select your preferred tour date
DAY 1 (FRI): Arrival - Hanoi
Greeting you with a big Bamboo smile, one of our Bamboo team will whisk you off to our accommodation in the heart Hanoi. After checking-in, you'll have the rest of the day to yourself to relax or explore your new surroundings at your leisure.
DAY 1 (FRI): Arrival - Hanoi
Greeting you with a big Bamboo smile, one of our Bamboo team will whisk you off to our accommodation in the heart Hanoi. After checking-in, you'll have the rest of the day to yourself to relax or explore your new surroundings at your leisure.
DAY 2 (SAT): Hanoi
Our first full day together begins with a walking tour around this resilient and proud city. Hanoi's complex history extends beyond recent wars and into periods of the French aristocracy and Chinese authenticity. We'll leisurely wander through the back alleys and into colorful markets and temples that dot this lake-littered inlet.
We'll also experience a traditional Vietnamese Water Puppet Show, a unique performance celebrating North Vietnamese traditions dating back to the 11th Century.
Today concludes with an authentic Vietnamese welcome meal, complete with the most elegant spring rolls, pho, and, of course, a tipple or two. Those who don’t want the night to end can join us on Beer Street for a cheeky drink or two!
Meals Included: Breakfast & Dinner
DAY 3 (SUN): Hanoi - Ha Long Bay
A few hours drive from Hanoi, amid emerald waters, rainforests, and limestone cliffs lies Ha Long Bay, an outdoor lovers paradise. Here, we’ll board a boat and dive straight in to enjoy some swimming and kayaking in the most magical and unreal setting.
At sundown, we’ll turn up the romance and enjoy a beachfront dinner at sunset, a sunset so spectacular it will stay with you forever!
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
DAY 4 (MON): Ha Long Bay - Ninh Binh
An early start this morning sees us limbering up for the day ahead with a sunrise Tai Chi session on the boat.
The rest of the morning will be spent splishing and splashing and general lakeside lounging until we head out to Ninh Binh, our base for exploring Vietnam’s UNESCO status grottoes.
Meals Included: Breakfast
DAY 5 (TUE): Ninh Binh
The sleepy town of Ninh Binh may consist of little more than locals sipping beers at cafes along the sidewalks, but the town itself is surrounded by quintessentially Vietnamese dramatic limestone scenery.
After breakfast, we’ll hop on our bikes and cycle into the tropical countryside (where King Kong was filmed) toward Tam Coc, a river that would be all over your Instagram feed if people knew about it. There, we’ll board a row-boat, and, with the soundtrack of the river lapping against our oars, we’ll succumb to the riverside’s lush rice paddies and limestone ledges that seemingly continue forever.
We may even throw a little surprise into the mix, just whisper the words "dragon mountain" to our guides, and they will show you a hidden gem that has been said to be one of the tour highlights.
In the evening, with eyes exhausted from the imagery, we’ll take a night bus to Hue.
Meals Included: Breakfast
DAY 6 (WED): Hue
Arriving in Hue as fresh as one can be after an eight-hour bus ride, we will first head to the hotel to freshen up and ready ourselves for the day ahead.
The former seat of Imperial Vietnam, the reign of emperors can still be felt in this historic citadel, where crumbling ancient walls greet modern, Euro-chic boutiques. Hue’s charm, however, lies along the Perfume River, where we’ll board a private boat for a sail downstream to Thien Mu Pagoda, the largest such in Vietnam.
We’ll keep the day restful because the hard work begins tomorrow.
Meals Included: Breakfast
DAY 7 - 9 (THU - SAT): Hue Community Projects
There’s an old Vietnamese proverb: If you put in the work to sharpen the steel, it will eventually turn into needles.
Because our community development projects rely on what’s most in-need, the project work could include anything from building chicken farms and constructing houses to putting in water filtration systems or even educating communities on sustainable food and development initiatives.
The work generally involves dirty hands, dirty knees, mud-toothed smiles, and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment, having witnessed the transformation of “steel into needles.”
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
DAY 10 (SUN): Hue to Hoi An
Today we say farewell to the project team and the communities we've been supporting over the last few days as we board a bus to Hoi An, a city famed for its Old Town and Japanese-style pagodas.
The winding roads through the mountains offer a near-endless panorama of steep, stony facades along with the occasional waterfall. Making some stops along the way, we'll arrive into Hoi An in time for an evening stroll through the cobbled streets.
Meals Included: Breakfast
DAY 11 (MON): Hoi An
Today begins with a bike ride through historic Hoi An and into the quiet Vietnamese countryside. We’ll cycle past rice paddocks and roaming buffaloes to the rivers surrounding the city where your traditional basket boats await. Equipped with your conical hat, we’ll sail and spin around the mythical Coconut Forest. Once the boats are returned, we’ll mingle with some locals and challenge them to Con Quay and a few other traditional Vietnamese games.
The day concludes with a smooth ride back into Hoi An, where the rest of the day is yours for exploring—be it bargaining at the Chinese shop houses, dining on Bahn Xeo, or, our personal recommendation, making your own Asian-style lantern.
Meals Included: Breakfast
DAY 12 (TUE): Hoi An
We’re taking off the Bamboo ball-and-chain and letting you into the wild world of Hoi An.
Packed with yellow, French colonial-era buildings, feel free to window-shop at the cutesy boutiques, lounge street-side in many of the coffee shops, book yourself a cooking class at the famous Green Mango restaurant, or trek down to An Bang Beach for some sun, some R&R, and a cocktail or two.
Just get back to the hotel in the early evening so we can get together for our final group meal, where we’ll toast to Vietnam. Mot, hi, ba, yo!
Meals Included: Breakfast & Dinner
DAY 13 (WED): Depature - Hoi An
Do we even want to address the good-bye? We’ll snap one final group photo, which we’ll then keep under our pillowcase to look at late at night, teary-eyed and smiling, and remember our journey together. What an adventure!
Meals Included: Breakfast
select your preferred tour date
All accommodation will be twin or triple rooms with ensuite western bathrooms and air conditioning, located in the centre of each city (or on board a ship when you are in Ha Long Bay)
Internet: WiFi is available in all guesthouses excluding onboard your ship on Ha Long Bay.
Laundry: You can use the local laundry services that are quick, cheap, and good!
Loads of breakfasts are included throughout, plus a traditional welcome meal in Hanoi. Your lunch whilst on project is also included and we'll throw in a farewell meal on the last evening!
In short - anything that’s not on the "What's included?" list in the info pack! The main things you’ll absolutely need to get that aren’t included are:
International flights - we have people join us from all over the world so we leave these flexible so you can choose the departure airport and airline that suits you best.
Travel Insurance - you can choose your own travel insurance, or we can organise this for you. You can find details on the travel insurance here and will be able to add this onto your booking.
Visas – depending on the passport you hold you may need to get a visa before you travel. Please see below for more info on visas.
Arrival
You need to book a flight that lands into Hanoi Noi Bai International Airport (airport code HAN) on the Friday that the tour starts, between 6am and 8pm. Providing you arrive between these hours on this day, one of our team will be there to meet you on arrival and take you back to the hotel in the city.
If you arrive later than 8pm on the Friday start date, we will organize an airport pickup but without a Bamboo representative to meet you, our team will then meet you at the guesthouse.
If you arrive before your Friday start date, you will need additional accommodation. We can book this for you and you will just need to make your own way there from the airport and pay on arrival.
Departure
This tour will end on the Wednesday 13 days later in Hoi An, with Da Nang International airport (airport code DAD) being the closest only 30 minutes away, so you need to make your arrangements from there that day. Buses can be arranged to further your travels back to Hanoi, or further south to Ho Chi Minh City. Our team can help you to arrange these once you arrive.
When you are ready to secure your spot on a Bamboo tour, you can choose the best payment option to suit you:
1. Pay a deposit today and the remaining balance 120 days before your tour starts (you will also have the option to pay the rest of your balance in instalments).
2. Pay in full to get a discounted price and save money
3. Sign up to monthly instalment payments
If you know you want to travel but just need more time to decide on the destination or date, the best option is to get a Bamboo Travel Voucher. Not only will you be sure of a place on a tour, you'll make a saving as our vouchers match the amount you pay. Get a $50 voucher and we'll take $100 off; get a $250 voucher and we'll take $500 off; get a $500 voucher and we'll take $1000 off!! Vouchers are valid for 3 years so there's plenty of time to decide when and where you want to go. Click here to find out more and get your voucher.
You may also want to consider signing up to our Bamboo+ Membership. For $997, we'll not only reduce your tour balance by $1000 but you'll automatically get a 20% discount on each and every future tour with Bamboo! There's also loads of other benefits - click here to find out more and become a Bamboo+ member.
