A real trek, then your feet in warm herbs
This is meant to be a proper day on your feet, not a stroll to a stream and back: the stream bed of Suoi Tien in the morning, a climb onto the ridge above Ham Ninh before lunch, a descent in the early afternoon, and only then a chair, a drink and a tub of warm herbal water.
At a glance
- Duration
- About ten and a half hours, 07:00 - 17:30
- Size
- Shared, maximum 10; one trek guide per five
- Distance
- Planned 7 - 10 km, being GPS-measured
- Ends
- Back at your hotel by about 17:30
- Difficulty
- 4 of 5; ages 12 and up
- From
- USD 89 per person
Read this first: the distance
The day is designed as seven to ten kilometres. We have to be straight about where that number comes from. The usual Suoi Tien walk is about 4 km and roughly three hours, and the stream itself is only about a kilometre long. To reach seven to ten, the route links the stream to the trail onto the Ham Ninh and Tien Son ridge, which on its own is about 6 km there and back with a climb of around 230 metres.
That linked route is being walked and recorded with GPS before the first departures - distance, height gained, the lunch spot and the points where a tired walker can be taken out. If the recorded route comes in shorter than seven kilometres, this page will say so, the difficulty will come down, and so will the price. You will not be sold a ten-kilometre day that turns out to be four. Until the measured figures are on this page, a booking for this day is a request: we confirm it, and take payment, only once the route has been measured.
The three stages
Suoi Tien, about 3 - 4 km
Pick-up from 07:00; Suoi Tien lies in Ham Ninh commune, reached along a red dirt road. After a shoe, pole and water check you follow the stream over rock steps and through low forest, with swimming stops when there is water.
The ridge, about 3 km
The steep part of the day. From about 10:15 the path climbs onto the ridge above Ham Ninh, to a viewpoint over the forest and the sea on the east side of the island.
Down, about 1 - 3 km
After a packed lunch in the forest from around noon, the descent takes from 13:00 to about 14:30, depending on the loop the guide chooses for the conditions and the legs in front of them.
Count on about five and a half hours of real effort - more than any other day we run. The guide sets the pace for the slowest walker and carries the authority to shorten the route when heavy rain makes that sensible.
Why the afternoon is a foot soak
The order of the day is deliberate. By the time you come off the ridge your legs have done a real day, and the last thing you want is a shopping stop or a pepper garden. So from about 15:00 there is one stop only: the herb farm of a nationally recognised traditional medicine practitioner, for the short version of the visit.
- You sit down. A warm foot soak in water steeped with herbs prepared according to traditional recipes, for 30 to 45 minutes, in the garden of the calligraphy cafe.
- You get one drink with it - coffee or a herbal tea.
- You blend and pack one foot-soak pack yourself at the preparation table, which you take home. Herbal wine and poultice are shown as finished products rather than made, because both take far longer than an afternoon.
- There is no tree planting on this version. It is left out so the day does not run past 17:30.
The farm has a counter selling its own herbal products. It is the only place on this day where anything is for sale, buying it is optional, and the guide takes you nowhere else to shop. A calligraphy character can be requested at the cafe; whether that carries a charge is confirmed at booking.
Day by day
Suoi Tien, the Ham Ninh ridge and an herb farm
Pick-up from 07:00 within Duong Dong, Ong Lang and Long Beach. From 07:30 a quarter of an hour at the trailhead: shoes checked, poles handed out, water filled, the safety briefing. The guide explains how the day runs before anyone starts.
From 07:45 the stream stage, then from 10:15 the climb to the ridge viewpoint. Lunch is eaten in the forest from about midday - rice boxes and fruit carried in, nothing cooked, nothing burned, and every bit of rubbish carried out in the bags provided.
The descent ends at the pick-up point at about 14:30. The van reaches the herb farm by about 15:00 for the foot soak, the blending and one drink, leaves at about 16:45, and you are back at your hotel by about 17:30.
Prices
| Departure | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Shared, up to 10 | USD 89 per person | Fixed date, one trek guide per five |
| Private, two travellers | USD 149 per person | Your own guide and vehicle |
| Private, three or more | Quoted on request | Tell us the number of walkers |
Why USD 10 more than our Healing Forest day: a longer and harder route, more guides per walker, and the trek kit. The prices page covers the rest.
What the price includes
- Vehicle for pick-up and drop-off within the standard zone
- Trek guides at one per five walkers
- Trekking poles and rubbish bags to carry everything out
- Drinking water, fruit and snacks
- Packed lunch in the forest
- Forest or stream entry fees, if any are charged on the route
- The short herb farm visit: one foot-soak pack you blend yourself, a 30 to 45 minute foot soak and one drink
- Travel insurance for the day
What it does not include
- Trekking shoes - bring your own, with grip
- Extra drinks
- Anything bought at the farm counter
- Calligraphy, if a charge applies - confirmed at booking
- Tips
- Pick-up outside Duong Dong, Ong Lang and Long Beach, quoted when you book
When to come
| Months | Trail | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| About November - April | Dry and firm | The best months for the full distance. The stream carries less water |
| December - February | Dry | The hills above Ham Ninh are purple with sim flowers |
| About July - October | Wet and slippery | The stream is at its prettiest and the rocks at their worst. Leeches are possible. The guide may shorten the route in heavy rain |
Season boundaries move by a few weeks either way. For the rest of the island calendar see when to go.
Gallery
Who this day is not for
- Children under twelve. The age limit is firm, because the ridge section is steep and long.
- Anyone with a heart condition or weak knees. The way down is where knees complain, not the way up.
- Pregnant travellers - for the trek, and also for the warm foot soak.
- People who are not used to walking. If four to six hours on a steep, uneven trail would be a first, choose the Healing Forest day, which covers two to three kilometres at a slow pace.
- Anyone needing advice before a warm foot soak: diabetics with foot complications, people with open wounds on the feet or severe varicose veins should tell us before booking. The water is checked with a thermometer before use.
- Walkers without proper shoes. Worn trainers on wet rock are a real risk on this route, so bring shoes with real grip.
Questions travellers ask most
How hard is it really?
It is 4 of 5 on our scale, which we reserve for days that need regular fitness: about five and a half hours of effort, with a climb of over two hundred metres and stream crossings. If you walk or run regularly you will be fine; if you do not, this is the wrong day.
The exact distance and height are being recorded with GPS before the first departures, and the page will be updated with the measured figures.
Can we do it in the rainy season?
Yes, with conditions. From about July to October the stream is beautiful and the rocks are slippery, leeches are possible, and in heavy rain the guide will shorten the route. That decision is made on the trail and is final.
If you can choose, November to April gives the firmest ground for the full route.
Why is there no lunch stop at a restaurant?
Because at midday you are on the ridge, far from a road. Lunch is carried in and eaten in the forest. We do not light fires, and everything we bring in goes out again in the rubbish bags.
Is the foot soak suitable after a long trek?
That is the reason it is there. Thirty to forty-five minutes in warm herbal water, sitting down with a drink, is the slow end the day needs.
It is warm, not hot - the water is checked with a thermometer - and if you are diabetic with foot complications, have open wounds or severe varicose veins, tell us before booking so it can be checked with the practitioner.
Read next
Tell us what you want out of the island
Dates, party size and the places you care about are enough to start. You get a draft route and an indicative price, not a brochure.