamese service providers, small businesses, boat owners and other poor people in communities in areas such as the Mekong Delta.

Apart from the above, we’re also keen to raise awareness of the need for environmental and cultural conservation among young people. With this in mind, we use local freelance guides with wide experience and knowledge of cultural traditions and ecology, combined with an ability to interpret the milieu in each destination in a way that has meaning for adults and children. For this family tour, you’ll have several different guides from various provinces of Vietnam.

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