Marble Mountains: the Stairs, the Lift and What You Actually See
Entry 40,000₫, lift 15,000₫ each way. One decision at the entrance matters more than people expect.
9 min read
Licence No. 01-1082/2018 — international tour operator
Company registered in Vietnam, 2011
Based in Da Nang, not a call centre abroad
Company registered in Vietnam, 2011
Based in Da Nang, not a call centre abroad
The guides
Written after walking it, with the prices dated
Twenty guides to Da Nang, Hoi An and the practical side of a Vietnam trip: what things cost, how hard the ground is, which hour of the day to go, and where we think something is not worth your morning.
Itinerary
3 Days in Da Nang and Hoi An: A Day-by-Day Plan That Does Not Rush You
One substantial thing each morning, the afternoons left alone, and a gentle version written into every day. Copy it whether you travel with us or not.
The Hoi An Old Town Ticket Explained
120,000₫ for five heritage sites. What it includes, when you are actually asked for it, and which five to spend it on.
8 min read
Hoi An at Night: Lanterns, the Night Market and the Boat
When the lanterns come on, where the crowd is, and the half of the old town almost nobody crosses into.
8 min read
The Basket Boat Ride: What It Is Actually Like
Part of this river is a show with loudspeakers. The quiet stretches cost exactly the same.
7 min read
How Much Walking Is There Really on a Vietnam Trip?
The distance is rarely the problem. The stairs, the polished stone and the standing still are.
9 min read
Ba Na Hills in the Rain
Every photograph of the Golden Bridge was taken on a clear day. Ours was not. What is still worth doing.
8 min read
The Best Time to Visit Da Nang and Hoi An
Five guides give five different answers. Here is what the measured rainfall data actually shows.
8 min read
Da Nang to Hoi An: Every Way to Get There
About 30 km and forty to fifty minutes. The interesting part is what you have arranged for the other end.
7 min read
Money in Vietnam: Cards, Cash and the Note Trap
Two banknotes are almost the same blue and differ by a factor of twenty-five. How not to get caught.
8 min read
Why this site exists
Most Vietnam tour websites are brochures. This one is not.
There are dozens of Vietnamese tour companies selling in English, and they all say the same three things: trusted, award-winning, years of experience. None of it helps you decide anything.
What helps is knowing how hard the stairs are before you climb them, what a basket boat costs before you are standing at the dock, and which parts of a famous attraction are worth your morning.
So that is what we publish — in detail, with dates on the prices, and with the unflattering parts left in. Where we do not have a number we can stand behind, we say so rather than copy one from somewhere else.
We do sell tours. That is how this is paid for, and we would rather say so on the first screen than bury it. But you can use everything here and book nothing, and that is a perfectly good outcome.
New to Vietnam?
Three questions almost everyone asks first
Answered plainly, with the parts most tour websites leave out.
01
How much walking is there, really?
More than the brochures suggest, and it is the single thing that decides whether people over 55 enjoy a trip or endure it.
02
How long do I need?
Vietnam is about a thousand miles long. Ten days means choosing a region; two weeks means north, centre and south without rushing.
03
Do I need a tour at all?
For a lot of people, no. Here is where independent travel in Vietnam works well, and the three situations where it usually goes wrong.
Our tours
Three trips, built around how you want to travel
We do not run fixed departures. Every trip is built around your dates, so you are not waiting for a group to fill or travelling with people on a different pace. Every tour is priced on request, for your dates and your group.
13 days
Vietnam in Comfort
North to south, without rushing. Every day has an active version and a gentle version, decided that morning rather than six months ahead.
11 days
History, Memory & Reconciliation
For families carrying a story from the war years. We help trace units and locations before you fly, and we take the days slowly.
10–14 days
Roots of Vietnam
For Vietnamese-American families returning together. Your family’s home province, plus the places the grandchildren will remember.
Talk to the person who builds the trip
Ask anything. We answer from Vietnam.
Not a booking form and not a call centre — a direct message to the office in Da Nang. If we are not the right company for your trip, we will tell you that too.