Trekking Experiences in Vietnam: Is it worth a try in 2024?

Trekking is now one of the most beloved outdoor activities in the world. It captivates adventurers seeking to immerse themselves in nature and create memorable trekkingexperiences. Vietnam stands as a top-notch destination for trekkers to visit with breathtaking landscapes, rich cultures, tasty dishes and diverse wildlife. Is that true?

This article will elevate the trekkingexperiences in Vietnam through our guidelines to discover the country’s natural and cultural beauty. Do not miss unforgettable landscapes one trail at a time.

At ExoTrails, our team passionately believes in the adage “Do what you love and love what you do”. This drives us to curate, verify, and promote trails across Vietnam. Download the App to explore the outdoors!

• Trekking as the No.1 Outdoor Escape: Embracing Nature’s Trails
• Types of Trails and How to Find the Best Ones in Vietnam
• Unveiling the Natural Charms of Camping Sites in Vietnam – Jan 2024

Expert Trekking Plan

Choose the destination

Experts will take various factors into consideration for the best trekkingexperiences. They ensure the actual location aligns with their preferences, abilities, and interests by creating a vision board:

• List out your favorite terrain (mountain, forest, coast, or a mix of landscapes), difficulty, time, and climate.
• Determine estimated budget for the trek, including travel costs, permits, guides (if necessary), gear rentals or purchases, accommodations, and other expenses.
• Consider the ability of yours or the group in general, can you trekking for wildlife adventure, challenges or local culture and the scenic beauty along the trails.

Based on their taste and ability, experts will research potential destinations from online resources. They look for verified trekking experiences from detailed descriptions, reviews, and photographs. If you are on the way, do not forget to explore recommended places here.

Design your trek nicely

Now, it’s time to plan your budget and accommodation. Experts know their trail really well, distances, rest stops, and regulations, so they have a plan for it. Depending how long and far you can go in each milestone, calculate how much to spend and prepare where to stay at nights (camp, homestay, etc.).
Expect the unexpected, a backup plan is important too. For example, the weather is not associated with the forecasts, or emergency scenarios happen in reality. Experts never forget the emergency procedures.
After all, remember to share your plan with trusted contacts, and keep in touch with them as possible. We want to make sure you have your favorite trekking experiences in safety at all times.

Pack your gear smartly

Having the right gear and equipment is important for a comfortable, safe, and enjoyable trek. Experts often pack based on duration, weather conditions, and specific requirements of the trail.

Here’s a recommended checklist:

• A backpack: Durable, comfortable and adequate to carry your gear
• Outfit: Appropriate trail shoes, layers of clothing, socks and underwear, hat, sunglasses, gloves, buff or scarf, rain cover, etc.
• Navigation: Map and a compass, GPS device or smartphone with downloaded offline maps, trail guidebook
• (If camping) Tent, sleeping bags, sleeping pad or mattress
• Food and water, (if preparing meal) cooking gear
• Safety equipment: Basic first-aid kit, flashlight, whistle, signal mirror, emergency beacon, multi-tool or knife
• Personal Items: ID, emergency contact, trekking poles, personal skincare travel kit

Handling the weight of your backpack, try to consider the absolute essentials. Opt for lightweight and durable gear to minimize the load. Furthermore, for group trekking experiences, sharing items among your companions can significantly reduce individual burdens. Finally, ensure you have everything necessary for a safe and enjoyable experience.

Vietnam Trekking Experiences

Spectacular Landscapes

Vibrant colors cover Vietnam most of the year, green and yellow seasons, peach blossom and flamboyant seasons, etc. Along with this, Vietnam also possesses diverse terrain with breathtaking views across the country.

Our trekking experiences here range from the terraced rice fields in Sapa and the limestone karsts in Ha Giang, Northern Vietnam. The Central boasts the world’s largest caves. You can visit the lush jungles and caves in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. Southern Vietnam is famous for sprawling mangrove forests, riverside villages and exotic wildlife along the Mekong Delta.

Cultural ImmersionIn Vietnam, we have 54 ethnic groups, 53 of them are minority communities. So trekking experiences to remote areas or traditional villages, you may encounter, for example H’mong, Cham, Khmer or Dao people. Vietnamese are friendly and open to share their customs, traditional clothing, cuisine, …

We suggest you should learn a little about their tradition by the trail. Moreover, if you love the look if there are any local festivals or events at the time you visit. These cultural exchanges have always enriched our trekking journey.

Vietnamese Local Food

Gordon Ramsay has praised Vietnam as the world’s top food destinations. Our trekking experiences are not different. It relates to trying authentic Vietnamese dishes during trekking. It can be a bowl of pho at a local village stop or savoring traditional meals prepared by locals during homestays.
The humble Vietnam food taste makes every meal truly a feast of flavors. It may feature Vietnamese herbs such as basil, mint, lemongrass, and coriander. The fish sauce known as ‘nuoc mam’ makes an appearance at most meals, especially Hue dishes.

Environment and Wildlife

Vietnam is ranked 16th among the earth’s most biodiverse countries. It has a number of national parks and nature reserves that offer outstanding and diverse wildlife. With a wide range of latitudes, its climate varies from humid tropical to temperate from the southern lowlands to the northern highlands. As a result, trekking experiences a diversity of natural environments like forest, waterways, marine areas.

Challenges and How to overcome them

Many trekkers like us love adventure. We keep seeking out trails that are unique and offbeat. However, unlike popular ones, trekking these paths raises concerns regarding safety and logistical challenges. Vietnam, a popular spot these years for its natural beauty, shares these concerns among adventurers.

We often face inadequate information to navigate as well as limited sharing and verification. For a year, ExoTrails made proactive efforts to address and mitigate these challenges. We conducted comprehensive verifications of the best treks scattered across Vietnam’s breathtaking terrains.

Perfect your trekking experiences with the ExoTrails App

ExoTrails is an impressive App for all who love outdoor life, including trekkers. This App offers assistance from top to toe.

• Search available trails: In the stage of planning, users access trails nearby, verified and curated by ExoTrails. Team have shared their thoughts of the journey and what is remarkable through vivid real-life imagery.
• Start an available trail: As trekking, you can embark on a safer journey with established footprints. Downloading the trail map to use it offline is the supporting feature. It ensures uninterrupted guidance during network outage.
• Create your own trail: ExoTrails App allows users to craft their own unique trail. It adds a touch of personalization directly within the app interface. Then, share your precious stories to help people decide their next adventure.

Create group challenge: ExoTrails enables everyone to set up a trail challenge and invite their buddies. Location and progress of all participants are shared. The App will also glorify the top 3 finish on its Leaderboard.
Explore the outdoors with ExoTrails – where your journey begins and the community thrives!

Conclusion

Trekkingexperiences in Vietnam always come along with lasting impressions on its landscapes, cultures, food and nature. If you are planning your next trek, why not Vietnam? Embark on your own adventures with our app support for local trails. We are the local team that verify trails across Vietnam. Download the App to explore!