Welcome to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh is known as Saigon formerly, and today locals often called it the city centre. It's one of the country's leading commercial city centres with plenty of changes. Formally, Saigon was well-known with Independence Palace or Norodom Palace, the most significant historical site in Vietnam. Vietnam Backroads team will meet you at the airport, take you to Saigon centre, check in the hotel, and have a rest of the day. Welcome dinner at a famous restaurant in town.
Our guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel and transfer you about 2 hours through the bustling streets of Ho Chi Minh City, and heads towards the Mekong Delta, arrive in Cay Lay rural District. Begin our first day with a short ride on the beautiful path to Cai Be, enjoy scenic landscapes. The ride will take you through lush green, along the River, to the ancient house located by a natural creek.
Enjoy local speciality lunch, and carry on our ride to the Mekong River. Take a published ferry to An Binh Island and keep on the ride to discover local life across this island An Binh Island and finally enjoy the last ferry crossing to Vinh Long. Have an hour vehicle transfer to Can Tho.
Can Tho is known as the capital of Mekong Delta’s Vietnam. It attracts many tourists all year round because of Cai Rang floating Market nearby. Take a boat trip to the busiest floating market. All the shops and stalls at these markets are boats of different sizes. It is open all day, but it is busiest from sunrise to about 9 am. Most of the main items for selling are farm products and specialities of locals and neighbouring areas. Every boat has a long upright pole at its bow on which samples of the goods for sale hung on the bamboo sticks on each wooden boat.
Then we pick up the bikes, start the second day of discovering the Mekong Delta by weaving kids along the countryside, views pictures of the landscape, and follows a narrow lane through the hidden backwaters of Phong Dien. We will get a boat ride along the lively river to the busiest floating market, where hundreds of small boats exchange farm products, from boat to boat. Each product for sale is easy to recognize because it's hung up with a bamboo pole. We'll stop along the way at some local markets and fruit orchards before visiting the Binh Thuy ancient house. Stop for lunch at a local restaurant before returning to Saigon in the late afternoon.
We'll have an early flight to Lien Khuong Airport. This airport is about an hour drive south of Dalat City. On arrival, be met by the team for an hour transfer to Dalat. We will stop at a good restaurant to have breakfast. Dalat called is the “City of Eternal Spring” for its distinctive temperate climate. The other name called by locals is the "Honeymoon City". It was developed as a resort by the French in the early 1900s, the first wooden hotel built in 1907, and many reminders of its colonial heritage remain.
Da Lat is a famous tourist destination and one of Vietnam central highland's agricultural growth. Every local in Vietnam markets filled with local specialities such as strawberries, cauliflowers, and artichokes. Today we will explore Dalat City by bus. Visit Crazy House, Bao Dai Summer Palace, then the Valley of Love before we make a stop at XQ Headquarters - Dalat Historical Village. Visit XQ Hand Embroidery workshop. Next, enjoy lunch at a famous restaurant. We will take the old train trip through farmland, greenhouse to Trai Mat village in the afternoon. Experience the local lives and visit the beautiful Linh Phuoc pagoda. Finally, we return to the hotel, explore Dalat city on foot in the evening.
Begin today's ride with an hour vehicle transfer to Bidoup National Park, northeast of Dalat, where your fantastic day of cycling adventure is. You cycle on a new road, rolling hills, pine forest, green farmlands, on the winding road through the tropical rainforest. The ride allows you to undulate through lush farmlands, admire the romantic landscape and comfortable climate. Some hills are real challenges for you with beautiful valleys surround and numerous tropical forests. One of the most interesting for mountain challenge lovers is the last hills to the top as you conquer the mountain top of Khanh Le (called Hon Giao) os not the long way. It's just a couple of km, as it short distance but a little bit vertical. No worry at all because the support vehicles are always on standby and near you.
Khanh Le mountain top is about 1500m above sea level, where you enjoy the most spectacular mountain scenery in central Vietnam. This is your limitless opportunity for photos and enjoys every minute through valleys, waterfalls with lush rainforest. Enjoy more snacks, cold drinks, and fresh fruits before riding downhill for 29 km. It's a fabulous ride of the day, and you have a delicious lunch at the local restaurant by the River, right at the foot of the pass.
The ride in the afternoon is entirely different from the morning's adventures. You take narrow paths to explore hamlets, meet locals in farmlands of sugar cane, rice paddy, enjoy the beautiful countryside of Khanh Vinh, stop at the local market for coffee, snack, fresh fruits. Then we continue biking onwards onward to the ancient Dien Khanh citadel before you have a short transfer to the city of Nha Trang in the late afternoon
Leave Nha Trang at 7:30 am, and enjoy an hour of vehicle drives to Van Ninh township. We follow the coastal route through the quiet little town, enjoy the ocean freeze and look over many small color fishing boats alongside. Break for photos at a small fishing port with a small bridge where fishing boats return from the sea. Then we ride into rural villages, past small markets along the pathways, and view the rice fields stretching across the sides of the mountain to the fishing villages. Taste Vietnamese coffee in the little town, and walk around a lively market to experience the local business. It's a small market with little lined-shop holders selling fresh fish, fruits, and varied commodities. Afterward, we move onward to the rural area, through fish farms, see locals working on salt fields on dirt tracks, cross the railways to Co Ma mountain, and down the pass to Dai Lanh. It's a nice place to view the Dai Lanh beach. Break for lunch at a selected seafood restaurant by the beach.
We'll have 1. hour transfer to the O Loan Lagoon. We cycle on the beautiful road along the lagoon. View the colorful fishing boats and lush farmlands along the routes. It's fantastic bike routes through the fascinating countryside and a lively lagoon with several fishing boats. Further, the back road undulates across farmlands of sweet potato fields and tapioca fields before crossing Phu Ngan River on Tiger wooden bridge to the Ganh Do, where the support vehicles are on standby. We rest on vehicle transfer to Qui Nhon City.
We'll have a long day exploring beautiful coastal roads, peninsulas, lagoons, and Tam Quan- a small town with coconut trees as plantations in surrounding villages, and stay a night at Sa Huynh. We start the day ride with a vehicle transfer from the city and driver over Vietnam's longest sea bridge to the peninsula.
Taste and smell the real life of fishing villagers, enjoy the seaside ride of beautiful sandy beaches, and views small wooden fishing boats and bamboo basket boats. Break for lunch in De Ghi-small fishing village, and explore the seafood markers and its fishing villages with hundreds of little and big boats. Then we speed up the new bridge over its sea mouth. We turn left and cycle along fish farms on the freshwater bay.
We turn right on small tracks through rice paddy fields along the mountainous ridges to scenic villages. Explore the fabulous landscape and undulating smooth paths to Tra O lagoon. In a sunny afternoon, with peaceful country roads through the sleepy lake and magnificent mountain views, pass shrimp farms and local farmland amongst coconut trees plantations to Tam Quang township. , we have a 20-minute vehicle transfer to Sa Huynh beach resort.
After breakfast, a 20-minute vehicle transfers you to a rural village for a full-day adventure, with a quick stop at beautiful salt fields to capture some photos before the ride. We start the day riding into small hamlets, past the lagoon to the coast, explore the non-touristy countryside, ride along the unique paths, past many small local markets, and stop at a shallow lake home to fresh fish. Locals do a lot of fishing by straps and nets in the rainy season, but the lake is lush farms in the dry season. Continue riding through rice paddies and small towns before crossing over the river to seaside villages. The routes are smooth and mixed concrete and small asphalt road along the rivers, past vegetable fields and small villages. Then you ride through vast lush farms, tranquil towns and ride down the coast, past local fish farmings—lunch en route.
Lunch en route, and we continue the lovey ride toward Quang Ngai. Explore the backwaters and agricultural lands, have some ferry crossings, bike along rivers, peaceful villages, fish farms, rice paddy fields, tropical palm trees, and cross the rivers on agriculture bridges. Stop at pagodas, admire some old houses surrounding by betel trees. Stop at irrigation bridges, look over the peaceful rivers, charm villages along. The backwater area is beautiful, with incredible scenery and complicated bike routes. We cycle to Son My Memorial- My Lai Massacre in 1968. We visit the Memorial and village then have a short transfer to Quang Ngai City Center.
We depart at 7:30 am for 1 -hour transfer to a rural village to start the fantastic day ride. We ride on the lovely tranquil back road, get through a small town, then green rice fields, follow the concrete routes through several vibrant villages, kindergartens, and high schools, and have some ferry boats cross the rivers. Enjoy the dirt biking along the Truong Giang River. The River and its branches offer terrific views of bamboo boats, wooden boats, and small fishing villages where local family members are very busy when fishing boats coming back. Lunch en route.
In the afternoon, you explore the lush farmland, rice paddies and stop at local homes leam culture and experience their life. Through vast farmlands, the routes are complicated, cross the river network by several small concrete bridges, past tiny houses along rivers. Explore Cam Kim island, past old village, agricultural lands, bamboo bridges, ride on Cam Kim bridge, cross Thu Bon River to the hotel in Hoi An.
Hoi An has features and characteristics of Europe, Asia culture and history dating to the 16th-17th century. Most of the buildings are in the traditional architectural style of the 19th and 20th centuries. Today is a free day to visit the town; walk on little lantern lined streets, visit historical relics, see some colourful pagodas, buy handmade gifts from locals.
After breakfast, a private transfer to Da Nang to catch a domestic flight to Hai Phong city. On arrival at Hai Phong Airport, welcomed by Vietnam Backroads Team, enjoy an hour vehicle drive to Ha Long. Board a ship and cruise through Ha Long Bay.
Halong Bay is one of the most amazing natural wonders and natural beauty with thousands of islands, including; beaches, caves, and fishing villages. The cruise will sail to Bai Tu Long Bay, passing the towns of Hon Gai and Cam Pha, Oan Lagoon, Monster Head and Teapot Islets and Thien Canh Son Cave. After exploring the Cave, you return to the boat and enjoy a sunset party on board. The cruise will drop an anchor in the calm water surrounded by islets in Cong Dam. Dinner on board.
The morning is a great time to enjoy the beauty of Ha Long, especially at sunrise. Admire over rocky mountains, the various shape of the karst landscape in the bay. Enjoy sunrise with Tai Chi demonstration on the sun deck. Enjoy tea, coffee, and breakfast, admire fantastic landscapes, breath-taking beauty of limestone islands, explore the amazing cave, swimming and relax until having lunch. Check out, and transfer to Ha Noi in the afternoon. Spend your own time exploring Ha Noi in the afternoon.
After the healthy breakfast at the hotel, enjoy your time shopping and relax until a pick up for Noi Bai International Airport to catch your flight home. Tour End!