Mai Chau Trips & Tours

Mai Chau

An utterly bucolic corner of Vietnam to rejuvenate your soul.

Travel and Leisure Worlds Best Awards for number 1 tour operator in the world 2024 and number 2 tour operator in the world 2025

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Named three years running in Travel+Leisure World's Best, including No.1 in 2024

Mai Chau

A peaceful interlude from modern whims in the hills of northern Vietnam

A mere 135 kilometres southwest of Hanoi yet many moons apart is the luminous scenery of the Mai Chau Valley. Encircled by hills and patchwork rice fields, it’s an idyllic corner of the country where nods to modernity are few and tiny villages are often the only signs of life. Homestays are a great draw and are usually hosted by White Thai families, known for their warm hospitality and fantastic food - and waking up atop a stilted house with only a burbling stream to break the dawn is sure to be a highlight of any trip. Other activities are geared around relaxing and taking in the scenery, hiking and biking around the farmlands and ribboning paths, and bartering for arts and crafts. Sunday is the day to be seen in Mai Chau town, when the morning market is in full flow and the hill people gather in their finest dress. If you’re looking for a hardcore, off-the-beaten-track experience, this isn’t for you; but if some R&R in the countryside is what the doctor ordered, you’ll love it.

Trips

Mai Chau Trips & Tours

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Vietnam

Explore the north of Vietnam

11 nights from $6K per person

Mai Chau Halong Bay Hanoi

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Our Experts

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or call us on: +1 (646) 542 0667

Kristin Jessup

Africa Travel Specialist

Annie Irankunda

Africa Travel Specialist

Carola Fresno

South America & Indian Subcontinent Travel Specialist

Things to do

What to do in Mai Chau

Deep in the north of Vietnam, Mai Chau is just the place to slow down and breathe deeply. Explore its lime-green hills and valleys on hiking or biking excursions, and stop to visit a local family where you could even spend the night. Get to know the community with a lesson in textile weaving, embroidery, bamboo basket weaving or kite making. Mai Chau is famous for its incredible caves, one of the most famous being Chieu Cave, which sits at the top of 1,200 steps - it's well worth the tired feet! Alternatively, tootle down river in a sampan boat or look for secretive leopard in Pu Luong Nature Reserve.

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Culture

When to go

Best time to visit Mai Chau

Excellent

Good

Mixed

january

Dry Season — one of the best times to visit

Articles

Vietnam in the blog

Planning Guides

Vietnam Travel Guide: Where to Go, When to Visit & How to Plan Your Trip

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Reviews

Based on 13 Feefo Reviews for Vietnam

lana siglinger

Low stress travel the way it's meant to be

June 2026

17 nights in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos

As I mentioned- everything was great. Super easy to work with Meg. the dashboard was pretty straightforward and informative. It was so wonderful being taken care of at every location- having someone meet us at the airport and show us all of the best things in each place. the tours were well thought out and well curated. I liked having tour guides that seemed to have secret handshakes to get us into super crowded lunch spots with our own reserved table- my husband felt like he was in the Godfather. :-)

We have travelled a lot for business and pleasure over a number of years and I have to say that Timbuktu are by far the best travel agency I have ever used. They really understand your needs and are helpful throughout. On our last trip to Vietnam, we visited six destinations over three weeks involving private transfers, five internal flights and four guided tours, all of which were faultless.

Pat Weinpahl

February 2026

12 nights in Vietnam

Very accommodating and many great adventures

I wanted to take the stress off of planning a trip for 5 with three older teen/young adults to Vietnam and Timbuktu made it so easy. The planning was straight forward and the actual trip was so smooth. We had a friendly face greeting us at every stop from the airport to hotel to tours and meals. It was the best vacation our family has had. We loved it.

Guest

Great planning, yet to travel...

May 2025

17 nights in Laos and Vietnam

Haven't traveled yet but the planning process has been great, in terms of honing the itinerary and accommodating our special requests.

Guest

Once in a Lifetime Vietnam Honeymoon

December 2024

12 nights in Vietnam

Absolutely loved our experience with Timbuktu. Working with Jess was an amazing process and our honeymoon wouldn’t have been half the trip it was without the support and guidance of Timbuktu. They really made our trip a trip of a lifetime.

Why travel with Timbuktu?

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Travel+Leisure's readers voted us the World's No.1 Tour Operator in 2024 and No.2 in 2025 — the travel industry's biggest readers' award, judged by people who actually travel.

Every Trip Makes A Difference

$50 from every booking goes to female empowerment, tech education, and conservation projects across the countries we love. We have donated $78,000 so far – and it's going up!

Collaboration Is Key

Your travel specialist is with you the whole way, dreaming up the trip, building the itinerary, checking you in, and answering the 2am question from the other side of the world..