Vietnam, a thousand miles long and three different climates
Vietnam runs 1,025 miles (1,650 km) from the Chinese border to the mouth of the Mekong, and the weather at one end has nothing to do with the weather at the other. That fact decides more about a tailor-made Vietnam trip than the hotels or the budget do.
Plan my Vietnam trip Read the complete guide
- Best time to go
- Feb to Apr, and Oct to Nov
- How many days
- 12 to 16
- Entry
- E-visa, up to 90 days
- Getting around
- Flights, private car with driver
Every trip we build here is written from scratch by one of four people: our Head of Consulting Mai, our Indochina specialist Tal, our Vietnam specialist Shira, or Noam, who lives in Hanoi and runs our office there.
Why plan Vietnam with us
We are in the country. Our Hanoi office is ours, staffed year round, and it covers Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. That is what turns a cancelled bay cruise or a flooded road into Hoi An into something solved before you hear about it.
A named specialist, not a queue. One person owns your file from the first email until you are home.
The first proposal is free and it is not a template. You see the actual hotels, the actual flight legs, the actual drive times and the reasoning behind the order of the days.
A WhatsApp group while you travel. Your consultant in Tel Aviv and our Hanoi representatives, open from the day you fly until you land home. Our rating is 4.9 from 93 reviews.
The short answers
| Question | Short answer | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Best time to go | Feb to Apr, and Oct to Nov | No month is ideal in all three regions at once. We fit the route to your dates. |
| How many days | 12 to 16 | Ten days means half the country. Eighteen or more opens Ha Giang, Phong Nha or a second country. |
| Entry | E-visa, up to 90 days | Online before you fly, single or multiple entry. Some nationalities are exempt for shorter stays. |
| Getting around | Flights, private car with driver | Two weeks north to south means flying twice. The train is a pleasure on one stretch and a wasted day on the rest. |
| Typical budget | $110 to $450 per person per day | Land only. Hotel standard decides your total. |
The full breakdown is in our complete guide →
Eight ways to travel Vietnam
Every route below is one we build, published day by day. Start from one and we will rebuild it around you.
- Classic Vietnam in 16 days: Hanoi, Lan Ha, Ninh Binh, Hue, Hoi An, the Mekong
- Vietnam with children, 12 days: shorter drives, a beach in the middle
- Ha Giang and the north, 14 days: the border loop and real trekking in Pu Luong
- Romantic Vietnam, 11 days: four hotel changes, a private bay charter, a quiet island
- Food and culture, 13 days: three regional cuisines, a market at 5am
- Boutique Vietnam, 12 days: the hotels genuinely worth their rate
- Vietnam in 14 days, centre and south: second visits, depth over highlights
- Indochina in 21 days: three countries, one office
Vietnam in the magazine
How much does two weeks in Vietnam really cost? · The best time to visit Vietnam, region by region · Halong Bay: which bay, which boat · The Ha Giang loop, honestly · What to eat in Hanoi · The Vietnam e-visa, explained · Sapa or Pu Luong? · A suit made in Hoi An
Vietnam itineraries
Every one of these is a starting point, not a fixed departure. We change the length, the pace and the hotels to fit you.
Classic Vietnam in 16 days: Hanoi to the Mekong
The first-visit route, built north to south so the country unfolds in the order it makes sense in: the old capital, the karst, the…
Vietnam with children: 12 days that work for everyone
Vietnam is one of the easiest countries in Asia to travel with children and one of the easiest to get wrong. The problem is…
Ha Giang and the north: 14 days in the mountains
The far north of Vietnam is the part of the country that has not been smoothed out. Ha Giang province runs along the Chinese…
Romantic Vietnam: 11 slow days for two
Built on the principle that a honeymoon is not a sightseeing trip. Three hotel changes in eleven days, two nights on a bay with…
Vietnam food and culture: 13 days, three kitchens
Vietnamese food is not one cuisine. A bowl of pho in Hanoi is clear, restrained and served with almost nothing on it. The same…
Boutique Vietnam: 12 days, and where the money actually goes
The word boutique is used very loosely in Vietnam. A large number of hotels marketed that way are forty-room business hotels with a good…
Vietnam in 14 days: the centre and the south
Most Vietnam itineraries of 14 days run the whole country and spend two of them in the air. This one does the opposite. It…
Indochina in 21 days: Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
Three countries that share a river, a colonial century and almost nothing else. Vietnam is fast, loud and commercial. Laos is the slowest country…
What is in every Vietnam trip we build
- A day-by-day document with drive times and flight numbers, not just city names
- Hotels chosen by neighbourhood, with the trade-offs written down
- A private air-conditioned car and English-speaking driver on transfer days
- Licensed guides on the days context changes what you see, and independent days where it does not
- Domestic flights with a real baggage allowance, which is not the default on the budget carriers here
- Our Hanoi team on WhatsApp throughout, and a weather plan for the days most likely to be disrupted in your month
Planning Vietnam, in detail
What we would skip in Vietnam, and what we book instead
This article costs us bookings and we publish it anyway. A day you resent is worse for us than a day we…
Walking in northern Vietnam: Pu Luong, the Muong Hoa valley and Ha Giang
Trekking in northern Vietnam is a phrase that oversells what the walking actually is, and undersells how good it is. There are…
Vietnam with children: what works, what does not, and what we change
Vietnam is one of the easiest countries in Asia to travel with children, and family trips here go wrong for one reason…
What does a trip to Vietnam cost?
The honest answer to what a Vietnam trip costs is that food and transport are cheaper than almost anyone expects and accommodation…
Vietnam for the first time: what actually surprises people
Almost everyone plans a first trip to Vietnam as though it were one country with one climate and a train running down…
Northern Vietnam: motorbike, or a car with a driver?
The northern Vietnam motorbike or car question comes up in almost every Ha Giang enquiry we receive, usually phrased as though there…
Frequently asked questions
Do we need a visa for Vietnam?
Is two weeks enough for the whole country?
Is Halong Bay worth it?
What about Sapa?
Can we combine Vietnam with another country?
What if a typhoon or a flood affects our dates?
Tell us roughly what you want. We will tell you honestly what works.
A named consultant in Tel Aviv, our own people on the ground, and a written plan you can argue with before you commit to anything.