12 Days 4x4WD From Hanoi to Saigon

Tour Itinerary

Day 1. Hanoi – Mai Chau . 200km, 7hr drive ( L , D )

• 800AM, Meeting at your hotel and transfer by bus to our car parking from there you will take the car and start your first day drive to Mai Chau village.
• Mixture of good roads and small dirt roads, village tracks. Beautiful limestone mountain scenery of the Northwestern region.
• Lunch picnic on route.
• Overnight and special dinner in a local house of the Thais Minority family.
• Traditional music performance.

Day 2. Mai Chau – Tan Ky. 300km. 7hr drive ( B , L , D )

• Breakfast then say goodbye to the family.
• Whole morning drive through local villages, small paved road and dirt tracks. Discover the forgotten Ho Chi Minh Trails left from the War time.
• Lunch in local restaurant. Afternoon drive on smooth road all the way to Tan Ky town where we spend the night at a small hotel.
• Dinner in local restaurant.

Day 3. Tan Ky – Phong Nha. 300km. ( B , L , D )

• Breakfast. Easy drive on the smooth road all the way to Phong Nha – Ke Bang, the biggest and most beautiful cave in Vietnam and Indochina, it’s now a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site.
• Lunch picnic on route, and arrive early at the hotel.
• Boat trip in the afternoon to discover the Son River and its giant Cave.
• Good dinner and overnight at hotel in Phong Nha.

Day 4. Phong Nha – Khe Sanh. 250km 8 hr drive.( B , L , D )

• Whole day drive through the National park by taking the famous Western Ho Chi Minh Trail towards the former DMZ, which were sprayed heavily by Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.
• Spectacular scenic road, but very hilly and twisty. Lunch in local restaurant.( Maybe picnic lunch )
• Make a visit to the former US Air base upon arrive at Khe Sanh.
• Dinner and overnight at a small hotel in Khe Sanh.

Day 5. Khe Sanh – Hue. 190km. 6hr drive.( B , L , D)

• Driving all the way downhill toward the coastal region.
• A day with many stops to visit the historical sites left from the Vietnam War time.
• Beautiful drive along the coast and through the rice farming region.
• Start joining the National road No1 to the beautiful city of Hue (Former capital of Vietnam) which lies along the banks of the Perfume River.
• Dinner and hotel

Day 6 Hue – Hoi An, 150km, 4 drive. (Half day drive) ( B , L, D )

• Whole morning, make a visit to the Citadel of Hue, Capital of Vietnam during 142 years, 1803 – 1945), boat trip on the perfume river.
• Afternoon, Riding to Thuan An beach and ride along the coast to Phuoc Tuong pass and Join the National Highway 1 and head up the Hai Van Pass (Cloudy Pass
• Arrive in Hoi An, the World Heritage site, a major trading center in SE Asia in the 16^th and 17^th
• Good dinner and hotel in Hoi An.

Day 7. Hoi An (Relaxing) ( B )

• Whole day, free time to relax or shopping.

Hoi An was an important Vietnamese trading center in the 16^th and 17^th centuries, where Chinese from various provinces as well as Japanese, Dutch and Indians settled down. During this period of the China trade, the town was called Hai Pho (Seaside Town) in Vietnamese.

During the French colonial period (1883 – 1945), the town is known to the French and Spanish as Faifo, and by similar names in Portuguese and Dutch. A number of theories have been put forth as to the origin of this name. Some scholars have suggested that it comes from the word “Hai pho” meaning “sea town”, while others have said that it seems more likely to simply be a shortening of Hoi An pho, “the town of Hoi An”, to “Hoi pho” which became “Faifo”.

In 1999, the old town was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port of the 15^th to 19^th centuries, whose buildings display a unique blend of local and foreign influences.

Today, Hoi An is still a small city, but it attracts a fair number of tourists, also being a well-established place on the backpacker trail. Many visit for the numerous art and craft shops and tailors, who produce made-to-measure clothes for a fraction of the western price.

Day 8. Hoi An – Kon Tum. 300km 7hr drive.

• Leaving the lowland and drive up to the Western mountains range. Good road but hilly and twisty all the way to Kontum, the City of the Highland people.
• Lunch in local restaurant. Dinner and night at hotel.

Day 9. Kontum – Buon Me Thuot. 250km, 7hr ride.( B , L , D )

• Another day drive filled up with beautiful highland and valley views.
• Mixture of goods road and dirt roads along the border of Cambodia.
• Picnic lunch on route. Dinner and night at hotel.

Day 10. Buon Me Thuot – Da lat. 250km, 7 hr drive.( B , L , D )

• Continue driving to the Southern highland region. Beautiful scenery route, farming land, water falls…
• Mixture of small paved road and dirt tracks. Lunch picnic.
• Da lat, the Capital of the highland people, center of coffee and agriculture produces.
• Good dinner and hotel.

Day 11. Da lat – Nam Cat Tien Nature Reserve. 250km, 7 hr drive.( B , L , D )

• Leaving the highland region, We drive all the way downhill to the last Natural Reserve (Nam Cat Tien) before getting to the busy civilized City of Saigon.
• Smooth road and dirt tracks, lunch in local restaurant.
• Good dinner, stay overnight at a family hotel.

Day 12. Nam Cat Tien – Sai Gon. 180 km, half day drive.( B )

• Mixture of good road and sometime small dirt tracks. River ferry crossing.
• Drive to the finish point where we say goodbye to the car.
• Transfer by bus or taxi to the hotel in Sai Gon. Tour finished.

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