Luxury Vietnam By Rail

Set out on your private half-day tour through Hà Nội’s Old Quarter, known as the “36 Streets.” You will be met by narrow tube houses with colorful facades, ancient temples like Bạch Mã, and ornate communal houses set amid a maze of craft-named lanes. Take in the sing-song calls of street vendors as you slide your hand over soft silk when visiting the Hàng Gai market or catch the glimmer of silver as you wander the Hàng Bạc market. Capture the spicy aroma of freshly grilled satay or the scent of incense from ancient temples as your guide leads you through colorful, character-filled lanes.

Transfer to the Thom Culinary Herb Garden just beyond Hà Nội’s busy Old Quarter, the location for your half-day private cooking class. As you enter the garden, an oasis of leafy paths unfolds before you, inviting you to inhale the earthy perfume of fresh cilantro under a canopy of betel palms. Your chef will guide you through which ingredients to gather before you roll up your sleeves for a master class. Create local dishes like zesty spring rolls stuffed with plump shrimp, crisp mint, and rice vermicelli, or caramelized pork belly fragrant with the licorice-like scent of star anise. Sample your work and discover Vietnam’s wonderful balance of bold flavors and subtle elegance.

With your private driver, transfer from the bustling urban charm of Hà Nội to the serene coastal beauty of Hạ Long Bay. Weave your way through a landscape of green hues, dotted with rice paddies, as the mysterious limestone karsts of Hạ Long Bay emerge from emerald waters. Once settled on your junk boat, you will sail deeper among dramatically jagged peaks that pierce the mist-shrouded sea. Anchor for kayaking around Luồn Cave’s emerald lagoon this afternoon. Experience ethereal beams highlighting stalagmite sea creatures as you explore Sửng Sốt Cave’s vast chambers, embracing their humid chill. Watch as the sky turns orange amid a quiet, captivating sunset, followed by the waters turning a deep indigo as night falls, the stillness only interrupted by the gentle lapping of waves against your vessel.

Enter Lan Hạ Bay’s calmer waters and step onto your sampan boat, rowing through the bobbing wooden houseboats of Cửa Vạn Fishing Village. Listen as muffled banter and children’s laughter echo off karst walls, in competition with creaking oars. Inhale briny sea air mixed with smoky fish grills and cast your eyes on vendors’ colorful wares. This afternoon, swap tides for train tracks as you leave the limestone towers of Hạ Long behind and step into a nostalgic slice of Vietnamese life on the overnight train to the central, coastal town of Đồng Hới. Listen to the gentle clatter of wheels and the soft murmur of fellow patrons, finally being rocked to sleep as Vietnam slides quietly past your window.

Đồng Hới is known as the gateway to Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng National Park, with a quiet riverside promenade, sandy beaches, and a local, non-touristy feel that offers a gentle pause between more well-known destinations. Enjoy a calm location boasting low-rise buildings, a broad, quiet river, and fishing boats bobbing gently on the water. Embrace your adventurous side with a boat ride on the Son River, where you suddenly slip into vast, echoing caverns like Phong Nha Cave, one of Asia’s longest river caves at around five miles, the cool air replacing the coastal heat. Silence is pierced by faint sounds of water dripping and bats’ echolocation calls in a place where glittering stalactites resemble crystal chandeliers. Catch the reflection of stalagmites resembling rice terraces in mirror-like pools and stroll half-mile boardwalks and well-lit paths as you inhale earthy mineral scents.

Your journey through Vietnam leads you to the city of Huế, where you can step into the grandeur of the Nguyễn Dynasty as you explore the UNESCO-listed Citadel and feel a sense of regal mystery as you wander the ornate royal tombs along the gently flowing Perfume River. Your day starts with a historic drive from Đồng Hới, where Vietnam’s coastal soul unfolds through the Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng region’s limestone karsts towering over Highway 1. Breathe in the fading salty sea air as it gives way to smoky village fires and focus your eyes on lush rice paddies dotted with water buffalo. Pass poignant war memorials and roadside shrines honoring local heroes as the terrain climbs into the misty Annamite foothills.

After breakfast, your guide will take you to meet fishers. You will climb aboard a traditional, wooden sampan boat on the Tam Giang Lagoon. Watch as life moves in time to rolling tides as you are taught how to cast nets for shrimp and crab. Pole through floating villages amid stilt houses as the briny mix of salt, mud, and nearby woodsmoke fill the air. As the sun sets, you are invited to sit on low stools in a typical Huế family home to enjoy humble dishes of just-caught seafood, fragrant herbs, and chè bắp, a dessert made from sweetcorn, jelly, and coconut. The conversation is light, warm, and informative, turning your meal into an intimate window onto everyday lagoon life.

Opt for the train over a road transfer from Huế to Hội An. You will enjoy unmatched panoramic views of the cliffs of the Hải Vân Pass, turquoise bays, and rice paddies from upper berths, relaxing without traffic or hairpin turns, and experiencing a key slice of Vietnamese history. Discover this North–South railway that, after suffering repeated wartime damage during the 20th century, was rebuilt in 1976 as a powerful symbol of national unity. Open your window and breathe in the misty mountain air. Listen to the clack of wheels connecting with the track as you pass endless crashing ocean waves and golden rice paddies. Your train ride takes you straight into Đà Nẵng’s Dragon Bridge glow, eventually delivering you into Hội An’s enchanting, lantern-lit embrace.

After a leisurely breakfast in your hotel, meet your guide and head out into the charming streets of beautiful Hội An, a UNESCO World Heritage gem. Walk the polished stone roads of the car-free Ancient Town streets to admire the mossy arches of the Japanese Covered Bridge’s hidden alleys, bursting with purple bougainvillea. Explore the UNESCO jewel of yellow shophouses, silk tailors, and riverside cafés that evoke a timeless trading port frozen in time. Uncover layers of color, touch delicately crafted silk scarves, then capture coastal serenity when pedaling along the Thu Bồn River. You will pass golden shophouses with ornate facades, the silk lanterns swaying in the breeze and the scent of fresh bánh mì wafting from open stalls.

Step up a level today with a luxury rail journey on the Vietage train to the charming seaside destination of Quy Nhơn. Surrounded by opulence, take in moving postcard-like scenes that blend towering cliffs and quaint fishing villages, giving way to long stretches of shoreline. Settled in your velvet seat, take in the rich aroma of steaming coffee as soothing sounds emerge from a corner-set piano. Indulge in a signature Quy Nhơn seafood salad, blending juicy green papaya, fresh mint, and flaky threadfin bream, as your train prepares to arrive in the city. Your leisurely journey will feel like an elegant introduction to central Vietnam’s coastal life, serving you quiet beaches, low-key cafés, and a slower pace.

Take it easy today with a slow, gentle stroll down Quy Nhơn’s picturesque promenade, where salty sea air mixes with the smoky aroma of fresh bánh xèo from roadside stalls, the crackling sounds of the crispy, rice-filled pancakes drawing your attention. Sinking your feet into warm, golden beach sand, watch as fishing nets draw shapes against a bright morning sky, the roaring sound of waves crashing behind them. Walk palm-lined boulevards, your eye catching the glint of handmade trinkets as they seemingly dance under lantern light and the bright, red skin of a basket of dragon fruit diverts your attention. Return to your hotel later, stepping in time to the distant call of temple bells echoing softly through the afternoon air.

Explore the treasures of ancient Chăm towers, such as the red-brick mystique of Tháp Đôi, its sentinels etched with intricate carvings of deities and mythical beasts. Discover the jungle sentinel and climb its steeple tower, where history’s whispers meet wild nature as you take in panoramic views over undulating fields and the winding Thị Nại River floodplains. Then, hike the windswept cliffs at Eo Gió, a trek that will have you tasting briny sea spray on your lips, hearing gulls’ piercing cries over crashing turquoise waves, and feeling the cool mist kiss your skin in an exhilarating fusion of history and raw coastal thrill.

Travel to Ho Chi Minh City and step into a rush of energy that instantly feels bigger and bolder than the quieter destinations you have previously enjoyed on your Vietnam adventure. The drive into the city sweeps you past tangled skeins of motorbikes, bright storefronts, and street vendors grilling skewers over glowing coals, the air rich with coffee, and fish sauce. Explore a modern Asian metropolis layered over a visible, storied past. Pass grand, French-style boulevards lined with ochre colonial buildings like the Central Post Office and Notre-Dame Cathedral, glassy high-rises, and rooftop bars that glitter above you. Marvel at the contrast of elegant pagodas and vibrant red-and-gold motifs adorning the yin-yang tiled roofs of Chinese shophouses settled among apartment blocks.

The Mekong Delta awaits you today, presenting a slower, softer Vietnam where life unfolds on the water. As you glide along chocolate-brown rivers and narrow palm-lined canals, the air is thick with humidity, birdsong, and the mixed scents of river mud, woodsmoke, and ripe tropical fruit. Wooden boats piled high with coconuts and melons nudge against floating markets, while children wave from stilt houses and hammocks sway lazily on shaded verandas. This evening, climb onto the back of a vintage 1970s Vespa, weaving through Ho Chi Minh City’s electric traffic streams in exhilarating fashion, the warm night air on your skin as your guide leads you down alleyway nhậu joints and past tiny cafés.

Depending on the time of your flight, you may have time to enjoy an outing that sees you tasting honey at a bee farm or enjoying a breakfast brimming with sweet mangoes straight from an orchard. Perhaps one last walk around bustling neighborhoods or that last bite of street food to set you up for your onward journey. Enjoy one last burst of Vietnamese hospitality before your private guide transports you to the airport.