Vietnam runs more than a thousand miles from the Chinese border to the delta, and the point of two weeks is to feel that distance rather than skip it. You start in the northern mountains, come down through the capital and the bay, cross into the old imperial centre, and finish where the Mekong splits into nine mouths.
The rhythm is deliberate: two nights or more in most places, one long transfer every third day, two internal flights so no road day swallows an afternoon. The walking days above Sapa and the village homestay are the only demanding part, and we swap in slower days if that does not suit.
Day by day
Day 1
You land at Noi Bai, meet your driver and transfer into Hanoi. The rest of the day is left open on purpose, because most long-haul arrivals need it. Your guide calls at the hotel in the evening to run through the fortnight ahead. Overnight in Hanoi.
Day 2
A day trip to Ninh Binh, two hours south. Hoa Lu was the seat of two early dynasties and its surviving temples sit in a bowl of rock. After lunch a rowing boat carries you through flooded fields and low caves, the oars worked by foot. Overnight in Hanoi.
Day 3
The capital on foot. Morning covers the Temple of Literature, the mausoleum quarter and the Old Quarter streets, each named after a guild. Late afternoon turns into an eating walk: noodles, grilled pork, a glass of draught beer on a pavement stool. Overnight in Hanoi.
Day 4
North-west to Sapa by limousine minibus, five to six hours through paddy country and low hills. You arrive in the afternoon and walk to the edge of town, where the valley falls away in terraces towards Muong Hoa. Dinner is yours to choose. Overnight in Sapa.
Day 5
A full walking day down the valley, ten to twelve kilometres. The path drops through Y Linh Ho, crosses farmland to Lao Chai and follows the river to Ta Van. Lunch is in a village house, and the night is a homestay with dinner cooked over wood. Overnight in Ta Van.
Day 6
A shorter walk to Giang Ta Chai, with its bamboo forest and waterfall, then up to Su Pan where the vehicle waits. Lunch follows, and the afternoon goes on the road back to Hanoi. Your main luggage has waited at the hotel. Overnight in Hanoi.
Day 7
East to the coast, about two and a half hours, and aboard in Halong Bay before lunch. The afternoon runs to a cave, a swim off the back deck if the season allows, and a kayak among the towers. Dinner and the night are both on board, at anchor.
Day 8
Breakfast on deck, a last hour on the water, back at the pier by late morning. The road returns you to Hanoi in time to fly to Da Nang, then forty-five minutes along the coast. Cars cannot enter the old town. Overnight in Hoi An.
Day 9
A day around Hoi An by bicycle and boat: the vegetable gardens at Tra Que, a basket boat in the water coconut palms, the fishing families who work the river. Lunch is local. The afternoon is yours for the old streets and the tailors. Overnight in Hoi An.
Day 10
North to Hue by road, three to four hours. The good version crosses the Hai Van pass rather than the tunnel, with a stop at the old gate on the ridge and a view back along the coast. Lang Co lagoon follows. You arrive mid-afternoon. Overnight in Hue.
Day 11
The Nguyen capital in half a day: the citadel and the walled palace inside it, then a boat on the Perfume River to the Thien Mu pagoda and a royal tomb among pines. The afternoon flight south takes ninety minutes. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 12
Out to Cu Chi, ninety minutes north-west, where farmland was dug into a war of tunnels. You see trap doors, smoke vents and a short crawl through a widened section, which is optional and genuinely tight. The afternoon is free. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 13
A day in the Mekong Delta. The car runs south for two hours, then boats take over: the main channel, a side creek under nipa palms, orchards and workshops on the banks. Lunch is by the water, and the tide decides the rest. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 14
Breakfast, then time according to your flight. A late departure leaves room for the Reunification Palace or the war remnants museum, both of which stand near the hotels we use. Bags stay at reception until the driver collects you for the run out to the airport.
What the price covers
- Thirteen nights: eleven hotels, a village homestay at Ta Van, a cabin on Halong Bay
- Two internal flights, Hanoi to Da Nang and Hue to Ho Chi Minh City
- Car and driver for the whole route, plus the minibus seat to Sapa
- Regional guides in English, and a village guide for the two walking days
- Breakfast daily, with the lunches and dinners marked day by day
- Admission to the temples, tombs, tunnels and museums listed
- Rowing boat in Ninh Binh, the cruise fare, the river trip at Hoi An, the delta sampan
- Bottled water in the car and on the walking days
- A number in our Hanoi office answered at any hour
Not included
- Your flights in and out of the country
- Entry visa, however your nationality obtains it
- Insurance, which nobody walks the Sapa valley without
- Drinks and any meal not marked above
- Tips, laundry, tailoring in Hoi An, personal spending
- Sole occupancy supplement for anyone not sharing
Good to know
You need reasonable fitness for days five and six, several hours of walking on earth paths that turn slippery after rain. Everything else asks only for comfortable shoes. The country has no single season: the north is cold and damp from December to February, the centre floods in autumn, the south stays warm.
- Sapa sits high and is often in cloud. Bring a warm layer even in summer.
- The homestay is basic by design. We book a small hotel in Ta Van instead if you prefer.
- Hai Van pass closes in heavy weather; the tunnel is used instead.
- Internal flights shift at short notice. We watch them and redraw the day when they do.
- Hoi An stands low on its river and goes under water for a few days in most autumn seasons.
Plan this trip
- Days
- 14
Sending this does not charge you. We hold the space and confirm within 24 hours.
Give us your dates and party size and the quote comes back in writing, with the fortnight set out day by day.