SEMPER FI TOUR OF I CORPS, VIETNAM (Escorted)
ITINERARY 

13 days

Day 1:  Depart home to San Francisco.  All members of the group will be ticketed to join the others at San Francisco Airport.

Day 2:  Departure from San Francisco enroute to Vietnam.    

Day 3:  Arrive at Tan Son Nhat Airport in Saigon (You lost one day crossing the International Date Line).  Process through customs, meet tour guide and driver with bus.  Check in to the Rex Hotel, and go to lunch.  In the afternoon we will have a short tour of Saigon including the Remnants of War Museum and the Presidential Palace.  No evening activity is planned in order to allow you to catch up on some sleep before going North in the morning.

Day 4:  After breakfast at the Rex, we will catch an early flight to Da Nang.  From Da Nang we will drive to Hoi An (196^th and 198^th Light Infantry Brigades) and visit this ancient port city and Capital of Vietnam on our way to Chu Lai, home of the Americal Division, and My Lai, site of the infamous massacre.  Return to Da Nang and the Bamboo Green Hotel.

Day 5:  Visit the Marble Mountains and Cham Museum.  Time will be provided for a swim at China Beach.  See what is left of the Army Airfield.  Some of the major units located in Da Nang:  III Marine Amphibious Force, First Marine Division, 3^rd Naval Mobile Construction Brigade, Naval Support Activity, Air Force 366^th  Tactical Fighter Wing. On the way to Hue, stop at Red Beach, the actual site where the Marines first landed in 1965.  Drive over the Hai Van Pass and stop to check out the US and French constructed bunkers and the spectacular view.  In Hue check in to the Huong Giang (perfume River) Hotel.

Day 6:  Visit the Citadel and Flag Tower, location of fierce fighting and the longest VC resistance of the Tet Offensive of 1968.  This is the Forbidden City—home of the Nguyen Dynasty of  emperors in Vietnam.  Here you will have some free time to explore on your own or with others in the group.

Day 7:  Hue to Dong Ha.   Drive up Highway 1, passing Camp Evans (20^th Tank Regiment) and Fire Support base Nancy (258^th M.C. Brigade).  Continue to battle site of Quang Tri.  Next pass the site of the Ai Tu Combat Base and Airfield  (3^rd ARVN Division HQ).  Next reach Dong Ha and enter the quadrilateral area known as Leatherneck Square bounded by Con Thien, Gio Linh, Dong Ha, and Cam Lo;  recall Operation Buffalo.  Continue along Highway 1 across the Hien Luong Bridge over the Ben Hai River into North Vietnam.  Visit Doc Mieu Base in the DMZ, the Vinh Moc Tunnels, and the North Vietnamese National Cemetery.  Lastly, visit Con Thien Fire Support Base before an overnight at the Hieu Gaing Hotel.

Day 8:  Dong Ha to Khe Sanh.  Ride parallel to the DMZ along Route 9 to Khe Sanh.  Pass a series of Fire Support Bases as well as the Rockpile, DaKrong Bridge, and the Huang Hoa District HQ.

Day 9:  Khe Sanh.  Tour the Khe Sanh Base, a coffee plantation, an old French Fort and a Montagnard village.  Continue to Lang Vei Special Forces Camp.  Return to Hue.

Day 10:  EITHER: 

A Shau Valley including major battle sites, Landing Zones and Fire Support Bases.  This day’s tour depends on what areas are open for tourist visitation and what locations are restricted by the Vietnamese government at the time of the tour.

OR:

Bach Ma National Park.  This beautiful area once had 139 luxury French villas.  In heavy fighting the VC destroyed the villas.  Now the area has been made into National park with numerous speices such as tigers and several types of monkeys, 330 bird species, and a newly discovered antelope (sao la).  Hiking trails, overlooks, a waterfall.

Day 11:  Cruise the Perfume River to the Thien Mu Pagoda.  Visit the tombs of Emperors Minh Mang, Khai Dinh and Tu Duc.

Day 12:  Flight from Phu Bai Airfield  back to Saigon.   Tour: Cho Lon, Ben Thanh Market, Dong Khoi (Tu Do) Street, Le Loi and Nguyen Hue Streets, Saigon Riverfront,  Central Post Office, Notre Dame Cathedral, shopping .

Day 13:  Flight back home.