Last year, we ran a competition in collaboration with Geckos Adventures for one lucky student to win an 11 day Vietnam tour plus flights for two. Check out competition winner, Sarah's favourite moments from her trip of a lifetime below.

A trip of a lifetime!! I will never be able to thank Gecko's enough for giving me the opportunity to travel along side my best friend in a once in a lifetime opportunity. With a local tour guide and a group of people from all over the world, some of which have become life long friends, there really is no better way to discover Vietnam. Although the weather was not always on our side, the tour made each day an adventure as I fell in love with Vietnam. Perfect for first-time travellers or seasoned pros, the tour gives you plenty of free time to do as you wish but there is always an optional activity to go along with each day if you're looking for a bit more guidance. Thank you Geckos, for everything.

Day 1: Hanoi

Lesson 101 when arriving in Vietnam, especially Hanoi, never run to cross the road, just walk at a normal pace and trust me the motorbikes will go around you. It’s a hard thing to trust but once you do, you won’t have any problems crossing the crazy streets. Hanoi is a real cultural experience, I don’t think there is any city quite like it, it’s always buzzing and there is always something new to see by simply just wandering the streets, each corner you turn is a whole other place.

Day 2: Halong Bay

There is a reason Halong Bay is considered one of the natural wonders of the world. Despite being so well known Halong Bay is surprisingly quiet so it’s a really nice time to just chill out and enjoy being on the water and soaking in the endless scenery.

Day 3: Hanoi

Back to Hanoi and onto our first over-night train. Surprisingly comfortable and you can get a pretty good sleep as long as you have some earplugs because the rattling of the train can get pretty loud.

Day 4: Hue

Unfortunately, the rain started when we arrived in Hue but we still got to see some beautiful sites and have a lovely home-cooked Vietnamese meal at a family home.

Day 5-7: Hoi An

Arriving into Hoi An was a bit of a challenge, the rain was so heavy that the streets had already started to flood when we arrived meaning that we couldn’t get to our hotel. While our hero (tour guide) found us somewhere new to stay the rest of us bombarded a tiny Vietnamese restaurant for some food and shelter. The days in Hoi An that followed were an experience, to say the least. By nightfall, the water was almost to our knees and the walking tour was more of a wading tour as we all tried to avoid the garbage floating in the water whilst keeping our shoes on and intact. The next morning we got boats from our hotel door to the main street, it was almost like we were in Venice rather than Vietnam, but that didn’t stop us from shopping. Hoi An had by far the best shopping we found in Vietnam, lots of variety and of course a bargain or two.

Day 8-9: Nha Trang

The bad weather was finally coming to an end when we arrived in Nha Trang, the beach town of Vietnam. While we didn’t get to enjoy the water we still got the chance to just wander the streets (the best way to see any city in my opinion). We also had a birthday that day which called for some celebratory birthday drinks and cake!

Day 10: Ho Chi Minh City

Our last stop so we made the most of the group time together as we had become like a little family. We had one final dinner on a very nice boat to say our goodbyes and in the blink of an eye, the trip was over.

Want to win a 7 day trip of a lifetime from Adelaide to Alice Springs? Click here to enter now!