Itinerary - Vietnam 360°: from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City

Roundtrip flights or transportation to reach the destination are not included in the package, so you can decide from where and when you want to leave! This gives you complete freedom of choice to adjust your travel itinerary to your needs. The trip starts in Hanoi and ends in Ho Chi Minh City, so book your flights accordingly.

Ready to start this trip the best way possible? We’re talking about food, obviously. Tonight we’ll have our first dinner together and we’ll get the chance to have a first taste of the local cuisine - maybe some pho, how does that sound?

We rise with the sun so we can start this adventure right: our minivan is ready to take us north. The drive will be pretty long (it’s 4 hours), so we should get comfortable and enjoy the ride - and the view! We finally arrive in Mai Chau and start our tour of the valley by visiting the small villages of Lac and Pom Coong, where the Thai population lives.

Mai Chau is a valley that stands between the Red River and the mountains of the north. It offers some of the most beautiful natural views in Vietnam and it’s only 170 km from Hanoi. It still maintains its authenticity - here life is simple, rural, and people follow the rhythm of the natural world, that is grand and welcoming at the same time. Everyday rituals are old and important, passed on from generation to generation. Green hills are covered with rice fields as far as the eye can see. As soon as we arrive, it will be clear to all of us why we are here: to witness the real, authentic Vietnam.

Today we get to the Pu Luong Nature Reserve and there we’ll start our trekking through the rice fields. Pu Luong is a magical valley - we’ll hike the small trails that go through the fields and the vegetation until we reach the scenic village of Kho Muong. Make sure you have your camera at hand, you’ll be taking quite a lot of pictures! We continue our trekking through the valley, with the view changing at every corner. We’ll see roads crossing green fields, small villages, little ponds and gentle rivers, hills and mighty mountains, finally arriving in Pu Luong village in the late afternoon.

We travel from Pu Luong to Ninh Binh and when we arrive we’ll have some free time to do some exploring of the area. We’ll be able to rent bikes and see what Ninh Bihn has to offer...ready for one of the most fascinating places in Vietnam?

Today we have many different places we can go to and visit - and it’s up to us to choose which ones! We can reach the Tam Coc Caves and explore them by boat. This is for sure one of the best excursions here, plus the mystical Bich Dong pagoda isn’t too far away: win-win! If we’re not in the mood for the caves, we can explore the Bai Dinh pagoda, which is both the most famous place for Buddhist pilgrims to reach and the biggest pagoda of the whole of Vietnam. Or we can visit Hoa Lu, the old capital, an interesting place both historically and culturally, surrounded by mountains and many temples, such as Dinh Tien Hoang.

Rise and shine dear travellers, new adventure awaits! Today we arrive in Halong Bay. This bay, both magical and mystical, has more than 2.000 tiny islands covered with lush vegetation. Around lunchtime, we board on a traditional boat that will be our home for the night. We start our sail by visiting Sung Sot Cave, also known as the Cave of Surprises: here we can land and hike the 150 steps that bring us to a wonderful view of the bay from above. We continue sailing through Halong Bay and we enjoy this unique place as long as the sun is up: let’s hope it’s a clear sky because sunsets here are magical. After dinner on board, we sail through the (hopefully) starry night, enjoying the silence and stillness of the bay.

Today we suggest to wake up early...the sunrise in Halong Bay is as magical as the sunset. Plus, we could have some time to practice some yoga and meditation on the deck! We get back to Hanoi with our private minivan and then we have some free time to discover the oldest neighbourhood of the capital. In the afternoon, we can visit some pagodas, such as Tran Quoc, or ancient temples, like the Literature one that became the first National University of Vietnam. During our strolling, why not try some street food?

After all these days in our minivan, it’s time to go back to the real WeRoad vibe: tonight we’ll have a very local experience! In the evening we board a night train that will allow us to travel for almost 600 km without even noticing. In South-East Asia, night trains are the preferred transportation when it comes to long distances - so it’s a highlight we simply couldn’t miss!

A stop in Hue is mandatory: here there are royal palaces, pagodas and royal tombs. The old royal capital of Vietnam is way different than the modern Hanoi, so loud and hectic: Hue is quiet and calm and the rhythms are peaceful and slow. It seems like things are the same as centuries ago and nothing ever changed.Must see here are the Purple Forbidden City, the Emperors’ Mausoleums, Museum of Royal Arts, the pagoda of the Heavenly Lady and Bach Ma Monastery, that are all part of the UNESCO cultural heritage. It's the history of Vietnam at its best!

We reach Hoi An, one of the most beautiful cities in Vietnam. We can have a stroll around Old Town and get lost in the local Lantern Market, where we can also find some souvenirs to bring home with us. Here the most special time is the nighttime when the lanterns are lit and create an evocative atmosphere. We’ll try local food or even better, maybe take a Vietnamese cooking class! Hoi An is a coastal city, meaning... beach time! And since we’ll be here for two days, we have enough time to enjoy the Vietnamese sea. We could even reach the near Cu Lao Cham island and have an amazing one-day trip. How does that sound?

Wake up… the flight to Ho Chi Minh City awaits us! Ho Chi Minh is a cultural city that can feel a bit chaotic at times. It is also the hub of commerce and modern life, waiting to be discovered! We will visit the Reunification Palace, the Jade Emperor Pagoda, filled with statues of deities; the Notre Dame Cathedral (under renovation) and, for those who wish, the War Remnants Museum which embodies the representation of the saddest period experienced by this country. After the walking tour we can get on the boat and take a ride along the Saigon river to admire the sunset or enjoy an aperitif at one of the futuristic Skybars.

And then… all ready for our evening scooter food tour through the streets of Ho Chi Minh City! We will taste the typical Vietnamese street-food directly from the street vendors while darting through the streets, ready to celebrate together this wonderful adventure!

Time to go further south - we’ll spend our last day (so sad!) in Vietnam sailing through the placid waters of the Mekong Delta. This is one of the most characteristic places of this country, with floating markets and boats everywhere with merchants that will try to sell you anything. How they know where to go and sail without getting lost… still one of the greatest Vietnamese secrets!

Check-out and goodbye – until your next WeRoad adventure!

Please note: make sure you book your return flight from Ho Chi Minh City where the trip ends.