Getting around the East Coast
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Asia & Pacific
Motorbikes, banh mi, limestone bays
Vietnam is the great overland story: Hanoi's motorbike ballet, Ha Long Bay's limestone maze, lantern-lit Hoi An, and the Mekong Delta unwinding into the south, with the world's best coffee and cheapest beer keeping the whole route caffeinated and celebratory.
Do it top to bottom or bottom to top; either way the sleeper buses, street food and highland loops between are half the adventure. Vietnam rewards time, give it two weeks minimum and it'll give you stories for years.
2 ways to do Vietnam, compare length, route and price, then pick your trip.
Vietnam
9 days · 8 nights · Hanoi → Hoi An
4.9 (575 · Trustpilot)
Hanoi street food, an overnight boat on Ha Long Bay, a countryside homestay in Ninh Binh and lantern-lit Hoi An, Vietnam's north condensed into nine days with a group leader running the logistics.
Vietnam
12 days · 11 nights · Hanoi → Ho Chi Minh City
4.9 (575 · Trustpilot)
Top to bottom Vietnam, Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, a Ninh Binh homestay and Hoi An, then south for Mekong Delta village life and the Cu Chi Tunnels out of Ho Chi Minh City. 17 meals and every activity included.
The Halong Bay overnight cruise is the thing you came for. Two thousand limestone karsts rising out of jade-green water, and you're in the middle of it, kayaking into caves, jumping off the top deck, eating fresh seafood as the sun drops behind the rocks. Day trips exist, but skip them. The magic happens after the crowds sail home: squid fishing off the back of the boat, a sky full of stars, breakfast on deck with mist rolling through the karsts. Book a boat with other backpackers on it and the night sorts itself out. It's about four hours east of Hanoi, and most cruises include the transfer.
Hoi An's Old Town is a UNESCO-listed trading port that stopped changing about 200 years ago, mustard-yellow shophouses, the Japanese Covered Bridge, and silk lanterns strung across every alley. Come dusk, the whole place glows and the Thu Bon River fills with candle-lit paper boats. By day, get a suit or dress tailored for a fraction of home prices (allow 24–48 hours for fittings), rent a pushbike and ride through rice paddies to An Bang Beach, or do a cooking class and finally learn what goes in a proper cao lau. Wanderlust's 9-day Vietnam Adventure runs Hanoi to Hoi An for exactly this reason.
From Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta tour is the classic, floating markets at dawn, coconut-candy workshops, and narrow canals you drift down in a sampan under nipa palms. It's a different Vietnam: slow, green, wet, and everyone's got a boat. Also within striking distance of Saigon: the Cu Chi Tunnels, the wartime tunnel network you can actually crawl through (tight, not one for the claustrophobic). Up north, Ninh Binh is Halong Bay with rice fields instead of ocean, two hours from Hanoi, and criminally under-visited. Hire a scooter, climb Hang Mua's 500 steps, and earn the best viewpoint in the country.
Vietnam's nightlife starts at street level. In Hanoi, that means Ta Hien, 'Beer Corner', where you sit on tiny plastic stools drinking bia hoi, fresh-brewed draught beer that costs less than a dollar and gets poured until the keg runs dry. It's the easiest place in Asia to make mates: everyone's crammed knee-to-knee anyway. Down in Saigon, the energy flips, Bui Vien Street is a wall of neon and bass, and the rooftop bars above District 1 serve skyline views over the Bitexco tower. Hoi An sits in the middle: riverside bars, backpacker-run pool parties, and everything winding up by midnight so you can hit the beach hungover.
Vietnam runs three climates at once. The north (Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sapa) is best November to April, cooler and drier. The south (Saigon, Mekong Delta) is warm year-round, with a wet season roughly May to October that mostly means short afternoon downpours. Central Vietnam (Hoi An) shines February to July; heavy rain hits October–November.
Two weeks is the sweet spot to run the classic route: Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hoi An, then Saigon and the Mekong Delta. Wanderlust's 12-day Vietnam Adventure covers Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City; the 9-day version ends in Hoi An. Got a month? Add Sapa, Ninh Binh, Phong Nha's caves and Da Lat.
It's one of the cheapest countries on the South-East Asia trail. Street food bowls of pho run a couple of dollars, dorm beds are often under $10 AUD a night, and bia hoi beer in Hanoi costs less than a dollar. Sleeper buses and trains between cities are cheap too. Budget travellers can comfortably live on $40–60 AUD a day, splurges included.
The Halong Bay overnight cruise. It's the country's signature experience, kayaking between limestone karsts, deck-jumping into green water, and waking up anchored in the bay before the day boats arrive. It's beginner-friendly, all-inclusive, and easy to book from Hanoi. Close seconds: a Hanoi street food crawl and an evening in lantern-lit Hoi An.
Fly into Ho Chi Minh City (Tan Son Nhat) or Hanoi (Noi Bai), both take direct flights from Sydney and Melbourne of around 8–9 hours, and budget carriers connect via Kuala Lumpur, Singapore or Bangkok for less. Most travellers fly into one city and out the other, working the length of the country between them. Check current e-visa requirements before you fly.
One of the best. The backpacker route is well-worn, hostels are social and cheap, and shared experiences, Halong Bay boats, sleeper buses, cooking classes, beer-corner stools, throw you together with other travellers constantly. Joining a small-group tour like Wanderlust's Hanoi-to-Saigon trip gives you an instant crew while keeping free time to roam. Standard solo-travel street smarts apply, especially with traffic.
Time the north for late autumn and you'll catch Sapa's rice terraces glowing gold before harvest; spring brings Hanoi's flower season. The Mekong Delta teems with birdlife year-round, and Cat Tien National Park shelters gibbons and langurs. Tet (Lunar New Year, usually late January or February) is spectacular but chaotic, transport books out, so plan around it.
From Hanoi: Ninh Binh's karsts and rice fields, two hours south, plus the Hang Mua viewpoint. From Saigon: the Mekong Delta's floating markets and the Cu Chi Tunnels. From Hoi An: the My Son Hindu temple ruins and the Hai Van Pass, one of the best coastal motorbike roads anywhere. All are doable in a day with an early start.
Two weeks instead of one? Add a side-trip? We'll build it for free.
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