Overview
Off the beaten track, Ha Giang is a rugged and beautiful mountainous region that stretches north towards the border with China. Zigzag over mountain passes to discover some of the most beautiful vistas and walking country in Vietnam and beyond. As a14 developing region luxury hotels do not exist and most visitors look forward to experiencing a selection of home stays. A world away from our manicured world, don’t forget your camera.
Combine an overland tour here with the more established favourites and you’ll get a real sense of what makes Vietnam so special. Below is just an example itinerary, other destinations can be added.
Day 1: Depart on your choice of overnight flights to Hanoi
Day 2: Arrive Hanoi for 2 nights. Private transfer to your hotel. Rest of the day to settle in
Day 3: Morning Hanoi City tour with lunch. Evening Street Eats & Market Tour
Day 4: Board your overnight Halong Bay cruise exploring this UNESCO World Heritage site
Day 5: Morning cruise, then transfer back to Hanoi for 1 night
Day 6: Start private overland 3 night Ha Giang tour. Afternoon 2 hour hike through hill country. Overnight homestay in hill tribe village
Day 7: Full day (5 hours walking) exploring the hills, enjoying the stunning rice terraces, beautiful countryside and hill tribe villages. Overnight homestay with new hill tribe
Day 8: A day to remember 6 hours walking through some of the most dramatic scenery in Vietnam. Overnight homestay with new hill tribe
Day 9: Drive back to Hanoi (6 hours) and fly to Saigon for 3 nights.
Day 10: Private Cu Chi Tunnels and Saigon City Tour
Day 11: Private Mekong Delta tour with boat ride. Overnight at the Victoria Can Tho Resort, a beautiful riverside hotel
Day 12: Morning boat ride to Cai Rang Floating Market. Fly to Phu Quoc Island - 3 nights on beach
Days 13-14: Beach days on this idyllic island
Day 15: Overnight flight home
Day 16: Arrive home
Full Itinerary
Day 1: UK Airport / Hanoi
Depart on a choice of overnight flights to Hanoi.
Day 2: Arrive Hanoi
On arrival you’ll be met by your private guide and transferred to the city centre where you check in to your choice of hotel for 2 nights.
Hanoi offers the chance to enjoy authentic old school Far East. The hotel is in the centre and we’d recommend that you take a walk through the Old Quarter. Don’t be put off by the thousands of motor scooters, just dive in.
Day 3: Hanoi - Morning City Tour & Evening Street Eats & Market Tour (B / L / D)
This morning you’ll be collected for a small group (max 8 people, but can be upgraded to private) city tour. The day kicks off at Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum where you join thousands of Vietnamese as they pay their respects filing past in solemn silence. The complex is also home to his stilt-house, Presidential Palace and One Pillar Pagoda. From here walk a short distance to the Temple of Literature, Hanoi’s first university. Originally built as a temple dedicated to Confucius, it became Vietnam’s first university, dating back to 1070.After this, break for lunch in a lovely local restaurant.
The rest of the afternooon is free and then this evening meet your guide for an introduction to Hanoi street food. They will introduce the tour (small group - max 8 people) before heading to ‘bia hoi corner’ where you can try the local brew while watching the busy streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter. Bia Hoi is a draft beer that is brewed daily and usually drunk by locals sat on small plastic stools whilst enjoying Hanoi's version of tapas. Continue through the bustling old quarter and listen as your guide tells you about the various foods on offer. Stop and try some samples before you head for a Vietnamese style barbeque dinner. Here your guide will select an array meats, tofu and vegetables on skewers while you sit down as they flame grill the food for you. Walk a little more along the streets and then to Hoan Kiem lake for dessert. Your final stop is at Hanoi’s most famous ice-cream street. An unforgettable experience shared with scores of young Hanoians.
Day 4: Hanoi - Halong Bay Overnight Cruise (B / L / D)
This morning you’ll be transferred by minibus to Halong Bay (3.5/4 hours). Meet the crew and board the traditional wooden junk for 1 night,
then relax and enjoy lunch while the boat heads toward the secluded islands. Visit ancient limestone caves and go sea kayaking and swimming (weather permitting). Return to the junk refreshed & invigorated to relax on deck with a drink watching the sunset and enjoy a seafood dinner looking out over the bay.
Day 5: Halong Bay Cruise (B / L) - Hanoi
Enjoy breakfast as you continue to cruise through Halong and visit the floating fishing village of Vong Vieng to learn more about daily life living on the bay. Cruise back to the dock whilst enjoying a light lunch, then return to Hanoi for a further night.
Day 6: Hanoi - Private 3 night Ha Giang Adventure Overland Tour (B / L / D)
This morning your private guide will collect you for a 3 night tour of Ha Giang, a rugged and beautiful mountainous region that stretches 
north towards the border with China. Zigzag over mountain passes to discover some of the most beautiful vistas and walking country in Vietnam and beyond. As a developing region luxury hotels do not exist and most visitors look forward to experiencing a selection of home stays in hill tribe villages.
On the first day there's a lot of driving involved but you will be rewarded with stunning mountain scenery and few other tourists. There will be time to stop en route to take photos. Leaving Hanoi behind, you soon start to get a good sense of rural Vietnam as the scenic route cuts through dense jungle and crosses valleys and rice fields as you start to rise up into the mountains. Along the way you may encounter the Nung, Tay, Dzao, La Chi and Pa Then, just some of the many hill tribe groups who have settled here. Arrive Tấn Xà Phìn village mid-afternoon and enjoy a 2.5 hour walk down to the valley where the Tay live. Overnight at a homestay with family of Tay ethnic group.
Day 7: Ha Giang - Private Guided Walking Tour (B / L / D)
Village life starts early and this morning you'll have the chance to watch mountain life begin a new day before joining your guide for a full day (5 hours walking) exploring the hills, stunning rice terraces, beautiful countryside and hill tribe villages.
Head to the small town of Nam Son and
start the walk by crossing a suspension bridge that leads out into the hills. The day will be spent with your guide following tracks from village to village (Long Tunics Dao, H’mong Flower and Nung), with time to watch everyday life ebb and flow and admire the stunning views of the terraces, hills and open countryside.
Enjoy lunch with a family of H’mong Flower. This evening homestay with the Nung or Man Ta Pan ethnic group.
Day 8: Ha Giang - Private Guided Walking Tour (B / L / D)
This morning's drive along winding mountain roads sets the scene for the day, 
as each turn reveals a land covered in thick forests broken up by many small tea farms and the iconic, staircase-like rice terraces. Today's hike (5 to 6 hours) will take you through this stunning scenery and along the way you'll see local farmers tending rice paddies, farming on terraced hillsides and working in the orchards. Stop at Suoi Thau village inhabited by the Long Tunics Dao and close to the region's largest terraced rice field. The area is famous for growing the distinctive Shan tea with its white haired buds that's drunk throughout Vietnam. Here walk through a 100 year old plantation and learn more about its production and history. From here visit an ancient temple of Long Tunics Dao people and then enjoy lunch with a family of Man Ta Pan ethnic group. This afternoon the walk continues for a couple of hours and then overnight at a homestay with a Long Tunics Dao family.
Day 9: Ha Giang - Morning Paddy Field Walk (B / L) - Hanoi / Saigon
This morning your guide will take you on a final walk through the paddy field scenery before the long drive (7 hours) back to Hanoi. Stops and lunch will be included along the way. From Hanoi, Saigon is a 2 hour flight. On arrival met and transferred to your choice of hotel for 3 nights.
Day 10: Saigon - Private guided Cu Chi Tunnels & Saigon City Tour (B / L)
Early departure with your private guide to escape city traffic and get ahead of the crowds on a half day tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels, legendary remnants of the Vietnam War that offer an evocative insight into the horrors that were faced by those involved.
During the guided tour it’s possible to descend into the 
layers of tunnels that although widened, still create a feeling of creeping claustrophobia. Few other places encapsulate the sheer will-power that the American military was up against - and the lengths that the Viet Cong were prepared to go to in order to evict them.
Back to the city for lunch in a local restaurant and then rejoin your private guide for an afternoon city tour Highlights include the colonial Notre Dame Cathedral, Old Post Office & Opera House, Reunification Palace and War Remnants Museum. Back at the hotel late afternoon. Your guide would be happy to make dinner arrangements.
Day 11: Saigon - Mekong Delta Tour & Overnight Stay (B / L)
This morning you’ll be picked up by your private guide for the drive south to the Mekong Delta. Stop en route to visit the Cai Be floating market and some of the varied traditional cottage industries that dot this region. Then board a 
small boat to explore some of the small canals that spider web the delta and enjoy a delicious lunch in an orchard restaurant.
After lunch enjoy a short walk along the banks of one of the canals and then drive onto Can Tho and check-in to the Victoria Can Tho Resort for 1 night, a beautiful colonial hotel on the banks of the river.
Extra... As an alternative why not consider immersing yourself in local life with a home stay or perhaps stay on the water in a renovated rice barge.
Day 12: Can Tho (B) - Floating Market - flight to Phu Quoc Island
Up early this morning and board a small boat with your guide for 1 hour to cruise through the Cai Rang floating market.
Cai Rang is a shop floor for hundreds of small boats loaded down with local produce, darting around until everything is sold. Start the day with a local coffee or perhaps a piece of fresh pineapple. Back to the hotel for breakfast and then airport transfer and flight over to Phu Quoc. On arrival met and transferred to your choice of hotel for 3 nights or more.
Days 13-14: Phu Quoc (B) - Beach Days
2 days to enjoy your beachside setting and explore this idyllic island. There are a range of options you can book locally including diving, snorkelling and fishing. You can perhaps rent a car & driver to explore the lush interior, fishing villages and undeveloped areas / beaches of this beautiful island.
Day 15: Fly Phu Quoc (B) / Saigon / UK Airport
Morning free then airport transfer and fly home via Saigon. Arrive back in UK the following morning.
Hotels in Hanoi
Halong Bay Cruise Boats
Hotels in Hoi An
Hotels in Saigon