Inside Vietnam (2012)

Hanoi • Halong Bay • Hué • Hoi An • Nha Trang • Dalat • Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
  • 18 days
  • from only:
  • $2195
  • $122 per day
    Land Tour Only
  • 19 days
  • from only:
  • $3345
  • $177 per dayIncludes international airfare and government taxes
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
NEW—Enhanced Itinerary
Video: Travelers' experiences of Inside Vietnam
NEW—Private Departures
Is this Adventure Right for You?
It's Included
Unique Accommodations
Extend Your Adventure
Vientiane & Luang Prabang, Laos
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Optional Tours
Local Team & Insider Tips
Grand Circle Foundation
Your Travel Handbook
Air information
LearnMore
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Customize your trip

Learn how to customize your adventure, or view standard air routing and travel times. The choice is yours with our True Choice program.

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Customize your trip

With our True Choice Program, you can choose to stay longer before or after your trip on your own, or combine two adventures to maximize your value. Here are more ways to create the OAT adventure that’s right for you:

  • Choose our standard air routing, or work with us to select the airline and routing you prefer
  • Make your own international flight arrangements directly with the airline, applying frequent flyer miles if available
  • Stay overnight in a connecting city before or after your trip
  • Request to arrive a few days early to get a fresh start on your adventure
  • Choose to “break away” before or after your trip, spending additional days or weeks on your own
  • Extend your adventure with our optional pre- and post-trip extensions
  • Combine your choice of OAT adventures to maximize your value
  • Upgrade to business or premium economy class

The air options listed above will involve an additional fee of $100 per person for confirmed requests (as well as incremental airfare costs based on your specific choice). This service fee will be waived for Inner Circle/Sir Edmund Hillary Club members.

Or, when you make your reservation, you can choose our standard air routing, for which approximate travel times are shown below.

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta, New York (JFK)

23hrs

Baltimore, Boston, Houston, Newark, Philadelphia

25hrs

Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, San Diego

24hrs

Detroit, Los Angeles

21hrs

Minneapolis, San Francisco

20hrs

Portland, OR, Seattle

19hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Bangkok, Thailand. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

REFER and EARN

Earn increasing rewards as a Vacation Ambassador

REFER and EARN as a Vacation Ambassador with
the BEST referral program in the industry

Inspiring new travelers to join the OAT family is a rewarding experience—both for you and your new travelers.

Share your love of travel with others and, for each referral who embarks on an OAT trip, you will earn $100 in CASH or credit. With your 4th referral departing on a 2012 departure, your reward increases to $200 in CASH or credit per person. And once you refer 8 travelers departing in either 2012 or 2013, you'll earn a FREE trip valued up to $4,500 per household—which will bring the total value of your earned rewards up to $5,600.

And you are also passing along savings to your new traveler: We'll instantly deduct $100 off the cost of their reservation when they mention your name and Customer Number while reserving.

To learn more about the benefits of our Vacation Ambassador Referral Program, please call us toll-free at 1-800-955-1925 or click here.

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Pre-Trip: Vientiane & Luang Prabang, Laos

6 nights from only $1145
Laos 2011

Before your Inside Vietnam adventure, discover another Indochinese gem in Laos, once known as the “land of a million elephants.” We begin in Vientiane—built as the country’s capital in the twelfth century—now a slow-paced, friendly city that boasts ancient treasures like Wat Sisaket, with its 6,840 statues of the Buddha. Then we continue to charming Luang Prabang. Set in spectacularly lush scenery, the city is famous for the more than 30 active temples and hundreds of architectural treasures that have earned it a place on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. You’ll notice the many 19th-century French colonial villas mixed in with the more traditional Lao-style homes as we mingle with locals, participate in an alms-giving ceremony with Buddhist monks, and savor another side of Southeast Asia.

Single Supplement: FREE.

Please note: Availability and price may vary by departure date. Please call for details.

It's Included

  • Airfare from Luang Prabang to Hanoi
  • Accommodations for 1 night in Bangkok, 2 nights in Vientiane, and 3 nights in Luang Prabang
  • 13 meals—5 breakfasts, 4 lunches, and 4 dinners (including 1 Home-Hosted Lunch)
  • 8 small group activities
  • Services of our own resident OAT Trip Leader, who speaks English and the native language
  • All transfers
Day 1
Depart U.S.

Fly overnight from the U.S. to Thailand, losing one day en route as you cross the International Date Line over the Pacific.
Day 2
Arrive in Bangkok, Thailand

You arrive in Bangkok late in the evening. You will be met at the airport and escorted to your hotel.
Day 3
Fly to Vientiane, Laos

This morning, we’ll have breakfast at our hotel before our departure to the airport for our flight to Vientiane, Laos. We arrive around noon, and our Laos Trip Leader will meet us at the airport and escort us to our hotel. We’ll check into our hotel in Vientiane and have dinner at a local restaurant with a classical dance performance this evening.
Day 4
Vientiane city tour/Haw Phra Kaew & Wat Sisaket

We have breakfast at our hotel and a welcome briefing this morning. Then we set out to explore Vientiane. We start our explorations with a visit to the Patuxay Victory Gate Monument. We also visit the Haw Phra Kaew (House of the Emerald Buddha), which contains some of the best Buddhist sculptures in Laos. Nearby stands Wat Sisaket, the oldest monastery in Vientiane, featuring an impressive 6,840 Buddha statues in varying sizes and positions.

We’ll enjoy an included lunch at a local restaurant. Afterwards, we visit the Great Sacred Stupa (Pha That Luang), a national symbol of Laos. Spend a free afternoon in Vientiane; then we'll gather for dinner at our hotel this evening.
Day 5
Fly to Luang Prabang, Laos

After breakfast at our hotel, we depart for the airport for our flight to Luang Prabang, the ancient, royal capital of Laos, located on a peninsula between the Mekong and Khan rivers with lush green mountains all around.

After checking into our hotel, we have an orientation walk around the neighborhood. We’ll visit the Royal Palace Museum, which was built from 1904-1909 during the reign of King Sisavang Vong and served as his palace. We’ll continue to the royal temple Wat Xieng Thong, the oldest in the city.

Then, depart for Phousi Hill, in the center of the old town. Here you’ll climb the 328 steps and at the top, overlook most of Luang Prabang. You’ll take in views of the Khan and Mekong rivers, and if the weather obliges, enjoy a colorful sunset. Then continue on to Luang Prabang’s bustling night market and later, enjoy dinner at our hotel.
Day 6
Hill tribe visit/Home-Hosted Lunch

This morning, we’ll enjoy an in-depth look at what life is like in present-day Laos. We’ll head to the nearby Lao-Loum hill tribe village whose residents are recognized for living and working well with another local Hmong Tribe.

During our time in the village, we’ll enjoy a walking tour, stopping to meet with local families and visiting the local Shaman. During today’s Home-Hosted Lunch, you’ll be invited into the home of a local family for a personal perspective on Laotian life.

The rest of the day will be yours to explore as you wish and dinner is on your own in Luang Prabang.
Day 7
Buddhist alms-giving ceremony/Mekong River excursion

Today, we rise very early to witness and participate in an ancient Buddhist tradition—alms-giving to local monks. Then we’ll enjoy breakfast at our hotel.

Later this morning, we’ll embark on a boating excursion that begins with a ride on one of the longest rivers in the world. The Mekong, meaning “Mother of all rivers,” supports 90 million people who produce 54,000 square miles of rice every year.

We’ll have lunch onboard the boat and stop to visit several river villages during our cruise. Enjoy free time at leisure this afternoon and a Farewell Dinner in a local restaurant in Luang Prabang.
Day 8
Fly to Hanoi, Vietnam

After breakfast at the hotel and some time at leisure this morning, we’ll depart for the airport for our flight to Hanoi, where we’ll join travelers on the main trip.