Graded cycling, kayaking and cave trips in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
Vietnam · Laos · Cambodia
Cycle, paddle and walk through Indochina — at a grade you can check first
Private trips that mix cycling, sea kayaking, show caves, short hikes and motorbike rides with a driver. Every tour publishes its daily distance, climbing and hours of activity, and every riding day has a van behind you.
Three ways in
Pick a tour
Five private routes from 4 to 14 days. Each page lists the grade, the hardest day and the day that is kept free for weather. Compare the tours.
Pick a region
Limestone sea at Lan Ha Bay, river caves at Phong Nha, canal lanes in the Mekong Delta, a coffee plateau in southern Laos. Read the destination guides.
Check the pace and season
Read the four-step grade scale, the month-by-month chart and the safety rules before you choose.
What a grade on this site actually tells you
Most adventure itineraries say moderate and leave you to guess what that means. Ours puts three numbers on every active day: kilometres in the saddle, metres of climbing and hours of activity. Kayaking days show hours on the water; walking days show kilometres and the number of steps where we know them.
A tour takes the grade of its two hardest days, not its average. A trip with six easy days and one 70 km day in 34 °C heat is not an easy trip, and we do not label it as one. Optional harder rides are graded separately, so you can see the base programme and the extra on their own lines.
| Grade | Cycling per day | Climbing per day | Hours active |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 — Easy-going | up to 30 km | under 200 m | 2 – 3 |
| 2 — Moderate | 30 – 50 km | 200 – 500 m | 3 – 5 |
| 3 — Challenging | 50 – 80 km | 500 – 1,000 m | 5 – 6 |
| 4 — Demanding | 80 km or more | over 1,000 m | 6 or more |
The full scale, with kayaking and walking equivalents and a self-check you can do at home, is on the difficulty grades page.
The five tours at a glance
| Tour | Days | Grade | Hardest day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lan Ha Bay Kayak & Cat Ba Cycling | 4 | 2 | About 40 km and 400 m of climbing across Cat Ba |
| Phong Nha Caves & the Ho Chi Minh Road | 5 | 3 | About 55 km on the Ho Chi Minh Road, then the cave steps |
| Bolaven Plateau & 4000 Islands Active | 7 | 2 | About 50 km of rolling plateau roads |
| Mekong Delta to Angkor by Bike | 9 | 3 | About 65 km of flat delta lanes in the heat |
| Vietnam & Cambodia Multi-Sport | 14 | 2 | About 45 km with van support on every climb |
Prices are quoted per trip, because a private route for two costs a different amount per person from the same route for eight. The pricing page explains what moves the number.
How a riding day works
- 01
Early start
On hot routes we start riding between 06:30 and 07:00 and aim to finish the main ride before the midday heat.
- 02
Van behind you
A support vehicle carries luggage, water, spare tubes and a spare bike. Anyone can climb in at any point, for a kilometre or for the rest of the day.
- 03
One stop in three
Most stops are for water, shade and a look at something, not for shopping. We do not route rides through commission stops.
- 04
Afternoon off the bike
Afternoons are for a cave, a boat, a swim or nothing at all. The grade numbers already include any afternoon activity.
Why weather gets its own day
Northern Vietnam's coast, the central provinces and the Mekong Delta all have months where storms or floods close boats and roads. Typhoon season on Vietnam's eastern coast runs from May to November, and flooding is common in October and November in central Vietnam and the Mekong Delta.
Tours of five days or more keep one day loosely planned so that a cancelled boat or a flooded lane moves the activity rather than deleting it. On shorter trips we tell you in advance which activity is most exposed to weather and what replaces it if it does not run.
Sources: UK FCDO — Vietnam travel advice, safety and security · checked .
Who we are not a good fit for
- Riders who want a race pace or a Grade 4 week every week: our base programmes stop at Grade 3.
- Walkers looking for several days of pure trekking between villages: our walks are short and sit between rides and paddles.
- Travellers who want to ride a motorbike themselves: our motorbike days are on the back, with a local rider in front.
- Groups larger than twelve: van, boat and cave group sizes make bigger parties slow and less safe.
- Anyone wanting a trip into Son Doong: that cave is visited only on long expeditions run by a specialist licensed operator, and we do not sell it.
Plan with numbers, not adjectives
Start with the grade you can ride comfortably today, not the grade you hope to reach after training. Then pick a season from the when-to-go chart, because the same route is a different trip in April heat or October rain. When you send the form, tell us your longest recent ride and any injuries. We reply by email with a draft route that shows each day's numbers, so you can say shorter or more before anything is booked.
Plan your trip
Send dates and a grade
Two lines are enough: when you can travel, who is coming and how far you ride now.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Do I need to be fit to join one of your tours?
You need to be able to manage the grade of the tour you pick. A Grade 2 trip suits someone who rides 30 to 50 km at the weekend without much trouble. The van is there for the days when your legs disagree with the plan.
Can a non-cyclist come with a cyclist?
Yes. On most days a non-riding partner can travel in the van and join at lunch or at the afternoon activity. Kayaking and cave days are shared, so the trip still feels like one trip.
Do you run fixed-date group departures?
The tours on this site run as private trips on the dates you choose. That is why prices are quoted per trip, after you tell us the party size.
Which countries can I combine?
Vietnam and Cambodia combine well through the Mekong Delta and the river border at Chau Doc. Southern Laos combines with Cambodia's north-east; ask and we will show the transfer times honestly before you decide.
Related
Read next
Tours
Tours
All five graded tours, with days, grade and hardest day side by side.
View this journey
Plan · Grades
Difficulty grades
The four-step grade scale behind every tour, with a self-check you can do at home.
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Plan · Seasons
When to go
A 12-month riding and paddling chart for each region, built from WMO climate data.
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Plan · Safety
Safety
The rules we run every tour by: van, helmets, buoyancy aids, heat, weather and insurance.
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Destinations
Destinations
Guides to the four regions our tours ride and paddle through.
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Tours · Prices
Prices
The cost lines behind a quote, and what makes one quote cheaper than another.
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Start planning
Tell us about the trip you have in mind
Dates, party size and the grade you are comfortable with are enough to start. You get a draft route with daily distances and a quote for that route, not a brochure.