Day trips and short excursions from the cities of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos
Cities
Pick the city you are staying in
Our city pages are written from the point of view of someone already there with a free day. Each one lists what is within reach, how long the road or river takes, the season that spoils it, and how many nights to leave for it.
Four city guides
| City | Within a day | Furthest sensible day | Season to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanoi | Trang An and Hoa Lu, about 2 h | Ha Long Bay, 2.5–3 h each way | July–August heat and storms |
| Hoi An and Da Nang | My Son, about 40 km | Hue, about 2 h from Da Nang | October–January rain and storms |
| Ho Chi Minh City | Cu Chi, about 60 km | Can Tho needs a night (about 4 h) | July–November rain |
| Siem Reap | Angkor, 20–30 min (planning time) | Koh Ker or Beng Mealea, separate passes | March–May heat |
Sources for every time and season are on each city page and in the day-trip planner.
Cities without their own page yet
Hue
Chan May port is 62–100 km away depending on the source; the city often floods from October. Day options are in the planner.
Phnom Penh
Oudong at 43 km and Koh Dach at 14 km are the short day trips; sources and times are in the planner.
Vientiane
The train reaches Luang Prabang in under two and a half hours, which makes a two-to-three-day excursion realistic.
How to use a city page
- Find your city and read the "within a day" list.
- Check the season box against your dates.
- Count the nights: we say how many to leave for the excursions you choose.
- Open the excursion page for the hour-by-hour plan, or send the form for a city we do not list.
City pages describe places; they do not sell. Prices and booking sit on the excursion pages and the pricing page.
Choosing a base when you have a choice
If your route is still open, choose the base by the excursion you most want. Hoi An puts My Son about 40 km away and Hue at a long day. Da Nang puts the cruise port and the airport close, and Hoi An about an hour away. In the north, Hanoi is the base for both Ha Long and Ninh Binh; there is no single town that sits between them. In the south, staying a night in Can Tho is the only way to see the floating market working.
Cruise passengers do not choose a base — the ship does. Start with the shore excursions page.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Which city has the most day trips within two hours?
Siem Reap, because the main Angkor temples are a short drive from town; we allow 20–30 minutes. Hanoi has the widest range, but the well-known trips are two hours or more away.
Do you cover Hue as a starting city?
We plan day trips from Hue on request. The planner lists sourced travel times; a full Hue page is not yet published.
Is Da Nang or Hoi An the better base?
Hoi An for My Son and the old town in the evening; Da Nang for the airport and the cruise port. They are about an hour apart by road.
Can I start in one city and end in another?
Yes, on two-to-three-day excursions. Send both cities and we plan a one-way route.
Related
Read next
Cities · Northern Vietnam
Hanoi
Hanoi as a base: Ha Long Bay at 2.5–3 h, Trang An at about 2 h, the seasons, and how many nights to keep.
View this journey
Cities · Central Vietnam
Hoi An and Da Nang
Hoi An and Da Nang as a base: My Son, Hue, Tien Sa and Chan May, and the October–January rains.
View this journey
Cities · Southern Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City as a base: Cu Chi at about 60 km, Can Tho at about 4 h, Phu My port, and the rain months.
View this journey
Cities · Cambodia
Siem Reap
Siem Reap as a base: Angkor passes for 1, 3 or 7 days, the 05:00 opening, Banteay Srei, and the hot months.
View this journey
Plan
Day-trip planner
The planner table: one-way travel times, pickup and return windows and seasons to avoid, with sources.
View this journey
Start planning
Tell us about the trip you have in mind
Dates, party size and the places you care about are enough to start. You get a draft route and an indicative price, not a brochure.