Self-Launched Cycle Saigon to Hanoi

Land at Tan Son Nhat, take bus 109 or a Grab bike/taxi (about £2-3) into District 1. Check into a guesthouse or hostel around Pham Ngu Lao / Bui Vien, then do your own orientation loop on foot: Saigon Opera House, Hotel de Ville, Notre Dame Cathedral and the General Post Office are all within 20 minutes of each other. Pre-book your bike for the next few days from a District 1 rental shop (roughly £8-12/day for a decent hybrid) or arrange a Mekong day-hire through your guesthouse. Evening: street food crawl — banh mi, bun thit nuong, and iced coffee.

🚌Bus 109 or Grab from airport (~£2-3); everything else on foot

🛏Hostel/guesthouse, District 1 (approx £10-14 dorm/private budget room)

• →Self-guided central Saigon walk
• →War Remnants Museum (entry ~£1.50)
• →Ben Thanh and street markets
• →Arrange bike rental

Ride out west towards Cu Chi on quiet backroads (roughly 30km each way, or take the local bus 13 to Cu Chi town and ride a shorter loop). Visit the Ben Duoc or Ben Dinh tunnel section (entry approx £1.50-2.50) and explore the adapted tunnels. If you'd rather not self-navigate on busier roads, book a half-day Cu Chi cycling day trip on GetYourGuide or Klook (about £25-35) which includes bike, guide and lunch. Back in Saigon in the late afternoon.

🚌Rented bike or bus 13 to Cu Chi (~£1) plus cycling

🛏Hostel/guesthouse, District 1 (approx £10-14)

• →Cycling to Cu Chi Tunnels
• →Cu Chi Tunnels entry and exploration
• →Optional guided Cu Chi cycling day trip via GetYourGuide/Klook

Take a local bus or shared minibus from Saigon's Mien Tay station to Cai Be (about 2.5 hours, £3-5). Hire a bike locally (approx £3-5/day) and ride the canal lanes past fruit orchards, rice-paper and coconut-candy workshops — you can drop into family producers for free or a small tip. Stop at an old wooden traditional house in the hamlets around Ut Kiet. Stay overnight in a Cai Be guesthouse or homestay with dinner included (many homestays bundle dinner for £3-5).

🚌Local bus Saigon–Cai Be (~£4); bike hire locally

🛏Mekong homestay/guesthouse, Cai Be (approx £10-15)

• →Mekong Delta backroad cycling
• →Rice paper and coconut candy workshop visits
• →Traditional house visit in Ut Kiet
• →Optional boat trip to Cai Be floating market

Morning bus back to Saigon or direct onward to Dalat — the cheapest option is a sleeper/open-tour bus from Saigon to Dalat (about 7-8 hours, £7-10), or take a bus to Bao Loc and join the scenic climb. If you're riding, do the classic Gia Kiem–La Nga Bridge stretch (about 30km) as a half-day ride before boarding the bus. Dalat sits at 1,500m and is cool — pack a fleece. Evening wander around Xuan Huong Lake and the night market for grilled skewers and avocado ice cream.

🚌Open-tour/sleeper bus Saigon–Dalat (~£8)

🛏Budget hotel/guesthouse, Dalat (approx £10-15)

• →Gia Kiem to La Nga Bridge ride
• →Scenic Bao Loc mountain drive from the bus window
• →Dalat night market food crawl

The big day: ride out of Dalat down the Hon Giao Pass (roughly 80km with a long descent and rolling climbs) — the climb out of Dalat is the hard part, and you can always flag a local bus or minibus for the top section. Alternatively hire a motorbike driver to carry you and the bike to the pass summit for about £8-12. Continue east to Doc Let and check into a beach guesthouse or budget resort around Van Phong Bay. Swim and recover.

🚌Rented bike; optional minibus or xe om lift to pass summit (~£10)

🛏Beach guesthouse/budget resort, Doc Let (approx £12-20)

• →Hon Giao Pass cycling
• →Mountain road ascents and descents
• →Beach time at Doc Let

Book a local fishing boat trip in Van Phong Bay — ask at your guesthouse; expect £8-15 per person for a few hours, or join a shared snorkel trip. Afternoon: cycle or walk to the nearby fishing village and the salt fields behind Doc Let to see the salt pans drying in the sun. Easy, flat day off the saddle.

🚌Boat trip; local bike/walking

🛏Beach guesthouse/budget resort, Doc Let (approx £12-20)

• →Boat trip through Van Phong Bay
• →Snorkelling
• →Fishing village visit
• →Salt field walk

Ride south along the coast over the Ca Pass summit, then drop to Vung Ro and continue toward Tuy Hoa and Mang Lang Church (roughly 40-60km depending on how much you ride). Take a local bus for any sections you skip (VND 30-50k, £1-2). Continue to Quy Nhon by bus (about 2 hours, £3-4) if you're not riding the full stretch. Quy Nhon has a great seafront promenade and cheap seafood.

🚌Rented bike plus local buses (~£4)

🛏Budget guesthouse/boutique budget hotel, Quy Nhon (approx £10-16)

• →Ca Pass summit ride
• →Vung Ro and Mang Lang Church
• →Seafood dinner on the Quy Nhon seafront

Ride across the Thi Nai Bridge (Vietnam's longest sea bridge) and out along the lagoon road toward Phu My. If you want the full 60km, start early; otherwise ride 20-30km and then board a local bus or shared minibus north to Hoi An (about 5 hours from Quy Nhon, £7-10). Check into a guesthouse in Hoi An's Old Town fringe — cheaper and quieter than the riverside.

🚌Bike plus bus/minibus to Hoi An (~£8)

🛏Guesthouse/hostel, Hoi An (approx £10-16)

• →Thi Nai Bridge crossing
• →Coastal lagoon ride
• →Evening in Hoi An Old Town (lantern-lit, entry ticket ~£4)

Buy the Old Town heritage ticket (about £4) for the Japanese Covered Bridge, assembly halls and museums. Afternoon options: a Vietnamese cooking class (£15-25 via Klook), a tailor fitting (Hoi An's famous tailors, £25-50 for a dress or shirt), or a flat countryside bike loop through the rice paddies to Tra Que vegetable village and An Bang beach. Sunset river cruise by small boat is about £3 per person if you haggle directly at the dock.

🚌Bike hire (~£2/day); walking in the Old Town

🛏Guesthouse/hostel, Hoi An (approx £10-16)

• →Hoi An Old Town walking tour (self-guided or £12 guided via GetYourGuide)
• →Japanese Covered Bridge and museums
• →Cooking class
• →Countryside cycling to Tra Que and An Bang

Ride north from Hoi An over the Hai Van Pass — either take the pass road yourself (about 25km climb then descent, ignore anyone telling you it's closed) or hire an easy rider to carry your bike for about £10-12, then cycle the brilliant lagoon road from Lang Co along Cau Hai Lagoon toward Phu Bai (roughly 40-80km). Finish with a local bus or the train from Lang Co/Da Nang to Hue (train ~£3-5, bus ~£3). Evening: bun bo Hue and a walk along the Perfume River.

🚌Bike; train from Lang Co or Da Nang to Hue (~£4)

🛏Budget hotel/guesthouse, Hue (approx £10-16)

• →Hai Van Pass ride
• →Cau Hai Lagoon cycling
• →Lang Co beach stop

Cycle or Grab around Hue: the Imperial Citadel (entry ~£6), the tomb of Minh Mang (entry ~£4) and the Perfume River banks — a 20km loop is plenty. In the late afternoon, take the Reunification Express overnight sleeper from Hue to Hanoi (soft sleeper berth roughly £28-40 booked on dsvn.vn or at the station; book 2-3 days ahead in high season). Bring snacks and a padlock for your bike if you're travelling with it — bikes go in the luggage van for a small fee.

🚌Bike/Grab around Hue; Reunification Express Hue–Hanoi (~£30-40)

🛏Overnight sleeper train, soft-sleeper berth (approx £30-40)

• →Imperial Citadel
• →Tomb of Minh Mang
• →Perfume River cycling loop
• →Overnight train to Hanoi

Arrive Hanoi early morning, drop your bag at your hotel, then transfer to Haiphong/Cat Ba for a Lan Ha Bay overnight cruise. Book a 2-day/1-night budget-to-mid cruise directly or via Klook/GetYourGuide — expect £90-140 per person including transfers, all meals, kayaking and cave visits, dropping you at Dark and Bright Cave. Cheaper alternative: take the local bus to Cat Ba town (about £5-8 with ferry), stay in a guesthouse, and do a day boat trip (£20-30).

🚌Shuttle included in cruise package; or local bus + ferry to Cat Ba (~£7)

🛏Lan Ha Bay junk boat cabin or Cat Ba guesthouse (included in cruise price, approx £90-140 all-in for 2D/1N)

• →Overnight Lan Ha Bay cruise
• →Dark and Bright Cave kayaking
• →Swimming and sunset on deck

Morning on the bay with limestone karsts, a floating fish farm and a cultural village stop, then transfer back to Hanoi by mid-afternoon. Check into the Old Quarter. Do a self-guided walk: Ba Dinh Square and Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum exterior, the Temple of Literature (entry ~£1.50), then loop back through the Old Quarter for bia hoi on Ta Hien street. Optional: water puppet show at Thang Long theatre (about £4-9).

🚌Cruise shuttle back to Hanoi; walking and Grab in the city

🛏Budget hotel/hostel, Hanoi Old Quarter (approx £10-18)

• →Morning bay cruise
• →Temple of Literature
• →Ba Dinh Square
• →Old Quarter walking exploration

Final morning: Hoan Kiem Lake at dawn with the locals doing tai chi, egg coffee at Cafe Giang, and a cyclo ride around the Old Quarter (about £4 if you negotiate directly). Street food breakfast — pho, banh cuon. Buses 86 or 17 and Grab go to Noi Bai airport (bus 86 is about £1.20, Grab about £7-9). Trip ends.

🚌Bus 86 or Grab to Noi Bai airport (~£1.20-9)

🛏Not included (checkout day)

• →Hoan Kiem Lake walk
• →Egg coffee
• →Cyclo ride
• →Street food breakfast