Vietnam Summer Program

Conservation volunteering, cultural immersion and adventure travel in Vietnam

Rewarding volunteer conservation work adds to this in-depth and adventurous one month summer program that will take you on a journey to the heart of Vietnam and beyond. Join this program and experience an amazing month in Vietnam – one week of volunteer conservation projects and three weeks of interpretive, educational adventure travel.

Vietnam is an exciting, vibrant country of some 90 million people from 54 different ethnicities. The country has stunning natural landscapes and a fascinating society and culture. Vietnam was closed to foreign tourists until the 1990s and the people have retained their unique traditions. Whilst a communist country with the painful scars of war in its past, the Vietnamese harbor Westerners no ill feelings. Remnants of French colonialism are still observed through architecture, food, tree-lined boulevards and a thriving cafe culture.

This travel-study abroad summer or gap year program is suitable for students, graduates and non-students 18-25 years.

Vietnam Volunteer Conservation Summer Program Highlights

• Rewarding and insightful volunteer conservation work in Cat Ba National Park and a day helping out at an orphanage in Central Vietnam
• Exploring the maze of Hanoi’s fascinating Old Quarter
• Cycling tour through countryside villages on the outskirts of Hanoi
• Trekking through spectacular mountain scenery in Northern Vietnam – jagged peaks, amazing terraced hillsides, colorful and friendly highland minority peoples
• 3-day boating and kayaking trip in spectacular Halong Bay, based from a live-aboard wooden junk
• Moto tour of Hue, the former imperial capital
• Relaxing in Hoi An – UNESCO World Heritage site – amazing historic buildings, Vietnamese cooking course, tailor-made clothes, markets and a great beach nearby
• Markets and museums of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
• Get claustrophobic in the Vietnam War era tunnel systems at Cu Chi
• Mekong Delta trip, exploring by bike and riverboat with an overnight rural homestay
• Fly out across the South China Sea to the little-visited Con Dao Islands for 3 days of exploring, hiking, snorkeling, and to see nesting sea turtles (weather permitting)
• Very personalized small group experience (compare with other programs of up to 40 students)
• Fantastic program leader supported by great local English-speaking guides

“Traveling with Pacific Discovery has been one of the most personally rewarding things I have ever done. The program's small group sizes and focus on responsible travel allows you to interact with a country's local culture, customs, and environment on a much deeper level. I had the time of my life on the trip!” Mauri Lowrey

Academic Credit available on the Vietnam Summer Program

Click on the link below to view course and registration information for optional transferable credit available on this program.

Seattle Central Community College
Credit is available through the Seattle Central Community College Office of Cooperative Education and Service Learning. Whether you are from the US, Canada, or elsewhere, you are able to undertake this optional independent-study credit while on a Pacific Discovery program. Courses can be taken for 5 or 10 quarter credits and a maximum of 20 credits can be taken per quarter. This credit is a particularly good option for gap year students and students wanting an economical credit option.

Vietnam Summer Program Itinerary

Conservation volunteering, cultural immersion and adventure travel in Vietnam

DAY 1-2. Arrive in Hanoi, the cultural capital of Vietnam. We stay in the Old Quarter, where daily life spills out onto the street. Our dollars become Vietnamese Dong and we’ll have the chance to try a new language and take part in local life at street-side restaurants and markets. There will be a program briefing over breakfast, before we head out to explore the countryside around Hanoi by bicycle. On the evening of Day 2 we enjoy dinner at an intimate Old Quarter restaurant before we board a train with sleeping compartments for an overnight journey to Lao Cai, a small town on the Chinese border.

DAY 3. Amazing ethnic groups. From Lao Cai we travel up, up and up into the hills to the beautiful town of Sapa. Once a resort for French colonialists escaping Hanoi’s summer heat, and now a center for highland ethnic minority people to trade their goods. Don’t forget extra camera film...nowhere else can you see so many different ethnic groups in one area. Spend the afternoon catching up on sleep or make friends with some of the local Hmong girls...they are delightful and will have you singing and playing with them in no time!

DAY 4-5. Trekking.An overnight trekking trip through minority villages, spectacular rice-field terraces and lush mountainous terrain. We homestay with a warm highland family, enabling us to get a feel for village life.

Day 6. A day to explore Sapa at your own pace. You will have the choice of day walks, an optional mountain bike ride down the valley, or visiting the fascinating local market. We’ll have an early dinner in Sapa before returning on the overnight train to Hanoi.

Day 7-11. Volunteer Project. After an early breakfast in Hanoi, we depart for Cat Ba Island which is in the enormously popular World Heritage Site of Halong Bay. Cat Ba Island is by far the largest island in Halong Bay and half of the island is a National Park, home to a critically endangered monkey species, the Cat Ba Langur. We will stay in simple accommodation inside the National Park. Our volunteer work is likely to be onshore and offshore in the surrounding maritime park. You will be working alongside National Park staff and this week will be a great opportunity to get to know the Vietnamese park staff, undertake some rewarding work and know that you are doing something good for the local environment.

DAY 12-14. Boating and sea kayaking. Farewell our newfound friends and embark on our wooden house boat (junk) to explore Halong Bay. Adjectives can’t adequately describe this place! It’s studded with 1500 limestone islands rising sheer from the sea. Our skipper guides us through the maze of twisting passages. We find caves, hidden lagoons and uninhabited beaches, swim, sea kayak from the boat and observe people from the floating villages going about their daily lives. We’ll stay two nights aboard the boat, then depart Halong Bay on our final afternoon and return to Hanoi for dinner and some urban culture.

Day 15. Hanoi’s culture. Explore the colorful streets of the ‘Old Quarter’, where streets are named for the products they sell…see artisans creating a myriad of products, gravestones being carved, silk merchants haggling, temple finery, flower markets and everything imaginable being bought and sold on the streets. This is your chill out day for shopping, email, laundry and lounging…time to catch our breath before the next adventure.

Day 16. Hanoi and south to Hue. Visit Ho Chi Minh in his Mausoleum and check out the Museum of Ethnology’s interpretation on Vietnam’s ethnic minorities. We’ll have an insightful behind-the-scenes look at an organization, which trains and looks after street children, giving them skills to pursue careers in the hospitality and tourism industries. Spend time relaxing in the tranquil Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first university. Then ‘all aboard’ the Reunification Express for our overnight train journey to the old imperial capital, Hue.

DAY 17. Hue moto-tour. Today will be a magical mystery tour of Hue and its environs. Our ‘posse’ of motos joins the melee of bicycle traffic as it surges along tree-lined boulevards. School girls wearing traditional silk ao-dai glide past stalls laden with red dragon fruit as Buddhist monks and produce-laden women jostle by. From Emperors’ tombs to Buddhist pagodas, you’ll really get a feel for this city. Don’t leave home without your sunglasses, camera and a ready smile for your personal ‘moto’ driver.

DAY 18-20. Hoi An – silk and sand. Today we travel to our favorite Vietnamese town, Hoi An. On the way we’ll stop at Marble Mountain, where we explore caves and temples atop an enormous rock. One cave was used as a Viet Cong field hospital during the war. Hoi An was an important trading port from the 17th-19th centuries. Wandering the streets, you really feel embraced by history. The town now has UNESCO World Heritage status and its profusion of old houses, quiet streets and covered bridges are being preserved and restored. These days Hoi An is renowned for its diverse architectural heritage, masterful tailors, abundant silks and superb cuisine. Hoi An is also the ultimate place to have affordable clothes tailor-made to order. There’s a gorgeous beach nearby for fabulous sunrise dips and people watching on the riverfront, cool drink in hand, is hard to beat! On Day 19 we’ll spend some time helping out at the local orphanage, and on Day 20 we’ll take an entertaining half-day cooking class and whip up fantastic Vietnamese dishes.

DAY 21-22. Saigon and Cu Chi tunnels. A flight south takes us to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). A city of stunning contrasts, bursting with energy and a 24-hour go-go-go attitude. Our guesthouse is renowned for its welcoming hospitality and even hosted Michael Caine, who checked out of his flashy hotel to experience the fantastic hospitality. We venture out into the maelstrom of people, cyclos, motos, carts, trucks and taxis to zigzag our way to the War Remnants Museum, a chilling memorial to the atrocities of the Vietnam War. Then lighten up with a stroll around the unusual Presidential Palace and Ben Thanh, Saigon’s central market - a great place to stock up on fresh-baked croissants and fine roasted coffee from the highlands. On Day 22, a dawn start takes us out to visit the legendary Cu Chi Tunnels - over 250kms of tunnels, in some places several floors deep, where Viet Cong forces built pseudo-cities underground, enabling them to infiltrate and control large areas around Saigon virtually undetected. You’ll be able to experience, first hand, the claustrophobic existence.

Day 23-24. Mekong Delta cycling and rural homestay. The Mekong Delta, Vietnam’s rice bowl, is one of the largest deltas in the world. You’ll be in awe of its fertile abundance and beauty as we explore by bicycle and boat, visiting small farms and workshops on islands among the myriad branching waterways and tributaries. Homestay with a rural family before returning to Saigon the next afternoon.

Day 25-28. Con Dao Islands. We take a morning flight 60 miles across the South China Sea to the stunning Con Dao Islands - a chain of 15 islands, with most of the land area forming the Con Dao National Park, protecting the habitat of endangered dugongs and sea turtle nesting grounds. We’ll stay in the only town on the islands, which has an unhurried pace and many historical sites of interest. There are some great walks to enjoy, beaches to swim and snorkel from, and if weather permits we will take an overnight trip to Bay Canh Island to watch sea turtles nesting. On our final day we take a morning flight back to Saigon, and you’ll have a free afternoon to rest, repack and shop before tomorrow’s departure.

Day 29. Departure. Your flight home departs today. You will return home, likely having experienced more in a month in Vietnam than you do in a year at home, and with strong friendships through amazing adventures shared with your fellow group members and local people you’ve met and worked with along the way.

Vietnam Summer Program Notes

Conservation volunteering, cultural immersion and adventure travel in Vietnam

Suitability

Open to students, graduates and non-students 18-25 years. This program is suitable for anyone of average fitness with an enthusiasm for conservation and new experiences. You need to be committed to, and prepared for, some physical work whilst on the volunteer component of the program i.e. trail building or beach clean-ups. You don’t need to have had previous experience with travel or any of the activities offered.

Accommodation

Our accommodation will vary from welcoming homestays and simple lodges with shared facilities, to modern hotels and guesthouses with private bathrooms. Laundry, postal, telephone and email facilities will be available most days, except while on expeditions. Accommodation is diverse, comfortable and carefully chosen to fit our needs.

Meals

Food is a highlight when traveling in Asia. Special dietary requirements and vegetarians are catered for. Over two thirds of meals are included in the program cost. The remaining meals are not included to allow us a choice of when, where and what we eat. For the meals not included, you will have the option of dining out, or self-catering with others in the group. Throughout the trip, there will be the opportunity to eat authentic Asian or Western style food.

Transport

The itinerary has been designed to maximize comfort and safety whilst also giving you the opportunity to experience local transport and take part in daily life. We utilize charted vans and buses, overnight trains, private taxis, charter and local boats, bicycles, moto-taxis and take 3 internal flights.

Program fee

Program cost for Summer 2009 is $2,950 USD (change currency).

Program fee inclusions

Pre-arranged visa on arrival; All in-country transport – including 3 flights within Vietnam; All accommodation; Meals as above; 1 week of volunteer conservation projects;  All excursions, activities and adventure travel as described in the itinerary; Experienced Pacific Discovery program leader/s and local guides; Online image library for your program. Refer information booklet for international flight options.

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