“Worth it if you want a well-paced introduction to Vietnam with a genuinely knowledgeable local guide. Think twice if you need flexibility—the itinerary is set, and TET season reduces local activities.”
- About £84/day across 20 days
- ~£2,018 all-in with a typical £335 flight from London (£101/day)
- We only rate a price against this trip's own history once we've tracked it for 21 days — no guessing before that.
- About average per day vs 4 similar trips (~£84/day)
- 4.8★ from 13 traveller reviews
Price movement, fill and the all-in cost come from our own daily tracking— not the operator’s feed. You book on TourRadar; the live price always applies there.
About this trip
Twenty days from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, tracing Vietnam south to north through cities, delta backwaters, imperial history and mountain villages. It is a full-distance trip, covering a lot of ground by bus and overnight train.
Expect narrow streets and old towns, boat trips through the Mekong and Ha Long Bay, and three nights staying with local families along the way. The pace is steady rather than relaxed, with long travel days balanced by time spent properly among local life.
This suits someone who wants breadth over comfort — a real cross-section of the country, not a soft introduction.
What you'll do
- Cruise the Mekong Delta's waterways from Ho Chi Minh City
- Wander the Old Town streets of Hoi An
- Sail Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site
- Stay with a local family in Lam Thuong among hill tribe communities
- Explore Hue's back streets and imperial history
- Travel by overnight train as part of the south-to-north route
- Several long travel days, including overnight trains and hours-long bus journeys
- Three nights are spent with local families in shared, basic accommodation
- Involves a fair amount of walking and some physical activity, so reasonable fitness helps
Day by day
Exactly what you do each day, where you sleep, and how it flows — written by us, from the real itinerary.
What's included
- Guide: All group trips are accompanied by one of our group leader or local representative. The aim of the group leader or local representative is to take the hassle out of your travels and to help you have the best trip possible. Intrepid endeavours to provide the services of an experienced group leader or local representative however, due to the seasonality of travel, rare situations may arise where your group leader or local representative is new to a particular region or training other group leader or local representative. Your group leader or local representative will provide information on the places you are travelling through, offer suggestions for things to do and see, recommend great local eating venues and introduce you to our local friends. While not being guides in the traditional sense, you can expect them to have a broad general knowledge of the places visited on the trip, including historical, cultural, religious, and social aspects. At Intrepid we aim to support local guides who have specialised knowledge of the regions we visit. If you are interested in delving deeper into the local culture at a specific site or location then your group leader or local representative can recommend a local guide service in most of the main destinations of your trip.
- Meals: 17 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 3 dinners
- Activities: Mekong Delta - Sightseeing Tour Ho Chi Minh City - Cu Chi Tunnel Ho Chi Minh City - War Remnants Museum Ho Chi Minh City - City tour Dalat - Garden visit Nha Trang - Nha Trang Bay Boat trip Nha Trang Bay - Island hopping, Fishing Villages & Snorkelling Hoi An - Old Town walking tour Hue - Imperial City entrance and guided visit Hue - Royal tomb of Emperor Tu Duc Hue - Highlights & back streets tour by motorbike Hue - Thien Mu Pagoda Hue - Vegetarian Lunch at Pagoda Quang Tri - Vinh Moc Tunnels Quang Tri - Hien Luong Bridge Phong Nha Ke-Bang NP - Thien Duong (Paradise Cave) Phong Nha Ke-Bang National Park - Phong Nha Cave Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh Complex Hanoi - One Pillar Pagoda Hanoi - Old Quarter Walking Tour Hanoi - Water puppet show Lam Thuong - Herbal footbath Hanoi - Vun Art center visit Lam Thuong - Villlage homestay & home-cooked meals Lam Thuong - Village handicraft workshop visit Lam Thuong - Hiking Halong Bay - Dinner on Boat Halong Bay - Lunch on Boat
- Transport: OVERNIGHT SLEEPER TRAINS IN VIETNAM: Compartments will be 4 berth to 6 berth depending on seasonal variations and the group configuration. We aim to secure 4 berth compartments where possible. A sheet, pillow and blanket are provided, although some travellers prefer to bring their own sleeping sheet. Passengers of different genders may be required to share a compartment and there will be occasions where you'll be sharing with local travellers or travellers who are not part of your group. On occasion the group may be split between several carriages, however your leader will coordinate and give further information on the trip. Boat, Overnight sleeper train, Private minibus, Taxi, Train, Bicyle
- Accommodation: HOTELS: Most of the accommodation on this trip is in hotels (mostly 2 to 3-star). Facilities are often basic, with some properties not having a continuous supply of hot water on occasion. All rooms are either fan cooled or with air conditioning and twin share with private facilities unless stated otherwise in the daily itinerary. Double beds are not widely available in South East Asia., WINDOWLESS ROOMS: Some hotels in South East Asia have windowless rooms, or windows that don't necessarily have a view. This is often due to high population density in large cities, however local building standards also do not require rooms to have windows. We do request rooms with windows, however they aren't always available., DAY ROOMS : & EARLY CHECK IN: Please note in some destinations we will provide use of day rooms. These rooms are provided for shared group use before or after overnight train journeys. We have some days where we arrive at our destination before check in time and a day room is not included. If you have booked a Single Supplement for your trip, it will not apply to these day rooms. Your leader may be able to assist you in booking a room for your sole use (depending on availability) until our regular trip rooms become available for an additional charge. Please talk to your leader at the Welcome Meeting if this is a service you would like to request., HALONG BAY BOAT: Your boat has twin-share cabins that have air-conditioning and private facilities. The boats have 8-12 passenger cabins. There's also a dining room and bar on board. The boat is not likely to be a traditional sailing junk, as many older or imported vessels do not comply with waterway traffic safety laws. Homestay (3 nights), Hotel (13 nights), Overnight boat (1 night), Overnight sleeper train (2 night)
- Activities: Other activities and services not included.
- Flights: International flights not included.
- Optional: Ho Chi Minh City - A O show - VND1050000 Hoi An - Private Bike, Boat and Dinner Experience - USD69 Hoi An - Food Adventure Urban Adventure - USD39 Hoi An - Private Hoi An: My Son Discovery - USD73 Hanoi - Fine Arts Museum - VND30000 Hanoi - Hoa Lo 'Hanoi Hilton' Prison - VND50000 Hanoi - Temple of Literature - VND70000 Hanoi - Women's Museum - VND30000 Hanoi - Army Museum - VND20000 Hanoi - Street Food Experience Urban Adventure - USD29 Ninh Binh Mini Adventure (TVAN) - USD355 Hiking in Sapa (TVAG) - USD432
- Insurance: Insurance is not included. Travel insurance is required for this tour. Please make sure you are adequately covered. If you require travel insurance, TourRadar has partnered up with Cover Genius to provide a hassle-free experience. More information can be found here (https://www.tourradar.com/travel-insurance).
How travellers rate it
Cheapest live departure per day, in £, recorded by our tracker since 18 Jul. Never a brochure “was” price.
Your free day in Ho Chi Minh City
Landing early, staying on, or filling free time? The best-rated day experiences in Ho Chi Minh City — you book on Viator (we may earn a commission).
Worth it if you want a well-paced introduction to Vietnam with a genuinely knowledgeable local guide. Think twice if you need flexibility—the itinerary is set, and TET season reduces local activities.
- Local guides are genuinely excellent: knowledgeable, attentive, and passionate about showing their country properly.
- Twenty days allows proper coverage of varied regions without feeling rushed; activities balance museums, cultural sites, and local interaction.
- TET holiday season limits restaurant and show availability; timing matters. Some locations need rebalancing—War Remnants Museum and Hoi An warrant more time.
- Intrepid handles logistics, translation, meals, and safety, removing typical foreign travel friction for 18-35s travelling solo or in groups.
Distilled from real traveller reviews on TourRadar — we don't edit out the bad bits.
The same-vibe trips, side by side — price, value per day, and how each is moving. Only we can lay two operators' trips out honestly.
Sorted by fit — never by who paid. Price moves and availability come from our own daily tracking.
Departing in Aug is cheapest — from £1,685, about 35% below the priciest month (Sep).
Getting there
One-way so you can book your return whenever. Prices & booking shown on Trip.com.
Hotels in Ho Chi Minh City
View more accommodationLive prices via Booking.com & partners, booked on their site — separate from your tour. We may earn a commission; it never changes your price.
On a budget?
Hostels in Ho Chi Minh City for the night before your tour · 8 Aug – 9 Aug
Booked on Hostelworld, separate from your tour. We may earn a commission — it never changes your price.
Common questions
How long is Best of Vietnam?
It's a 20-day trip. It starts in Ho Chi Minh City and finishes in Hanoi.
How much does Best of Vietnam cost?
The land price starts from £1,683 per person for the 20-day trip. You book on TourRadar, where the live price always applies.
What will Best of Vietnam really cost me all-in?
On top of the £1,683 land price, budget roughly £335 for a return flight from the UK — about £2,018 all-in before spending money. Most day-to-day meals out and optional activities are extra.
What's included in the price?
The price covers all your accommodation, 25 meals (17 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 3 dinners), transport during the trip, a group leader/guide. Anything the operator lists as optional or not included — see the full breakdown on this page.
What's not included?
international flights and travel insurance (required) are not included, so factor them into your budget. We show typical flight costs and can point you to insurance on this page.
How big is the group?
Groups are capped at around 12 travellers — a small-group trip, mostly solo 18–35s travelling to meet people, not a coach tour.
When does Best of Vietnam run?
It runs across roughly 21 months of the year, so there's usually a departure to fit your dates. Check live availability and prices in the dates section above.
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