SOUTHEAST ASIA, OCTOBER 2026 — Social hostel brand Mad Monkey and Melbourne-based volunteer travel specialist DO MORE TRAVEL have teamed up to launch 24 Days in Vietnam: Volunteer + Backpack, a trip built for travellers who want their time abroad to count and still come home with the stories.
The first half is slow and grounded. Travellers spend 13 days living with host families or in a volunteer house in the Thot Not region, north of Can Tho in the Mekong Delta. Depending on local needs, they help with English lessons, food distribution at the local hospital, farm work and small repairs to local bridges and roads. Weekends are for floating markets, rice fields and island hops.
Then the trip flips. On day 14, the group flies from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi and checks in at Mad Monkey Hanoi. The next ten days cover a Hanoi street food and beer crawl, Train Street, a four-day Ha Giang Loop with licensed Easy Riders and village homestays, and an overnight Ha Long and Lan Ha Bay cruise with kayaking and a sundeck sunset session.
“Travellers get told to pick a lane: do something meaningful, or have the time of your life. In Vietnam, you don’t have to choose. Two weeks volunteering in the Mekong Delta, then the Ha Giang Loop with our crew. Twelve strangers in, twelve friends out.” — Hayley Plummer, Sales & Partnerships Manager, Mad Monkey
Built for Gen Z budgets. The full 24 days costs US$1,399, which works out to under US$60 a day. That covers all accommodation, most meals, the domestic flight to Hanoi, the Ha Giang Loop, the bay cruise and airport transfers. A US$200 deposit secures a spot.
Small by design. Each departure is capped at 12 travellers to keep the community placement manageable and the group tight. Trips start on the fourth Monday of every month, with 2027 departures running from 22 February to 22 November.
Safety sorted. DO MORE TRAVEL has run international volunteer placements since 2004 and vets every host family and partner project. Mad Monkey runs the northern leg with English-speaking guides and a set daily structure, with Mad Monkey Hanoi as home base at both ends.
The trip is open to travellers aged 18 and over, with no volunteering or riding experience needed.
Book the 24-day Vietnam volunteer and backpacking trip.
About Mad Monkey Hostels
Mad Monkey is a leading hostel operator in Southeast Asia, known for experience-driven stays that blend affordable accommodation with community, adventure, and unforgettable social energy. With locations across Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, and Australia, Mad Monkey is more than a place to stay – it’s a place to belong.
About DO MORE TRAVEL
DO MORE TRAVEL is a Melbourne-based organisation that has connected young travellers with volunteer projects, internships and purpose-led trips across Africa, Asia, Europe and South America since 2004.
