Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Saigon & Phu Quoc, 8 Nights

With only one night in the capital, the arrival afternoon is used well. After a rest, the guide takes you to Ba Dinh Square and the outside of Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, then to the Temple of Literature, whose walled courtyards were Vietnam’s first university in 1076 and are still visited by students before exams. The last stop is Hoan Kiem lake and the Old Quarter around it, the right place for a first dinner of pho or bun cha.

East across the delta to the Ha Long cruise pier, arriving in time to board around midday. Lunch is served while the boat heads out among the limestone islands. The afternoon usually brings one of the bay’s large caves and some time on the water in a kayak or a rowing boat, with the chance of a swim in the warmer months. Sunset from the top deck, dinner aboard, and a quiet night at anchor.

The bay at first light, with tai chi on deck and a last cruise through the islands over brunch. After disembarking late in the morning, the drive goes straight to Hanoi’s Noi Bai airport rather than the city, for an evening flight south to Ho Chi Minh City. It is a travel day, and the arrival at the Saigon hotel will be late in the evening, but it saves a night backtracking through Hanoi.

A later start after yesterday’s long day. The morning covers the Reunification Palace, where the war ended in April 1975, and the French colonial buildings around it: the red-brick Notre-Dame cathedral and the Central Post Office, with its iron vaulting and old maps. After lunch the coach heads north-west to Cu Chi, where the guide shows the hidden trapdoors, air vents and underground rooms of the wartime tunnels; the short crawl through a widened section is optional.

A full day in the delta. Vinh Trang pagoda at My Tho mixes Vietnamese, Khmer and colonial styles, and from the riverbank a boat crosses to the islands in the middle of the Mekong. On Unicorn island a lane leads through orchards to fruit tasting and southern folk songs; lunch follows, and a small hand-rowed boat glides back down a narrow canal shaded by water-coconut palms. Back in Saigon by late afternoon.

Breakfast and a free morning; Ben Thanh market is close to most District 1 hotels. Then out to Tan Son Nhat for the short flight to Phu Quoc, the large island in the Gulf of Thailand where the rest of the holiday is spent. The drive from the airport to the hotel is short. Check in, find the beach, and watch the sun set over the sea on the island’s west-facing coast.

The north-west corner of the island has Vinpearl Safari, where a bus takes you through open ground among free-roaming animals and a walking trail covers the enclosures, and next door the VinWonders theme park with its rides, aquarium and water park. The safari closes in the afternoon, so it comes first. Plenty of shade and water helps; it is a long, warm day and one that children tend to rate highest of the trip.

An eight o’clock pickup for An Thoi harbour at the island’s southern tip. The canoe threads a chain of small islands and stops at four of them: a long white beach on Mong Tay, snorkelling over rocks and coral at Gam Ghi, a shallow lagoon on May Rut, and lunch on the sand. The day finishes on the cable car from Hon Thom, crossing the harbour high above the fishing boats.

Breakfast and a free morning for a last swim. The transfer to the island’s airport is short, and many homeward journeys connect through Ho Chi Minh City or another regional hub; we time the pickup to your flight.