Vietnam

glee123

Hey all

I have around 12 days in June where I'm thinking of going to Vietnam. Flying from Bangkok more than likely to Ho Chi Minh City - then thinking of going to Nha Trang or a beach for 5 days or so and from there up to Halong Bay before flying back to Bangkok from Hanoi -

What is the best way to travel around in Vietnam? Train?

What beach would you recommend?

Where would I be fairly guaranteed the weather in June?

Sorry for all the questions but any help at all would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks!!!:)

darrenh

The beaches aren't the greatest in Vietnam. Nothing spectacular. 5 days would be a lot. There is a lot better things to see and do. It isnt my favourite country in the world though. Check out Top Gears Vietnam's special if you can. Just saw it last night and its pretty cool.

Lollymcd

Danang is roughly half way between HCMC and Hanoi, China Beach is close by and is very beautiful, My Son and Hoi An are also in the vicinity if you get bored with the beach and fancy a bit of culture. Danang has an airport so you can fly there from both cities, there are also tourist buses and there are trains from Danang to Hanoi (not sure about HCMC) night trains with sleeping berths are also available. If you're spending a few nights in Halong Bay you could opt to stay on an eco island called Cat Ong and on a boat, Ocean Tours in Hanoi can organise this. Best of luck, enjoy!

jonnybravo

When I was in Vietnam a few months ago I found flying the easiest way to travel. Found that trains were expensive enough and took a good while. Loved Vietnam though - Ho Chi Ming, Hoi An (cheap cheap cheap tailored clothes) and Halong Bay were the highlight for me.

breadmonkey

(Costa Del) Nha Trang was probably my least favourite place in Vietnam. Mui Ne is a good place to go for surfing/kite surfing. As others said, Halong Bay is a place worth visiting. There are a couple of beaches on Cat Ba Island.

kellyt25

I was there for a month and loved it..traveled the whole way through the country!
My highlights were Halong Bay ( get a good boat), Cu Chi Tunnels, Mui Ne has lovely beaches and some cool bars, Nha Trang has great nightlife and some nice beaches too! Really liked Hoi An too!!

Bacchus

You can go to a beach anywhere in the world and NaThrand is nothing to write home about. I regretted spending 2 days there, 2 days I could have spent better somewhere else.

I HIGHLY recommend Dalat. It's easy to get to from Saigon. It's a great area for doing lots of outdoor stuff (we went canyoning, great craic) and renting motorbikes for a drive around the beautiful countryside.

Hue is quite nice too and has a lot of interesting history. Halong Bay is decent too but time could be an issue for you with 12 days to up and back down the length of the country.

v.e.r.b.a.l

I loved Vietnam. My favourite country in South East Asia.

If you're only there for a little while and have a bit of cash, then I'd highly recommend flying as a means of transport. Granted, I was there during Tet (Lunar New Year and top time for the entire country to travel around by bus and train!), but transport in Vietnam was the worst of anywhere I've been. Don't get me wrong, the standard of bus and train are great, but then you have extra plastic stools thrown in the aisle full of locals who tend to stack boxes and giant canisters of whiskey under your feet and lap and even roosters running around the bus. All that and the locals tend to get car-sick even on a straight road. It's an experience, but gets a bit dull after the 17th hour on the road!!

Ho Chi Minh is a great city to be humbled by a few history lessons, crawl about the tunnels of Chu-Chi and be amazed by the engineering ingenuity of the VietCong. Not the most striking city though.

I agree, don't spend a full 5 days in Nha Trang - it's a nice beach town, with good diving, but a couple of days would do. Try to get out to see the Cham Towers there - they're quite impressive.

Try your best to fit in Hoi An. It's a gorgeous town full of Chinese Lanterns, temples, an historic old town and a great place to chill.

Halong Bay is as amazing as you'd think it is. You'll probably have to go to Hanoi to get a tour from there, cos I heard some awful things about the tours that go from Halong City (a hole!!) If you have any time at all left, try to fit in a day or two in Hanoi, which is quite enjoyable for what it is.

Don't go to all the touristy bars and restaurants. Sit down on a miniature plastic stool on the side of the street and enjoy fresh bia hoi, a local-brew of beer that costs about 16c a glass. Have some street food too, but just watch out for anything with the word "chuot" though - it's never fun to eat a meal made out of man's best friend!!! :eek: