Hosted Vietnam journey
HAN-SGN-14-AF
The stories we inherited
Travel from Hanoi to the Mekong on a hosted journey for overseas Vietnamese raised outside the country.
Travel from Hanoi to the Mekong on a hosted journey for overseas Vietnamese raised outside the country.
Some travellers grew up speaking a little Vietnamese. Others heard it around the dinner table, celebrated Tết with family or knew Vietnam mainly through stories told by parents and grandparents.
Travel from Hanoi and the Red River Delta through Hue, Hoi An, Saigon and the Mekong, meeting people and visiting places that put those inherited references back into a living Vietnamese setting. Food, faith, family customs and regional traditions sit alongside civic initiatives, student life, creative work and the country’s changing economy.
The main journey does not search for relatives or reconstruct a family tree. Travellers who already know a hometown, relative or family place can add a private family extension after the hosted programme.
See familiar foods, family customs, ancestor practices and beliefs in the places and communities where they remain part of everyday life.
Move between northern, central and southern Vietnam, with time in cities, rural communities and the Mekong Delta.
Meet students, young professionals and civic initiatives, and spend time with a Vietnam that has continued changing long after earlier generations left.
The journey is hosted by one of the founders of Scivi Travel, a Vietnamese diaspora professional who has spent many years living in North America. Having lived in both Vietnam and North America, the host can help bridge family memory with the places, people and everyday life encountered along the route.
The host joins conversations and introductions along the route while guests meet students, professionals, families and community partners across generations.
Spend four nights in Hanoi before travelling through the Red River Delta and taking the overnight train to Hue. Continue with two nights in Hue, two in Hoi An, three in Ho Chi Minh City and one night in Can Tho before returning to Saigon.
Arrive at Noi Bai International Airport and transfer to the hotel in central Hanoi. Keep the rest of the day free to settle in, then gather for a relaxed welcome dinner with the host.
Begin in Ba Dinh with the Ho Chi Minh complex, subject to opening conditions, then continue to the Imperial Citadel and the Temple of Literature. After lunch, walk through selected Old Quarter streets and communal spaces before returning to the hotel.
Visit the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in the morning, with the guide introducing the country’s regional and cultural diversity through the museum collections and outdoor houses. Keep the afternoon light for cafés, neighbourhood walking or independent time in contemporary Hanoi.
Board the Hanoi Five Gates heritage train for the journey to Den Do and the temples of the Ly kings, with Quan Ho performance included as operated on the service. Return to Hanoi around midday. In the afternoon, meet Think Playgrounds for a visit focused on community-led public space and civic life in the city.
Leave Hanoi early and travel through a long-established Catholic community in the Red River Delta, with the exact parish confirmed according to access. Continue to Hoa Lu for the temples of the Dinh and Le kings, then take a boat through Trang An or Tam Coc. After dinner, transfer to Ninh Binh station for the overnight train to Hue.
Arrive in Hue in the morning and visit the Imperial City before lunch. Check in after lunch and keep the remainder of the afternoon free for rest, a walk along the river or independent exploration.
Visit Tu Hieu Pagoda in the morning and learn about its place within Hue’s Buddhist life. Share a vegetarian lunch, then keep part of the afternoon free. In the evening, explore Hue by cyclo with selected local food stops.
Leave Hue and cross Hai Van Pass toward Da Nang. Visit Dien Hai Citadel and the Museum of Cham Sculpture before continuing to Hoi An, checking in and keeping the evening free in the old town.
Spend the day in and around Hoi An with a guided old-town walk, a cooking class, pottery-making and a basket-boat excursion. Return to the hotel with free time later in the afternoon or evening.
Transfer to Da Nang airport for the flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Meet the southern team on arrival, check in and take a light orientation through central Saigon if flight timing allows.
Meet a small group of university students, recent graduates or young professionals for an informal exchange of up to two hours. Later, visit a confirmed coworking, creative or innovation space and meet local founders or professionals for a practical introduction to work and business life in contemporary Vietnam.
Visit the Ho Chi Minh City History Museum in the morning, then continue to Cholon for markets, trading streets, temples and community institutions. In the evening, join an interactive Cai Luong workshop introducing southern theatre, music and performance traditions.
Leave Ho Chi Minh City for Ben Tre and spend the day on the Delta waterways, travelling by boat and local transport through coconut-growing communities and household enterprises. Continue directly to Can Tho in the late afternoon and check in for one night.
Rise early for Cai Rang Floating Market, then return for breakfast. Continue with a short Can Tho-area visit focused on contemporary Delta livelihoods and environmental change, selected according to confirmed local access. Return to Ho Chi Minh City after lunch, where the hosted programme concludes.
Designed primarily for second-generation Vietnamese adults raised outside Vietnam, including siblings, friends and partners who want a thoughtful first or renewed encounter with the country.
A founder of Scivi Travel, also part of the Vietnamese diaspora in North America, travels with the group and helps guests place family memories alongside present-day Vietnam.
The Ninh Binh–Hue sleeper train replaces a hotel night. Hue begins with a focused Imperial City visit followed by a free afternoon, creating recovery time after the long Delta day and train journey.
Think Playgrounds, student exchange and innovation-space sessions depend on confirmed partners. Each is facilitated as a reciprocal conversation, not a staged local encounter.
Cooking, pottery and basket boats are operated through established partners. Ben Tre and Cai Rang involve boats, heat and early starts, with practical alternatives assessed for each group.
The family extension is arranged only from known places, relatives and information supplied by the traveller. It does not include genealogy, family searches or unannounced contact.
Travellers who want to continue beyond the hosted programme may add a private extension to a known family hometown, relatives or places already connected to family history. VGO can arrange transport, interpreters, local guides and practical coordination based on information supplied by the traveller.
This extension does not include genealogy, family searches or unannounced contact. Its purpose is to make an already-known family connection easier, more thoughtful and more meaningful.
Hanoi, Ninh Binh, the bays and mountain routes, with practical advice on pacing and connections.
See destination →Imperial sites, garden houses, pagodas, food and how long to stay.
See destination →Hoi An, Da Nang, Mỹ Sơn, craft, food and realistic Central Vietnam weather planning.
See destination →Central Saigon, Chợ Lớn, neighbourhoods, food and wartime sites.
See destination →Compare Bến Tre, Cần Thơ and Châu Đốc before choosing the Delta route.
See destination →
Follow Vietnam from Hanoi to the Mekong through markets, family tables, farms and working producers, with regional food placed within the wider journey.
A gentle journey through Vietnamese food, belief and everyday rituals, with Hue as its contemplative centre.
Travel from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City through monasteries, historic pagodas, imperial Hue and contemporary Buddhist life.
Send the group profile, preferred dates and any interest in a private family extension. We will confirm hosting, partner sessions and the operating proposal.