1. Hanoi Hanoi in a beautiful autumn morning. Voted by Smart Travel Asia magazine as one of the most attractive destinations in Asia, Hanoi has its own charm to attract domestic and foreign tourists. Throughout the thousand years of its eventful history, marked by destruction, wars and natural calamities, Hanoi still preserves many ancient architectural works including the Old Quarter and over 600 pagodas and temples. Famous sites include the One Pillar Pagoda (built in 1049), the Temple of Literature (built in 1070), Hanoi Citadel, Hanoi Opera House, President Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum... Hanoi also characteristically contains 18 beautiful lakes such as Hoan Kiem Lake, West Lake, and Truc Bach Lake..., which are the lungs of the city, with their surrounding gardens and trees providing a vital source of energy. Many traditional handicrafts are also practiced in Hanoi including bronze molding, silver carving, lacquer, and embroidery. Hanoi has many famous traditional professional … [Read more...] about Seven attractive destinations in Vietnam
Hanoi 4 days 3 nights itinerary
Hanoi Emotion Tour
Visiting the Temple of Literature is part of the Hanoi Emotion Tour. Hanoi Emotion Tour is operated by four travel companies including Hanoitourist, NewStar Tour, Anh Duong Tour and ITC Travel with the support of Vietnam Airlines. With a tour lasting 4 days and 3 nights, the tour ranges from US$230 for tourists from Danang and US$280 for those from Ho Chi Minh city. The tour focuses on natural scenery, religious, historical and cultural sites, traditional handicraft villages, folk art and the cuisine of Hanoi. Tran Duc Hai, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism, said Hanoi Emotion Tour is designed based on Hanoi’s tourism potentials. “On this tour, we still take visitors to traditional tourist attraction sites. The tour also includes a visit to Ba Vi which has places to worship Tan Vien Genie and President Ho Chi Minh," he said. "This place also has other tourist attractions such as relic of 200 villas, prisons, and the diverse flora … [Read more...] about Hanoi Emotion Tour
High transport service fee sinks Vietnam’s tourism
Carrying passengers from here to there proves to be the most costly, time consuming and risky process when operating tours in Vietnam. Thanh Nien has quoted its sources as saying that transport fee makes up 60 percent of the total expenses of a tour, the proportion bigger than any other kinds of expenses. As for the tours with air flights and vehicles, the transport cost would account for 40-50 percent of the total tour expenses. Meanwhile, if travelers take boats, the proportion could be up to 60 percent. If only traveling by land, the transport cost would be just 20-25 percent. The director of a travel firm in HCM City said he would be charged VND15 million (USD720) to charter a 45-seat coach to Nha Trang City for four days, not including VAT. The fee would be VND8 million for a coach to Phan Thiet for two days, and VND3 million for using coach in the inner city. As such, travel firms have to pay VND3-4 million for renting coaches. Meanwhile, also according to the director, Thai … [Read more...] about High transport service fee sinks Vietnam’s tourism