by Laurus Travel – a reputable, 100% Canadian-owned tour company in Canada since 1998
Vietnam tours from Canada – Ha Long Bay cruise
Vietnam tours from Canada – if that’s what you are looking for, you’ve just found the right Vietnam tour company in Laurus Travel. As a Canadian tour company based in Canada, Laurus Travel has been offering fully guided Vietnam tours from Canada for more than a decade with a track record that has stood the test of time. Focusing on history and culture, Laurus Travel’s Vietnam tours feature small group size, outstanding guides, luxury accommodations and quality Vietnamese and Western cuisines.
Our escorted Vietnam tours exclude international air but can be included upon request. In addition to the 12-day Best of Vietnam which spends the entire time in Vietnam, we have group tours that combine Vietnam with Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. The 19-day Vietnam, Cambodia & Singapore may interest some travellers as well. The 21-day Best of Indochina plus Bangkok and the 28-day Southeast Asia Adventure, both including Vietnam, might appeal to you as well.
12-day Best of Vietnam Tour
Hanoi – Ha Long Bay – Hue – Da Nang – Hoi An – Ho Chi Minh City
Conducted by experienced professional guides, this 12-day Best of Vietnam tour begins in Hanoi, ancient capital of Vietnam, and concludes in Ho Chi Minh City – the largest city and the most important economic centre of Vietnam. Trip highlights of this fully escorted small-group tour include overnight cruise on Ha Long Bay and the Old Town of Hoi An – both on the UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites list.
best Vietnam tours from Canada - Imperial Palace in Hue
Day 1/Thu: Departing Home City
The journey begins with your transpacific flight departing from a city of your choice. You’ll lose a day upon crossing the International Date Line.
Day 2/Fri: Arrival in Hanoi
Welcome to Hanoi! Meet your guide on arrival and transfer to the hotel. The remainder of the day is at leisure. Airport transfer for guests arriving ahead of tour schedule is not included and taxi fare is about $15 US.
Day 3/Sat: Hanoi (B/L/D)
Hanoi is the capital and the second largest city of Vietnam with a population currently estimated at 2.2 million excluding residents in the suburban areas. The ancient city has had many names throughout history, all of them of Sino-Vietnamese origin. Hanoi received its current name from Emperor Minh Mang in 1831. Ha and Noi mean “river” and “in between” respectively, to reflect the fact that the city sits between Red River and To Lich River. Hanoi was the most important political centre of Vietnam between 1010 and 1802. It was eclipsed by Hue during the Nguyen Dynasty (1802–1945). The city served as capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. After the French were driven out in 1954, Hanoi became the capital of North Vietnam and subsequently capital of the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam since 1975.
Our city tour following orientation in the hotel takes in the Presidential Palace, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Vietnam National Museum of History, the Old Quarter and a traditional water puppet show.
The Presidential Palace was built between 1900 and 1906 to house the French Governor-General of Indochina. When Vietnam achieved independence in 1954, Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) declined to live in the grand structure for symbolic reasons. Instead, a traditional Vietnamese stilt house was built for him in the same complex and he lived in it until he passed away. The palace is used for government functions and beyond access of the public. The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is located nearby the palace.
The National Museum of History is housed in the former home of the French School of the Far East (École française d’Extrême-Orient, EFEO for short). EFEO, founded in Hanoi in 1900 and now based in Paris, is a leading institution focused on the study of archaeology, philology, and modern society of East Asia. In 2011, the National Museum merged with the Vietnam Museum of Revolution across the street. This merger expanded the exhibition area to 4,000 square metres and the objects on regular display to over 10,000 with a timeline from prehistory to the establishment of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1945.
The Old Quarter near Hoan Kiem Lake has the original street layout and architecture of old Hanoi. At the beginning of the 20th century the city consisted of only about 36 streets, most of which are now part of the old quarter. A night market (near Dong Xuan Market) in the heart of the district opens for business on weekends offering a variety of clothing, souvenirs and food.
We attend a traditional water puppet show later in the day. The show is performed in a waist-deep pool with the surface of water as stage. The puppets are made out of wood and then lacquered. The puppeteers standing behind a split-bamboo screen control the puppets using long bamboo rods and a string mechanism hidden beneath the water surface. The themes are rural, with strong reference to Vietnamese folklore. Stories of harvesting, fishing and festivals are highlighted, often with a humorous twist. Legends and national history are also told through short skits.
We wrap up the day with a delicious welcome dinner.
Day 4/Sun: Hanoi – Ha Long Bay (B/L/D)
Our morning drive to Ha Long Bay takes about two and half hours. Board the luxurious junk on arrival. Our overnight cruise on Ha Long Bay includes visits to a sandy beach and a limestone cave full of stalactites and stalagmites.
Inscribed in 1994 by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, Ha Long Bay, located in the Gulf of Tonkin and 165 kilometres from Hanoi, covers an area of 43,400 hectares and includes over 1,600 islands and islets. The exceptional scenic beauty of the limestone pillars complemented by biological interest is an ideal model of a mature karst landscape developed during a warm and wet tropical climate. The outstanding value of Ha Long Bay is centered around the drowned limestone karst landforms, displaying spectacular pillars with a variety of coastal erosional features such as arches and caves which form a majestic natural scenery.
Day 5/Mon: Ha Long Bay – Hanoi – Hue (B/L/D)
After a leisurely breakfast, we disembark the boat and drive back to Hanoi. We tour the Temple of Literature after lunch. The temple is dedicated to the Chinese sage Confucius and traces its history all the way back to the year of 1070.
The later afternoon or early evening flight to Hue takes just over one hour. Please note that, if the flight schedule makes it impossible for the planned dinner to be served, it will be moved over to the next day.
Vietnam Tours from Canada – Q & A
What’s the best time to visit Vietnam?
For travellers from Canada who are afraid of high heat and humidity, the best time to visit Vietnam is between November and March with December, January and February being the best months. This is the dry season when temperatures are cooler than the rest of the year. Consequently, this is also the peak season for tourism across Southeast Asia.
The typhoon season in Vietnam usually begins in early June and ends in late November, when the wet season transitions to dry season. Temperatures in October and November often go up to 28 degreed Celsius, especially in the south. If you can bear the heat, visiting Vietnam in October and November allows you to avoid big crowds and save some money on accommodations and transportation.
Temperatures begin to rise in March across Vietnam. While temperatures in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) can reach 35°C (95°F) during daytime, the climate remains pleasant in central and north Vietnam, generally speaking.
Are there direct/non-stop flights to Vietnam from Canada?
At the moment, the answer is no. However, this could change soon as Vietnam Airlines, the Vietnamese national flag carrier, is exploring feasibility of operating direct between Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and Canada (Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal). Currently, our guests from Canada joining our Vietnam tours normally go through one of the following cities on the way to Vietnam: Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou.
How do I get Vietnam Visa?
Visitors can apply for Vietnam e-visa online by following instructions at https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/ and https://www.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/.
The single entry visa is valid for up to 30 days and costs US$25. Your online application upon submission will be processed within 3 working days. If you have provided all the information as required, the email notification would direct you to print your e-visa, which you must have in order to your Vietnam-bound flight.
Consumers are warned against using visa service agencies, some of whom are very much into deception. Vietnamese governmental organizations use web addresses ending with .gov.vn. Some for-profit agencies deliberately fool consumers with official-looking domain names, such as those ending with .govt.vn.
How much does a Vietnam trip cost?
This depends on where you are from, trip duration, the level of comfort you desire, and where/what you’d like to visit and/or do. If you are from North America, you probably can do a 10-day Vietnam trip for $2,000 including international airfare but you should not expect much in terms of luxury.
How many days do I need in Vietnam?
Vietnam is a small country compared with, say, China. You can pretty much cover most of the highlights from north to south in two weeks. Our 12-day Best of Vietnam tour can be a good choice for you.
Which Vietnam tour companies are the best in Canada?
Every tour agency has its own strengths and weaknesses. None of them can be the solution to all. If you are young and on a tight budget, you might want to check out those “adventure” tour operators catering to young travellers not minding roughing it.
Should I consider combining Cambodia, Laos and Thailand on one trip?
It would be ideal if you combine them on one trip as they are close by, and in the case of the latter three, the countries have many similarities. Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos are collectively referred to as French Indochina, or Indochina for short, due to their shared history during the French colonial days. Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, is a major hub of air transportation in Southeast Asia and serves as a convenient jump-off point for visitors to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and some other countries nearby. We actually have a 21-day Indochina plus Bangkok tour that include all of the above countries. The itinerary only goes to one city (Bangkok) in Thailand, but extensions to other popular Thai destinations such as Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai or beach resort towns of Phuket and Hua Hinh can be added on request.
