Classic Vietnam

Thirteen nights the length of Vietnam, self-guided, driving an ex-US military Jeep along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

The vehicle and the route are the same subject. The trail was the supply network that ran south through the war, and driving it in a Jeep of the period is a pointed way to see the country the fighting was over, which the itinerary treats seriously rather than as a novelty.

Hanoi opens it for two nights, with the mausoleum, the wreckage of a downed B52, the war museum and the former French prison the American pilots called the Hanoi Hilton. The Jeeps are collected at the Ho Chi Minh Trail Museum, then Mai Chau, Vinh by way of Cuc Phuong, and Phong Nha, a world heritage karst region holding some of the largest caves on earth, with a boat into one. Khe Sanh follows, the Marine base besieged for seventy-seven days in 1968, then the former demilitarised zone, the Hien Luong bridge that marked the line, and the Vinh Moc tunnels, dug by villagers to shelter from the bombing. Hue, the Hai Van Pass, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City close the route.

The Jeep hire with full mechanical support and insurance, the Da Nang to Saigon flight, a route book and marked map, the site entry fees, dinner every night except the days off, lunch on the driving days and the Hanoi airport collection are all included; flights, fuel and the visa are not. Travel is at the guest’s own pace rather than in convoy. February to April and September to November are the windows.