Off-Grid Holidays in Vietnam

There’s a reason so many travellers cite Vietnam as their favourite destination in the world. Lush jungle, jaw-dropping waterfalls, incredible mazes of limestone karsts in sapphire blue seas, white-sand beaches, beautiful ancient towns and countless scooters swarming through the manic streets – and that’s just the sights.

Vietnam is also home to a fascinating history, a rich culture, an incredible number of friendly, warm locals, and one of the best cuisines found anywhere on the planet. Get off-grid in Vietnam, and discover a country of quite literally endless adventure, for all the senses.

1.      Ha Giang Easy Rider

For anyone aiming to get truly off the beaten track, look no further than this journey deep into the mountains of North Vietnam. Travelling by motorcycle with a local guide and driver, you’ll head far from the standard tourist trails, into some of the most spectacular scenery in the world.

Enjoy the freedom of sweeping along stunning mountain roads, stopping at small mountain communities and staying in incredibly hospitable family homes, where you’ll enjoy properly authentic, home-cooked Vietnamese food and the company of your local hosts.

Trust us when we say that relaxing on the decking of a local homestay, watching the slow, rural life pass you by as waterwheels turn lazily in the warm evening air, cold beer in your hand and a mountain vista in the difference as smells of home-cooked food waft from inside, is a moment you’ll want to return to.

2.      8 Day Central and South Vietnam Adventure

Whilst South and Central Vietnam may receive more tourists throughout a year, it certainly doesn’t mean that you can’t still get very much off-grid and see a side to the country that so many miss.

Ancient temples lying off the beaten track, experiences with locals in a three-generation home trying some stunning home-cooked food, trips across incredible mountains passes, all of this and more awaits you on an all-encompassing tour that truly gets you under the skin of Vietnamese culture.

Explore the ancient fortified citadel at Hue, the beautiful complex of Chinese shophouses and Japanese pagodas at Hội An, and vibrant, bustling markets in Ho Chi Minh. But best of all, get to know the local people who make your holiday what it is. Experience incredibly warm hospitality from your hosts, a passion for showing visitors their homes, and get off the beaten track thanks to inside, local knowledge.

3.      Local Trail Walking and Eco Retreat – North Vietnam

A true once-in-a-lifetime adventure, this incredible adventure in Northern Vietnam combines some of the best hiking in the country, along off-grid trails you would only find with a local, with a stunning eco-retreat in the mountains where you can relax and recharge after a busy week.

You’ll start in Hanoi and head out into the mountains, on point to point treks that get you properly off-grid, taking you to beautiful little rural villages where you can get a taste of true Vietnamese culture, cuisine and hospitality. Of course, the trekking itself is absolutely stunning. It heads past beautiful rivers that wind through cascading mountains, epic caves and gleaming rice paddies, and finishes in impossibly picturesque villages.

At the end of your adventure, take some time to relax and soak up the memories of the last few days in the infinity pool overlooking chains of mountains stretching into the distance. A journey you’ll remember for a lifetime.

Off-Grid Holidays in Thailand

Probably the most touristy destination of the three, Thailand is a country that, if you get off-grid, can still reward you in countless ways.

Whether it’s in the mountainous north, around the magical beaches in the south, or the bustling Bangkok, there is a whole offbeat world in Thailand that, once discovered through a local lens, will never be forgotten.

1.      Off the Beaten Track 11 Day Adventure

Whether it’s cycling through the manic streets of Bangkok, exploring atmospheric shrines and ornate temples, enjoying a drift on a fisherman’s boat under the warm sun on impossibly blue seas, everything on this tour is designed to get you off the beaten track and experiencing something local.

Spend most of your time exploring how you wish, staying in incredible locations that make it easy to allow the wanderer within you to fully express itself. Throw in the best places to eat, local knowledge when it comes to things to do, and an overnight train ride (an absolute essential when in Thailand) and you’ll struggle to find a more complete 11 day adventure of Thailand and it’s beautiful southern coast.

2.      Discover Thailand like a Local in 12 Days

This incredible 12 day tour of Thailand starts in the addictive Bangkok, with three days of exploring the capital from the perspective of a local. You’ll visit unique stilted houses, atmospheric waterways, sample some of the best Thai food you will have ever have tasted, and discover the offbeat attractions that most visitors will miss entirely.

After these hidden gems of the capital, you’ll get out of the city to Khao Sok National Park. Here, you’ll be able to experience getting up close and personal with Thailand’s elephants in a sanctuary, located one of the oldest rainforests in the world.

After this you’ll be staying in an incredible floating lodge on a lake, surrounded by jungle-covered mountains. Explore beautiful waterways by boat and drift amongst the thousands of emerald islets of Koh Lanta. Finish by enjoying white sand, palm-fringed beaches and snorkelling in crystal clear seas, rounding off this stunning South East Asia adventure.

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Here at Not In The Guidebooks, we offer a wide variety of off-grid holidays in the UK, as well as in Asia, Europe, Latin America and more. We believe that you see the best of a country when you get truly off the beaten track, away from the most popular tourist attractions and to the places that help you see the true culture of a destination, undiluted by overtourism.