“Worth it if you want well-organised variety across northern Vietnam with a standout guide. Think twice if you dislike long bus days—they're frequent on this 11-day sprint.”
- About £94/day across 11 days
- ~£1,396 all-in with a typical £366 flight from London (£127/day)
- At its lowest in the 90 days we've tracked it (£1,030)
- 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 (~£96/day)
- 4.5★ from 18 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
This 11-day trip trades Hanoi's traffic and noise for Vietnam's countryside, moving under your own steam by foot, bike and kayak. You'll trek in Sapa, cycle through Mai Chau and Ninh Binh, and paddle across Lan Ha Bay, with rural homestays breaking up the miles.
It's built around activity rather than sightseeing from a bus window, so expect sweat, steep trails and long days in the saddle. The pay-off is time in villages and landscapes most visitors skip, plus proper home-cooked meals at the end of it.
You finish back in Hanoi for a final round of street food, after a night at a waterside resort in Lan Ha Bay to catch the sunset over the karst scenery.
What you'll do
- Trek roughly 10 km through Sapa's hills on steep, uneven terrain
- Cycle 60-70 km a day through the valleys of Mai Chau and Ninh Binh
- Kayak across Lan Ha Bay off UNESCO-listed Cat Ba Island
- Stay overnight in a waterside resort in the bay
- Sleep in rural homestays in Lam Thuon, Sapa and Mai Chau
- Eat street food in Hanoi at trip's end
- A moderate fitness level will help — this is an activity-heavy trip with hiking, cycling and kayaking most days
- Three nights are in homestay multishare rooms with simple bedding and shared bathrooms
- Cycling days cover 60-70 km on relatively flat terrain, with a chance to get used to your bike in Hanoi first
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: 10 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 3 dinners
- Activities: Lam Thuong- Community Village Walk Lam Thuong – Waterfall hike Sapa - Lao Chai to Ta Van trek & Homestay Sapa - Ta Van to Su Pan trek Hanoi - Old Quarter Walking Tour Hanoi - West Lake bike ride Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh Complex Hanoi - Temple of Literature Mai Chau - Pom Coong Village visit & traditional lunch Mai Chau - Cycling Mai Chau to Ninh Binh cycling Cat Ba Island - Kayaking Cat Ba Island - Boat trip on Lan Ha Bay
- Transport: LONG TRAVEL DAYS: There are some long travel days and some of the transport can be quite cramped and without air-conditioning., OUR BIKES - VIETNAM: In Vietnam we use a mixture of Giant Rincon Disc 1 and Giant Rincon 2 Disc bikes for sizes Small to Large. For size Extra Small we use the Giant Talon 4. These bikes are mountain bike-style with flat bars, front suspension, 24 gears and hydraulic disk brakes. For more specific information please see https://www.giant-bicycles.com/int/rincon-disc--gi--2019 , SUPPORT VEHICLE: On the cycling section of this trip there will be a support vehicle as secondary transport for travelling longer distances, avoiding hazardous areas to cycle, as a backup should we have any incidents and of course an option for those that would prefer not to cycle for an hour or a day. These vehicles range from a minivan in most regions up to a full sized coach or overland vehicle in others. Your main luggage is transported in the support vehicle. Private minibus, Bicycle, Boat
- 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., 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. Hotel (5 nights), Homestay (3 nights), Lodge (2 nights)
- Activities: Other activities and services not included.
- Flights: International flights are not included.
- Optional: Hanoi - Hoa Lo 'Hanoi Hilton' Prison - VND50000 Hanoi - Fine Arts Museum - VND30000 Hanoi - Street Food Experience Urban Adventure - USD29 Hanoi - Crowd-free Morning Highlights of the City - USD89
- 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 want well-organised variety across northern Vietnam with a standout guide. Think twice if you dislike long bus days—they're frequent on this 11-day sprint.
- Guide Loc was exceptional: personal insights into history, culture, and genuine local connections throughout.
- Long bus drives between locations eat significant time on an 11-day trip; the 'hike' is really a village walk.
- Pre-trip admin excellent; most major costs locked in upfront, so budgeting is straightforward and group dynamics strong.
- Covers impressive ground in northern Vietnam with genuine variety: activities, local interaction, and accommodation all solid.
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 £1,030, 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 · 15 Aug – 16 Aug
Booked on Hostelworld, separate from your tour. We may earn a commission — it never changes your price.
Common questions
How long is Vietnam: Hike, Bike & Kayak?
It's a 11-day trip. It starts and ends in Hanoi.
How much does Vietnam: Hike, Bike & Kayak cost?
The land price starts from £1,030 per person for the 11-day trip. You book on TourRadar, where the live price always applies.
What will Vietnam: Hike, Bike & Kayak really cost me all-in?
On top of the £1,030 land price, budget roughly £366 for a return flight from the UK — about £1,396 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, 18 meals (10 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 Vietnam: Hike, Bike & Kayak run?
It runs across roughly 23 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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