Sightseeing and writing go hand and hand on this 11-day tour of Vietnam that explores the country's cities in the north and south as well as the Mekong Delta, the country's fertile "rice bowl," and the islands of Halong Bay.

The 11-day tour starts at the Duxton Hotel Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) with a full day of travel writing and photography classes. Developing story angles, shooting good photos, pitching story ideas and self-publishing are taught by Go World Travel Magazine editor Janna Graber and photographer-videographer Ben Rader, who has worked for Travel Channel, Discovery and other TV shows.

Sightseeing begins the following day with tours of the city and the Cu Chi Tunnels where guerrillas hid out while fighting the French and later the Americans in the 1950s until the '70s.

Participants go boating on the Mekong Delta, touring Hue on the Perfume River, drive to the UNICEF World Heritage Site of Hoi An, and visit Danang and Hanoi before taking an overnight cruise on Halong Bay. The small-group tour is organized by Colorado-based Travel Writing On Location in partnership with Travel Indochina.

When: The trip runs from April 26 to May 6.

Price: $2,995 per person, double occupancy; $650 for single supplement. It includes accommodations, ground transportation, airport transfers and some meals. International airfare is extra.

Info: Travel Writing on Location, Vietnam Highlights

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Vietnam: Take notes! Travel writing, from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City