Vietnam holiday
“A holiday of Vietnam's people and culture, this is an exciting trip where basic accommodation and public transport is favoured over luxury to maximise your experience.”
Highlights
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) | Cu Chi Tunnels | Mekong Delta | Mekong Delta homestay | Cai Be floating market | Dalat | Nha Trang | Quy Nhon | Hoi An | Hue | Hanoi | Hanoi Old Quarter Mai Chau | Hoan Kiem Lake | Halong BayDescription of Vietnam holiday
Immerse yourself in the sights, tastes and energy of Vietnam on a 20-day adventure, starting in Ho Chi Minh city in the south and ending in Hanoi in the north. You’ll be in a small group and will travel like the locals do, spending two nights on sleeper trains, and riding everything from motorbikes to junks and public buses! There’s no better way to meet the friendly Vietnamese people, as you’re whisked from dynamic cities to tranquil backwaters, imperial ruins to picture-perfect landscapes.This trip includes all the classic must-see highlights, like Halong Bay, together with off-the-beaten track gems, including Quy Nhon, with its beautiful beaches and bay. Explore the narrow cobbled streets of Hoi An’s Old Town, slurp on noodly pho in beautiful, coastal Nha Trang and cruise the Perfume River in Hue as you get to grips with this exciting country. Enjoy Vietnamese hospitality and home cooking on a homestay in the Mekong Delta and Mai Chau, and get stuck into a range of activities and spectacles, from mud baths to market shopping, snorkelling to watching a water puppet show.
Travel Team
If you would like some help or advice, or just want to discuss your ideas for your next trip, do give us a call.
Check dates, prices & availability
Date
Price per adult
Basis
Status
14 Jul 2019
£1585
excluding flights
2 spaces left
22 Sep 2019
£1630
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
06 Oct 2019
£1630
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
13 Oct 2019
£1630
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
20 Oct 2019
£1630
excluding flights
9 spaces left
10 Nov 2019
£1630
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
24 Nov 2019
£1695
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
15 Dec 2019
£1695
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
22 Dec 2019
£1695
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
29 Dec 2019
£1730
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
05 Jan 2020
£1755
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
12 Jan 2020
£1755
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
19 Jan 2020
£1755
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
09 Feb 2020
£1755
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
16 Feb 2020
£1755
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
23 Feb 2020
£1685
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
08 Mar 2020
£1685
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
15 Mar 2020
£1685
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
22 Mar 2020
£1685
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
29 Mar 2020
£1685
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
05 Apr 2020
£1685
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
12 Apr 2020
£1685
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
19 Apr 2020
£1685
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
03 May 2020
£1620
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
17 May 2020
£1620
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
28 Jun 2020
£1620
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
12 Jul 2020
£1620
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
26 Jul 2020
£1620
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
09 Aug 2020
£1620
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
06 Sep 2020
£1620
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
20 Sep 2020
£1685
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
04 Oct 2020
£1685
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
11 Oct 2020
£1685
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
18 Oct 2020
£1685
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
08 Nov 2020
£1685
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
15 Nov 2020
£1755
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
22 Nov 2020
£1755
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
13 Dec 2020
£1755
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
20 Dec 2020
£1755
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
27 Dec 2020
£1755
excluding flights
Departure Guaranteed
Our top tip:
Think structured sandals, not flip flops for walking.
Trip type:
Small group, 1-12 people (min. age 15).
Activity level:
Lesiurely.
Accomm:
15 nights hotel, 2 nights homestay, 1 night overnight boat, 1 night sleeper train.
Solos:
Solo travellers welcome. Single rooms available for a surcharge at hotels only.
Meals:
18 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 3 dinners.
Included:
Accommodation, transport, listed activities.
Vouchers
Accepted
Holiday type
Small group adventure
What is a small group adventure?It's a great way to travel! Whether you are travelling on your own, with a partner or with friends, a small group trip is a fantastic way to see the world. You'll travel on a fixed itinerary that has been designed to help you discover the best of region. From the known highlights, the hidden gems that you won't find in the guidebooks.
Itineraries run on set departure dates, accompanied every step of the way by an English speaking local group leader. You chose the itinerary and the date that suits you best and you book on.
Why travel on a small group adventure?
Small groups allow us to explore where larger tour groups can't. Our maximum group size of 16 travellers allows us to use local transport to get from A to B, to visit rural villages, spend time with the locals and even stay at a local home overnight, and it allows us to give our travellers genuine, real life experiences of the countries we are visiting; what you'll be doing and how you'll travel depends entirely on your chosen itinerary.
Is an adventure right for me?
The word adventure means something different to everyone, and our range of trips reflects that. Whether you want to explore local markets, visit out of the way temples and meet local people or go on an early morning safari drive searching for the 'big five', we'll have a trip for you. If you are looking for a physical challenge such trekking the Kokoda Track or summiting Kilimanjaro, we can help with that too.
So what can I expect on this trip?
This is a classic style of small group adventure. You'll find your trip combines a good mix of included activities and free time, with some meals included as per your itinerary. We don't want you to feel chaperoned, it's your holiday not ours. Your group leader will be on hand to assist with organising anything you might wish to do in your free time, but how you spend it is up to you. Anything listed as included in your itinerary will be included in trip price; whereas anything listed as optional will be at an additional cost should you wish to take part.
These trips are great value, including things that you would struggle to organise independently, such as a night at a homestay in a remote village, or local guides around a remote place of interest. Transport will be a combination of private vehicle and public transport, whichever is the most appropriate for the route we are travelling; this might include train, plane, camel, tuk tuk, bicycle, boat…
On a majority of these trips you'll stay in 2-3 star accommodation, locally owned and reflective of the region you are travelling through. All solo travellers will be automatically roomed on a twin share basis with another group member of the same sex, unless you opt to pay for your own room at time of booking. There are no compulsory single supplements for solo travellers willing to share. Single rooms aren't available on camping trips, and you will be expected to help out with camp tasks such as setting up and breaking down your camp.
Can I book my flights with you?
Yes! We are a fully ATOL bonded tour operator meaning that we can book flights from the UK as part of your holiday package. Just ask us for a quote including flights when you make your enquiry.
Responsible tourism
Responsible tourism: Vietnam holiday
Environment
Each traveller on this trip is given a gift of a Responsible Traveller cloth bag made by the Nguyen Nga Training Centre, in Central Vietnam, helping those with special needs and disabilities. This bag is designed to combat the increasingly prevalent problem of plastic bag pollution disrupting the various marine and land habitats of Vietnam.
This tour is carbon offset. We are proud to be a carbon neutral company. We measure our main carbon emissions for transport, accommodation and waste. The offset cost is embedded in the cost of the trip – so travelling with us you do it in a way which dramatically reduces your carbon footprint.
We use local transport where ever possible, from overnight sleeper trains to locally owned river boats on the Mekong Delta. Public transport is also the most environmentally sound method of travel, so we try use it where ever safe and practical.
Stay at a farmstay in Phong Nah, established the help the small town to benefit economically from tourism, it also has recycling and waste management programs, such as reusing kitchen waste for compost on the farm.
Community
This journey includes many opportunities to meet local people and learn about their lives in this diverse country.
In the Vinh Long area of the Mekong Delta your local guides introduce us to the daily life, floating markets and cottage industries of the Delta's rich waterways. Your homestay host family welcomes you with a dinner of local specialties and the opportunity to ask questions and gain insight into customs schooling and religion in this area.
You'll be spending an additional night in a homestay in Mai Chau. While the accommodation is shared and basic, this is a great opportunity to connect with the local people (and enjoy delicious home-cooked meals!)
When you arrive in Quy Nhon, you’ll visit the Nguyen Nga Training Centre, a not-for-profit venture which provides support to people with special needs, in particular those with physical disabilities, through their education, training and job placement programs.
Hue is famous for its imposing Citadel and the Tombs of the last ruling Dynasty of Vietnam. It was also the Buddhist capital of Vietnam, a fact, which is less lauded. Our local guide takes us through the back roads of Hue, where we are lunch guests at a Buddhist nunnery or monastery.
5 Reviews of Vietnam holiday
4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed on 29 Jul 2013 by Fiona Christie
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The old town and cycling in Hoi An.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Pack lots of light weight clothes, leave room for shopping and pack a good light weight waterproof!
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Benefitted local people and projects.
Reviewed on 11 Apr 2012 by Juliet Price
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The home stay on the Meakon delta and the National park. I also love kayaking and seeing the wild monkeys in Haylon bay.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
There are long travel days so bring books and cards, although the guide was great and no one got bored.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
The whole ethos of the holiday was on sustainability and local services. We visited an orphanage and played with the children and many local charities supporting victims of Agent Orange, but I was most impressed with the support for disabled artisans, allowing them to support themselves and make a good living from their work.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Absolutely brilliant.
Reviewed on 05 Sep 2011 by martina kocjan
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Cambodia - the temples of Angkor Wat are a true gem; Phnom Penh and its museums as well as the recent Cambodian history were heart breaking but very educational.
Vietnam - Halong Bay is stunning, but overcrowded even during low season.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
The trip I booked consisted of 2 trips. The first is mainly in Cambodia and it is an excellent trip, true to the responsible travel philosophy. The second is mainly in Vietnam and was overall disappointing.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
The part in Cambodia possibly benefited local people, but there was nothing responsible or sustainable about the trip as organised in Vietnam.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Enjoyable, some great memories, but certainly not outstanding. I have been using the same provider for a few years now, but will reconsider using it in the future. I imagine it is still a good choice for some countries but has become the victim of its own success and the type of agency I would normally try and avoid in others (Vietnam).
Reviewed on 11 Jul 2008 by Charlotte Barton
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Staying in a remote raft house in the middle of a lake surrounded by rainforest and gibbons!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Take some comfortable sandals which you can walk or climb in, not just flip flops!
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes we usually got public transport, and we stayed in homestays although the families we stayed with were quite well off already.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Good - lots to do and see, plus time to relax.
Reviewed on 15 Jan 2006 by Christopher Jones
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
I think discovering the way of life of the Vietnamese people, particularly in the remote rural areas and the open friendliness of the locals. I also found the food very affordable and very fresh.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
I would advise them to have patience, be open minded and willing to accept things that you do not see at home. Also be prepared to sacrifice a little comfort when not staying in hotels.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
I believe the tour benefited the local people which is something I feel is not always the case with other tours. I like the idea of pooling money to use as a kitty for tipping the guides.
4. Any other comments?
Although it was a big culture shock, our tour guide had everything organised in advance and really had a passion for his country. Mostly the warmth and hospitality of the people was ever-present.
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