Top Often-Destinations for Vietnam Adventure Tours

With stunning scenery and impressive culture, these famous destinations in Vietnam will offer travelers exciting adventure trips.

1. Sapa

This Vietnam’s destination is too famous such an extent that it is always present in Vietnam tourism brochure. However, if just wandering around Sapa town, travelers will miss a chance to have a memorable trip. Sapa town just likes a miniature Hanoi, accompanying colorful minority groups. Thus, let’s carry a rucksack and to be ready for a trekking expedition to remote villages. Scenery, people, culture and everything will be much more fascinating. Trekking trails will lead through jungles, mountains, fields, streams, hidden soil-trails only used by locals, and rest at ethnic minority villages. Along paths, adventurers will encounter “real” minor people, who are doing life activities, or working to earn their living. Specially, contemplating firsthand Sapa rice terrace (which was estimated as one of the 30 most beautiful places in the world by Mother Nature Network), and other stunning scenes is completely different to seeing from an automobile or a hotel at a far distance. Let’s leave cozy hotel-rooms and stay overnight at a homestay to experience a distinctive life with locals: arduous, but funny and valuable.

Head off a hiking & homestay Sapa to the most marvelous valley – Muong Hoa and other villages. Visit here.

2. Mount Fansipan

With an altitude of 3,143m, Mount Fansipan is the highest in Indochina, and also dubbed as “The Roof of Indochina”. Fansipan conquest is the dream of many young Vietnamese. For ones who indulge in climbing but not too so fantastic to conquer Everest, Fansipan may be an appropriate choice.  This mount is just 9km from Sapa to the southwest. Therefore, as travel to Sapa, travelers can take a hike to this mount on the same occasion.

The journey with a long trail will be greater, more challenging, but also more beautiful views. However, once immersing in natural pureness, and enjoying the victory of setting foot on this peak, hardship seems to have disappeared. The hike will pass jungles and mountains, so travelers can easily learn local knowledge about the Vietnam’s nature and hill-tribe culture. Yes, learning from reality.

Toughness, strong will, and determination, those are the meanings Mount Fansipan conquest.

Consulting at activetravelvietnam.com, Conquer Mount Fansipan - Sinchai Route - A long trail with a lot of fabulous scenes.

3. Mai Chau

Escape from busy cities, let’s experience an extremely peaceful life in Mai Chau. This area is the home of Thai, Muong and H’mong people, which are Vietnamese ethnic minorities. Just only 135 km from Hanoi, it is so easy to reach here. Naturally, it has spectacular scenes and also the original cultural identity like descriptions on websites. But peace is the most impressive. Peace in just landscape: rice terraces, tea plantations, streams. Peace in just the life of locals. Residents here work hard on fields, on forests, on weaving looms…

Mai Chau’s culture is gentle and lyrical. The rhythm of life is also slow and tranquil. By trek or bike around villages, travelers will feel these. Choosing less touristy roads and villages for the itinerary, it will be much more interesting.

If opt homestay, travelers will stay at traditional stilt houses and do housework with locals. Yummy cuisines are always ready for guests. At night, the space becomes throbbing by blithe melodies and rhythmical dances. The trip ends with a good sleep in this peaceful heaven.

Get away to peaceful Mai Chau, travelers can take a trekking or biking tour through exotic villages. 

4. Mekong delta

Vietnamese people usually say “thang canh co bay”, meaning that land is too large that stocks can fly straightly to endless. This is just one of images of Mekong delta. Located in northwestern Vietnam, this land is the country’s greatest rice basket. The region is covered by an interlaced canal system. So the residents were familiar with waterway-life long ago.
Locals are gentle and rustic. Scenery is tranquil. Travel to Mekong, travelers will refresh your mind.

The richness and vastness make this plain region have an abundant culture. Taking part in various activities, travelers will understand relatively about this culture.
Cycling around fields and villages is a nice way to see the everyday life of locals. On the roads, travelers can talk to them and try experiencing some of their jobs. Many other places can be visited along biking trail, namely temples, orchards, local primary schools, or local households. Particularly, travelers can visit and discover traditional trade-villages of coconut-candy, rice-paper, rice-wine, snake-wine, pop-rice, pop-corn, etc.

Adventurers also should not skip a boat trip to floating markets, the special places with a boom of colors, sounds and scents. These market have a lot of beautiful agricultural products, especially fruits. Let’s come and observe how they trade, how they communicate, and how they speak for sale.

Mekong delta tours may please someone who are curious. Travelers can learn a plenty of local things, such as how to buy fruits and food, how to cook local cuisines, or how to make traditional conical hats. If love nature, let’s visit mangrove forests as Tra Su, where travelers can observe colonies of water-birds, bats and other rare spices.

Explore Mekong delta with many memorable activities. View here.

Top Trekking Destinations in Vietnam Captivate Travelers

Mount Fansipan, mount Hong Linh or Bach Ma national park are enchanting trekking destinations in Vietnam. 

Trekking is a long walk to remote villages, jungles, mountains and other distant regions, to discover new lands and experience new life. Three-fourths area of Vietnam is mountains and hills. With mountainous terrain, Vietnam has many ideal areas for trekking and hiking.

1. Mount Fansipan (Lao Cai province)

Fansipan is the highest mountain in Vietnam and Indochina peninsula, and also was dubbed as “The roof of Indochina”. It is just 9 km from Sapa to the southwest, which is a hot attraction of Vietnam travel. Therefore, if get a trekking tour to Sapa, travelers can take an adventure to this mount on the same occasion.

This peak is regarded as a top conquering target to Vietnamese backpackers. With the height of 3,143 meters, travelers can conquer this mount by three various ways. The easiest route departs from Tram Ton to the peak then come back by just this way. The time trekking lasts 2-3 days.

The second route lasts about 4 days with the road length is 19.5 km, starting from “the spine” of Hoang Lien Son mountain range. Also departing from Tram Ton, but for the return road, travelers will pass through Muong Hoa valley, Cat Cat spring and go along the eastern flank of Hoang Lien range. 

The third route is more difficult as departing from Doc Mit, Binh Lu to the top. This is an extremely dangerous route and just professional climbers with full of equipment dare to take it.

There are also other routes, which can be longer or shorter, lead climbers pass through some special scenes. Depending on hobbies, healthy and time, travelers can choose a suitable route for self.

You can consult Fansipan routes at here.

2. Apachai (Dien Bien province)

Known as the westernmost point of Vietnam, Apachai is located in Xin Thau commune, Muong Nhe district, Dien Bien province. This is the special border fork of Vietnam, Laos and China. The road is not too hard like one to Fansipan. But trekking tours to this region still make many travelers depressed.

The Apachai landmark conquest usually takes place in the day-time. Depending on weather conditions, travelers will have to spend 3 to 5 hours for ascending and descending. After a long journey of coming over blady grass hills high over a person’s head and the primeval forest, you will see firsthand this historical landmark.

Apachai landmark is at the altitude of 1,400 meters above the sea level. It was made of granite with the square platform facing three directions. Each side was engraved a country name by Vietnamese alphabet and a national emblem of three countries Vietnam, Laos and China.

3.  Ham Lon mountain (Hanoi city)

Located 40 km from the central Hanoi, Ham Lon mountain is an ideal weekend trekking destination for many people. With the height of 462 meters, this mount is usually opted as a practice and rehearsal place for trekking tours of Fansipan or Apachai.

Travelers normally have 2 routes to conquer this peak. With the easier one, hikers follow a flat trail, few bushes and it takes about 2 hours. The second way is appropriate to adventurous people, going along the stream. The travel time is around 4 hours.

Hikers should bring along camping tents to stay overnight on the mountain to contemplate amazingly beautiful scenery of the dawn and the sunset.

4. Pu Luong national park (Thanh Hoa province)

Pu Luong national park is a nature reserve zone located in the northwest of Thanh Hoa province. This area belongs to the locality of two districts: Quan Hoa and Ba Thuoc.

With the area of 17,662 ha, this is the largest karst forest and lowland that remains in northern Vietnam. Pu Luong has mainly three kinds of thick forest, comprising lowland and low-mountain jungles, jungles on limestone mountains, and floristic composition of bamboos and shrubs. Not only that, this national park has mount Pu Luong with the height of 1,700 meters. Trekking in Pu Luong nature reserve attracts many travelers. With 5 hours for conquering targets, climbers will gain unforgettable experiences.

5. Hong Linh mountain (Ha Tinh province)

As the most famous mountain in Ha Tinh, mount Hong Linh is so-called as Ngan Hong or Ru Hoong. The mountain lies between Hong Linh township and two districts of Nghi Xuan, Can Truong. This is one of a few place names carved into “Bach khoa thu cuu dinh” presently placed in Hue Imperial Citadel (9 big bronze incense burners, which have been used as an encyclopedia).

Hong Linh has many summits, from the northwest to the foot, there are included the tops of Nam Ban, Yen Xuan, Da Hong and Cot Co. Besides, the area owns numerous caves, consisting of 12 Cua cave (12-Entrance cave), Che Hai, Da Hang, Ham Rong, along with 26 rivulets flowing from the mountain. Conquering this mountains, climbers can search more about interesting legends and historical stories.

6. Bach Ma national park (Thua Thien Hue province)

“Da Lat of the Centre” is the name people give for Bach Ma national park. Located about 40 km from the south of Hue city, Bach Ma looks like a white horse stretching its legs out the big sea (Bach: white, Ma: horse). The area is a part of North Truong Son range (Annamite Mountains) and the centre of the forest strip stretching from Bien Dong (the East Sea) to the border of Vietnam and Laos.

Reaching the peak of Bach Ma at the altitude of 1,500 meters, travelers have to overcome a long journey with the road length of 19 km from the mountain foot. The way is meandering and steep. However, the higher the hiking up, the more spectacular the scenery is, which make travelers rejoice. Trekking duration is about 3 to 4 hours. 

Trekking Solo in Vietnam: Mt. Fansipan

By The Mind Room
Traveling alone in Vietnam kindles a love for the unknown and unpredictable. Modern Travelers follow in the steps of many past explorers.

It’s 4:30AM, and we whiz over Vietnam’s dusty mountain roads on a tiny red motorcycle. My trail guide, Chah (5’1), revs the engine, and I cling shamelessly to his waist from behind. Every time we zoom around a tight curve, our entire outfit tilts precariously and threatens to fling my unwieldy 6’4 body off the narrow seat. Even though my Ichabod Crane-like knees jut out awkwardly, our speed is exhilarating. The preliminary rays of dawn are just beginning to illuminate the peaks above us, and we pass teetering fruit trucks and groups of colorfully-dressed Black Thai women jingling towards Sapa with baskets of hand-made trinkets.

The trailhead is an abandoned colonial French outpost in the middle of northern Vietnam's Hoang Lien Mountains. I pause for a few perfunctory stretches while Chah glances impatiently at me and then at the trail. I strap on my locally-purchased, counterfeit North Face daypack and clench my Black Diamond hiking poles. I'm ready to conquer Fansipan, one of Southeast Asia’s highest peaks.

Arrival

Not bothering to research the mountain’s location beforehand, my China Southern Airways flight lands me in Saigon (Ho Chi Hinh City) in southern Vietnam. It doesn't take long to figure out that Fansipan rises in Vietnam’s far north near the Chinese border. Doh! Looking at a map, I realize that I have a 2,000-kilometer journey, no knowledge of local languages, and no friends in the region. With only 13 days, I also have no time to waste.

From Saigon, I board what I think is a nonstop bus to Hanoi. Dozens of tourists and locals board the blazing red, and eight hours later we arrive at beach-city Nha Trang. Standing alone on an unfamiliar street corner, I watch nervously as the bus shuttles back towards Saigon. “Are we going to Hanoi?” I ask with trepidation. “Yes. Tomorrow night.” I've traveled in the developing world before and know never to depend on a detailed itinerary. Three days, three buses, and several more impromptu stops along the coast later, we finally reach Hanoi.

1647 kilometers down; 336 to go. My ever-helpful Lonely Planet guide leads me to Hanoi’s train station for a ticket to Sapa, the mountain town nearest to Fansipan. A German woman, flanked by a careworn husband and two terrified-looking children, yells angrily at an attendant in the station's lobby. I shuffle past and board a railcar: room 4, number 14. Five hours on a cabin bed is easy; my bunkmates, a friendly, middle-aged Singaporean couple, tell me all about their love for cruising their Harley Davidsons through Thailand. Afterwards, I nestle under my sheets and even manage to get some much-needed sleep.

The final, 2-hour bus ride from our mountain train stop drops me off in the middle of quant Sapa, an old Bavarianesque vacation spot for French colonials. I easily find a $5 dollar-a-night lodging at the sparse, but cheerfully managed Pinocchio Hotel and stretch out on one of the three beds in my room. Success! I appreciate the fact that I am in Vietnam’s northern mountains with plenty of time left to get trekking Fansipan. Suddenly, 2,000 kilometers of cramped and uncertain travel seems well worth the trouble. 

Hiking the Fansipan Trail

 

At first, the trail descends down several steep drops into a shallow canyon and passes a drying streambed that reminds me of scenes from The Thin Red Line. The hardened clay ground makes for sturdy steps, but the trail is clearly not maintained. We constantly maneuver around washed-out gullies and clamber up near-vertical inclines. At the far end of the canyon, the path climbs relentlessly upwards. Chah bounces effortlessly from rock to rock and tells me about his family. Looking younger than I am, he already has a wife and several children; they live with his parents in a neighboring mountain village.

Fansipan (10,312ft.) is often called the rooftop of Southeast Asia, and I am almost completely unprepared physically for the hike. Lonely Planet advertises only two local backpacking options: a strenuous three-day trip and the exhausting two-day option. The day before, I strolled into a cavernous touring shop punctuated only by a small school desk and chair. The elfish man behind the desk offered an unexpected alternative: “Would you like to hike Fansipan in one day?” Not backpacking would render 80% of my luggage unnecessary, but why not? I take it as a dare.

Chah darts ahead and skips gracefully from step to step. He shouts back at me, “Come on!” as I struggle over a lengthy and precipitous slope. The topography is confusing. Before coming to Vietnam, my impression was that the entire country is covered in uninterrupted jungle. Even though everything is green in northern Vietnam’s mountains, the forests are thin and leafy. We are also constantly surrounded by blackened earth and the burnt husks of dead trees. Chah explains that, at lower elevations, the hill tribes periodically burn the forests in order to discourage undergrowth, avoid wild predators, and clear land for agriculture. Far removed from the constraints of such a life, I am disappointed. The only “wildlife” we see on the entire hike are three bored cows chomping a bush.

As we gain altitude, the woods thicken. The morning fog starts to dissipate and the jagged edges of slim mountain ranges appear above us. Beautiful ribbons of mountains connect and separate in all directions; ridgelines are barbed and dramatic. We scramble up mud-covered and slippery ravines. Suddenly, we reach the foot of the range’s razor-edged backbone, and the trail becomes discernibly maintained with clumsy side rails and an even path. The going is slower as the trail ascends more quickly, and I take my time clinging to the rails. I pause for a moment to take in the vistas. “Come on!”

Previous trips with friends in the developing world gave me confidence to set out on my own. Traveling solo through Southeast Asia stirs unwanted but somehow alluring memories of the first European explorers in the area. Milton Osborne’s The Mekong outlines their adventures. After securing a trade empire based at Malacca (in present-day Indonesia), Portuguese explorers plodded throughout the region’s interior by the mid-16th century. Names like Tome Pires, Antonio de Faria, and Ferdinand Mendez Pinto appear who explored the coastlines of present-day Cambodia and Vietnam in the 1540s. Contemporary maps of the continent’s untamed interior attest to their forgotten exploits seeking trade, wealth, and conversions to Christianity. I imagine the wonder these men must have felt as they traveled in such distant and untouched native societies and contexts. Every sight was a new discovery; every jungle bend presented these men with something new to grapple with and understand.

I briefly begrudge the mass communication of our internet age for spoiling Vietnam’s many unique surprises. Before disembarking from my plane at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Google Images already illustrated the sights of Vietnam to me: the peoples’ dress, the natural scenery, and even my journey’s probable obstacles. But venturing out alone without a detailed plan rekindles an adventurous spirit of the unknown. Topography and cities are new; relationships are always novel, and never knowing what to expect next is invigorating. Even in a modern age, travelers can catch a glimpse of 500-year-old adventures. Never mind the every-moment control we exercise over our lives here in the United States; in Vietnam, I am immediately addicted to the risky unknown.

Mt. Fansipan, Vietnam

The trail’s last push is extremely difficult. My legs and chest sting with pain, but I scramble up a muddy embankment encased with dense, leafy ferns and trees on either side. Chah disappears somewhere ahead. Suddenly, the peak appears out of the mist in front of me. I made it! The jungle stops at the base of a 50ft.-high pile of rocks at the summit, and I carefully wobble to a perch at the pinnacle. Two Australian cyclists are eating a snack with their guide, and we chat briefly about trail conditions. After they leave, Chah and I gaze out across the mountain range. Chah tells me that Dien Bien Phu lies further west. Sapa is hidden 20 miles north.

A small, silver pyramid marks Fansipan’s apex and predictably reads: “Fansipan/3143m”. I sit next to a nearby statue of the Buddha which someone cemented onto the rock. On his pedestal lie an orange, a mummified apple slice, and a package of four cheese-filled crackers. I snap a few pictures and relax. Hooray! Only five days ago, I arrived at the wrong side of Vietnam. I close my eyes and wonder what I should do next with the remainder of my time here. Before I can finish my thought, I am interrupted by Chah’s shrill voice: “Come on!”

Making our way up Mount Fansipan

Mount Fansipan is only half as tall as Mount Everest. Yet this mountain, perched at the eastern edge of the Himalayan range in Vietnam’s uppermost Lao Cai province, is hardly an easy climb.

Mt. Fansipan, Vietnam

Together with a group of friends, I’ve opted to take the chance.

It takes about two hours to reach the campsite from the clearing where we have lunch, according to our guide Dung. From there it’s two more hours to the summit. The mist is thickening.

When we reach the next plateau, it billows around us, covering everything more than ten feet away in a wispy shroud. We decide to save the final ascent for the morning. Dung says he’s only seen the sun shine on the summit twice, but we hope for the best.

The weather is not encouraging. By the time we reach the campsite, a hilly clearing surrounded by bamboo forest, the wind blows in gusts so hard it sounds like rain.

We crawl into our tent, a long blue tube that could have about twenty people cocooned sardine-style, and take refuge in our sleeping bags. Although it is barely 4pm, we can only think of rest. Dung fills a bowl with rice wine from a plastic water bottle.

“The first time I came here I didn’t drink any. Then I couldn't sleep,” he says, taking a generous swig. “It was so cold!” He passes the bowl around. It goes down harsh, but it makes us feel marginally warmer.

Eating on the road

Dinner arrives, prepared by local H’Mong women: stir-fried chicken and ginger, tofu steeped in tomato sauce, garlicky strands of cabbage. We devour ample bowls of rice. Between bites, Dung asks us about America; we ask him what it’s like to grow up in Sapa.

"Around here many children speak English before they can speak Vietnamese,” he says, flushed from the wine. “They don’t go to school. They follow tourists and try to sell them stuff.”

Within minutes, he is sleeping soundly. I fall asleep but wake up soon after, tossing and turning in the darkness. A few feet away the tent flap has come undone, and the wind rushes in, sharp and blistering. I burrow into the hood of my sleeping bag.

Waking again, I see a fierce white light through the crack in the tent. The wind feels more bearable in the sun. A hurried bowl of ramen noodles laden with cabbage and strips of soft omelet, and then we’re headed for the summit.

Bamboo forest on the road to Fansipan

The first few minutes are easy walking, and we keep a rapid pace. When we emerge from the shade of the bamboo forest, Dung lets out an ear-splitting “Woo!” He is always happy, bounding up the mountain in a red fedora and tight jeans. It seems like not even the cold can unnerve him. I step up a final rock after him, onto a broad plateau.

We’re above the clouds now: surrounded by the gentle curves of terra cotta peaks, speckled with trees, and beyond that harsher green ridges. In front of us the mountain slopes upwards, and someone asks if that’s the summit. Dung laughs.

Now we are clambering up boulders again, and the rest breaks grow more frequent. We are not talking anymore, only dragging ourselves forwards with vines and carefully placed bamboo rods.

The current record for scaling Fansipan is one hour and thirty-five minutes. We feel accomplished enough when, two and a half hours after leaving camp, we stumble up the last incline onto flat ground.

On the summit of Mt. Fansipan

The wind hits hard at the summit. Clouds drift across sprawling ridges, mountains that would seem formidable if we were standing anywhere other than the peak of Fansipan.

Somewhere down the Himalayan chain, Mount Everest beckons. Three thousand metres in the air, gazing into the foggy blue distance, I feel a little closer to reaching it.

Source: www.dtinews.vn/

Recommended Mt. Fansipan tour by ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA 
"Conquer Mount Fansipan - Sinchai Route"-  A big challenge for Mt. Fansipan's conquerers Hanoi - Sapa - Fansipan Mt. - Sapa - Hanoi
5-day tour with 3-day climbing Mt. Fansipan
Trekking grade: Challenge

At 3143m Mt. Fansipan is the highest peak in Vietnam and the entire Indochina peninsula. This remote trek provides plenty to see and absorb, from the scattered rocks inscribed with drawings and designs of unknown origin, to the French influenced hill retreat town of Sapa with its minority groups, beautiful villas and cherry forests. Our trek to the top of Mt. Fansipan is challenging and will be fully supported every step of the way by our guides, porters and cooks who's local knowledge and understanding of the different hill-tribe cultures we pass along the way will add to the uniqueness of this exhilarating journey.

Highlights:

• Awesome scenery
• Great view from the summit
• Challenging trails
• Fully supported