Inside Vietnam

We’ll travel by electric car to Cam Thanh village, visit local family farms, and witness Hoi An’s historic cityscape from a different vantage point during a cruise along the lovely Thu Bon River. We'll also sample a slice of daily life at the central market, where we'll experience various street food delicacies. Later, we'll round out our discoveries with dinner at a nearby restaurant, the glowing lights of Hoi An reflected on the nearby river.

Dalat is an area of rich agricultural production in the central highlands. First, we'll visit a market garden, where we’ll learn about the flowers grown in this region, before continuing on to a local coffee plantation. Here we’ll get an introduction to weasel coffee—a close cousin to civet coffee, it’s expensive, highly coveted, and somewhat controversial among Western coffee connoisseurs. We'll have the opportunity to taste this traditional coffee. Then, we'll venture to the isolated traditional village of Buon Chuoi (Banana Village). The village chief will greet us and we'll have some time to explore. We’ll meet members of this hill tribe and learn about their subsistence farming practices, and they'll give us glimpses into their home lives. Then, we'll sit down with the chief to discuss the impacts government policies are having on local hill tribes. We'll cap off our discoveries and head back to Dalat for an included lunch.

Join us on an excursion through the backstreets of Hanoi to discover local life and cuisine in the lesser-known parts of the city. We’ll explore aboard a unique form of transportation as we ride a vintage UAZ (a Russian military vehicle similar to a jeep) or a motorbike through the narrow lanes of Hanoi’s backstreets, viewing scenes of life in city neighborhoods that tourists rarely visit.

We’ll visit Hanoi’s “Train Street”, where shops and homes closely flank a narrow (and active) train track. We’ll pause for refreshment, enjoying a drink as we observe the frantic rhythm of this neighborhood, where shoppers and diners sit a stone’s throw away from passing locomotives.

Throughout our optional tour, we’ll try samples of the city's famous street food specialties, such as delectable noodle dishes, fresh local beer, and unique concoctions like cà phê trứng—Vietnamese dessert coffee topped with a foam of egg yolk and condensed milk.

After making our way through various sections of the city. we'll conclude our discoveries at a local restaurant and sit down to a casual meal before returning to your hotel.