The Path Least Trodden

(Tour code: Adventure - 06)

Fifteen-day Vietnam tours taking you to seldom-visited areas. Exotic holidays off the beaten track - unusual holidays for seasoned travellers

This is an example of one of our tailor-made Vietnam exotic holidays - we'll be pleased to design a similar Vietnam vacation with dates and itinerary customised to your personal preferences.

Highlights: Our Vietnam tours in remote areas offer unusual vacations for experienced travellers who prefer authentic experiences. Travel to Vietnam to explore two large areas where tourists are still a rarity, the scenery outstanding, and the culture authentic. Finish off with a couple of days on a pristine archipelago - a Vietnam vacation to remember!

Your unusual holiday begins with......
…………your arrival in Hanoi, a ‘Welcome’ dinner , a performance of Vietnam’s famous ‘Water Puppets’ and a night in the capital city.

Meals: one dinner
Guide: pick-up from airport

Four days in Pu Luong
About 160km south-west of Hanoi is Mai Chau, a popular Thai ethnic minority village. It’s easy to reach and thus commercialised – it’ll be your entrance to Pu Luong, a thickly forested valley between limestone ‘karst’ hills and mountains. A sampan takes you down the river away from the tourists. From there on, it’s hiking to visit small ethnic minority hamlets and enjoying fresh air, splendid scenery and stunning views.

This isn’t a tour for ‘softies’. It involves saying goodbye to the usual accommodation facilities for a while (al fresco bathrooms - a bucket of cold water and a hole in the ground - is more like the norm). The compensation is sleeping in simple ‘homestays’ and, most importantly, meeting some of the most welcoming people you’ve ever come across.

On the fourth day, you emerge at the lower end of the valley and a modicum of civilisation via Thanh Hoa, where you’ll see the Mong peoples’ spectacular waterwheels and a shoal of remarkably friendly fish. From there, it’s a night in Hanoi to recharge your comfort batteries.

Meals: four breakfasts, four lunches and three dinners
Guide: all the way!

Six days in the Central Highlands
A domestic flight drops you in a completely different environment on the vast plateaux close to the Cambodia border. This is a land of red volcanic soil, ancient forests, lakes and waterfalls combined with coffee, tea and rubber plantations and a rich variety of ethnic minority groups that make up half the population.

Pleiku, Kon Tum and Buon Ma Thuot – strange names, fascinating places! Sky-high Bahnar ‘rong’ houses, Jarai funeral houses adorned with carved wood statues (often humorous, sometimes obscene!). A riot of ethnic culture, sleeping in ‘long’, ‘stilt’ and ‘rong’ houses, new foods to try, and plenty of rice wine!

There’s plenty to see and do apart from sightseeing and hiking (gentle, this time). Rafting down a river (gentle. not white water), crossing a lake in a dugout canoe, an elephant ride and included and more besides.

On the fifth day, you’ll fly to Ho Chi Minh City for a night in a proper bed and an international breakfast if you feel like it.

Meals: six breakfasts and five lunches
Guide: all the way!

Two days on Con Dao
Strictly speaking, it should be Con Son, the largest island of an archipelago about a 140km off the coast in the South China Sea. It’s one of Vietnam’s least developed destinations – only a couple of hotels – the Suite in the best one just about merits Superior standard. What you get is an unspoilt land and marine environment with dense forest, coral reefs and a wide range of fauna, particularly aquatic species.

Con Dao is infamous as a prison island. The large detention complex is now a museum, well worth a look.

As little English is spoken on the island, we’ve included the services of a local guide.

Meals: two breakfasts and two lunches
Guide: all the way!

Departure day - back to the real world!

Meals: one breakfast
Guide: not necessary

Interested? Do you like the tour as it, or would you prefer tailor-made? Use our enquiry form for information and a full itinerary sent to you in 24hrs