Multi-Day Tours in Vietnam

Multi-day tours in Vietnam are mostly a northern habit, because that is where the distances and the mountains are. Hanoi is about 200 km from Pu Luong and 350 km from Ha Giang. The shortest routes are overnight cruises in Ha Long and Lan Ha, Sapa by bus or sleeper train, and Mai Chau with Pu Luong. Two to five days reach the north-east: Cao Bang, the Ban Gioc waterfall and Ba Be Lake, or the Ha Giang Loop by motorbike or car; Dien Bien Phu, the 1954 battlefield, is done by jeep. Package weeks of five to eight days string Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Ha Long and Sapa together. In the south the Mekong Delta runs two to four days by bike and kayak, with nights in local homes.

These routes share a pattern. Most leave from Old Quarter hotels in the morning, and the first day is largely transit: about seven hours by bus to Ha Giang, and the first night is often spent in Cao Bang or Ba Be. You sleep in hotels, village homestays or a cruise cabin, and meals are normally included. Groups cap at fifteen on most, twenty-five on the Ha Giang loops, and private departures exist for many. Single-room supplements are common.

Practical. Match the route to the month. In the north, March to May and September to November are mild and dry, buckwheat flowers cover the Ha Giang plateau in October and November, and December to February is cold and misty. The Mekong is best from November to April. Cancellation windows run from 24 hours on the Ha Giang loops to three days for Pu Luong and six for cruise packages and some north-east tours. Tet falls in late January or February, and holiday surcharges are usual.