Vietnam off the Beaten Track - 14 Days

On arrival at Noi Bai International Airport, clear immigration and customs and make your way to the arrivals exit, where your guide and driver will meet you. Transfer to your hotel in the Old Quarter, check in and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure.

Transfer: approximately 1 hour by private car.

Discover Hanoi’s ochre-coloured colonial buildings, tree-lined boulevards and lakes. Begin over coffee in a small local café as your guide introduces everyday life in the city. Visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the house where he lived and worked, and the lotus-shaped One Pillar Pagoda. Continue to the Temple of Literature, the site of Vietnam’s first national university, before returning to your hotel for a break.

In the late afternoon, explore the markets and lanes of the Old Quarter on a street-food walk. Sample northern Vietnamese favourites such as pho ga, chicken noodle soup; banh duc, a savoury rice-flour dish; treats made with com, young green rice; and a pâté-filled banh mi from Banh My Lan Ong. Finish with che, a Vietnamese sweet dessert, and a cup of egg coffee.

City tour: approximately 3.5 hours | Food tour: approximately 4 hours | Walking: 4 km | Transport: private car and walking | Meals: breakfast and dinner.

The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum has weekly and annual maintenance closures. Your visit depends on its opening schedule for your travel dates.

Leave the city for the rural mountain area of Ba Vi. Meet Mr Duoc, a Vietnam War veteran and tea farmer, who introduces you to picking and roasting tea leaves by hand. Join in with the process and hear his stories about life during the war.

Continue to another village to meet Mrs Chin and learn to cook Vietnamese dishes. Share the food you have prepared for lunch, then walk through the village, visit local families and discover how everyday products are made. Cycle past rice fields before continuing to Pu Luong Retreat. Check in and enjoy a peaceful evening at your own pace.

Activities: approximately 6 hours | Transfer: approximately 3.5 hours | Transport: private car and bicycle | Meals: breakfast and lunch.

Start the morning with a walk downhill through rice terraces. Follow narrow, leafy paths towards Uoi village at the foot of the mountains, with plenty of opportunities to pause for photographs. Continue past palm-thatched homes to Lan village, enjoying the changing valley scenery.

Return to the retreat for lunch. In the afternoon, take another village walk through fields and rice paddies for a closer look at everyday life.

Tour: approximately 6 hours | Walking: 8 km | Difficulty: easy | Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Travel to Tam Coc in Ninh Binh Province, often called “Halong Bay on land”. Take a leisurely two-hour boat ride along winding waterways, passing limestone formations and entering natural caves beneath the hills. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant.

In the afternoon, climb Mua Mountain. Follow the stone steps decorated with dragon and phoenix carvings, with around 500 steps leading to sweeping views of Ninh Binh.

Tour: approximately 5 hours | Transfer: approximately 3 hours | Transport: private car and boat | Meals: breakfast and lunch.

Leave Ninh Binh early and travel to Halong Bay. Board your cruise at the pier and check in, then enjoy lunch as the boat sails between limestone islands. Spend the afternoon joining cruise activities or relaxing on board. Towards evening, the boat anchors among the karst formations and dinner is served.

Transfer: approximately 3.5 hours | Transport: private car and shared cruise | Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Cruise activities and routing may change according to weather conditions.

Enjoy the morning light over the bay as breakfast, or brunch on some boats, is served during the return to the harbour. After disembarking, travel to Hanoi Airport for your flight to Hue. Meet your local team on arrival and transfer to your hotel. The evening is free.

Transfers: Halong Bay to the airport, approximately 3–4 hours; in Hue, approximately 1 hour | Flight: approximately 1.5 hours | Transport: private car and plane | Meals: breakfast and brunch, according to the cruise schedule.

Cycle past rice fields to Thanh Toan village, where local farmers introduce traditional ploughing with water buffalo. Visit a clan temple and the agriculture museum, then join residents fishing by the historic covered bridge. Share lunch with a host family and cycle to another home to learn how traditional Vietnamese sticky-rice cakes are made.

In the afternoon, travel to Ru Cha mangrove forest, which helps protect the coast near Thuan An. Continue to Tam Giang Lagoon for a boat trip past waterside homes as the sun begins to set. You can join local fishing activities, explore by kayak or swim. Finish at a local home or restaurant to sample regional dishes and seafood and chat with your hosts.

Village experience: approximately 6 hours | Lagoon experience: approximately 5 hours | Cycling: 17 km | Transport: private car, bicycle and boat | Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Rise early to explore Hue’s Imperial Citadel in the soft morning light. Discover the architecture and gardens as your guide shares stories of life and intrigue at the Nguyen royal court. End the visit with a light snack and green tea in Co Ha Garden, once a place of leisure for royalty and nobles.

Check out of your hotel and travel to Hoi An. The afternoon is yours to settle in and explore at leisure.

Travel to Vong Nhi village in the morning and collect your bicycle. Ride through countryside dotted with water-coconut groves, shrimp and fish farms, and rice fields. Arrive at Thanh Dong Organic Farm, a 10,000-square-metre garden supporting ten local families.

Walk through the vegetable plots, learn about organic growing and help with seasonal farm tasks. Take a basket boat along the Do River to The Field Restaurant, where you can enjoy the surroundings or try fishing with local residents. Join a short cooking class and share a Vietnamese family-style lunch before returning to your hotel. The afternoon is free.

Tour: approximately 5 hours | Cycling: 6 km | Transport: private car, bicycle and basket boat | Meals: breakfast and lunch.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight to Ho Chi Minh City. On arrival, travel to your hotel and take time to rest.

In the evening, set out on a vintage Vespa food adventure through Saigon after dark. Explore the lively streets and stop at local eateries to try southern Vietnamese specialities. Finish in a welcoming bar with a signature cocktail, or a mocktail for younger travellers, and a chance to chat with the people you meet.

Evening tour: approximately 4.5 hours | Transfers: Hoi An to the airport, approximately 1 hour; airport to your Saigon hotel, approximately 40 minutes | Flight: approximately 1.5 hours | Transport: private car, motorbike and plane | Meals: breakfast and dinner.

After breakfast, transfer to Tan Cang Pier and board a chartered speedboat for Cu Chi. As you travel along the Saigon River, the city’s high-rises give way to green fields and pottery villages.

Explore the Cu Chi Tunnels and learn how the network developed during the conflicts with France and later the United States. The tunnels served as communication routes, food and weapons stores, hospitals and living quarters. A visit offers insight into how they were built and the difficult conditions people endured underground.

Return to Ho Chi Minh City by car, stopping at a cricket farm and a local restaurant for lunch.

Tour: approximately 6 hours | Transport: private car and speedboat | Meals: breakfast and lunch.

Travel to My Tho in the Mekong Delta, one of Vietnam’s important farming regions. Take a motorboat to the floating village of Tan My, then change to a rowing boat to explore the smaller, quieter canals.

Visit a fishing community and cycle through the village to a mushroom farm and tropical orchards, where you can sample freshly picked seasonal fruit. Enjoy lunch with a host family and visit a rice-spirit distillery before returning to Saigon.

Tour: approximately 8.5 hours | Transport: private car, boat and bicycle | Meals: breakfast and lunch.

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel and check out. Your driver will take you to the airport for your flight home.

Transfer: approximately 1 hour by private car | Meals: breakfast.