The most popular route through Vietnam is along the coastal highway between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Many of the tourist hotspots are along this route, and those that are not are often easy to reach if you use one of the major cities as a base. Vietnam is a friendly and accessible country with a huge range of activities set among some of the … [Read more...]
Visiting the Phong Nha Caves
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003, Phong Nha should be on everyone's Vietnam itinerary. Located about 500 km south of Hanoi on the road to Hue, this complex system of over 300 caves and grottoes makes a great landscape for adventure and exploration. In 2009, Phong Nha gained fame thanks to a survey that proved one of its caves - Son Doong - … [Read more...]
What to Expect from the Sapa Trek and Homestay
Before setting off on the Sapa trek and homestay organised by Vietnam Backpacker Hostels, I was really apprehensive. I’d had to postpone it twice - once because of a serious cold that kept me in bed for almost a week, and once because I managed to cut the sole of my foot open after capsizing a kayak in Halong Bay. It seemed like the universe was … [Read more...]
A Day Tour to Tam Coc
Tam Coc literally translates to 'three caves' and is also known as the Halong Bay on land. It's perhaps for this reason that visitors often overlook it. While Halong Bay may well have been listed as one of the 'seven wonders of nature', Tam Coc is arguably more photogenic and less packed with tourists. For just US$35, Day Tours Hanoi offers a … [Read more...]
Castaway on Halong Bay With Vietnam Backpacker Hostels
Halong Bay is famous for its limestone cliffs, emerald water, isolated beaches, quaint fishing villages and jungle hikes. Halong literally translates to 'where the dragon descends into the sea', as legend has it that the landscape was created when a mountain dragon charged through the region gouging out earth with its tail before plunging into the … [Read more...]
Activities in the Mai Chau Valley
Hanoi has long been a traveller’s mecca thanks to its proximity to the world-famous limestone cliffs of Halong Bay. Travellers also flock there to hike the mountainous rice terraces surrounding Sapa in the north. More recently, a beautiful valley southwest of Hanoi has been gaining popularity and it’s only a matter of time before Mai Chau becomes … [Read more...]
Mai Chau Ecolodge: Paradise in Vietnam
Do you ever reach a point on your travels where you feel the need to treat yourself to somewhere special? If you’re tired of roughing it and need to recharge and recover from the toils and trials of long-term travel, there’s nowhere better than Mai Chau Ecolodge. Situated on its own private hill overlooking the rice paddies and mountains of the … [Read more...]
Luang Prabang to Hanoi by Bus: Not So Bad
Every now and then as a long-term traveller, you come across a journey that's notoriously bad. The last time I seriously considered replacing a chunk of travel with an overpriced flight was when I travelled from Cali to Quito by bus on a road reported to have frequent hijackings and muggings. As I headed north through Laos, it became apparent that … [Read more...]
