I spent 4 weeks in Vietnam during February of 2017 . I took the south route, Hanoi to Saigon and during this time I took part in three tours.
This blog post will be brief but I’ll include the tours I took part in and some photos from my time there.
1 – A 3 day / 2 night tour with VBH to Mai Chau Valley
2 – A 3 day / 2 night your with VHB called Castaways to Ha Long Bay
Our whole group had such an epic fun time that we didn’t want to leave so we all extended for another night for just $50 usd.
If you’re up for a party then you’ll love this tour. If you want a chill relaxing time, it’s definitely not for you.
3 – Buffalo Run tour with VBH
I think they have changed the options for this tour since I’ve done it. They used to offer both Hanoi to Saigon and Hanoi to Hoi An. I took part in the Hanoi to Saigon 2 week tour but to be honest, I would only recommend the first half of the tour , the Hanoi To Hoi An section. This was by far the best value for money and jam-packed with fun activities plus delicious meals.
The only offer the Hanoi to Hoi An tour on their website now it seems, which is great . The northern part of Vietnam has so much to see and do and the tour incorporates all the best things.
From Hoi An south, Nirvanha hostel and Dalat were two of my favorite spots. In particular, abseiling down the waterfalls in Dalat which was one of the best thing I did while in Vietnam.
I don’t usually do set tours but for this particular trip, I felt like hopping on a hassle free tour which had meals, accommodation, activities and friends all included. Out of ten, I’d give the tour a 8/10. It was well organized and reasonably priced (although for Vietnam standards you would definitely spend a lot less doing it on your own). I think it was great value and would highly recommend the Buffalo Run tour to anyone looking to get off the beaten track and have an awesome time exploring northern Vietnam. Special mention to our guide Ricky to really made the trip that extra special. He was so knowledgeable about the history of Vietnam and happily and confidently answered any questions the group had for him. One of the main reasons I wanted to do a tour was for the knowledge I knew a guide could offer me. I was particularly interested in learning more about the Vietnam/American war. If you do this tour and get Ricky as your guide, I can guarantee you’ll have a great time.
Extra expenses on tour are low as most meals (two a day are included and then you go out do dinner and share the cost at night. Ricky took us to some great places for dinner and it only cost us approx $3-7 each meal) , activities and accommodation is included. Alcohol is extra but it’s also ridiculously cheap, you can get a beer for 50 cents at local bars or around $1-2 at tourist bars. One night I got a 2 espresso martinis for $3 and I was over the moon, in Australia they are pricey.. and I really love a good espresso martini!
The biggest spending day was Hoi An. Oh Hoi An.. all the lanterns, all the shops, all the tailors, all the opportunities to spent money, and that I did. In hindsight I really wish I didn’t get tailor made dresses done, I loved the idea of getting them custom made at time, but now I have these 3 fancy dresses I won’t be wearing anyyyy time soon. Although they are really fast at making them, I felt rushed as we only had 24 hours to get them made and they still just don’t fit right. Im pretty undeceive when shopping and like to try clothes on first before buying, I just don’t think getting custom made dresses is for me yet , lol. I did however get two custom designed leather bags done which I adore , and they were so cheap!! It’s sometimes hard to find the perfect bag but now I have two perfect travel bags. Yay!
More to come. Here’s some snaps for now.
