“Worth it if you want authentic Vietnamese food experiences led by genuinely excellent guides. Think twice if you prefer self-paced exploration.”
- About £96/day across 12 days
- ~£1,509 all-in with a typical £354 flight from London (£126/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
- 4.6★ from 15 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 is a 12-day route through Vietnam told through its food, starting with pho and old quarter streets in Hanoi and ending with banh canh and market life in Ho Chi Minh City. Along the way you eat your way through Hue's imperial city and Hoi An's lantern-lit lanes, with plenty of stops for street food, cafes and market stalls.
Expect hands-on cooking sessions alongside the eating, plus the big sights of each city worked in around the food. It's a fully guided group trip pitched as easy going, though it covers a lot of ground including an overnight train.
The cuisine leans heavily on meat and seafood, so if you're vegetarian or vegan it's worth checking the itinerary closely before booking.
What you'll do
- Eat pho and explore ancient buildings in Hanoi
- Visit Hue's imperial citadel and try banh khoai
- Take a motorbike tour around Hue with licensed drivers and helmets provided
- Wander Hoi An's lantern-lit streets over banh xeo
- Cook some of Vietnam's classic dishes hands-on
- Experience homestay life and market culture in the Mekong Delta
- Includes an overnight train journey with shared, basic amenities
- Mekong Delta homestay facilities are basic, but offer a genuine local experience
- The Hue motorbike tour is optional — alternative transport can be arranged
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: 9 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 5 dinners
- Activities: Hanoi - Secret of Pho experience Halong Bay - Overnight Boat Cruise Hue - Royal tomb of Emperor Tu Duc Hue - Highlights & back streets tour by motorbike Hue - Thien Mu Pagoda Hoi An - Cao Lau dinner + lantern orientation walk in Hoi An Hue - Salt coffee Hue - Imperial City entrance and guided visit Hoi An - Tea Tasting in Silence Hoi An - Cooking class with local chef Hoi An - Market tour Nha Trang - Seafood dinner Ho Chi Minh City - War Remnants Museum Ho Chi Minh City - City tour Ho Chi Minh City - Banh mi Ho Chi Minh City - Ben Thanh market visit Mekong Delta - Boat cruise with visits to local producers Ho Chi Minh City - Cooking Class with local chef
- Transport: Private Vehicle, Taxi, Overnight sleeper train
- 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 (7 nights), Homestay (1 night), Overnight Boat (1 night), Overnight Sleeper Train (2 nights)
- Activities: Other activities and services not included
- Flights: International flights not included.
- Optional: Other activities and services not included
- 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 authentic Vietnamese food experiences led by genuinely excellent guides. Think twice if you prefer self-paced exploration.
- Guides Nhi, Thao, and Tham were standout—knowledgeable, entertaining, and genuinely invested in your experience.
- Food-focused itinerary delivered authentic local dishes and restaurant experiences you wouldn't find alone.
- Well-organised trips with balanced pacing, mixing activities with proper downtime and relaxation built in.
- Small group size and local provider partnerships mean good value, but less flexibility for independent wandering.
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 Oct is cheapest — from £1,155, about 46% below the priciest month (Mar).
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 · 3 Oct – 4 Oct
Booked on Hostelworld, separate from your tour. We may earn a commission — it never changes your price.
Common questions
How long is Vietnam Real Food Adventure?
It's a 12-day trip. It starts in Hanoi and finishes in Ho Chi Minh City.
How much does Vietnam Real Food Adventure cost?
The land price starts from £1,155 per person for the 12-day trip. You book on TourRadar, where the live price always applies.
What will Vietnam Real Food Adventure really cost me all-in?
On top of the £1,155 land price, budget roughly £354 for a return flight from the UK — about £1,509 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, 20 meals (9 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 5 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 Real Food Adventure run?
It runs across roughly 22 months of the year, so there's usually a departure to fit your dates. Check live availability and prices in the dates section above.
Sort the essentials
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