The spectacular valleys and mountains of Vietnam were simply made for active exploration. On this 11-day adventure, you’ll put on your hiking shoes and get ready for an immersive journey that gets away from the bright lights of Hanoi and under the skin of Vietnam's bucolic countryside. In between trekking and cycling through lush landscapes, you’ll stop in at local villages and learn about traditional life, spending the night in rural homestays. After cycling through the valleys of Mai Chau and Ninh Binh and getting your heart rate up on Sapa’s hiking trails, you’ll head to UNESCO World Heritage-listed Cat Ba Island and kayak across the turquoise waters of Lan Ha Bay. Spend a night in a waterside resort in the bay and make the most of every sunset, before heading back to Hanoi and indulging in street food.
  • Gain a greater insight into life in northern Vietnam with an itinerary that explores not just Hanoi but also heads out into the countryside
  • Hike through the picturesque valleys surrounding Sapa and visit local communities
  • Cycle out to Mai Chau and on through the stunning karst landscapes to Ninh Binh
  • Kayak around karsts and explore the secluded lagoons and caves of Lan Ha Bay - the lesser visited but just as beautiful sister of Halong Bay
  • By travelling on this trip, you’ll directly support our Intrepid Foundation partner, World Bicycle Relief. Donations provide school kids, health workers, and farmers in far-out areas with bicycles that provide access to education, healthcare, and income.
  • Kayak around limestone karsts and explore the secluded lagoons and caves of Lan Ha Bay – the lesser visited but just as beautiful sister of UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ha Long Bay.
  • Hike through the picturesque valleys surrounding Sapa and visit local communities on a full-day active adventure – the best way to get to know a place is on two feet, after all!
  • Cycle out to Mai Chau and on through the world-renowned karst landscapes to Ninh Binh. This area is known for its lush valleys and natural beauty.
  • Explore Hanoi with ample free time to indulge in street food, get to know the locals at streetside eateries and hunt down one of the famed Vietnamese iced coffees.
  • Spend some time in homestays, relaxing after full day cycling and hiking trips with traditional home-cooked meals and time to soak up the sunset form a hammock – this is the best chance to get to know the locals!
  • The style of accommodation indicated in the day-to-day itinerary is a guideline only and may change. On some occasions, alternative arrangements may need to be made due to the lack of availability of rooms in our preferred accommodation. In these cases, we will use a similar standard of accommodation.
  • Throughout the trip, we request that our properties prepare rooms in time for our arrival, especially if we're arriving prior to normal check-in time. However, this isn't always possible which means we won't be able to check-in immediately on arrival at some hotels. Instead, we can store our luggage and explore our new destination or on some trips, have use of shared day rooms until all rooms are available.
  • WINDOWLESS ROOMS:
  • Some hotels in South East Asia have windowless rooms, or windows that don't necessarily have a view. This is often due to high population density in large cities, however local building standards also do not require rooms to have windows. We do request rooms with windows, however they aren't always available.