Self-Launched Vietnam Hike, Bike & Kayak: Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi

Land at Tan Son Nhat and take a Grab or Vinasun taxi to District 1 (about 120,000-180,000 VND / £4-6). Check into a hostel or budget hotel around Pham Ngu Lao or Bui Vien and spend the evening acclimatising: a bowl of pho at a roadside stall, a wander to Ben Thanh Market and a cold beer on Bui Vien. Book your Cu Chi bike tour and your Da Nang flight tonight — the flight can be bought a day ahead cheaply on Vietnam Airlines, VietJet or Bamboo, but earlier is usually cheaper. Complete Vietnam's online pre-arrival declaration within 3 days of arrival if entering by air at Tan Son Nhat.

🚌Airport taxi/Grab ~£5

🛏Hostel dorm or budget hotel, District 1 (~£10)

• →Self-orientation walk around District 1
• →Ben Thanh Market

Book a self-guided Cu Chi bike trip through a local operator (Klook sells a bike-plus-tunnel day trip from about £28-35, or rent a mountain bike in District 1 for ~£6/day and combine with the ~£5 tunnel entrance). If you prefer to ride independently, take a bus or Grab out to Cu Chi (~1.5 hrs) and cycle the shaded country lanes around the tunnel site, stopping at rice-paper workshops and rubber plantations. In the late afternoon fly from SGN to Da Nang (~£30-45 if booked ahead, more on the day) and take a Grab or shuttle the 30-40 minutes south to Hoi An (~£5).

🚌Bike rental ~£6, flight SGN-DAD ~£38, Grab Da Nang-Hoi An ~£5

🛏Hoi An hostel or guesthouse in the Old Town area (~£9)

• →Cu Chi Tunnels entrance and site visit
• →Countryside cycling

Rent a bicycle from your guesthouse (~£3-4/day) and loop through the rice paddies and vegetable gardens of Tra Que, Cam Kim and the Thu Bon riverbank. In the afternoon take a short noodle-making class — G Adventures supports the Oodles of Noodles project, but you can book an equivalent Hoi An cooking class independently via Klook for ~£14-22 and learn cao lau, white rose dumplings and fresh noodles. Save the late afternoon for the beach (An Bang, 15 minutes by bike) or for Hoi An's famously fast and cheap tailors.

🚌Bicycle rental ~£3

🛏Hoi An hostel or guesthouse (~£9)

• →Village cycling loop (Tra Que, Cam Kim)
• →Cookery/noodle class ~£16
• →Optional An Bang beach afternoon

Ride the legendary Hai Van Pass. The cheapest self-launched option is the local Hoi An-Da Nang bus or a Grab to Da Nang (~£3-5), then a motorbike 'Easy Rider' over the pass to Lang Co and on to Hue (~£18-25 one-way) — you get the views without a support vehicle. Alternatively take a standard public bus or minibus Hoi An to Hue (~£5-7, about 3-4 hrs) and hire a bike in Hue. Check into a guesthouse on the south side of the Perfume River and walk the Imperial Citadel at sunset or cross the Trang Tien Bridge for dinner at Dong Ba Market.

🚌Grab/bus + Easy Rider over Hai Van Pass ~£22 (or bus Hoi An-Hue ~£6)

🛏Hue guesthouse or budget hotel (~£9)

• →Hai Van Pass viewpoint stops
• →Lang Co lagoon
• →Imperial Citadel exterior at sunset

Hire a bicycle (~£3) and ride out to the tomb of Tu Duc (entrance ~£4.50), loop the Citadel's outer walls and the Thien Mu Pagoda, and stop for lunch at a bun bo Hue stall. Return your bike, grab a banh mi and water for the train, then board the Reunification Express sleeper to Hanoi — book a soft-sleeper berth yourself on the official Vietnam Railways site or via a booking agent (~£30-38 for a 4-berth soft sleeper; hard sleeper is ~£20). Departure from Hue is usually early evening, arriving Hanoi around midday the following day.

🚌Bicycle ~£3; Vietnam Railways sleeper train Hue-Hanoi ~£34

🛏Reunification Express soft-sleeper berth (~£34)

• →Tomb of Tu Duc
• →Thien Mu Pagoda
• →Citadel cycling

Arrive Hanoi around midday and take a Grab from the station to your departure point. Book a Mai Chau minibus independently — there are daily services from Hanoi's My Dinh or Giap Bat bus stations (~£7-9, 3.5-4 hrs), and many Mai Chau homestays will arrange a door-to-door pickup for ~£40-45 for a solo traveller or ~£10 each for a group. Once in Mai Chau, walk the valley between Lac, Pom Coong and Van villages, passing rice fields and Thai stilt houses. Settle into a stilt-house homestay with dinner included — these run ~£12-18 per night including a home-cooked Thai meal, much like the G Adventures local living moment.

🚌Minibus Hanoi-Mai Chau ~£8

🛏Thai stilt-house homestay, Mai Chau (~£15 incl. dinner)

• →Valley walk through Pom Coong and Lac villages

Get up early for a half-day hike or the classic full-valley loop to Hang Kia or Xa Linh with a local guide arranged through your homestay (~£15-20 for a half day, or walk solo on marked village tracks for free). After lunch, minibus back to Hanoi (~£8) and check into a hostel in the Hoan Kiem/Old Quarter area. Late afternoon: hire a bicycle or Grab bike for a spin out to West Lake or Long Bien Bridge, then walk the Old Quarter at night — beer corner at Ta Hien, bun cha, and egg coffee.

🚌Minibus Mai Chau-Hanoi ~£8; bike/Grab in Hanoi ~£5

🛏Hanoi hostel in the Old Quarter (~£10)

• →Guided half-day Mai Chau hike ~£17
• →Old Quarter night walk
• →Optional Thang Long Water Puppet show ~£8

Book a Halong Bay or Lan Ha Bay overnight cruise directly — Klook and GetYourGuide list 2-day/1-night junks from about £70-110 per person including transfers from Hanoi, meals, kayaking and Sung Sot or Luon cave visits. Budget 'standard' junks run ~£80; the cheapest independent option is a minibus to Halong City (~£7) plus a day cruise, but the overnight anchor-out is the highlight. Kayak among the limestone karsts in the late afternoon, eat a seafood dinner on deck, and sleep anchored under the stars.

🚌Cruise includes Hanoi-Halong minibus transfers

🛏Traditional junk boat cabin, Halong/Lan Ha Bay (~included in cruise price)

• →Sea kayaking among karsts
• →Sung Sot / Luon cave visit
• →Sunset and seafood dinner on deck

Wake for sunrise over the karsts, do a short kayak or cave stroll, then cruise back to port and take the shuttle to Hanoi, arriving mid-afternoon. Drop your bags at the hostel and spend a final evening in the capital: Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son temple, a walk past the Opera House, or the Hoa Lo Prison museum (~£1). Optional Hanoi street-food tour via GetYourGuide (~£18-25) if you want a guide for the last night, or DIY it down Hang Bac and Ma May.

🚌Included shuttle back to Hanoi

🛏Hanoi hostel in the Old Quarter (~£10)

• →Sunrise kayaking
• →Hoan Kiem Lake and Old Quarter walk
• →Optional street-food tour ~£20

Depart at any time. If your flight is later in the day, squeeze in the Temple of Literature (~£1.50), the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum complex (free, mornings only) or a foodie brunch at a bun cha joint. A Grab to Noi Bai airport takes 45-60 minutes and costs ~£8-10; the public bus 86 runs the same route for ~£1.20.

🚌Grab or bus 86 to Noi Bai airport ~£2-10

🛏—

• →Temple of Literature
• →Ho Chi Minh mausoleum complex