Traditional Vietnamese noodle salad

Flavors of Thailand and Vietnam Culinary Tour

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Customizable Itinerary

This is a sample itinerary to inspire a personalized trip designed with your travel specialist

Countries Visited

Thailand, Vietnam

Places Visited

Hanoi, Hue, Tu Duc, Khai Dinh...

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Suggested Duration

13 Days

Different taste buds are aroused each day on this culinary tour of Thailand and Vietnam. Exotic spices tingle on the tongue. Aromatic freshness dominates local markets. Cuisine connects culture and history, creating a story to every bite. This journey isn’t just what you taste, but the people you eat with and the gastronomy you learn. Featuring street food, fine dining, master cooking classes, and regional specialties welcome to one of the world’s greatest gastronomic regions. To discover other...

Customizable Itinerary

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Trip Highlights

  • Learn to cook authentic Thai cuisine with a two-day cooking school in the charming northern city of Chiang Rai
  • Explore various local markets and learn about all the raw ingredients that go into Thai and Vietnamese cooking
  • Taste bun bo hue in Hue, try cau lao soup in Hoi An and immerse yourself in the contrasts between Vietnam’s northern and southern cuisines
  • Bangkok is a feast of spices for the palate and you’ll search for the best, from street stalls to a World’s Best 50 Restaurant
  • An herbal spa with a bowl of traditional pho soup is perfect to get over any jet lag when landing in Hanoi
  • Visit jasmine and oolong tea plantations in northern Thailand, spend the morning at a Vietnamese fish market, and use food as a means to explore local neighborhoods
  • With food as a focus, you also get to explore the countries’ favorite sights, like the imperial citadel in Hue and Chalermchai Kositpipat’s postmodern White Temple

Detailed Description

Handcrafted for both food lovers and the curious, this two-week tour provides an insider’s perspective that opens all the senses. Every mouthful has a story. Every dish has its history. Food is a way to connect with local history and culture, a means to take you deeper into Vietnam and Thailand. New flavors just keep coming and from your first dish to last you will discover two of the world’s great cuisines. Some destinations have their own distinctive dishes, like cau lao soup in Hoi An. Others are a hotbed for regional cuisines, like Hanoi for North Vietnam and Chiang Mai for Northern Thailand. You taste sumptuous flavors down back streets, and from local food carts. You also search for the opulent dining in restaurants that offer a contemporary fine dining take on tradition.

This culinary tour is more than tasting and learning the ingredients of a Thai green curry. Food is your way to explore and understand. These are countries with stories best told by the people, and cuisines only understood when you share with the locals. With food as a common ground, you forge friendships with people across Vietnam and Thailand, from fishmongers to world-renowned chefs. With food as a focus, you delve into the heart of these nations, experiencing the sights and enjoying the atmosphere. After two weeks, you’ll have tasted and encountered the nuance that marks out both the cuisine and the countries.

Hanoi is an easy place to start and offers a quick immersion in all things Vietnamese. Start with an herbal spa and a steaming bowl of spicy pho soup. Spend a day tasting and trying in the old quarter, especially at marketplaces that bring together flavors from all over Northern Vietnam. Fly to Hue and bun bo hue is the famous dish in Vietnam’s imperial capital. In Hoi An it’s cau lau soup, along with other legacies from ancient times. Visit a fishing market and get to know Vietnamese seafood, before flying to Ho Chi Minh City and day feasting on the flavors of South Vietnam.

Bangkok is the ultimate city of spices and you have two days to really explore, from street food and markets to fine dining restaurants. With every stop, the food tells a story and you also discover all the iconic city sights. Fly to Chiang Mai where you complete the tour with four nights in Thailand’s cultural capital. Two days are dedicated to a Thai master cooking school, a fun and laid-back way to learn the secrets of regional cuisine. In Chiang Mai, you also visit a jasmine tea plantation, try countless North Thailand appetizers, join the monks at a sunset ceremony, and sink your senses into everything this area is known for.

Zicasso offers a variety of Thailand and Vietnam vacations. Be sure to browse the trips reviews for Thailand and Vietnam.

Starting Price

$3,375 per person (excluding international flights)

Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.

What's Included

  • Accommodations
  • In-country transportation
  • Some or all activities and tours
  • Expert trip planning
  • 24x7 support during your trip

Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.

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