Self-Launched Vietnam: North to South Explorer
9 days · Vietnam
G Adventures charges £1,600
No-markup version: ~£530 per person
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
A do-it-yourself version of G Adventures' 9-day TailorMade Vietnam: North to South Explorer. Start in Hanoi, overnight on a traditional junk boat in Halong Bay, fly to imperial Hue, ride the Hai Van Pass to lantern-lit Hoi An, then finish in buzzing Ho Chi Minh City with a Cu Chi Tunnels trip. All transport, stays and activities are self-bookable — hostels and budget guesthouses instead of hotels, local buses and Open Tour sleepers/trains instead of private coaches, and GetYourGuide/Klook day tours instead of guided group departures. Estimated at roughly £530 per person vs around £1,600 for the operator version.
Day-by-day
Arrive in Hanoi
Hanoi
Land at Noi Bai Airport and make your own way into the Old Town — a metered Mai Linh taxi costs around 350,000 VND (~£11) or take the No. 86 airport bus for 45,000 VND (~£1.50). Check into a hostel or budget hotel in the Old Town and spend the evening acclimatising: a bowl of bun cha or pho bo for dinner, then a bia hoi corner on Ta Hien Street where draught beer is about 10,000 VND (~£0.30).
🚌Airport bus No. 86 or metered taxi from Noi Bai
🛏Old Town hostel dorm or budget guesthouse (e.g. around Hoan Kiem Lake)
- →Old Town orientation walk
- →Hoan Kiem Lake at dusk
- →Bia hoi corner on Ta Hien Street
- →Street food dinner (bun cha / pho)
Hanoi to Halong Bay — junk boat overnight
Halong Bay
Book a 2-day/1-night Halong Bay cruise in advance on Klook or GetYourGuide (from ~£95 pp including meals, kayaking and transfers) and get picked up from your Hanoi hostel around 8am. Drive to the harbour, board a traditional wooden junk and sail among the limestone karsts of the bay, stopping at caves and floating villages. Kayak through the karst channels in the afternoon, then eat a seafood dinner on deck and watch the stars over the water.
🚌Shared shuttle from Hanoi to Halong Bay (included in cruise package)
🛏En-suite cabin on a traditional junk boat (included in cruise price)
- →Cruise among Halong Bay karsts
- →Kayaking through limestone channels
- →Cave visit
- →Sunset and stargazing on deck
Halong Bay back to Hanoi
Hanoi
Breakfast on board, then a morning sail back to port and shuttle to Hanoi, arriving mid-afternoon. Use the free time to explore on foot: the chaotic lanes of the Old City, the Temple of Literature, and a ca phe trung (egg coffee) at Cafe Giang. In the evening book your onward transport — either the overnight Reunification Express train to Hue (~£25-40 for a soft sleeper) or a cheap domestic flight on VietJet/Bamboo (~£35-50) for the morning.
🚌Shuttle back to Hanoi; overnight train or early flight booked for onward travel
🛏Old Town hostel dorm or budget guesthouse
- →Temple of Literature
- →Old Quarter walking tour
- →Egg coffee at Cafe Giang
- →Dong Xuan Market
Hue — imperial citadel and royal tombs
Hue
Arrive in Hue (overnight train from Hanoi takes about 13 hours; flight about 1h10). Drop bags, then explore the Imperial Citadel and the Forbidden Purple City on foot. In the afternoon join a small-group or self-hired motorbike tour (~£18 via GetYourGuide) out to the royal tombs of Tu Duc and Khai Dinh plus the Thien Mu Pagoda. For dinner, hunt down Hue specialities: banh khoai (savoury pancakes), banh bot loc (rice-paper dumplings) and a cold Hue beer.
🚌Reunification Express soft sleeper from Hanoi (~£25-40) or morning flight from Da Nang/Hanoi; local taxi or Grab around Hue
🛏Guesthouse or hostel in the backpacker quarter south of the Perfume River
- →Imperial Citadel and Forbidden Purple City
- →Thien Mu Pagoda
- →Tu Duc and Khai Dinh royal tombs
- →Hue street food crawl
Hue to Hoi An over the Hai Van Pass
Hoi An
Take the scenic route south. Cheapest is the local bus Hue–Da Nang (~50,000-70,000 VND, ~£2) plus a short bus or Grab to Hoi An. For the classic experience, hire an Easy Rider motorbike or a shared minibus/Open Tour bus (~£8-12) that crosses the Hai Van Pass — weather permitting the views over Lang Co Bay are superb. Arrive in Hoi An in the afternoon, check into a riverside guesthouse or hostel and take a self-guided wander through the lantern-lit Ancient Town (entry ticket ~120,000 VND, ~£4).
🚌Local bus Hue–Da Nang, then bus/Grab to Hoi An; or Easy Rider motorbike over Hai Van Pass
🛏Hoi An guesthouse or hostel near the Ancient Town
- →Hai Van Pass viewpoint
- →Hoi An Ancient Town walking (self-guided)
- →Japanese Covered Bridge
- →Tailor and lantern shops browse
Hoi An — cooking class and free time
Hoi An
Morning noodle-making and Vietnamese cooking class (book via Klook/GetYourGuide, from ~£22, includes market visit and lunch) — the equivalent of the operator's Oodles of Noodles experience. Spend the afternoon however you like: rent a bicycle (~£1.50/day) and ride to An Bang or Cua Dai Beach, get something tailored on a 24-hour turnaround, or take a short taxi out to the My Son Cham ruins (~£8 entry). Sunset boat trip on the Thu Bon River is a nice cheap evening.
🚌Bicycle hire or Grab/taxi for local trips
🛏Hoi An guesthouse or hostel near the Ancient Town
- →Vietnamese cooking and noodle-making class
- →An Bang beach by bicycle
- →My Son ruins (optional)
- →Thu Bon River sunset boat
Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City
Drive or bus to Da Nang (~£3) and fly to Ho Chi Minh City — VietJet/Bamboo/Vietnam Airlines one-ways start around £30-45 if booked a few days ahead. Land at Tan Son Nhat, Grab into District 1 (~£3) and check into a hostel around Pham Ngu Lao or Bui Vien. Spend the late afternoon getting lost in the small alleys: lacquerware and silk shops, noodle stalls, and a first proper bowl of southern pho or com tam.
🚌Bus to Da Nang plus one-way flight to Ho Chi Minh City; Grab from airport
🛏District 1 (Pham Ngu Lao / Bui Vien) hostel dorm or budget hotel
- →District 1 wander
- →Ben Thanh Market area at night
- →Southern street food dinner
Cu Chi Tunnels and Saigon
Ho Chi Minh City
Book a half-day Cu Chi Tunnels tour with hotel pickup and an English-speaking guide on Klook/GetYourGuide (from ~£18, including entry) — you'll crawl through sections of the tunnel network and see the wartime booby traps and hidden entrances. Back in the city, spend the afternoon self-guided: the War Remnants Museum (~£1.30), the Reunification Palace (~£2.50), the Cholon Chinese quarter, and the Thien Hau and Giac Vien pagodas. Finish with a rooftop beer or a bowl of banh mi on the way home.
🚌Shared minibus to Cu Chi (included in day tour); Grab or cyclos within the city
🛏District 1 (Pham Ngu Lao / Bui Vien) hostel dorm or budget hotel
- →Cu Chi Tunnels half-day tour
- →War Remnants Museum
- →Reunification Palace
- →Cholon and Thien Hau Pagoda
- →Ben Thanh Market
Depart Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City
Check out at your own pace. If you have a late flight, squeeze in a final bowl of pho or a Vietnamese coffee, then take a Grab or the No. 109/152 airport bus to Tan Son Nhat and fly home — or roll onwards to the Mekong Delta or Cambodia by Open Tour bus.
🚌Grab or public bus to Tan Son Nhat Airport
🛏—
- →Last-minute souvenir shopping
- →Departure
Self-launched vs. G Adventures
| This itinerary (self-launched) | G Adventures | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per person | ~£530 | £1,600 |
| Duration | 9 days | 9 days |
| Who books it | You and your group, direct | Tour operator, guided group |
| Savings | £1,070 per person (67%) | |
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
Want to see more G Adventures-style trips? Check them out here.~£530
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 Self-Launched Vietnam: North to South Explorer cost?+
Doing it yourself with this self-launched itinerary costs an estimated £530 per person for 9 days in Vietnam. 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 G Adventures?+
Yes — G Adventures charges around £1,600 per person for a similar tour. Doing the same route independently, using the same standard of accommodation and activities, costs an estimated £530 — a saving of roughly £1,070 (67%) per person.
How long is the Vietnam trip?+
This itinerary runs 9 days, covering 9 day-by-day stops through Vietnam.
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, budget, backpacker trip through Vietnam, 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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