Vietnam food vacation

Planet

We carefully choose suppliers in Southeast Asia who reflect our responsible and sustainable ethos. Our current supplier not only has a foundation that works with, supports and advises many different projects and NGO’s in Asia, they are also Travelife certified. Travelife is an internationally accredited certification scheme that helps organisations improve their social, economic and environmental impacts that they have as a business.

For this itinerary we have also partnered with a local organic farming social enterprise in Hoi An. This Vietnamese youth-led enterprise contributes to the success of a citizen movement to improve local’s lives through urban organic gardening. Their initiative is based on sustainable gardening and sustainability education, and from a tourist perspective, offers glimpses into traditional village lives and local unity with nature to those who visit it. You will learn about organic growing processes and also have a chance to join volunteers and villagers in some gardening activities should you wish.

You'll also have an opportunity to take part in rice planting with local farmers in Ky Son.

People

Wherever possible, we encourage you to spend as much time as possible in local communities, interacting with local people to find out more about their way of life and traditional, cultural practices.

The Vietnam Food Vacation itinerary includes a huge number of opportunities to integrate with the locals. Rather than taking cookery classes in a restaurant or classroom, you'll have the opportunity to take part in cookery lessons with local chefs in their own homes. Similarly, we have arranged a number of home-cooked meals hosted in local homes rather than restaurants. Whilst there are, of course, a number of small family-run restaurants that we like to support, there’s nothing quite like being let into a real family home to see how the average Vietnamese person lives, eats and socialises – plus it’s a great opportunity to ask all sorts of questions about life in Vietnam and sample some authentic Vietnamese food.

There’s also a big focus on supporting local farmers and cottage industries in this trip. Not only will you purchase ingredients for meals and cookery lessons from local growers at local markets, but you’ll have an opportunity to stay in a homestay in Ky Son, get hands-on in the field and make a real difference by assisting with seeding and harvesting.

In Hoi An, you'll be taken away from the tourist dominated old town and into the local villages surrounding the region. Here you'll enjoy a walk through a local village and visit an organic farming project created by a group of volunteers to improve the living standards of locals. This social enterprise works hand in hand with local villagers to educate and encourage the implementation of sustainable ‘green’ agricultural processes in order to benefit future generations as well as the present one.

We always ensure we use local English speaking guides wherever possible. Our guides are fantastic ambassadors for their own regions, whether it’s explaining the history, culture or food etiquette, but best of all, they act as a bridge to the local people you meet along the way.