“Worth it if you get a guide like Huy or Bao and skip solo travel. Think twice if guide quality is inconsistent or you need robust safeguarding.”
- About £72/day across 15 days
- ~£1,450 all-in with a typical £366 flight from London (£97/day)
- We only rate a price against this trip's own history once we've tracked it for 21 days — no guessing before that.
- Cheaper per day than 3 of 4 similar trips we compared
- 4.2★ from 20 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
A full run from Hanoi down to Ho Chi Minh City, covering the length of Vietnam over two weeks. You'll take in the big-name stops — Hue, Hoi An, the Mekong Delta — but also push into quieter corners like the hills around Hoa Binh and the limestone landscape of Cat Ba Island.
The centrepiece is two nights in Sung Village, staying with local families in the forest among caves and tea plantations, with a trek through minority villages along the way. Accommodation here is shared and basic, but it's a genuine way to spend time with people rather than just pass through.
This is a trip that covers ground — overnight trains, city walking tours, a 10 km trek — so you're on your feet and moving a fair bit. It suits people who'd rather see a lot of Vietnam properly than linger in one place.
What you'll do
- Homestay with local families in Sung Village among caves and tea plantations
- Trek through minority villages in the hills of Chien Village
- Explore the limestone scenery of Cat Ba Island
- Wander the UNESCO-listed old town of Hoi An
- Cruise the waterways of the Mekong Delta
- Take in the history of Hue and the energy of Ho Chi Minh City
- Long overnight train journeys are part of the route
- Homestay accommodation is shared and basic — expect simple facilities
- Involves a 10 km trek plus city walking tours, so there's a fair amount of time on your feet
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: 12 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 2 dinners
- Activities: Chien Village - Home-cooked meal Chien Village - Hilltribe hike Chien Village - Traditional dancing Hanoi - Water puppet show Chien Village - Farming experience Chien Village - Organic farm visit Chien Village - Bamboo cooking experience Hanoi - Blue Dragon visit Cat Ba Island - Lan Ha Bay Lunch Cat Ba Island - Kayaking Cat Ba Island - Boat trip on Lan Ha Bay Hanoi - Temple of Literature Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh Complex Hue - Imperial City Full Day Tour Hue - Highlights & back streets tour by motorbike Hue - Royal tomb of Emperor Tu Duc Hue - Vegetarian Lunch at Pagoda Hoi An - Old Town walking tour Bich Hoa Tam Thanh - village visit Quy Nhon - Martial art master visit and demonstration Quy Nhon - Do Ban ancient citadel Ho Chi Minh City - War Remnants Museum Ho Chi Minh City - City tour Mekong Delta - Boat Cruise and Homestay Mekong Delta - Guesthouse Dinner Mekong Delta - Boat Cruise Lunch
- 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, Motorbike
- Accommodation: The style of accommodation indicated in the day-to-day itinerary is a guideline only and may change. On some occasions, alternative arrangements may need to be made due to the lack of availability of rooms in our preferred accommodation. In these cases, we will use a similar standard of accommodation. Throughout the trip, we request that our properties prepare rooms in time for our arrival, especially if we're arriving prior to normal check-in time. However, this isn't always possible which means we won't be able to check-in immediately on arrival at some hotels. Instead, we can store our luggage and explore our new destination or on some trips, have use of shared day rooms until all rooms are 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., 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. Guesthouse (1 night), Homestay (1 night), Hotel (10 nights), Overnight sleeper train (2 night)
- Activities: Other activities and services not included.
- Flights: International flights not included.
- Optional: Hoi An - Private Hoi An: My Son Discovery - USD77 Hoi An - Cooking class - USD33 Hoi An - Food Adventure Urban Adventure - USD44 Hoi An - Private Hoi An: Boat & Bike with Local Dinner Experience Urban Adventure - USD85 Ho Chi Minh City - Reunification Palace - VND40000 Ho Chi Minh City - Cu Chi Tunnel Experience Urban Adventure - USD45 Ho Chi Minh City - Saigon Street Food by Night Urban Adventure - USD36
- 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 Hanoi
Landing early, staying on, or filling free time? The best-rated day experiences in Hanoi — you book on Viator (we may earn a commission).
Worth it if you get a guide like Huy or Bao and skip solo travel. Think twice if guide quality is inconsistent or you need robust safeguarding.
- Guide quality wildly inconsistent. One guide manipulated guests and lied about hike difficulty; others praised as patient and knowledgeable.
- Customer service fails when things go wrong. Stranded traveller left in Hanoi with no hotel; company refused refund or rebooking, kept full payment.
- Itinerary pacing and variety excellent. Halong Bay, homestays, bike rides, museums packed into 15 days without feeling rushed.
- Early starts and long travel days built in; some felt time management could improve, others praised coordination with no waiting around.
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 £1,085, about 25% below the priciest month (Jan).
Getting there
One-way so you can book your return whenever. Prices & booking shown on Trip.com.
Hotels in Hanoi
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 Hanoi for the night before your tour · 7 Aug – 8 Aug
Booked on Hostelworld, separate from your tour. We may earn a commission — it never changes your price.
Common questions
How long is Scenic Vietnam?
It's a 15-day trip. It starts in Hanoi and finishes in Ho Chi Minh City.
How much does Scenic Vietnam cost?
The land price starts from £1,084 per person for the 15-day trip. You book on TourRadar, where the live price always applies.
What will Scenic Vietnam really cost me all-in?
On top of the £1,084 land price, budget roughly £366 for a return flight from the UK — about £1,450 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, 19 meals (12 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 2 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 16 travellers — a small-group trip, mostly solo 18–35s travelling to meet people, not a coach tour.
When does Scenic Vietnam run?
It runs across roughly 24 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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