Flight to Hanoi. A day in transit.

Hanoi, Vietnam (2 nights). Arrival early in the morning, met by your French-speaking guide, then transfer to the hotel. In the afternoon, a panoramic tour of the city. Welcome dinner. (D)

Hanoi. A day in the capital, which has kept its colonial charm with its lakes, its parks and its wide tree-lined avenues. The Temple of Literature, built to honour Confucius and educate the crown prince, and the country's first university. The Museum of Ethnology, considered the finest museum in Vietnam. Hoan Kiem lake and its Ngoc Son temple. Then a cyclo ride through colonial Hanoi, past the guest house, the Metropole hotel and the foreign ministry. (B, L, D)

Hanoi and Ha Long Bay. The road to Ha Long Bay, emerald water and limestone peaks, then boarding a junk to sail among its three thousand islands and its caves carved by wind and water. The site has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1994. Lunch on board, with Vietnamese specialities and seafood, while the junk crosses the bay. In the afternoon, activities vary with the junk booked, with free time and a Vietnamese cooking demonstration. (B, L, D)

Ha Long Bay and Ninh Binh. At dawn, the morning mist uncovers the rocks of the bay. A stop at the Luon cave, then off to Ninh Binh, known as the inland Ha Long Bay. The scenic road crosses karst mountains and rice fields. Visit of Phat Diem cathedral. (B, L, D)

Ninh Binh, Hoa Lu and Hanoi. Departure for Hoa Lu, a village used as a location for the film Indochine. A sampan ride through the site, then a visit to the Bich Dong pagoda, the Jade grotto. The road to Hanoi and dinner in town. (B, L, D)

Hanoi and Sapa (2 nights). The road to Sa Pa, a former hill station known for its mountains and its terraced rice fields. Lunch in a restaurant. In the afternoon, the climb up Mount Ham Rong, the Dragon's Jaw, for the view over Sa Pa, among geraniums, nasturtiums, orchids, daisies and camellias. Then the Sa Pa market and the church, a historic landmark of the region. Dinner in town. (B, L, D)

Sapa. In the morning, a walk through the village of Cat Cat, among the Black Hmong: the stone church, the colonial quarter and the covered market where the ethnic minorities gather. Lunch with a local family, then a hike to the villages of Lao Chai and Ta Van, among the finest terraced rice fields in Vietnam. A stop at Madame Moo's for the culture and traditional life of the Black Hmong, a herbal foot bath, then a batik workshop, an eco-responsible tourism project that supports the women of the village. The day ends with a walk along the road back to Sapa. (B, L)

Sapa, Ma Tra, Hanoi and Hue (2 nights). Departure for the Red Dao village of Ma Tra, overlooking a vast valley. Transfer to Hanoi airport and flight to Hue, the former imperial capital of Vietnam. (B, L)

Hue. A dragon boat on the Perfume River, then the Thien Mu pagoda, the pagoda of the Celestial Lady, and its Buddhist sanctuary built in 1601. The imperial city, with the palaces and temples left by the Nguyen dynasty and laid out according to the rules of cosmology, then a cyclo ride through the lanes of the old town and a tour of the market with tastings. In the afternoon, the royal tomb of Minh Mang. Imperial dinner in costume. (B, L, D)

Hue, An Bang and Hoi An (2 nights). The road to An Bang for a visit to an unusual cemetery, known as the city of ghosts for its richly decorated tombs, built by the villagers in tribute to their relatives. On to Hoi An by the mandarin road and the Hai Van pass, with rice fields in the valleys. In the evening, a coloured lantern in hand, the floating lantern rite, a good-luck ritual practised throughout the central region. (B, L, D)

Hoi An. A morning walking tour of Hoi An, on the banks of the Thu Bon river, one of the most picturesque ports in Vietnam with its colourful boats. Its pedestrian old town is on the UNESCO World Heritage list, and it is the best preserved town in the country: a hundred or so historic buildings tell what a prosperous Asian trading port was like between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, with the Japanese and Chinese influences that came with it. The rest of the day is free. (B, L)

Hoi An, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. Transfer to Da Nang airport and flight to Ho Chi Minh City. At the start of the seventeenth century it was only a small Khmer trading post among forests and marshes. Grown into a major trading centre through Chinese merchants, the port was taken in the eighteenth century by the Vietnamese, who named it Saigon, then in 1859 by the French army, which made it the capital of Cochinchina. Capital of South Vietnam in 1954, the city was renamed Ho Chi Minh City on July 2, 1976, though the name Saigon still refers to its central district. In the afternoon, an orientation tour and colonial remains: the central post office framed by Gustave Eiffel, the cathedral and the city hall. (B, L)

Ho Chi Minh City, Ben Tre and Can Tho. The road to Ben Tre, in the Mekong delta, known for its orchards and its craftspeople working coconut leaf and fibre. A visit to a Cao Dai temple, then boarding a traditional barge of bamboo, wood and rattan to see life in the delta, where the river traffic tells the story of the banks. Through the Cai Son canal, winding through the coconut jungle, a visit to a coconut workshop and a tasting. A short walk to the house of a farmer who makes mats, then a tuk-tuk ride along the paths. Lunch with a local family. Back by boat to Hung Vuong, then the road to Can Tho. (B, L, D)

Can Tho, Cai Rang, Tra Su and Chau Doc. Early in the morning, a boat to Cai Rang and its floating market, the largest in the delta, among motorised canoes, rowing boats and barges loaded with rice, vegetables and fruit. Then the flooded forest of Tra Su, for a sampan ride among the cajeput trees, before reaching Chau Doc, a quiet town near the Cambodian border. (B, L, D)

Chau Doc and Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Morning transfer by fast boat to Phnom Penh, a chance to watch life and the villages on the banks of the Mekong. Afternoon arrival, met by your guide and transferred to the hotel. Free time, then a one-hour cruise on the Mekong for the sunset. (B, L, D)

Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (3 nights). A day in Phnom Penh, called the pearl of Southeast Asia in colonial times and then the most important city in the Mekong basin. A visit to the royal palace and the Silver Pagoda, also known as the pagoda of the Emerald Buddha, floored with more than five thousand silver tiles weighing six tonnes. Then the National Museum, built in Khmer style in the 1920s, which holds a collection of Khmer statues and objects including a sixth-century bronze of the god Vishnu. A visit to Tuol Sleng, today a museum in memory of the victims of the Khmer genocide, and to the Killing Fields, where thousands were exterminated under the Khmer Rouge. Transfer to the airport and flight to Siem Reap. (B, L)

Siem Reap, Tonle Sap lake and Kompong Phluk. In the morning, a boat ride on Tonle Sap lake, a vast reservoir whose size changes with the seasons and where fishers and farmers live in stilt villages. Arrival at the village of Kompong Phluk, a Khmer community of three thousand people spread over three isolated villages. In the afternoon, the temples of the Roluos group, with Preah Ko, Bakong and Lolei, in the middle of an ancient reservoir. Then Little Angel Leather Carving, an organisation that teaches leather carving to orphans and children from poor families. Dinner with a show of traditional Khmer dance. (B, L, D)

Siem Reap and Angkor. Angkor, starting with the Bayon temple and its hundreds of smiling faces atop the towers, then Ta Prohm, held up by giant trees whose roots grip the stone. Rediscovered by the French in the nineteenth century, it was restored and surrounded by a garden of figs and silk trees to fill the cracks. Lunch in a local restaurant, then the Pre Rup temple and Angkor Wat, the largest and most harmonious of the complex. In the evening, a shadow puppet show: the hand-worked leather puppets, mounted on bamboo rods, cast their silhouettes on a white screen. (B, L, D)

Siem Reap and Bangkok. After breakfast, the road to Banteay Srei, a jewel of carved pink sandstone known as the citadel of the women, the last great Khmer temple to be rediscovered. Then the Banteay Samre temple, built in the third quarter of the twelfth century. Transfer to Siem Reap airport and flight to Bangkok. Dinner and overnight near the airport. (B, L, D)

Bangkok: return. An early departure for the transfer to the airport and the return flight to Montreal. (B)