Vietnam

Irishguy16

Hi guys,
Planning a trip to Hanoi in a few weeks. Has anyone evere been, or got any advice? Don't know a lot about Vietnam, but should be an interesting trip all the same

solerina

Irishguy16 wrote: »

Hi guys,
Planning a trip to Hanoi in a few weeks. Has anyone evere been, or got any advice? Don't know a lot about Vietnam, but should be an interesting trip all the same

There are a load of threads on VN here already so have a read through them.

Hanoi is a fantastic city...just be careful to watch your belongings at all times (we did and nothing happens to us), be aware of getting taxis and only get 2 companies (cant remember but I think they are called Hanoi taxi group and Mai Linh)as the others could rip you off. Stay somewhere in the old part of town.


Wish I was going back this summer...its a great country !!

mrcheez

Irishguy16 wrote: »

Hi guys,
Planning a trip to Hanoi in a few weeks. Has anyone evere been, or got any advice? Don't know a lot about Vietnam, but should be an interesting trip all the same

Are you going exclusively to Hanoi or will you have some time to visit outlying areas?

Irishguy16

mrcheez wrote: »

Are you going exclusively to Hanoi or will you have some time to visit outlying areas?

I would love to do a day trip somewhere, but then again i'm still undecided. I land in Hanoi, so I have a few days. Could you reccomend anywhere of interest?

mrcheez

If you only have one day to travel outside the city I'd recommend organising a tour of Halong Bay.

There should be 100s of suitable tour operators in Hanoi, although I haven't been there since 2003 so perhaps someone here can recommend an active company to go with.

In Hanoi itself I can recommend checking out the Tha Long Water Puppet Theatre and as mentioned earlier the Old Quarter.

solerina

mrcheez wrote: »

If you only have one day to travel outside the city I'd recommend organising a tour of Halong Bay.

There should be 100s of suitable tour operators in Hanoi, although I haven't been there since 2003 so perhaps someone here can recommend an active company to go with.

In Hanoi itself I can recommend checking out the Tha Long Water Puppet Theatre and as mentioned earlier the Old Quarter.

I was in Halong Bay in 2012 and we went with Indochina Junk company which were amazing....in fairness you will have no problem booking a trip when you get to Hanoi..a 2 night trip is worthwhile as 1 night is very short (on the boat less than 24 hours). Otherwise Sapa is amazing for a 2 night trip.

mrcheez

Sapa is incredible but 2 nights wouldn't allow for much time to explore and do the place justice (hiking etc), plus there was a long train journey to get there (maybe the infrastructure has improved since 2003!) ... I think the Halong Bay trip might be more relaxing as you could sit back on a boat for most of it.

Milltown17

Hi.im goin to hanoi myself and was thinking of a 2 night cruise on hanoi bay and was wondering could people recommend a nice cruise and how much would I be paying for a bit of luxury

Gatica

We also used Indochina Junk, we really loved their 3 day/2 night cruise. We did canoeing, a surprise dinner, swimming off the boat and off lovely private beaches among the islands...
Just watch out for drinks bill which can catch you out!

Theresalwaysone

Lived in Hanoi for a year. Worked for a tour company of Ha Long Bay.

Hanoi is one of the coolest cities in the world. A hell of a lot happening ALL the time.

Ha Long Bay - Loads of tours from 1day to 4days. Prices from 50USD to 250USD.
Takes about 3 hours to get to the Harbour from Hanoi.

Mai Chau:
Home of the Viet Mafia. Cool cliffs, mountains, bike trails and scenery. Not too far from Hanoi either. Can do this on your own and rent a bike or part of a tour.

Sa Pa:
Need to take a train to get here. Trains sell out quickly too. Lao Cai is the border station you train too and then onto Sa Pa. Cool for hiking and homestays.

Ba Vi:
Natural Park about 2 hr drive from Hanoi.

The Old Quarter itself.
Awesome Awesome place. Just take it all in. Hectic. Get some Pho, then head off for some Bia Hoi. Sit and watch the locals get hammered while you also, get hammered.

The puppet theatre is a load of crap though.

Finally, if you have time, and cash, Id HIGHLY recommened a tour called 'The Buffalo Run'. Its run by the backpackers hostel in the Old Quarter. Pricey enough but they take you on a 5/6 day tour from Hanoi to Hoi An an it includes a range of activities, most fun is blowing up old Viet war ammo.

Mayo jonny

Vietnam is an amazing country, especially up north of Hanoi, around Sapa, so un spoilt. I was there a few weeks ago and have 1,100,000 Vietnamese dong left. it is a closed currency, so cannot change the currency outside of the country. will give a great rate coz nothing i can do with it here if your interested.