Self-Launched: Explore Vietnam — Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City

Land at Noi Bai (HAN) and take the Vietjet/Jetstar airport bus route 86 or a Grab bike/car into the centre (~£1.50 by bus, £6-8 by Grab, roughly 45 mins). Check into a hostel or budget hotel in the Old Quarter — dorm beds from ~£7, private doubles from ~£18. Skip the paid arrival transfer and just use the bus. In the evening walk the Hoan Kiem Lake loop, grab a bowl of bun cha or pho bo for £2-3, and sort your onward travel: book the Mai Chau day trip and Ha Long cruise online tonight, and check the Vietnam Railways / Vexere apps for the Hue leg later in the trip. Pick up a local SIM or eSIM (~£6 for 30GB) at the airport or any Viettel shop.

🚌Airport bus 86 or Grab from Noi Bai (~£1.50-8)

🛏Old Quarter hostel or budget hotel (dorm ~£7 / private double ~£18)

• →Hoan Kiem Lake evening walk
• →Bun cha / pho dinner in the Old Quarter
• →Buy local SIM/eSIM and book onward day trips

Do the big Hanoi sights independently and early — Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is free (closed Mon & Fri, mornings only, dress modestly), the Presidential Palace grounds and One Pillar Pagoda are on the same block. Walk 20 minutes to Hoa Lo Prison ('Hanoi Hilton'), entry ~£1.20. Then hire a cyclo for a 45-60 minute spin through the Old Quarter — negotiate directly with a driver near Dong Xuan market, ~£5-6 (vs. the operator's included ride). Have lunch, then take a booked shared minibus or limousine van to Mai Chau (~3.5 hrs, ~£12-15 one way via Vexere or a hostel-arranged transfer). Stay in a stilt-house homestay in Lac or Pom Coong village, ~£10-14 including breakfast.

🚌Cyclo hire (~£5); shared minibus Hanoi–Mai Chau ~3.5 hrs (~£13)

🛏Mai Chau stilt-house homestay (~£10-14)

• →Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum & Presidential Palace (free)
• →Hoa Lo Prison (~£1.20)
• →Cyclo ride through the Old Quarter (~£5)

Rent a bicycle from your homestay (~£2-3/day) or simply walk the flat paths between Lac, Pom Coong and Van villages — rice paddies, emerald hills and White Thai stilt houses. Self-guided is easy here: the valley floor paths are obvious and villagers are used to travellers. Stop at a local market for fruit, and arrange a home-cooked lunch with your homestay host (~£4-5) instead of the operator's village meal. Optional afternoon: hike up to the viewpoint above Pom Coong (about an hour up) or take a boat on the Hoa Binh reservoir. Dinner at the homestay, ~£4.

🚌Bicycle hire (~£2-3)

🛏Mai Chau stilt-house homestay (~£10-14)

• →Village-to-village countryside walk
• →Local market fruit tasting
• →Homestay home-cooked lunch
• →Optional viewpoint hike or reservoir boat

Return minibus to Hanoi (~£13, 3.5 hrs). G Adventures' KymViet visit is a partner project, not something you can just turn up for — instead book a comparable social-enterprise workshop directly: Hanoi's craft and embroidery social enterprises (e.g. Craft Link, or a silk-lantern or lacquer workshop on GetYourGuide/Klook) run 1-2 hour sessions from ~£12-18. Otherwise spend the money on the excellent Hanoi Foodie walking tour (~£18-23 on GetYourGuide) — the operator sells it as a £19 optional extra anyway. Evening: Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre, tickets ~£6-8, or the Temple of Literature (~£1.20) if you want more history.

🚌Shared minibus Mai Chau–Hanoi ~3.5 hrs (~£13); Grab around town (~£2)

🛏Old Quarter hostel or budget hotel (dorm ~£7 / private double ~£18)

• →Social-enterprise craft workshop (~£15)
• →Optional Hanoi street-food walking tour (~£20)
• →Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre (~£7)

Book a 1-night/2-day mid-range Ha Long or Bai Tu Long Bay cruise directly — GetYourGuide, Klook and Hanoi agencies all sell the same boats, from ~£85-110 per person for a shared cabin including transfers, all meals and kayaking. That undercuts what a group tour charges once the markup is added. Coach transfer from the Old Quarter leaves around 8am (~3.5 hrs), board after lunch, then kayak among the karst peaks, swim and watch sunset from the sundeck. Bring cash for drinks on board.

🚌Return shuttle bus Hanoi–Ha Long included in the cruise (~£0 extra)

🛏Shared cabin on a Ha Long Bay junk boat (included in cruise price)

• →Overnight Ha Long Bay cruise
• →Kayaking among the karst islands
• →Sunset on the sundeck

Early tai chi or a cave visit on the boat, brunch on board, then the shuttle returns you to Hanoi for around 4-5pm. Rather than the operator's short internal flight, take the Reunification Express overnight: SE19 or SE3 departs Hanoi ~7-8pm and reaches Hue ~9-10am next morning. Soft sleeper (4-berth) is ~£28-35 booked on the Vietnam Railways site or via Vexere; a hard sleeper berth is ~£20. Buy snacks and water at the station. Stow your big bag, keep valuables on you.

🚌Shuttle back to Hanoi (included); Reunification Express Hanoi–Hue sleeper (~£30)

🛏Overnight soft-sleeper train, 4-berth (~£30)

• →Morning on Ha Long Bay
• →Overnight train down the coast

Arrive Hue mid-morning, drop bags at a guesthouse near the Perfume River (~£14-18 double). The Imperial Citadel and Forbidden Purple City cost ~£5.50 entry and are very doable alone — rent a bicycle (~£2.50) or take a Grab. For the royal tombs (Tu Duc, Khai Dinh, Minh Mang, each ~£4-5 entry), the cheapest route is a shared Perfume River dragon boat that stops at several tombs and Thien Mu Pagoda — ~£6-8 per person, sold at the boat docks and by any hotel. Alternatively a half-day guided tombs tour on GetYourGuide runs ~£20-25. Vegetarian lunch at a nunnery-style restaurant near Thien Mu (~£3-4). Evening: Dong Ba market and Hue royal cuisine (bun bo Hue ~£2).

🚌Grab in town (~£2); shared dragon boat to the tombs (~£7)

🛏Hue guesthouse or budget hotel (~£16)

• →Imperial Citadel & Forbidden Purple City (~£5.50)
• →Emperors' tombs by dragon boat (~£7 boat + ~£13 entries)
• →Thien Mu Pagoda
• →Dong Ba market

Get to Hoi An cheaply and scenically: a shared limousine van is ~£8-10 (3 hrs), or take the train Hue–Da Nang (~£3-5, 2.5 hrs) and then a Grab the last 45 mins (~£8). Motorbike tours over the Hai Van Pass run ~£25-30 if you want the views. Check into a Hoi An guesthouse or hostel in the old town or on Cam Nam island (~£15-20 double, dorms ~£8). In the afternoon walk the Old Town — the combined entry ticket is ~£5 and covers the Japanese Covered Bridge, assembly halls and old merchant houses. Book a lantern-making workshop directly with one of the Old Town craft families or via Klook/GetYourGuide (~£8-12, 1-1.5 hrs). Optional: Hoi An is tailor central — a custom shirt runs £20-35 with 24-48 hr turnaround.

🚌Train Hue–Da Nang (~£4) + Grab to Hoi An (~£8), or shared limousine van (~£9)

🛏Hoi An guesthouse/hostel (~£17)

• →Hoi An Old Town ticket (~£5)
• →Lantern-making workshop (~£10)
• →Optional tailor fitting
• →Evening lantern-lit riverside walk

Replicate the 'Oodles of Noodles' day by booking a Hoi An market-and-cooking class directly — several well-regarded operators (Vy's Market Restaurant, Red Bridge, GRAIN) run 4-5 hour classes with a market tour, noodle-making and lunch for ~£22-30, bookable on GetYourGuide/Klook or by walking in. You'll cover cao lau, white rose dumplings and fresh rice noodles. Afternoon free: cycle to An Bang or Cua Dai beach (~£2 bike hire), or take a £3 Thu Bon river boat trip at sunset. Cheap eats: cao lau ~£1.50, banh mi ~£1.

🚌Bicycle hire (~£2)

🛏Hoi An guesthouse/hostel (~£17)

• →Market tour + noodle cooking class (~£25)
• →An Bang or Cua Dai beach afternoon
• →Optional sunset river boat (~£3)

The operator leaves Day 10 free and so should you. Best value excursion is My Son: a Grab out is ~£12-15 each way, or join a shared sunrise minibus tour with guide and entry for ~£15-20 (Klook/GetYourGuide) — entry alone is ~£5.50. Get there before 8:30am to beat the crowds and heat. Otherwise: cycle the rice paddies of Cam Kim island, do a basket-boat ride in Cam Thanh (~£4-6), or just take a pool-and-beach day. Laundry is ~£2/kg at any shop.

🚌Shared My Son minibus (~£18 incl. entry) or Grab (~£14 each way)

🛏Hoi An guesthouse/hostel (~£17)

• →My Son Hindu temple sanctuary (~£18 with shared tour)
• →Optional Cam Thanh basket boat (~£5)
• →Beach or pool afternoon

Grab to Da Nang airport (~£8, 45 mins), then a budget flight to SGN — VietJet/Bamboo/Vietnam Airlines one-ways are commonly £20-40 booked 2-4 weeks out, with a 20kg bag. From Tan Son Nhat take airport bus 109 or 152 (~£0.60) or a Grab (~£5) to District 1. Budget hotel or hostel ~£15-20. Spend the afternoon on foot: Notre Dame Cathedral exterior, the Central Post Office, City Hall and Nguyen Hue walking street are all free; War Remnants Museum (~£2.20) and Reunification Palace (~£2.20) are astonishingly cheap. A cyclo spin is ~£8 if you want one. Dinner: banh xeo and bun thit nuong in District 3, ~£4.

🚌Grab to Da Nang airport (~£8); one-way flight DAD–SGN (~£30) ; airport bus 109/152 (~£0.60)

🛏District 1 budget hotel or hostel (~£17)

• →War Remnants Museum (~£2.20)
• →Reunification Palace (~£2.20)
• →Post Office / Cathedral / Nguyen Hue walk
• →Optional cyclo tour (~£8)

Cu Chi is easiest as a shared half-day minibus tour with a guide — ~£15-22 on Klook/GetYourGuide including Ben Dinh entry, or go independently by local bus 13 to Cu Chi town then a motorbike taxi (~£4 total) and pay the ~£5 entry; the guided version is better value for the commentary. Morning departure, back in the city by early afternoon. If you want more, several operators bundle Cu Chi with a Mekong Delta day trip for ~£30-35. Evening: rooftop drink on a cheap Bui Vien side street, or the Ben Thanh night market for seafood (~£5-6).

🚌Shared minibus to Cu Chi included in tour (~£0) — or public bus 13 (~£3)

🛏District 1 budget hotel or hostel (~£17)

• →Cu Chi Tunnels guided half-day (~£18)
• →Optional Mekong Delta day trip
• →Ben Thanh night market

Last morning for a £1.50 pho breakfast, a walk through Tao Dan Park, or the free Fine Arts Museum if you skipped it. Airport bus 109/152 from District 1 to Tan Son Nhat costs under £1 and takes 30-45 mins — leave 3 hours before an international flight. If you have a late flight, ask your hotel for luggage storage and use the time for a final banh mi and coffee run.

🚌Airport bus 109/152 (~£0.60)

🛏None (departure day)

• →Tao Dan Park walk
• →Fine Arts Museum (free/cheap)
• →Last banh mi and Vietnamese coffee