Da Lat to Hoi An - a five night trip

This is arguably one of the best trips you can do if you have the time. You see everything that is Vietnam - gorgeous countryside, smiling children, waterfalls, coffee fields, hill-tribe people and countless cottage industries - and all while riding along the famous Ho Chi Minh Trail.

The first day takes you from Da Lat along sections of the lower HCM Trail and through numerous minority villages where you'll stop and meet people that other tourists will only read about in their guide books. Looking out over hills covered by coffee plants and jungle - as well as some that have been denuded by Agent Orange - you'll discover just how enjoyable and comfortable it is to ride pillion with an Easy Rider.

On the second day, you start with a walk around the M'Nong minority village where you probably spent the night, followed by a shorter trip to some lovely waterfalls in the area around Buon Ma Thot, the principal city of Vietnam's central highlands.

Day three takes you north - perhaps to Pleiku or Kon Tom depending on your progress. You might stop and see a family making rice pancakes or noodle to sell at the market, or tending to their black pepper vines. In Kon Tom, two orphanages care for over 400 ethnic minority children and both the nuns and the kids love a visit. Often this is a good point to stop for a day of rest - you can visit nearby minority villages, meet some locals or practice English (or football!)with the orphans.

The final two days are through the heart of the gorgeous Truong Son mountains along a part of the main Ho Chi Minh trail surrounded by dense jungle. As your guides tell you about the ingenuity of the men and women who built and used this trail, you'll almost be able to picture them fording the streams and fading into the steaming mist. In the the early evening of the final day you arrive in Hoi An, a lovely laid back town known for making clothes and serving authentic Western food. So grab a gin and tonic at one of the bars and tell all those who just stepped off the Highway 1 tourist bus about your adventures.