Northern Vietnam Photography Tour

I’m happiest when I’m well-fed, visually intrigued, and inspired. Vietnam puts me in that space perhaps better than anywhere else on the planet.

In 2025, I’m going to be leading a photography tour to Northern Vietnam. This is a place of some of the most incredible landscape on the planet, one of the most under-rated waterfalls in the world, and some of the best travel photography opportunities anywhere.

Want a bit of an adventure and a couple memory cards packed with incredible raw files? Join me on this photo voyage to Vietnam!

Costs / Info

  • Dates: November 28- December 9, 2025
  • Start / End City: Hanoi, Vietnam
  • Days: 12
  • Maximum Group Size: 7
  • Trip Style: Scouting
  • Fitness Level: Moderate. Some hiking.
  • Price: €4,995 (€800 deposit)
    • Optional Single Supplement: €1,800

What’s Included

  • Transport within tour dates
  • Accommodation within tour dates
  • Local tour guides
  • All meals within tour dates
  • Local entrance fees
  • Airport transfers on arrival/departure days
  • Photography instruction by Brendan van Son

What’s Not Included

  • Transport to/from vietnam
  • Visas for Vietnam (if needed)
  • Snacks and beverages

The Workshop Itinerary

This trip is a bit of a scouting trip. We’ll be heading out to some locations that I’ve never visited and we’ll go searching for new photo spots, as well as some of the classics. Since there really isn’t a massive volume of photographers heading through Vietnam (for reasons unknown to me – it’s stunning), we’ll have the opportunity to lead the way in finding some really special photo spots ourselves!

It’s one of my great joys in photography: being the ones to find the photos that everyone wants to take.

That being said, despite having some flexibility, we will be following a general itinerary that will look something like:

Day 1: Arrival in Hanoi
Day 2: Full day exploring Hanoi
Day 3: Travel to Sa Pa
Day 4: Full day in the Sa Pa area.
Day 5: Travel to Ha Giang
Day 6: Travel to Dong Van via Quan Ba and Yen Minh
Day 7: Full day in the Dong Van area
Day 8: Travel to Meo Vac via Ma Pi Leng
Day 9: Travel to Cao Bang. Ban Gioc Waterfall
Day 10: Sunrise at Ban Gioc Waterfall. Travel to Be Be Lake via Ngoum Ngao Cave
Day 11: Travel Hanoi
Day 12: Tour ends after breakfast

Book Here:

To reserve your space on this trip, please pay the deposit below. Before booking, please read the terms and conditions of payment here. If the tour is sold out, or you have any questions, please send me an email to inquire (brendanvanson at gmail dot com).

Meet The Workshop Instructors

Brendan has been a professional travel photographer for over a decade. Over those years, he’s visited well over 100 countries and worked for some of the world’s most renowned companies and publications.

His journeys around the world are documented on his travel photography YouTube Channel.

FAQs For the Vietnam Photography Tour

What Style Trip is This?
This is a scouting trip.
On scouting trips, we keep things flexible and we explore. These trips are as close as it gets to feeling what it’s like to be on a travel photography assignment. We don’t take a lot of downtime, and explore/photograph as much as we can.

Find out the difference in my trips here.

Is the Deposit Refundable?
Yes. The deposit is refundable up to 90 days before the tour’s start date. I do charge a 10% fee. You also have the option to move your deposit onto another trip or to keep on file as credit without a fee.

What’s a Single Supplement?
If you’re booking solo, you’ll be paired up with a roommate of the same gender as the pricing is based on double occupancy. However, if you’d like your own private single accommodation you can pay the single supplement.

When are Final Payments Due?
We send a request for final payments about 180 days before the tour’s start date. Final payments are due 90 days before the tour’s start date.

What does the average day on tour look like?
Honestly, no two days will be the same. So it’s kind of hard to predict. However, I will say that we will be putting some time into making photos! Some days can be long, but there is usually downtime in the middle of the day to relax and catch up on sleep – or photo editing.

500-700am: Sunrise Photo Shoot
8am: Breakfast
9-11am: Location scouting
noon-2pm: Lunch
2-5pm: Location Scouting
5-7pm: Sunset Photography
7-830pm: Dinner
8:30-1030pm: Free time or night photography option in certain areas.

Obviously, most participants won’t be able to do everything (without exhausting themselves) so everything is optional.

What will the weather be like?
I think a lot of people assume Vietnam will be hot, humid, and tropical. However, the winter in Northern Vietnam can actually get quite cold. In fact, there are days that it snows.

I think we can expect temperature lows around 5-8 Celcius and highs in the mid-teens.

Can’t Join Us?

If you can’t join us in Japan but would like information on future travel photography workshops around the world, please sign up to the newsletter below.

At the moment we have trips to places like Namibia and Canada – among many other amazing photography destinations. We’d love for you to join us out in the world.