Mekong Delta Discovery: Vietnam & Cambodia — Self-Launched 10-Day
10 days · Vietnam & Cambodia
Legend Travel Group charges £1,025
No-markup version: ~£720 per person
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
A self-launched version of Legend Travel Group's 10-day Hanoi-to-Phnom Penh Mekong run: Hanoi's old quarter and war history, an overnight Ha Long Bay cruise, Hoi An's lantern-lit lanes and Cam Kim Island, Saigon's museums and the Cu Chi tunnels, then three days drifting down the Delta — My Tho, Ben Tre, Can Tho's floating market, Chau Doc and the Tra Su cajuput forest — finishing with the express boat across the Cambodian border into Phnom Penh. Booked independently with hostels and budget guesthouses, sleeper trains, local buses, day tours from GetYourGuide/Klook and locally-booked boats, with all costs estimated from current backpacker rates in GBP.
Day-by-day
Arrive Hanoi — Old Quarter orientation
Hanoi
Land at Noi Bai and take bus 86 (about £1.20) or a Grab bike/car (about £6-8) into the Old Quarter. Check into a hostel dorm or budget single around Ma May / Hang Bac. Spend the afternoon walking Hoan Kiem Lake and the 36 streets, then a £2 bia hoi corner dinner with bun cha or pho. Book your Ha Long Bay overnight cruise tonight for tomorrow — hostel desks and Klook both work and cost roughly £55-75 for a budget-mid boat with meals.
🚌Airport bus 86 or Grab from Noi Bai, ~£1.50-8
🛏Old Quarter hostel dorm (£8-12) or budget guesthouse single (£15-20)
- →Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple
- →Old Quarter street-food walk (self-guided)
- →Book overnight Ha Long Bay cruise
Hanoi's history circuit
Hanoi
Self-guided walking day. Start at Tran Quoc Pagoda on West Lake, walk to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex and One Pillar Pagoda (free entry, closed Mondays/Fridays), then the Temple of Literature (£2). Afternoon: Hoa Lo Prison (£1.50) and either the Museum of Ethnology or the Vietnamese Women's Museum (about £2 each). Evening: water puppet theatre ticket (£3-4) or a £10 street-food tour on Klook if you want company.
🚌Walking plus Grab rides, ~£3
🛏Old Quarter hostel dorm (£8-12) or budget guesthouse single (£15-20)
- →Tran Quoc Pagoda
- →Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex and One Pillar Pagoda
- →Temple of Literature
- →Hoa Lo Prison
- →Museum of Ethnology or Women's Museum
- →Optional water puppet show
Ha Long Bay overnight cruise
Ha Long Bay
Pickup around 8am for the shared shuttle to Ha Long (included in most cruise packages). Board a budget-mid junk boat: lunch on deck, kayaking or swimming at a limestone bay, Amazing Cave stop, sunset and a cooking demo. Dinner and a night on board. Choose a boat that includes transfers, all meals and kayaking in the price — Klook and local Hanoi agents both sell these for £55-75 for the classic one-night option.
🚌Shared shuttle Hanoi-Ha Long return, included in cruise
🛏Overnight on a budget-mid junk boat, twin share (included in cruise price)
- →Overnight junk boat cruise
- →Kayaking and swimming
- →Amazing Cave
- →Sunset on the top deck
Ha Long sunrise — night train south to Hoi An
Ha Long Bay → Hoi An
Sunrise on deck, breakfast, then a morning cruise past the karst islands and a floating fishing village before the shuttle back to Hanoi for about 4pm. Grab your bag from the hostel and head to Hanoi station for the sleeper train south. The Reunification Express (SE3/SE19) to Da Nang takes around 16 hours; soft-sleeper berths cost about £30-40 and can be booked on the Vietnam Railways site or 12Go Asia. Alternatively fly VietJet Hanoi-Da Nang for £35-50 if timings suit better.
🚌Shuttle included; Hanoi-Da Nang sleeper train ~£30-40
🛏Sleeper train soft berth (4-berth)
- →Sunrise on the bay
- →Floating fishing village stop
- →Overnight sleeper train south
Hoi An ancient town and Cam Kim Island
Hoi An
Arrive Da Nang mid-morning, then a local bus or Grab (about £4) the 45 minutes to Hoi An. Check into a riverside guesthouse and buy the Hoi An old-town ticket (£5) covering the Japanese Covered Bridge, a chapel-house from the 1700s, assembly halls and the Sa Huynh Museum. Late afternoon, rent a bicycle (about £1.50) and cross to Cam Kim Island to see woodworkers and boatbuilders in Kim Bong village, or take a short Thu Bon River boat trip (about £3). Evening: lantern-lit lanes, cao lau noodles and a £3 bia hoi by the river.
🚌Da Nang-Hoi An local bus or Grab ~£4; bicycle hire £1.50
🛏Hoi An riverside guesthouse single (£15-20) or hostel dorm (£8-12)
- →Hoi An old-town heritage ticket
- →Japanese Covered Bridge and Sa Huynh Museum
- →Cycle to Kim Bong / Cam Kim Island
- →Thu Bon River boat trip
- →Lantern-lit evening walk
Hoi An free morning — fly to Saigon
Hoi An → Ho Chi Minh City
Morning at leisure: beach time at An Bang (15 minutes by bike) or a £12 cooking class if you're keen. Mid-afternoon transfer to Da Nang airport for a VietJet/Bamboo flight to Ho Chi Minh City (about £30-45 if booked a few days ahead). Land at Tan Son Nhat, Grab into District 1 (about £4), check into a Pham Ngu Lao backpacker guesthouse or District 1 hostel. Dinner at a Ben Thanh-area street stall — com tam or banh xeo for £2-3.
🚌Da Nang-Ho Chi Minh City flight ~£30-45; airport Grab ~£4
🛏District 1 / Pham Ngu Lao guesthouse single (£15-20) or hostel dorm (£8-10)
- →An Bang beach morning
- →Optional cooking class
- →Evening stroll around Ben Thanh and Bui Vien
Saigon landmarks and Cu Chi Tunnels
Ho Chi Minh City
Morning self-guided walk of the city core: Notre Dame Cathedral (exterior), the Central Post Office, and the Reunification Palace (£3). Afternoon Cu Chi Tunnels — book a half-day group tour on GetYourGuide or Klook for about £15-20 including transport and an English-speaking guide, or take local bus 13 to Cu Chi and hire a guide at the gate (about £5) for a cheaper, slower version. Evening back in the city: War Remnants Museum is best saved for tomorrow morning if you want more time.
🚌Walking plus Cu Chi tour transport included, ~£2 local
🛏District 1 / Pham Ngu Lao guesthouse single (£15-20) or hostel dorm (£8-10)
- →Notre Dame Cathedral and Central Post Office
- →Reunification Palace
- →Cu Chi Tunnels half-day tour
- →Optional wartime-cuisine lunch
War Remnants Museum — into the Delta to Can Tho
Ho Chi Minh City → Can Tho
Early visit to the War Remnants Museum (£2, opens 7:30am) before the heat. Then take a local bus or shared minivan to Can Tho (about 3.5-4 hours, £5-8 with Phuong Trang/Futa). Alternatively do the classic My Tho–Ben Tre day tour en route: a £15-20 group tour covers Vinh Trang Pagoda, a boat through stilt houses and fruit plantations, a hand-rowed sampan at An Khanh, folk music, honey tea and coconut candy — then continue to Can Tho by bus from My Tho. Evening: Can Tho riverside night market and a £3 bowl of bun rieu.
🚌Saigon-Can Tho local bus/minivan ~£5-8
🛏Can Tho riverside guesthouse single (£12-18) or hostel dorm (£7-10)
- →War Remnants Museum
- →Optional My Tho and Ben Tre boat tour (Vinh Trang Pagoda, sampan, coconut candy)
- →Can Tho riverside night market
Cai Rang floating market, Tra Su forest and Chau Doc
Can Tho → Chau Doc
Be on the water by 5:30-6am for Cai Rang floating market — hire a small boat directly at the Can Tho pier for about £10-15 per boat (split with other travellers from your guesthouse; shared tours are £12-18 each). You'll see the vermicelli-noodle boats, orchard gardens and a monkey bridge en route. Mid-morning, take a local bus to Chau Doc (about 3 hours, £4-6), drop bags, then a motorbike taxi or hired car 30 minutes out to Tra Su Cajuput Forest (£5 entry, £4 small-boat cruise) for storks, cranes and flooded-forest scenery, best in late afternoon light. Optional sunset on Sam Mountain.
🚌Can Tho-Chau Doc local bus ~£4-6; motorbike taxi to Tra Su ~£5
🛏Chau Doc budget hotel single (£12-18)
- →Cai Rang floating market by small boat
- →Vermicelli noodle-making stop and monkey bridge
- →Tra Su Cajuput Forest boat cruise
- →Optional Sam Mountain sunset
Express boat to Phnom Penh
Chau Doc → Phnom Penh
Take the morning express boat from Chau Doc to Phnom Penh — around 5 hours including the Kaam Samnor/Song Tien border formalities. Book directly with Hang Chau Speedboat or through your Chau Doc hotel the day before; tickets are about £25-32 and arriving at the border before 9am gets you into Phnom Penh early afternoon. Have your Cambodian e-visa (£25 online) or visa-on-arrival cash ($30) ready. Trip ends at the Phnom Penh riverside around 13:00-13:30, with guesthouses in the Daun Penh area a short tuk-tuk away (£2).
🚌Express boat Chau Doc-Phnom Penh ~£25-32
🛏Not included — Phnom Penh guesthouse from £10-15 if staying on
- →Mekong express boat Chau Doc-Phnom Penh
- →Border crossing at Kaam Samnor / Song Tien
- →Arrive Phnom Penh riverside
Self-launched vs. Legend Travel Group
| This itinerary (self-launched) | Legend Travel Group | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per person | ~£720 | £1,025 |
| Duration | 10 days | 10 days |
| Who books it | You and your group, direct | Tour operator, guided group |
| Savings | £305 per person (30%) | |
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
Want to see more Legend Travel Group-style trips? Check them out here.~£720
estimated per person
You never pay Travel Crew for this — you pay hostels, transport, and activity providers directly, the same as if you'd booked it all yourself.
This publishes your dates so other travellers can find and join you — no tour operator needed.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does Mekong Delta Discovery: Vietnam & Cambodia — Self-Launched 10-Day cost?+
Doing it yourself with this self-launched itinerary costs an estimated £720 per person for 10 days in Vietnam & Cambodia. This is an AI-generated estimate based on typical budget-traveller prices — actual costs will vary by season and how you book.
Is this cheaper than booking with Legend Travel Group?+
Yes — Legend Travel Group charges around £1,025 per person for a similar tour. Doing the same route independently, using the same standard of accommodation and activities, costs an estimated £720 — a saving of roughly £305 (30%) per person.
How long is the Vietnam & Cambodia trip?+
This itinerary runs 10 days, covering 10 day-by-day stops through Vietnam & Cambodia.
How do I join this trip?+
You can join an existing open departure using this itinerary if one is scheduled, or launch your own departure with your own dates and invite other travellers to join you — no tour operator required.
Isn't it easier to just use a tour operator?+
Well, yes, a tour operator will book all the individual parts of your travel for you and provide a guide. That's obvious, but doing this has the potential to save the group thousands, which can in turn improve your itinerary substantially or save you huge amounts of money. Also, when you launch a departure, Travel Crew has tools in place to help you book the individual sections of the trip or make it easier for you to do this as a group. Really, you do not need a middle man. If you are more comfortable paying more and using a middle man, then you should certainly do this.
Is it safer to book through a tour operator?+
Arguably, there isn't much difference. A self-launched trip runs on the same principle as a group travel crew: collective responsibility, everyone looking out for each other, the same way it would if a group of friends organised the trip themselves — because that's exactly what's happening. You should always take out travel insurance before you go, self-launched or not; that doesn't change either way. Every open departure is published publicly with real dates and a real trip organiser, so it's never an anonymous arrangement, and our support team is reachable any time you need help, including in an emergency while you're away. Longer-term, we're building direct relationships with ground DMCs in popular destinations, offered as an optional paid add-on for extra on-the-ground support. Ultimately, though, the group is responsible for its own conduct and safety on a self-launched trip, same as on any trip you plan yourself.
What kind of trip is this?+
This is a culture, foodie, adventure trip through Vietnam & Cambodia, self-launched rather than run by a tour operator — you organise it with a group you find or bring yourself.
Would you like to name the operator, name the trip, or have any suggestions about how to improve this itinerary?
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