Rows of numbered green rowboats with orange life jackets wait at a dock in Trang An, Ninh Binh.

Day trips · Short excursions · Shore days

What fits in one day from each city

Private day trips and short two-to-three-day excursions that start and end in Hanoi, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City, Siem Reap or Luang Prabang. Every plan shows the pickup window, the hours you spend in a vehicle or boat each way, the time you are back, and the months when the trip goes wrong.

Plan my trip Open the day-trip planner

6 excursions with hour-by-hour plans4 starting-city guides4 Vietnamese cruise ports covered

Three ways into this site

Most people arrive here with a city already booked and one free day in it. The question is not "where should I go in Vietnam" but "can I get to Ha Long Bay and back from Hanoi before dinner, and is it worth it". The site is built around that question. Pick the route that matches where you are in your planning.

I want to book a day out

Six excursions with a timed plan: see all excursions. Each one names the pickup window, the drive or boat time each way and the latest realistic return.

I know my city, not the options

Start-city guides for Hanoi, Hoi An and Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and Siem Reap.

I need the numbers first

The day-trip planner lists one-way travel time, pickup and return windows and the season to avoid, with a source on every row. Cruise passengers go to the shore excursions page.

What fits in one day, city by city

A day trip works when the travel time each way is less than the time you spend at the place. Below that line you are paying to sit in a van. The table shows where each excursion sits against that line. Times are ranges from the sources listed on the planner page; your own day depends on traffic, weather and the exact hotel.

From	Excursion	Each way	Time on site	Verdict
Hanoi	Ha Long Bay day cruise	2.5–3 h road	4–6 h on the boat	Works, but it is a 12–13.5 hour day
Hanoi	Trang An and Hoa Lu	about 2 h road	2–3 h boat + 1 h temples	Comfortable as a day trip
Hoi An	My Son Sanctuary	~40 km; we plan about 1 h	2–2.5 h	Half day; go at opening
Ho Chi Minh City	Cu Chi and the Mekong at Can Tho	1.5–2 h, then 4 h	2 h tunnels, dawn market	Needs two days, not one
Siem Reap	Angkor sunrise and small circuit	20–30 min (our planning time)	7–8 h	Short ride, long day on foot
Luang Prabang	Pak Ou Caves and Kuang Si	2 h boat / 40–50 min road	1 h caves, 3 h falls	Full day; boat leg is slow

How to read it

Each way means door to site in normal traffic. As a planning estimate, we add 30–60 minutes on Friday evenings, public holidays and in heavy rain.

How a plan from us is built

We plan every excursion backwards from the time you need to be back: a dinner booking, a night train, or a ship's all-aboard. From that point we subtract the drive, a margin for traffic, the time on site, and only then set the pickup. That is why our pickups are written as windows, not single times.

01
Tell us the fixed point
Hotel area, date, and the time you must be back — or your ship's arrival and all-aboard times.
02
Get a written timed plan
Pickup window, each leg with its duration, entrance fees you will meet, and what we cut first if the day runs late.
03
Agree the price
Quoted for your party only. Prices on this site read "On request" because party size and boat type change them.
04
Travel
The guide carries the same plan you saw, with the same cut list.

Read the booking steps and the pricing page for what moves the price.

Half day, full day, or two days?

The difference is rarely the place. It is the ratio of road to reward. My Son from Hoi An is a clean half day: about 40 km, which we plan at an hour each way, and two hours among the temples, back before the midday heat. Ha Long Bay from Hanoi is a full day that some people regret: five to six hours on the road for four to six hours on the water. The Mekong at Can Tho is a two-day trip because the floating market happens at dawn and the city is about four hours from Ho Chi Minh City by road.

Choose a half day when the site is within about an hour and you want the afternoon free.
Choose a full day when travel is two hours or more each way, or when the day combines two places on one road.
Choose two or three days when the thing you came for happens at dawn, or when the road time would exceed the time on site.

Combining two half days is often better than one long day. The planner shows which pairs share a road.

Arriving by cruise ship

Ships calling at Ha Long, Chan May, Tien Sa (Da Nang) and Phu My dock at working ports, not city centres. Ho Chi Minh City is about 80–100 km from Phu My; Hue is 62–100 km from Chan May depending on the source. We plan shore days with a 90-minute cushion before all-aboard and say plainly when a city is too far for your port time. The shore excursions page covers each port.

Who we are not a good fit for

Travellers looking for a multi-country package of a week or more. We sell days and short excursions only.
Trekking trips. Our walking is temple stairs, cave steps and village lanes.
Anyone who wants a single fixed price on the page before giving a date and party size.
Large coach groups. Plans here are written for one private party.

Common questions

Questions travellers ask most

Do you run shared group tours or only private ones?

The plans on this site are written for one private party with its own vehicle. On Ha Long Bay the boat can be shared or private; the excursion page explains the difference.

Can I see a price before I send my dates?

Not a fixed one. Party size, boat type and pickup location change the total more than anything else. Send the form and we reply by email with a quote for your exact day.

Which cities do you start from?

Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An and Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Luang Prabang and Vientiane, plus the four Vietnamese cruise ports. Six excursions have full pages; the planner lists more.

Is a day trip to Ha Long Bay from Hanoi worth it?

It works if you accept a 12 to 13.5 hour day with five to six hours on the road. If you can spare a night, an overnight boat gives you more time on the water than in the van.