This journey is real. Yours will be your own version of it.
Ten days, the full length of Vietnam, and three flights so that none of it is spent on a bus.
The country changes shape as you go. Hanoi is dense, old and loud, best seen from the back of an open jeep before it is walked. Ha Long Bay is the opposite: a night at anchor among limestone towers, kayaking into a lagoon at seven in the morning while the mist is still on the water. The central coast splits between Hoi An, a fifteenth-century trading port small enough to walk end to end and best after the lanterns come on, and Ba Na Hills above Da Nang, where the cable car climbs through cloud forest to the Golden Bridge.
Then south. Phu Quoc for two days of white sand, coral and a cable car that runs eight kilometres out over the sea. And finally Saigon, where the war is still legible underground at Cu Chi and the Mekong begins an hour and a half from the centre.
At a glance · this journey as it runs
Duration
10 days, 9 nightsDeparts any day, year round
Destinations
6 stops, 7 spotsHanoi, Ha Long Bay, Da Nang, Hue & Hoi An, Phu Quoc, Ho Chi Minh City
Tour pace
Medium
Physical rating
Easy
Getting around
Private van, Domestic flight + 3 domestic flightsCan be reworked overland if you would rather not fly
Best season
February to April
Indicative from
From USD 1,450 per person
Route
Ten days and the whole country, with three short flights doing the distance so the road days stay short. It opens in Hanoi, dense and old, then out east to Ha Long Bay for a night at anchor among 1,969 limestone islands. It flies to the central coast for Hoi An's ancient town and the cable car up to Ba Na Hills, where the Golden Bridge sits in a pair of stone hands above the cloud line. It flies again to Phu Quoc, in the Gulf of Thailand, for two days of beach, reef and the longest over-sea cable car in the world. And it lands in Saigon, with the Cu Chi tunnels one afternoon and the Mekong the next. Five bases, four very different climates, and no day that needs more than a couple of hours in a vehicle.
About this trip
This 10-day itinerary is built for travelers who want the full picture of Vietnam without spending months planning it. You move from Hanoi's vintage streets to Halong Bay's limestone karsts, down to Da Nang's coastline, across to Phu Quoc's beaches and safari, and finish in the non-stop energy of Ho Chi Minh City. All domestic flights, guided tours, hotels, and airport transfers are handled - you arrive, we take care of the rest.
The journey, day by day
Written out the way it runs, so nothing is left to your imagination. Read it, note the days you would keep and the ones you would skip, and a local expert reshapes the rest around you.
Late morning | Arrival at Noi Bai International Airport. Your guide meets you and transfers you to the Old Quarter, 45km and 40 to 50 minutes
13:00 | Check-in and time to settle
14:30 | The jeep - An open-air vintage jeep collects you from the hotel and works through the Old Quarter's 36 guild streets, each still named for the trade once worked on it
15:15 | Ba Dinh Square and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, seen from outside. The mausoleum closes Mondays and Fridays, opens mornings only, and shuts for annual maintenance in autumn, so it is not built into a fixed schedule. Vietnam Express Tour arranges the interior visit separately when dates allow
16:15 | Tran Quoc Pagoda - On a promontory in West Lake, founded in the sixth century and the oldest pagoda in Hanoi
17:15 | A stop for a cold drink and local snacks to close the route
18:00 | Return to the hotel. Evening free in the Old Quarter
What this journey includes
•Accommodation for all nights mentioned on tour
•Breakfast for all days in Hotel
•Lunch & Dinner mentioned on tour
•Entrance tickets, domestic flight - Vietnam Airlines & transportation mentioned on tour
•Tips for waiters and drivers
•Personal expenses and souvenirs
•Additional food & drinks beyond the included tastings
•International Flights
This covers the journey as written above. Once your version is set, your local expert confirms in writing exactly what sits inside your quote and what does not, before anything is agreed.
Is this journey a good starting point for you?
The honest version
Two of the ten days end with a lantern on the Hoai River and a night at anchor on Ha Long Bay. Those are the two evenings people describe afterwards, and both are built into the schedule rather than sold as extras.
A good starting point if you are
•Travellers who want to see all of Vietnam once and see the headline sights properly. Everything is private, the flights are included, and the route alternates cities with beaches rather than stacking them. It suits first-time visitors, families with older children, and anyone with two weeks who does not want to plan five separate trips.
Say so early if you
•This one covers ground. Five bases in ten days means repacking every couple of days and three airport mornings. Several days are built around large commercial attractions rather than quiet places. Travellers who want depth in one region, or who would rather unpack once, will get more from a single-region itinerary and Vietnam Express Tour is glad to build one.
The next step asks for real detail. Your dates, who is travelling, how you like to move, what you would change about this route. It takes a few minutes to fill in, because a local expert writes your itinerary from those answers rather than sending you a file. Nothing is booked or charged at this stage.
Before you get in touch
Travel Budget Planner
•This is the price for the journey as written, not a quote for your trip.
•A local expert customises the detail with you. Hotels, cruise, pace and inclusions are decided in that conversation, and the final price follows from it.
•Rates move with the season, with availability and with how far ahead you travel. Treat the number above as a guide.
•Child pricing depends on age and height and is confirmed case by case.
Cancellation policy
•Non-refundable
•Tickets can be kept on hold and rescheduled within 365 days
•Date changes subject to airline regulations and may incur additional fees
•Hotel and cruise cancellations follow each property's own policy
•Free cancellation up to 2 days before departure
•50% fee before 6:00 PM the day prior
•100% fee after 6:00 PM the day prior
•Free cancellation up to 7 days before departure
•50% fee within 4 to 7 days before departure
•100% fee within 3 days of departure
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