Trail Running in Vietnam: What We Found on the Recce
Before every new trip I go and run it myself. This is what I found on our Vietnam recce: rice terraces, forest trails, a guide called Lei, and a hidden waterfall that changed our itinerary.
Vietnam has been a long time coming for us. I first visited in 2008 and knew straight away how special the country was. It then took the best part of a year to work out the finer details of a trail running trip there, and when we launched, our first two 2027 departures sold out in just weeks.
So this September I went back to finalise everything: to check the trails, try out some of the hotels our guests will stay in, and make sure nothing on the trip is a guess. I came home with a smile on my face, knowing what is in store for everyone who has already signed up.
Why I run every trip before our guests do
A recce is simple in principle. I run the trails, sleep in the hotels, meet the people who will look after you and fix anything that does not feel right. A trip page can tell you what a place looks like. It cannot tell you whether a path is runnable at 7am or whether a hotel is somewhere you will want to come back to after a long day.
It is also the part of the job I enjoy most. If you are weighing up whether a guided trip is worth it, I have been honest about that in is a guided trail running holiday worth it, and the recce is a big part of the answer.
Meeting Lei
Lei is our Vietnamese running guide. He is 26, and he was smiling from ear to ear the moment we met, eager to show me an unseen side of travel in Vietnam. Within minutes I was clinging on to the back of his 110cc motorbike as we rode past local villages and row upon row of rice terraces, the sun on my face and the humidity of the post-rainy-season September building beads of sweat.
Forest trails, a river and some very curious villagers
We met a local villager (in heavy jeans and a hoodie, even though it was 33 degrees, of course) and off we went into the forest. The trails were bountiful, there were flashes of colour in the trees, blue kingfishers danced over the river below, and villagers watched us run past with bewilderment. Running for fun is not something people do here, and the smiles that followed were some of my favourite moments of the whole trip.
I kept thinking, I cannot believe how good this is.
The waterfall that was not on the itinerary
When we finished the trail, the villager chatted with Lei in Vietnamese, which I did not understand. Then Lei turned to me and said, “How about checking out something really special?” I had no other plans for the day, so I said yes.
Back on the bike we went, out into a limestone karst landscape, until we reached a small village. “This way,” Lei gestured, and we walked up a little path beside a flowing stream until we emerged at a hidden waterfall, cascading down like a tiered wedding cake. The sun was beating down, the water looked cool and inviting, and there was not another soul around.
Lei told me he used to come here with friends as a child, but had not been for a long time. Then he asked what I thought about putting it into our itinerary.
“Lei… I think this will do nicely.” — Charlie, on adding the waterfall to the itinerary
What running in Vietnam is really like
Rice terraces, forest paths, river valleys and limestone karst. It is a very different kind of trail running from the Alps or the Dolomites, and the culture is part of every day rather than an extra.
It was 33 degrees and humid when I ran in September, after the rains. Conditions change through the year, so check the Vietnam trip page for what to expect on the April dates.
Lei grew up here, and it shows. The best moments on a recce, like the waterfall, almost always come from local knowledge you cannot get from a map.
Is this trip right for you?
Vietnam is graded Adventurous, so a solid running base and some experience on varied terrain will help. The adventure grades explain what each level means, and our Find Your Trip quiz will point you to a trip that fits where you are now. If you are worried about travelling alone, most of our guests do: more than 90% arrive solo. I have also written a full guide to how running vacations work and what they cost.
Common questions
Is Vietnam good for trail running?
Yes. On the recce I ran rice terraces, forest trails and river valleys, with limestone karst scenery and almost no other runners. It is varied and very scenic.
How hard is the Vietnam trip?
It is graded Adventurous. Check the adventure grades to see whether it matches your current level.
Can I join on my own?
Yes. More than 90% of our guests arrive alone, accommodation is shared as standard and the groups are small.
Are there other Vietnam dates?
Our first two 2027 departures sold out in weeks. The 3–12 April 2027 trip is our last Vietnam departure of 2027.
What if I want to talk it through first?
You can book a free 10-minute call with us. It is an honest conversation about whether Vietnam is the right trip for you, with no sales pitch.
Run the trails I checked for you
Vietnam in April has 7 places left. See the full trip, or talk to us first.
