Vietnam Twin Centre

CITY, CULTURE & BEACH FROM £1,899pp

This wonderful twin-centre combines a few days in Ho Chi Ming City (Saigon) with a stay in historic Hoi An, where you can combine a relaxing beach break with immersion into Vietnamese culture and ancient history.

Bustling markets ablaze with colour, cooking aromas wafting from countless roadside food stands and the hooting-and-tooting of several million scooters: a stay in Ho Chi Minh City is an eye-opening adventure that's not to be missed. This former colonial capital – whose old name of Saigon is still used by locals – is Vietnam's largest city, a skyscraper-studded metropolis liberally scattered with carefully preserved heritage sites.

If you can tear yourself away from the endless theatre of the teeming streets, there are atmospheric temples and pagodas wrapped in tranquil gardens to retreat to. The no-holds-barred displays at the moving War Remnants Museum provide a chilling insight into the turbulent events of the mid-20th century. Afterwards, refresh your spirits with a stroll along tree-fringed boulevards lined with elegant French-style mansions that now shelter fine-art galleries, chic hotels and designer stores. Shopping is definitely a highlight, with everything from fair-trade shops selling traditional crafts from around the country to apartment blocks turned designer hubs where you can snap up the work of the country's young creatives.
After 3 nights here, head north to Hoi An for your final week. In the lantern-festooned lanes of Hoi An's UNESCO-listed Old Town, it's as if time has stood still. This small riverside town halfway down the country's east coast was once a prosperous trading port, and that cosmopolitan past lives on in the shape of a thousand or so carved, tiled and shuttered Vietnamese wooden houses, ornate Chinese temples and a 400-year-old Japanese bridge.

There's more to this unique cultural site than eye-catching architecture, however. Its markets are a riot of colour, with everything from a rainbow of silk cloth ready to be sewn by one of the town's long-established tailors to piles of exotic ingredients. Thanks to the superb quality of its fresh produce, this part of Vietnam is also known for its cuisine. There's no shortage of places in Hoi An – from street stalls and open-air cafés to dressier venues – in which to sample fragrant local specialities.

With two idyllic tree-lined white-sand beaches to round off its attractions, Hoi An is a wonderfully captivating base from which to explore further. Hop on a bicycle to discover Quang Nam province's verdant rural landscapes, pedalling along narrow tracks flanked by fields of rice and organic vegetables. Further inland, an hour's drive brings you to the poignant ruins of My Son, also on the World Heritage list, and well worth a visit. Here, surrounded by clouds of butterflies, crumbling red brick temples rise out of the jungle – all that remains of an ancient kingdom that once covered most of southern Vietnam.

- 3 Nights at Liberty Central Saigon Citypoint Hotel in a Deluxe Room

- 7 Nights at Victoria Hoi An beach resort & Spa in a River View Room

- Daily Breakfast
- Private Transfers
- From £1,899 per person

- Based on selected dates in March 2024 (Excluding Easter)

Fly from London Heathrow with Vietnam Airlines from £1,899pp

- Fly from Dublin with Qatar Airways from £1,999pp

- Fly from Manchester with Qatar Airways from £2,049pp

- Fly from Birmingham, Newcastle or Glasgow with Emirates from £2,099pp

All internal flights in Vietnam with Vietnam Airlines

Please get in touch for further information or to book!