Day 1: Hanoi City Tour Arrival in Hanoi, the vibrant capital of Vietnam. Our friendly and professional tour guides will welcome you at the airport and will be at your disposal throughout your trip. We will take care of all transportation matters and ensure a smooth check-in at your hotel. A full day to discover the pearl of Southeast Asia: Hanoi. With charming streets lined with dozens of ancient trees, beautiful lakes, colonial architecture and countless interesting monuments, this city will impress you with its lively character. We start our city tour at the Restored Sword Lake, famous for the legend of the 15th century turtle and sword. After the bombing of this lake by the Americans in 1968, the giant turtle was killed and the small pagoda in the water is the final resting place of this legendary animal. We continue our way with a visit to the Temple of Literature, dedicated to Confucius and his disciples. This temple was once the first university in Vietnam, founded in 1076 to teach Confucianism in Vietnam. After this historical site, you will visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the house of Uncle Ho, who lives forever in the heart of every Vietnamese. We will also visit Tran Quoc Pagoda and Quan Thanh Temple where you will learn more about Buddhism and Taoism in Vietnam. At the end of our city tour, we will take a one-hour ride in a traditional cyclo through the Old Quarter of Hanoi. After dinner at a local restaurant, we visit the famous Water Puppet Theater. Day 2: Hanoi - Mai Chau You will leave Hanoi on Road No. 6 to Mai Chau, an idyllic valley populated mainly by White Thai people. Visiting Mai Chau, you will have the opportunity to experience folk songs and traditional colorful White Thai culture in Mai Chau. The landscape upon arrival in Mai Chau is characterized by beautiful limestone mountains and colorful hill tribes that can be seen and visited along the way. Along the way, we will also have the opportunity to learn about the culture of the rice-growing people in the Red River Valley and Da River Valley. After lunch, we will have the whole afternoon to climb the pass of Thung Nhuoi. From the top of the pass, there is a magnificent view of the Mai Chau Valley, which is often obscured by clouds, but still a wonderful sight. After visiting this wonderful place, we will drive down to explore the White Thai area. In the evening, we can enjoy a local dinner and stay overnight in a beautiful village on the edge of a river. After dinner, you can spend the evening together around the fire and attend a traditional music show. In their traditional dress, typical of their culture, the dancers invite visitors to participate in the Xoe dance. To the rhythmic and upbeat music, hosts and guests dance hand in hand for hours. When they get tired, they take a break to drink a special sticky rice liquor called "ruou can". Anyone who has participated in the Xoe dance, especially at night by the light of a fire, will probably remember it forever. Day 3: Mai Chau - Huong Khe We follow Route No. 15 through the Pu Luong Nature Reserve and meet the Ho Chi Minh Highway in Cam Thuy, then head south to Huong Khe. Day 4: Huong Khe - Phong Nha Continue to the Dong Loc crossing. During the war against the USA, Dong Loc was the main junction of supply lines from the north to the Ho Chi Minh Trail. U.S. aircraft used a large number of bombs and munitions to destroy the intersection and surrounding areas. This section of the road was bombed over two thousand times during that period. Ten young volunteers between the ages of 17 and 20 were assigned to maintain the road and kept it open to traffic. Despite repeated heavy bombing of the road by the U.S. Air Force, they remained at their posts, using only shovels and picks to clear bomb craters. Tragically, they were all killed in an air raid on the street on July 24, 1968. A monument stands directly on the spot where they were killed. We head southwest and follow the famous historic road along the Lao border to Phong Nha National Park, Vietnam's newest World Heritage Site. Day 5: Phong Nha - Khe Sanh After visiting Phong Nha caves by boat, we continue along the Lao border on the western side of the trail to visit Khe Sanh, one of the fiercest battlefields in the Vietnam War. Day 6: Khe Sanh - DMZ - Cua Tung DMZ - The demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam was established in April 1954 as a result of the Geneva Conference to end the war between the Viet Minh and the French. The DMZ in Vietnam is located on the 17th parallel. In reality, the DMZ extended about one mile on both sides of the Ben Hai River and from west to east from the Laotian border to the South China Sea. During the American war in Vietnam, this was one of the toughest battles for the local population. Hundreds of locals were killed trying to swim to the other shore to get to their families. Follow Route No. 9 and visit Darkrong, Lang Vey, Camp Carol and Truong Son Nation Cemetery, where more than 10,000 Vietnamese soldiers died, most of them unknown, when US troops occupied the area during the US war. Continue to Hien Luong Bridge on the Ben Hai River. Day 7: Cua Tung - Hue In the morning, drive north to visit Vinh Moc Tunnel. This tunnel was not built as an army tunnel in Cu Chi. It was used as a shelter and hiding place for the villagers who were engaged in fishing and agriculture from being wiped out by the American bombing raids. We continue our journey to Hue and visit two more battlefields - Thach Han and Quang Tri Citadel - dating back to 1968 and 1972 respectively. After dinner, enjoy Hue's traditional folk songs on a private boat on the Perfume River. Day 8: Hue Today the motorcycle stays in the garage and we take a rest day to sightsee Hue. Hue was known as the political and cultural center of the feudal state of Vietnam during the Nguyen Dynasty. Boat ride on the Perfume River from where you can enjoy the exuberance of this ancient imperial city. Along the river you will visit Thien Mu Pagoda, Minh Mang, Tu Duc tombs.... Day 9: Hue - Da Nang We will drive over Me Oi Pass to A Luoi, where we will meet the Ho Chi Minh trail again. We will visit many villages of the Ta Oi and Co Tu ethnic minority near the Lao border on the side of a large mountain covered with dense jungle. In the afternoon, we will drive east to Da Nang. Day 10: Da Nang - Hoi An We drive to China Beach, where the US Marines first landed in Indochina, and then continue south by bus to Hoi An. Day 11: Hoi An Full day exploration of Hoi An's World Heritage Site, the Old Quarter, a unique combination of Architectural monuments of various forms: Residential house, meeting hall, communal house, pagoda, shrine, temple, fountain, bridge, wharf, market.... Is preserved intact. Hoi An is a good example of a symbolic oriental city of the Middle Ages, so wonderful with its ancient and traditionally maintained customs and traditions. The city is now an excellent model for a living museum of architecture and urban lifestyle. Day 12: Hoi An - Kon Tum Departure to Kontum via Pleiku. Lunch on the way. Kon Tum is the largest plateau in the Central Highlands, ~800 meters above sea level. The majority of the inhabitants are mainly Ba Na, then Kinh and Gia Rai. Arrive late evening and overnight in Kon Tum. Day 13: Kon Tum Morning city tour: wooden church, Pleitenghia village (Ba Na people) & Kon ho Ngor village (Rongao people). Lunch at a local restaurant in Kon Tum town. In the afternoon, short hike to Konkotu village to enjoy the scenery and discover the daily life of the Ba Na people. life of the Ba Na people. Trek to the source of Dak Bla River, then board the wooden boats and travel down the river back to Kon Ko Tu village. Dinner at 'Rong' house, where we later enjoy traditional music and dances around a campfire. Overnight at the 'Rong' house in Kon Tum. Day 14: Kon Tum - Buon Ma Thuot We leave Kon Tum towards Buon Ma Thuot and stop at Nhon Hoa village to explore the jungle near Ia Drang Valley. Continue towards Buon Ma Thuot and overnight there. Day 15: Buon Ma Thuot - Da Lat Drive on a wild road over many mountain passes to Da Lat. Overnight stay in Da Lat. Day 16: Da Lat Da Lat is known as the city of "eternal spring". The sights of the city include Thien Vuong Co Sat Pagoda, the former Bao Dai residence, the city garden and Tuyen Lam Lake. Take a short train ride from the old railroad station through the vegetable garden. Discover the large central market. Day 17: Da Lat - Mui Ne Another day, we drive over Ngoan Muc Pass and then downhill to Phan Rang, where we stop to visit Cham Towers before taking the bus to Mui Ne. Swimming and relaxing on the beach of Mui Ne. Day 18: Mui Ne - Saigon The last day of our trip on a good road but crazy traffic in Ho Chi Minh City. This also means the end of our journey together here in the capital of Vietnam.