Vietnam South to North: 12 Days Self-Launched (Saigon to Hanoi)
12 days · Vietnam
Legend Travel Group charges £925
No-markup version: ~£545 per person
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
A self-launched version of Legend Travel Group's 12-day fully guided Saigon-to-Hanoi tour, rebuilt for independent travellers. Same south-to-north arc — Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta at My Tho, Hoi An and My Son, imperial Hue, Hanoi and an overnight Halong Bay cruise — but using hostel/guesthouse beds, sleeper trains and budget flights, self-bookable day tours and street food instead of hotel restaurants. Roughly £13/day accommodation and £10/day food keeps the whole trip around £750 all-in versus £925+ for the guided version (before international flights). Costs are approximate backpacker rates and will flex with season and how much comfort you want.
Day-by-day
Arrive in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)
Ho Chi Minh City
Land at Tan Son Nhat and take a Grab bike or car (about £2-4) or the public bus 109/152 (about £0.50) into District 1. Check into a hostel dorm or private room in the Pham Ngu Lao / Bui Vien backpacker zone. Spend the late afternoon wandering the Notre Dame Cathedral and Central Post Office exterior, then the Reunification Palace gardens area, and finish with a walking street-food crawl: banh mi, bun thit nuong and a bia hoi on the corner. Book tomorrow's Cu Chi Tunnels half-day tour online tonight (GetYourGuide or Klook, £12-18 including entry).
🚌Grab bike/car from airport ~£3, or local bus 109 ~£0.50
🛏Hostel dorm or budget guesthouse, District 1 (approx £8-14)
- →Walk Notre Dame Cathedral and Central Post Office exteriors
- →Saigon street-food walk
- →Book Cu Chi Tunnels half-day tour online
Cu Chi Tunnels and city landmarks
Ho Chi Minh City
Morning pickup for a small-group Cu Chi Tunnels tour — crawl sections of the tunnels, see the trap displays and try the tapioca and tea that sustained fighters during the war. Tours return around 13:30. Afternoon: pay your own entry (about £1.50 each) to the War Remnants Museum and Reunification Palace, which the guided tour does by coach with a guide. Evening in District 4 for cheap seafood hotpot with other travellers from the hostel.
🚌Tour minibus included; walking/Grab locally
🛏Hostel dorm or budget guesthouse, District 1 (approx £8-14)
- →Cu Chi Tunnels small-group tour
- →War Remnants Museum
- →Reunification Palace
- →District 4 seafood dinner
Mekong Delta day trip via My Tho
My Tho / Ben Tre
Take a bookable Mekong Delta small-group day trip from Saigon (GetYourGuide/Klook, £15-25) heading to My Tho, where you board a sampan along the river, visit coconut-candy and honey workshops on the islands, take a rowboat through the canals and stop at Vinh Trang Pagoda. Alternatively, do it independently: local bus from Mien Tay station to My Tho (about £1.50, 2 hours), then hire a boatman at the pier for roughly £12-15 for two hours. Back in Saigon for the evening.
🚌Day-trip minibus included, or local bus to My Tho ~£1.50 each way
🛏Hostel dorm or budget guesthouse, District 1 (approx £8-14)
- →Mekong Delta boat trip and canal rowboat
- →Vinh Trang Pagoda
- →Coconut candy and honey workshops
Fly to Da Nang and transfer to Hoi An
Hoi An
Fly VietJet or Bamboo from Tan Son Nhat to Da Nang (book 2-4 weeks ahead, £25-45 one way, 1hr 20m) — this replaces the operator's $399 internal airfare bundle. From Da Nang airport take a Grab (about £7-9) or the local bus to Hoi An (about £1, 1 hour). Afternoon in the Ancient Town: buy the combined old-town ticket (about £4) covering the Japanese Covered Bridge and merchant houses, then rent a bike and follow the river out to the rice paddies. Lights on the lantern-lit streets at dusk are free.
🚌Domestic flight Saigon-Da Nang ~£30-45; Grab to Hoi An ~£8
🛏Hoi An budget guesthouse or hostel, Ancient Town edge (approx £10-16)
- →Fly Saigon to Da Nang
- →Hoi An Ancient Town combined ticket
- →Bicycle ride through rice paddies
- →Lantern-lit evening streets
My Son Sanctuary and Hoi An tailoring
Hoi An
Book a My Son Sanctuary sunrise small-group tour (about £18-25, including entry) — leaving at 05:30 beats the crowds and heat at the Cham temple ruins. Alternatively hire a scooter or take a Grab out (about £8 each way) and pay the £4 entry yourself. Back by lunchtime: get something tailor-made (allow £25-60 for a shirt or dress, 24-hour turnaround), pick up lanterns at the night market and eat cao lau and white rose dumplings by the river.
🚌Tour minibus or Grab/scooter hire ~£6
🛏Hoi An budget guesthouse or hostel (approx £10-16)
- →My Son Sanctuary sunrise tour
- →Hoi An tailor fitting
- →Cao lau and white rose dumplings
- →Night market lantern shopping
Hoi An to Hue via the Hai Van Pass
Hue
Take a public bus from Hoi An to Hue (about £5, 3-4 hours) or split the journey: local bus to Da Nang, then the train over the Hai Van Pass to Hue (about £4, one of Asia's great short rail rides). If you want the scenic road stop, book an open-tour minibus (about £10-12) that halts at the Hai Van Pass viewpoint and Lang Co Beach. Add the Marble Mountains at Ngu Hanh Son in Da Nang (entry ~£2) if you go by road. Evening walk along the Perfume River.
🚌Bus or train Hoi An/Da Nang-Hue ~£5-12
🛏Hue budget hotel/guesthouse, backpacker area (approx £9-15)
- →Train over the Hai Van Pass
- →Lang Co Beach viewpoint
- →Optional Marble Mountains
- →Perfume River evening walk
Imperial Hue: citadel, tombs and pagoda
Hue
Rent a bicycle or scooter (about £4-6) and do Hue independently: Imperial Citadel and Purple Forbidden City entry costs about £6, Thien Mu Pagoda is free, and the Khai Dinh and Tu Duc mausoleums are about £4 each. Combine with Thuy Xuan incense-making village on the road to Khai Dinh, and finish at Dong Ba market for bun bo hue. A cheaper alternative is a group motorbike tour of the tombs for around £15. Riverside bar in the evening.
🚌Bicycle/scooter hire ~£5
🛏Hue budget hotel/guesthouse (approx £9-15)
- →Imperial Citadel and Purple Forbidden City
- →Thien Mu Pagoda
- →Khai Dinh and Tu Duc mausoleums
- →Thuy Xuan incense village
- →Dong Ba market
Sleeper train Hue to Hanoi
Hue to Hanoi
Slow day in Hue: coffee overlooking the Perfume River and a last wander of the old town. In the late afternoon board the Reunification Express overnight train to Hanoi — a soft-sleeper berth is about £25-35 and takes roughly 13-14 hours, arriving mid-morning. Book on the Vietnam Railways site or via a local agent; hard-sleeper 6-berth is a cheaper £16-20 and a good way to meet Vietnamese families. Alternatively fly from Phu Bai (about £30-40, 1hr 20m).
🚌Reunification Express sleeper Hue-Hanoi ~£25-35
🛏Sleeper train berth (soft-sleeper approx £25-35)
- →Riverside coffee in Hue
- →Overnight Reunification Express train
Hanoi: Ho Chi Minh complex and Old Quarter
Hanoi
Arrive and drop bags at a hostel in the Old Quarter (about £9-15). Do the sights on foot and by Grab: the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (free, mornings only, closed Mon/Fri), One Pillar Pagoda and Tran Quoc Pagoda are all close together; Temple of Literature entry is about £1.50, Hoa Lo Prison about £1.50, and the Museum of Ethnology about £2. Join a free walking tour (tip-based, ~£5) or a £15 street-food tour in the evening — bun cha, egg coffee and beer corner.
🚌Grab rides and walking ~£4
🛏Hanoi Old Quarter hostel/guesthouse (approx £9-15)
- →Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and One Pillar Pagoda
- →Tran Quoc Pagoda
- →Temple of Literature
- →Hoa Lo Prison
- →Old Quarter street-food tour
Halong Bay overnight cruise
Halong Bay / Lan Ha Bay
Book a budget overnight Halong or Lan Ha Bay cruise directly or via Klook/GetYourGuide (about £65-95 per person for a mid-range junk including bus transfer from Hanoi, all meals, kayaking and cave visit — cheaper than the operator's upgraded boats). Pickup around 08:00, board at midday, kayak or swim in the afternoon, visit a limestone cave, and eat a seafood dinner on deck under the karsts.
🚌Shuttle bus Hanoi-Halong included in cruise ~£0; 3.5hrs each way
🛏Overnight on a budget/mid-range junk boat, twin share (included in cruise price)
- →Halong/Lan Ha Bay overnight cruise
- →Kayaking and swimming
- →Limestone cave visit
- →Sunset on deck
Sunrise on the bay, back to Hanoi
Halong Bay to Hanoi
Wake early for tai chi on the top deck and sunrise over the karsts, then cruise past floating fishing villages with breakfast and lunch on board before docking early afternoon. Shuttle bus back to Hanoi (arrive around 16:30-17:30). Evening free in the Old Quarter: beer corner bia hoi at about 50p a glass, night market on the weekend, and a final bowl of pho.
🚌Shuttle bus back to Hanoi included in cruise; walking locally
🛏Hanoi Old Quarter hostel/guesthouse (approx £9-15)
- →Sunrise and tai chi on deck
- →Floating fishing village
- →Old Quarter beer corner and night market
Depart Hanoi
Hanoi
Last egg coffee and a walk around Hoan Kiem Lake, then get to Noi Bai airport. The local bus 86 costs about £1 and takes 45-60 minutes; a Grab is about £10-12. Allow 2.5 hours before an international flight.
🚌Bus 86 to Noi Bai ~£1, or Grab ~£11
🛏—
- →Hoan Kiem Lake walk
- →Egg coffee
Self-launched vs. Legend Travel Group
| This itinerary (self-launched) | Legend Travel Group | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per person | ~£545 | £925 |
| Duration | 12 days | 12 days |
| Who books it | You and your group, direct | Tour operator, guided group |
| Savings | £380 per person (41%) | |
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.~£545
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 Vietnam South to North: 12 Days Self-Launched (Saigon to Hanoi) cost?+
Doing it yourself with this self-launched itinerary costs an estimated £545 per person for 12 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 Legend Travel Group?+
Yes — Legend Travel Group charges around £925 per person for a similar tour. Doing the same route independently, using the same standard of accommodation and activities, costs an estimated £545 — a saving of roughly £380 (41%) per person.
How long is the Vietnam trip?+
This itinerary runs 12 days, covering 12 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, foodie, budget 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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