Many tour com-panies offer this trip in a two-week timeframe, but this barely allows enough time to unpack your bags in each place. Train, bus or opt for a car and driver for this 171 Okm epic. Trains and buses stop at most destinations, but to cover this huge distance a Hue-Hanoi flight could save time. Travel by boat around the Halong Bay area -the only way to get a good look at the crazy karsts.
The snaking roads on this Journey are some of the most treacherous in Vietnam, and land-slips and floods are common. The motorbiking here is pure heaven for seasoned two-wheelers, but for the majority a 4WD is the sanest wayto go. Down to Chau Doc, public transport is a breeze; after that, it's sparse and requires flexi-bility. Flights from Phu Quoc Island to HCMC run daily; if flying back to HCMC, book return flights well before hitting the delta to guarantee a quick getaway.