Tours out of Ho Chi Minh City and across Vietnam
Themes
Spend where it shows
Money buys a better trip in some parts of this region and changes almost nothing in others. We put the budget where you will feel it, and say plainly when the dearer option is no better.
Overview
What luxury means on the ground
A luxury trip in Vietnam is not mainly about marble lobbies. It is about removing friction: the good car and a driver who waits, the guide with twenty years of experience rather than two, a boat with a handful of cabins rather than forty, a room where you can sleep through the morning and a flight that leaves at a civilised hour. Those things cost money and are worth it. Other things cost money and are not, and a good agency should tell you which is which.
We build luxury trips from our Tier 3 hotels and the best boats and guides we work with, then add the things that make a difference to your particular days — a private boat at dawn, a second vehicle for luggage, a quiet room in a busy town. We do not add expense for its own sake, and the itinerary shows each cost line so you can see where the money goes.
Ha Long from a small boat: the one place where the boat is most of the experience.The trips
Trips that repay a bigger budget
These routes contain the places where spending more makes the most difference: the islands, the bays, the river cruises and the long journeys.
Day tour · from USD 85
Cu Chi by speedboat
Up the Saigon River to the tunnels and back, no highway traffic either way.
4 days · from USD 495
Phu Quoc, the island
Three nights on the west coast, with the north-coast forest and a fishing village.
3 days · from USD 525
Con Dao, three days
The island prison, turtle beaches and a sea that is actually clear.
14 days · from USD 2195
Vietnam for two, 14 days
Small hotels, late starts, a private boat night and an island to finish.
18 days · from USD 2295
Slow Vietnam, 18 days
Five bases in seventeen nights. The trip most people book the second time.
21 days · from USD 3195
Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, 21 days
Three countries in three weeks, with the flights doing the long legs.
24 days · from USD 3695
The grand Indochina route, 24 days
Luang Prabang and Vientiane, the length of Vietnam, the river to Phnom Penh, Angkor.
2 days · from USD 325
The Bassac river overnight
A converted rice barge from Cai Be to Can Tho, one night afloat on the delta.
3 days · from USD 495
Ha Long Bay, two nights aboard
The second morning is the quiet one. This is the trip built around it.
5 days · from USD 1295
By river from Saigon to Phnom Penh
Five days up the Mekong on a small riverboat, crossing into Cambodia on the water.
8 days · from USD 2495
Angkor to the delta by river
Three days at the temples, then a week downstream to Saigon.
Where it pays
Where paying more changes the trip
| Where | What the money buys | Worth it? |
|---|---|---|
| Beach resorts on Phu Quoc and Con Dao | A private stretch of sand, space, service, a quiet pool | Yes: you spend most of your time there |
| Boats on the northern bays | Fewer cabins, bigger rooms, better routes and food | Yes: the boat is the trip |
| River cruises on the Mekong | Cabin size, guiding ashore, pace | Yes, for a multi-night journey |
| Private car and senior guide | Comfort on long drives, depth of explanation | Yes, on any multi-day route |
| Hotels in Hanoi, Hoi An and Saigon | Location, quiet, a good breakfast | Usually, for two or more nights |
On the bays in particular, the difference between the cheapest boats and the better ones is larger than anywhere else on the route: cabin size, crew-to-guest ratio, safety standards, and the route permit that decides whether you anchor among forty boats or three. On the islands, a resort with its own beach is worth its rate because the beach is your day. And a senior guide is worth paying for in Hue, at the DMZ and at Angkor, where the depth of explanation makes the site.
Where it does not
Where it does not
Some of the best things in the region cost almost nothing, and paying more does not improve them. The best street food in Saigon and Hanoi is at a plastic table, and an expensive restaurant version is often worse. A delta homestay or a mountain lodge in Pu Luong has no luxury equivalent, and the simple version is the point. In Sapa and Ha Giang the top hotels are comfortable, but the walking and the villages are the same whatever you pay. At Angkor, the temples are the same for everyone; a private guide and a good car help, but a bigger hotel in Siem Reap changes your evening, not your day.
Business class on domestic flights is available on the main routes, and on flights of about an hour it rarely matters much. We would rather put that money into a better boat or an extra night on an island.
Trade-offs
Who should not choose it
- Travellers who want hotels that look alike everywhere; the best places here have character, not uniformity.
- Anyone expecting five-star service in the mountains or the deep delta, where the best rooms are good lodges.
- People who want to be kept away from the street; the street is where much of the country happens, and we will take you onto it.
The luxury collection suits people who travel comfortably at home and want the same ease here, without being sealed off from the country. If what you want is a closed resort for a fortnight, we will book it, and suggest a few days elsewhere to see why you flew this far.
Checklist
Checklist for a comfortable trip
- Book the best boats and island resorts early; they have few rooms and fill first.
- Decide which two or three experiences matter most and give them the budget.
- Ask us for the cost breakdown line by line; nothing is bundled.
- Allow a buffer day before an international flight home.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Which hotels do you use?
We choose from a small list of Tier 3 hotels we have stayed in or inspected, and we name them in your proposal. They change as hotels change, which is why we do not publish a fixed list.
Can we have the same guide throughout?
For a whole-country trip, usually not: guides are licensed and know their own region. We can keep one guide for the south and Cambodia, and a single planner in Saigon throughout.
Is a private boat on Ha Long Bay worth it?
For two people it is expensive; for a family or a group of friends it is often the best money on the trip.
Related
Read next
Southern Vietnam
Phu Quoc
Beaches, timing and where on the island to stay.
View this journey
Northern Vietnam
Ha Long Bay
Cruises, timing and the honest comparison with Lan Ha.
View this journey
Cambodia
Siem Reap
Angkor on a three-day pass, planned around the crowds.
View this journey
Southern Vietnam
Con Dao
Empty beaches, real diving, and a serious history.
View this journey
Tailor-made
Tailor-made
How a private itinerary gets built, step by step.
View this journey
Start planning
Tell us about the trip you have in mind
Dates, party size and the places you care about are enough to start. You get a draft route and an indicative price, not a brochure.
Or talk to us:+84 766 045 399