Graded cycling, kayaking and cave trips in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
Destinations
Four regions, four kinds of terrain
Limestone sea, cave country, river lowland and a coffee plateau. These guides describe each place as a place to be active in: the terrain, the season, how long to stay and how to get there.
The four regions
Lan Ha Bay & Cat Ba
A limestone sea of more than a thousand islands, added to the Ha Long Bay World Heritage property in 2023. Sheltered kayaking, short hilly rides. Read the guide.
Phong Nha-Ke Bang
More than 220 km of documented caves and underground rivers, show caves you can visit without an expedition and the Ho Chi Minh Road. Read the guide.
Mekong Delta
Canal lanes, small ferries and floating markets; flat, hot and easiest in the dry season. Read the guide.
Bolaven Plateau
A coffee plateau at 1,000 to 1,350 m with waterfalls on its edges, and the Mekong's 4000 Islands below. Read the guide.
Sources: UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago; UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Phong Nha-Ke Bang and Hin Nam No; Discover Laos Today — Paksong and the Bolaven Plateau · checked .
The regions compared
| Region | Terrain | Main activities | Driest months | Nights to stay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lan Ha Bay & Cat Ba | Sea and hilly island | Kayak, cycle, short walk | October – April (cool and grey January – March) | 3 |
| Phong Nha-Ke Bang | Karst, forest, rivers | Caves, cycle, kayak, pillion motorbike | February – July | 3 – 4 |
| Mekong Delta | Flat river land | Cycle, boats | December – April | 3 – 4 |
| Bolaven Plateau | Rolling plateau, falls, islands | Cycle, waterfall walks, Mekong kayak | November – April | 4 – 6 with the islands |
The driest months are not always the most pleasant: Phong Nha in June and July is dry but hot, around 34 to 35 °C at its warmest. The when-to-go chart scores each month for riding and paddling, not only for rain.
Sources: WMO World Weather Information Service — Hai Phong; WMO World Weather Information Service — Ha Tinh; WMO World Weather Information Service — Ho Chi Minh City; WMO World Weather Information Service — Pakse · checked .
Which region for which rider
You like hills
Phong Nha and Cat Ba. Both have short, steep climbs and fast descents. Phong Nha's rides are longer.
You like distance
The Mekong Delta. You will ride further than anywhere else on our routes and climb almost nothing.
You want to paddle
Lan Ha Bay first, then the Mekong channels of the 4000 Islands in the dry season, then the Chay River at Phong Nha.
You want quiet
The Bolaven Plateau. It has the fewest visitors of the four and the simplest places to stay.
What these guides do not cover
Each guide describes a place as somewhere to ride, paddle and walk for a few hours a day, with a van and a bed at the end of it. They are not guides to multi-day trekking in the northern mountains, to remote national-park journeys or to off-road driving; our trips are not built for those, and we would rather not pretend otherwise.
Each guide ends with the tours that go there, and each one says when to skip the place altogether. That section is worth reading first if your travel dates are fixed.
Combining regions
The four regions sit far apart. Lan Ha Bay to Phong Nha is an overnight train or a flight via Hanoi; Phong Nha to the Mekong Delta is a flight; the Mekong Delta connects to Cambodia by river, and southern Laos connects to Cambodia overland. Two regions in a week is the practical limit. Our 14-day Vietnam and Cambodia trip joins three regions with Angkor, and says plainly how much of it is transfer.
For prices and booking steps, see the pricing page and the how-to-book page.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Why only four regions?
These are the four where we run graded active routes with a van behind every ride. We would rather describe four places well than list twenty.
Which region is easiest for first-time cyclists?
The Mekong Delta on short days, because it is flat. Keep the rides under about 30 km and ride in the morning, and it is a Grade 1 experience.
Which region is coolest?
The Bolaven Plateau, because of its height, and northern Vietnam from December to March.
Related
Read next
Destinations · Central Vietnam
Phong Nha-Ke Bang
Caves, karst cycling and river kayaking in central Vietnam.
View this journey
Destinations · Northern Vietnam
Lan Ha Bay & Cat Ba
Sea kayaking among limestone islands and short hilly rides on Cat Ba.
View this journey
Destinations · Southern Vietnam
Mekong Delta
Flat canal-lane cycling, floating markets and the river route to Phnom Penh.
View this journey
Destinations · Southern Laos
Bolaven Plateau
Plateau cycling, waterfalls and the 4000 Islands of the Mekong in southern Laos.
View this journey
Plan · Seasons
When to go
A 12-month riding and paddling chart for each region, built from WMO climate data.
View this journey
Tours
Tours
All five graded tours, with days, grade and hardest day side by side.
View this journey
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.