Vietnam holiday
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'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.com
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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.
Responsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your holiday will help support conservation and local people.
EnvironmentEach 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.
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.
The Impacts of this Trip
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.
EnvironmentEach 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.
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.
The Impacts of this Trip
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.
3 Reviews of Vietnam holiday
Reviewed on 29 Jul 2013 by Fiona Christie
The best parts were the old town and cycling in Hoi An. Read full reviewReviewed on 11 Apr 2012 by Juliet Price
The most memorable part was the home stay on the Meakon delta and the National Park. I also love kayaking and seeing the wild monkeys in Haylon bay. Read full reviewReviewed on 05 Sep 2011 by martina kocjan
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. Read full review
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