Laos and Vietnam travel advice

allybhoy

Me and a few friends are looking to go to Laos and Vietnam in sept for roughly 2-3 weeks. Just wondering has anybody on here got any advice on how to do it, and also is it feasible to do both countries in 2-3weeks? We travelled around Thailand last year for a month but never got up north and heard so many good stories about tubing in Laos and Vietnam that we have decided to go back this year. Going for any longer than 3 weeks is not an option as we are all working.

I have read up that you can get like 35hour bus journeys from Laos to Vietnam and stuff but seeing as though we are going for such a short amount of time we would really be looking to fly everywhere. So looking to see if anybody has flew from Bangkok to Laos and then flown onto Vietnam. Also places of interest in both countries and any other info would be sweet.

totallytrees

hi there, price flying to vietnam with british airways to see if going from london would work out cheaper for you.

after maybe 2 weeks in vietnam, then you could fly to the capital of laos vientiane with vietnam airlines, its about €100 roughly but will be well worth it to save you that long trip. to get to vang vieng for the tubing its a 5 hour bus from vientiane and the easiest way of getting there with great views along the mountains on the way.

in vietnam id say pick a few places where you all really want to see and concentrate on them. its a MASSIVE country! I wouldnt bother trying to see everywhere in 2 weeks you know? in the north Hanoi is amazing and from here you can go trekking to Sapa for a few days and also go on trips to Halong Bay. These 3 alone could be your first week. Then perhaps the next week could be spent heading down towards Ho Chi Minh City stopping at Nha Trang and Dalat...?

dearg lady

Yeah, I'd agree with totallytrees, best to pick an area in Viet nam and stick around there, visiitng a few places, it's such a massive palce. I really didn't like Ha Noi but from there did few day trips to Ha Long and Sa pa, which were both excellent. I thought Hoi An was about the nicest place I visited in Viet nam, and Hue wasn't bad.

To give you an idea of time, we spent about 3 weeks in each country and only visited parts of the north of each!

Vientiene isn't great tbh, if possible I'd avoid, we only stayed there so long waiting on Viet Nam visas, which i think still have to be got in advance btw.

In Laos I really enjoyed Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng, we also went to Phonsaven which is a real one horse town, but the plain of jars sites are nearby which are kinda cool, but not really worth a visit if you're short on time.

I'm headin back to laos this summer to explore soem of the south. Can't wait!

totallytrees

dearg lady wrote: »

Vientiene isn't great tbh, if possible I'd avoid, we only stayed there so long waiting on Viet Nam visas, which i think still have to be got in advance btw.

Definately agree, theres nothin much to see in Vientiane! Just use it for the airport to get on your way to Vang Vieng for the tubing. I heard the islands in south Laos are fantasic so I'm sure you'll have a great trip this summer dearglady!

Hoi An is a lovely little place. You cant help but get sucked into the tailored clothes! You'll come home with 1 of everything Its on the central coast though, 12-15 hours bus from Hoi An. It is possible to fly internally so you'd have to check it out. Jetstar (an australian low cost carrier) fly internally in Vietnam so you could price with them.

Pick up a Lonely Planet or Rough Guide and do some reading on the diff places and make up a rough little itinerary. Theres lots of good info in them (take bus times with a pinch of salt as they leave when they want to!)

allybhoy

Cheers guys, some really really useful info here. I know vietnam is massive so we were just going to stick to the north as its closes to Laos. Can anybody reccomend any must see places in the North, like floating villages or spectacular islands, i suppose similar to Koh Phi Phi in Thailand which I personally think is the nicest place ive ever been.

Todd Gack

allybhoy wrote: »

Cheers guys, some really really useful info here. I know vietnam is massive so we were just going to stick to the north as its closes to Laos. Can anybody reccomend any must see places in the North, like floating villages or spectacular islands, i suppose similar to Koh Phi Phi in Thailand which I personally think is the nicest place ive ever been.

Halong Bay is right up your street then, probably the most scenic and popular sight in Vietnam. Over 3000 limestone islets, plenty of cruises available be they day trips or a few nights. They're rock formations as opposed to sandy islands but some of them do have beaches, though they wouldn't be great and it is only about 3 hours from Hanoi.

Hoi An as others have mentioned is a nice quaint town, more laid back than most other places, not a great deal "to do" but nice for a couple of days taking it easy. If you are focusing on just the north and Laos I'd give it a miss, it would be out of your way.

Vientiane as pointed out is of little interest, it's definitely the majority opinion. Few redeeming features, not an awful place there's just not a lot to it.

Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng are the most popular places in Laos, you could fly into one of LP or Vientiane and out of the other, easy and popular trail in between them. Fly anyway, trying to get a bus when you don't have too much time is a waste of it. It's about €100 flight from Vientiane to Hanoi, travel agents are easy to find so booking close enough to the date of travel should be no bother.

totallytrees

allybhoy wrote: »

Cheers guys, some really really useful info here. I know vietnam is massive so we were just going to stick to the north as its closes to Laos. Can anybody reccomend any must see places in the North, like floating villages or spectacular islands, i suppose similar to Koh Phi Phi in Thailand which I personally think is the nicest place ive ever been.

Halong Bay is really good. Its a pity they allow so many boats out there but it really is a must see.

Also, as I mentioned before Sapa is not to be missed. It was a major highlight during my month in Vietnam! Google some of the pictures..its near the Chinese border, very high and misty! We did a 2 night 3 day trek, including a stay with a vietnamese famiy. It was brilliant Our guides were from the H'mong tribe. They stayed up playing cards with us, drinking rice wine, and taught me how to make homemade spring rolls. Price around for a trip, our hostel was charging $80-85 but we booked with a crowd on the main streets for $60. They're all the same tours I'd say anyway.

Theres some great museums in Hanoi which you might like as well. We found them better than the ones in Ho Chi Minh City.

allybhoy

Ok cheers guys. Just looked at Sapa and Halong Bay and they are amazing looking,definately what I imagine when i think of Vietnam so I will try my best to see both of them.

Ok so I have a rough travel plan, dublin - hanoi, then hanoi- vientiane, spend roughly 10 days in Laos, tubing etc. Then fly out of Vang Vieng into Hanoi and use that as a base to see Halong Bay, Sapa etc, then try and book a flight to Dublin from Hanoi. Would this work? I could also fly from dublin into Bangkok and then into Laos, dunno which would be better time\cost wise.

Also I have heard that there are some issues regarding visa's for Vietnam, have to be organised before arriving in the country. Can I simply call into the vietnamese embassy in dublin and arrange it before departing?

totallytrees

There is no Vietnamese Embassy in Dublin. You have to send away to the embassy in London. Its really simple, you just put in your fee for the visa, fill in the application form on the website and send your passport in a SAE.

10 days in Vang Vieng seems a lot. Are you going up to Luang Prabang as well? Vang Vieng is tiny, and is only useful for the tubing. You suggested flying from there to Hanoi - its about 2 streets long,theres no airport:D You'll have to go to Vientiane or Luang Prabang to fly to Hanoi.

I'd say 2/3 days in Vang Vieng and the same in Luang Prabang would be plenty then get on your way to Vietnam.

allybhoy

totallytrees wrote: »

There is no Vietnamese Embassy in Dublin. You have to send away to the embassy in London. Its really simple, you just put in your fee for the visa, fill in the application form on the website and send your passport in a SAE.

10 days in Vang Vieng seems a lot. Are you going up to Luang Prabang as well? Vang Vieng is tiny, and is only useful for the tubing. You suggested flying from there to Hanoi - its about 2 streets long,theres no airport:D You'll have to go to Vientiane or Luang Prabang to fly to Hanoi.

I'd say 2/3 days in Vang Vieng and the same in Luang Prabang would be plenty then get on your way to Vietnam.

Oh right cool, ill look into that. Im going to the maldives in june\july aswell so will have to apply after i come back.

I mean 10 days in Laos in total. Is that too much seeing as though we are going for 3 weeks?

Oops sorry, hmm ok,

so how about, fly into Vientiane, then go to Vang Vieng for the tubing, then make my way to Luang Prabang and spend a couple of days there and fly from there to Hanoi?

Another question (sorry!) is it possible to book flights ad-hoc when your over there? Like in Thailand we just booked our original flights to Bangkok and then travelled around booking flights\ferries as we went, which was very easy. But, in Thailand they had like a good deal of internet cafes and tourist offices, and im guessing in Laos this mightnt be the case.

totallytrees

allybhoy wrote: »

so how about, fly into Vientiane, then go to Vang Vieng for the tubing, then make my way to Luang Prabang and spend a couple of days there and fly from there to Hanoi?

That sounds pretty good

There is internet cafes and tourist offices in Luang Prabang, we booked a flight from Vietniane-Phnom Penh from there! Cant rem in Vang Vieng but I'd be surprised if there wasnt.. Its basically a tiny town made for tourists and tubing. Luang Prabang is a lot more cultural, great restaurants, beautiful guest houses and it has a fab night market.

preddy

Overnight trains from north to south of Vietnam were fine, sleep thru the night in the sleeper cabins then have the days free.

Carefull of taxis, always agree a price vietnam is no Thailand!

Hey all, just decided to do Laos and Vietnam over the space of about 6 weeks.. Would it be possible to cross from Laos and make it all the way south to ho chi minh in that time?

I'm going back through cambodia then but the girl im going with needs to get a flight from there to australia.

Thanks

Third_Echelon

Just back from 3 weeks in Vietnam. Fantastic country.

We flew Dublin -> London -> Kuala Lumpur -> Ha Noi with Aer Lingus and Malaysian Airlines. Would definitely recommend Malaysian Airlines..

The first week we based ourselves in Ha Noi. Stayed in the backpackers hostel there. Really good hostel and met loads of great people.

http://www.hanoibackpackershostel.com/

We booked 2 tours through the hostel. One to Halong bay (2-day trip) and one to Sa Pa for trekking (2-day trip)

http://www.hanoibackpackershostel.com/tours

The Halong bay trip was great. Stayed out on a boat the first night after a day of crusing and kayaking, caving etc. Party drinks etc that night which was really good fun. Next day you get on another boat and that brings you to the 'castaway island', where you stay in huts etc for the night. again loads of boozing, beach, swimming etc. Really enjoyed that trip.

After we got back from that, we got the overnight train straight up to Sa Pa for 2 days of trekking. It was tough going at times, but the scenery was spectacular. Stayed with a vietnamese family in a homestay, which was really good fun. Nice people and the food was really good. Trekked about 15 km the first day. Second day was about 8km. You would need grippy runners or hiking boots. Your feet will get wet

We had a couple of days either side of those trips in Ha Noi. Nice enough city, but nothing major to see in it.

We then flew from Ha Noi to Da Nang. Our destination was Hoi An, which is only about 20 km from Da Nang. Flight was about €50 and saved a lot of time compared to train or bus, and its not that much more expensive.

Hoi An was a really nice little town. It was exactly what we were looking for in terms of relaxation after a hectic first week. I was never so grateful of a hotel room in my life We stayed in Thien Tanh hotel (Blue Sky Hotel). Fantastic little hotel. Would highly recommend it. Its a nice an chilled out town. Get suits made etc if you need to. The service is excellent. Some really nice restaurants in Hoi An. We ate like kings! Also did a vietnamese cookery course which was really great fun. Lots of beach to choose from. The whole 20-30km stretch from Da Nang to Hoi An is really nice beach. We rented mopeds for about US$6 per day. Well worth it..

After that we flew from Da Nang to Nha Trang. Again about €50 flight. Nha Trang is a bit more like something you'd see in Ibiza or Malaga or somewhere. Nice beach front with bars etc. A bit more western feel to it. Had really good fun there, but much preferred the laid back pace of Hoi An.

From Nha Trang when then flew to Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City. That was about €60. All internal flights were with Vietnam Airlines, who I must say were excellent. All brand new planes, and they just joined the Sky Team Alliance, so they are out to impress etc.

Saigon was a really nice city. We spent about 4 days there and made some day trips out to Ku Chi Tunnels etc.

The route we took seemed to be one of the more popular routes (we took 3 weeks). We met the same people from the hostel in Ha Noi the whole way along the route, so it was good fun for nights out etc catching up..

Wish i was back there!!!

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olaola

Hoi An & Halong Bay are defo my highlights. BUT Halong City, is possibly the most vile place I've every visted. Try to spend as short a time there when to go to see the bay.