So earlier this year, I was lucky enough to head to Vietnam to do a tour with the touring company On The Go Tours. The tour I did was called Very Vietnam, travelling for 10 days from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.
I'm not going to go through the itinerary day by day, but I'm going to give you a rundown of the highlights, so if you are thinking of going, you know what you are likely to see.
Firstly - travelling with a tour company does offer you the security of being with someone you can trust to get you from A to B and also knowing everything is taken care of. Also, if you are from one of those countries that needs a Visa, they can provide a letter for a visa on arrival - again if you qualify.
When you arrive into Hanoi, the city itself is quite pretty, but the highlight from this end of Vietnam would have to be the overnight Junk boat tour through Halong Bay. You get to sail amongst all those rock islands you see pictures of all the time. There's no real noise around (except other boats) and most of the trip you won't have reception on your devices, so you can spend some time disconnected from the world. This boat ride also provided the best nights sleep I had the whole trip and you get to do a cooking class to learn how to make rice paper rolls.
Another Boat on the Bay
The Famous Rock Islands
After returning to Hanoi, you get to do the most interesting experience on the trip, and overnight train ride from Hanoi to Hue, stop for a night, then hop on a bus to head for Hoi-An. Now for those who don't really like the idea of spending the whole night and trying to sleep on a train, you can upgrade to a flight, but the train is an experience in itself.
Street Lanterns
Then you get to spend two wonderful nights relaxing in the historical city Hoi-An. Taking in a cycle ride through the countryside you end up at Tra Que village where they have a large community garden. You can help plant some new plants before getting hands-on making your own lunch.
Tra Que Village Farm
You can also head out for a street eats tour. Running through the street of Hoi-An on the back of a Vespa, you have 5 stops for 5 different courses of your meal, you will be full by the end.
Vespa Tour
After that, you get to cruise the Mekong Delta before heading to Ho Chi Minh city to finish the tour. For those that are interested, you can tack on a tour to the Chu Chi Tunnels to experience some of the history of the Vietnam War.
Mekong Delta
Overall, I had a wonderful time in Vietnam and had a great experience travelling with On The Go Tours. If I had to go to another place I'd never experienced, I will be looking them up to see if they have tours there.
