Tailor made holiday in Vietnam

This fantastic journey through Vietnam begins in the North, where you will land in the charming city of Hanoi - your first stop. Spend a couple of nights here exploring the Old Quarter, wandering around the Hoan Kiem Lake and visiting the many sights of the city. Next you will take the overnight train up to the Tonkinese Alps, arriving in the small town of Lao Cai early the following morning and spending a few days trekking and exploring the minority villages and colourful markets around Sapa. After returning to Hanoi you will head out to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Halong Bay, where spending a night on board a traditional junk is the ideal way to see this stunning area in style and comfort.

Moving onto Central Vietnam spend two nights in the old Imperial city of Hue, visiting the Emperors Tombs set on the Perfume River and explore the old Citadel with its stunning architecture and intriguing history. Hoi An is the next stop, a charming old town with streets bustling with tailors, fine restaurants and a pretty stretch of beach just ten minutes out of town for your relaxation. Finally your last couple of nights will be in Saigon, a buzzing thriving city teeming with people and mopeds, as well as many interesting sights such as the infamous Cu Chi Tunnels. A great place to end your trip and pick up any last minute shopping before flying back to the UK. There is no best time of year to do this itinerary due to the varied and somewhat unreliable weather patterns spanning the country. Notoriously difficult to predict with any accuracy due to the several micro climates and the conflicting monsoon patterns that affect the weather, Vietnam has become even more unreliable in recent years as a result of global warming. The winter months of 2007/08 were especially harsh, with some of the worst weather in the region for over 40 years. Historically speaking, the north, the south and the central regions all have different weather patterns. The north and south are generally wet and hot and humid in our summer months, with the central region being hot and dry then. In our winter months the central region is monsoonal, experiencing strong typhoons on occasions. At this time the north will be cold and possibly some slight rain, while the south will be warm and dry.

For this itinerary therefore, if you were to travel in January/February for example, you are likely to experience some fairly cool temperatures in Sapa, Hanoi and Central regions, mist and cloud on Halong Bay, yet Saigon will be hot and dry. Travelling in July/August you are likely to experience some rain in Sapa, Hanoi and Halong Bay, however temperatures will certainly be much warmer than in winter months, with beautiful hot and dry beach weather in the Central regions, and some humid and wet spells in the South. Due to the three separate microclimates in Vietnam, it is virtually impossible to travel the full length of the country in any month of the year without experiencing some bad weather somewhere along the way. Once you have chosen when you would prefer to travel, the answer is to expect the unexpected in Vietnam.