Still want the adventure?
Just not all the hassle that comes with it.
We spent three weeks travelling through Vietnam — from Hanoi and the mountains of Ha Giang to boats, trains, tiny restaurants, beaches and lantern-lit streets.
We came home with hundreds of photographs, a slight obsession with Vietnam...
and a list of things we really wish we'd known before we went.
So we turned it into a guide.
20 things we wish we'd known before we went to Vietnam
And the bits we'd absolutely do again.
Real places. Practical advice. Things we'd do differently. And a route through Vietnam for people who still want to feel like they're travelling — rather than being processed through a holiday.
This is the guide we'd give a friend.
There are plenty of those already.
Where we'd spend the money. Where we wouldn't.
Why we'd deliberately slow things down in Lan Ha Bay after the adventure of Ha Giang.
Why Ha Giang was one of the most extraordinary things we did.
Why we'd happily sit on a plastic stool eating something brilliant — and then pay a little more for a decent hotel and a good night's sleep.
When we'd arrange a driver.
When we'd take the train.
And when we'd stop planning altogether and see what happened.
Hassle isn't.
That's pretty much the idea behind Detour + Discover.
Vietnam, with the useful bits left in.
Hanoi
How to stop trying to understand it and start enjoying it.
Ha Giang
The mountain journey we'd cross half the world to do again.
Lan Ha Bay
Why slowing down became part of the adventure.
Ninh Binh
Boats, bikes, limestone mountains — and why we'd give Ninh Binh more time than a day trip.
Eating Vietnam
Bánh mì, tiny restaurants, cold beer and why some of the cheapest meals were among the best.
Da Nang + Hoi An
Beach, food, lanterns, crowds — and why popular doesn't automatically mean ruined.
The Detail
Money, Grab, getting around, luggage, weather, hotels and the little decisions that remove a surprising amount of friction.
Plus
What we'd do differently, what we'd repeat tomorrow, and the two-week route we'd recommend to a friend.
We thought we were just going on holiday.
We weren't researching a travel company.
There was no business plan. No clipboard. No scoring system for hotels.
It was just the two of us travelling through Vietnam.
But somewhere between a mountain road in Ha Giang, a boat in Ninh Binh and another conversation about whether something was brilliantly authentic or simply a massive pain in the arse, an idea started to form.
We realised we weren't backpackers.
But we weren't luxury travellers either.
We still wanted to get lost, get dirty, eat things we couldn't pronounce and wake up somewhere we'd never been.
We just wanted a decent bed at the end of it.And we wondered why more travel wasn't designed that way.
That became Detour + Discover.
The energy and spontaneity of independent travel, with somebody quietly taking care of the bits that eat your time or cause stress.
This little guide is where it starts.
Vietnam is where the idea started. And it will be our first journey.
Ewan + Kez
Detour + Discover
Vietnam with the useful bits left in.
Twenty things we wish we'd known. The things we'd absolutely do again. And none of the generic travel-guide filler.