Advice for Vietnam

TheStook

So my girlfriend and I (both 21) are looking to go to Vietnam for a month in July, particularly Ho Chi Minh.

Im just looking for any general advice/tips from anyone who has been there before, but Ive a few questions.

Whats the cheapest route to take to get there? Are there any secret cheap flights from some random European city? I dont really wanna spend more than €400 on flights cause Im budgeting €1000. We're plannng on AirBnbing it so apartment will only cost maybe another €150 each.

Also, how feasible is it to travel to other SEA cities as the flights between Ho Chi Minh ->Bangkok -> Kuala Lumpur -> Singapore are ridiculously cheap (€20-30).

Thanks in advance!

I think you would be lucky to get flights for 400 euro, I got them for around 650, and that was very good.

Only advice I'd definitely give you is go somewhere else other than Ho Chi Ming! It's fine, but it's a big westernised city, comparable to many others such as Bangkok.

There's so much more to see in Vietnam, id only stay a day or two there.
Hanoi on the other hand, is different, well worth seeing.

gustafo

No chance of getting flights in july for anywhere near that price, i would say at least double that, july is an expensive time for flights as schools are closed in europe and many go on holiday at that time.

TheStook

bubblypop wrote: »

I think you would be lucky to get flights for 400 euro, I got them for around 650, and that was very good.

Only advice I'd definitely give you is go somewhere else other than Ho Chi Ming! It's fine, but it's a big westernised city, comparable to many others such as Bangkok.

There's so much more to see in Vietnam, id only stay a day or two there.
Hanoi on the other hand, is different, well worth seeing.

Thanks man Ill look into Hanoi

TheStook

gustafo wrote: »

No chance of getting flights in july for anywhere near that price, i would say at least double that, july is an expensive time for flights as schools are closed in europe and many go on holiday at that time.

Well its very easy to find flights between €500-600.

Bearing in mind we can fly very cheaply to the likes of London, Venice etc and fly to Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur

Squall Leonhart

Was in Hanoi last summer, was a good city to see, total culture shock compared to Ireland anyway haha. Recommend Halong Bay and also Hoi An (stay in an upmarket sea front hotel, amazing)

Balmed Out

A long time ago and went when a Vietnamese friend was visiting home for Christmas so had a local guide but I loved Saigon. Thought it was better and friendlier then the other cities. Most back packers only go to the same tiny area of district one but lot more to it.

TheStook

Balmed Out wrote: »

A long time ago and went when a Vietnamese friend was visiting home for Christmas so had a local guide but I loved Saigon. Thought it was better and friendlier then the other cities. Most back packers only go to the same tiny area of district one but lot more to it.

Yeah from what Ive seen online Saigon seems to be the nicest city. Been told by some people to avoid Hanoi but I'll look into it more.

Im thinking about doing Saigon for 6 days -> Bangkok for 5 days -> Kuala Lumpur for 5 days -> Singapore for 5 days.

Flights between those cities will cost less than €100, just gotta figure out what way to get home.

donegal.

i dont know of any cheap flights,but that itinerary is a disaster.

do you specifically need to spend a long time in a city or are you looking at a map and making an itinerary that looks good.

alot of backpackers follow similar routes. You see a lot of the sights, experiences. Would this interest you ?

TheStook

TheStook wrote: »

Yeah from what Ive seen online Saigon seems to be the nicest city. Been told by some people to avoid Hanoi but I'll look into it more.

Im thinking about doing Saigon for 6 days -> Bangkok for 5 days -> Kuala Lumpur for 5 days -> Singapore for 5 days.

Flights between those cities will cost less than €100, just gotta figure out what way to get home.

So long as you realise your missing out on the most beautiful country by just going to these cities.
Which to be fair are the same.
Bangkok & Ho Chi Ming could be the same city. Although I did find Ho Chi Ming not quite as bad for traffic fumes as Bangkok.
Kuala Lumpur & Singapore are not too unlike either.

It depends what your after, anyone that told you to avoid Hanoi has no interest in different cultures or cities!
If you like your city holidays then you will enjoy, it just seems a shame to go so far & not see any of the country!

RIALTO1

That doesn't sound like a month in Vietnam to me, more like 6 days!?!

TheStook

donegal. wrote: »

i dont know of any cheap flights,but that itinerary is a disaster.

do you specifically need to spend a long time in a city or are you looking at a map and making an itinerary that looks good.

alot of backpackers follow similar routes. You see a lot of the sights, experiences. Would this interest you ?

We're in the very early stages of planning tbh so yeah right now it's just looking at the cost of flights between those cities and going with it.

All I know is we have 3 weeks or so and we'd like to fit in as many places as possible as we probably wont have the chance again. I know 5 days or so in each of those places isnt near enough to do them justice but @ €30 or so a flight how could we not pop over to Singapore for a few days etc?

TheStook

We've only been discussing the idea of it properly very recently so apologies that Im changing from a month to 3 weeks and changing to different cities haha Im just getting excited I guess

RIALTO1

If your on a budget I would stick to Vietnam and Cambodia. We started in Saigon > Can Tho (for Mekong Delta) > Phu Quoc Island > Siem Reap (For Ankor Wat) > Hoi An > Dong Hoi (Paradise Cave) > Hanoi > Hapong Bay. Got cheap flight back from Hanoi to Saigon to pick up return flight. Much cheaper than an open jaw return from Hanoi as far as I remember

davo2001

Can only echo what i said here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=99774846&postcount=122

So much better places to go in Vietnam than Ho Chi Minh.
Would second what the above poster said, go to Hanoi, Hoi an and Hai long bay.

TheStook

Thanks so much for the advice guys. Is 3 weeks enough time for that Vietnam ->Cambodia trip?

Also, bar misc items such as clothes, presents etc, is it possible to get by on like €10 a day in Vietnam/Cambodia?

shane.

Do a motorbike tour around hue and vinh moc tunnels, ha long bay is stunning, spent a week in and around Hanoi and loved it, sapa in the north is good for trekking

shane.

TheStook wrote: »

Thanks so much for the advice guys. Is 3 weeks enough time for that Vietnam ->Cambodia trip?

Also, bar misc items such as clothes, presents etc, is it possible to get by on like €10 a day in Vietnam/Cambodia?

Give urself a month, €10 should be fine unless it's gone more expensive since I was there

TheStook

RIALTO1 wrote: »

If your on a budget I would stick to Vietnam and Cambodia. We started in Saigon > Can Tho (for Mekong Delta) > Phu Quoc Island > Siem Reap (For Ankor Wat) > Hoi An > Dong Hoi (Paradise Cave) > Hanoi > Hapong Bay. Got cheap flight back from Hanoi to Saigon to pick up return flight. Much cheaper than an open jaw return from Hanoi as far as I remember

Really liking the look of that route, how did you get from Phu quoc to Siem reap though?

solerina

Def don't spend too much time in HCMC, it's not all that interesting, Hanoi is far nicer. We paid 1,000 for flight in July a few years ago so 400 is very optimistic. Also hotels are quite cheap so don't rule them out. Don't miss Hanoi, Hoi An, Ha Long bay and Sapa. Flew into Hanoi and out of HCMC, we had nothing booked in advance except the hotel in Hanoi and a Halong bay trip. Wi gif is everywhere so we booked as we went along.

roadrunnermick

Thinking the same myself for July , just wounded what's the weather is like then

solerina

roadrunnermick wrote: »

Thinking the same myself for July , just wounded what's the weather is like then

Amazing. We were there for almost a month, a typhoon arrived so 3 days of unbelievable rain but otherwise it was amazing. Over 30 degrees everyday.

sleepy_head3

hey there

I spent 3 weeks in Vietnam and Cambodia before - would have liked longer but what can you do when that's most of your annual leave gone!

Didn't like Hanoi to be honest but spent a day there before going to Halong Bay which you definitely have to do!! Hoi An is also a must. Nha Trang is good if you are looking for beaches for a few days.

HCMC was great I thought - we did day trips from there to the Cu Chi tunnels and the Mekong Delta (we were originally going to do a 2 day trip to the Mekong Delta and glad we didn't..it was good but a day is enough).

We booked the Halong bay boat trip before we left Ireland but everything else we booked as went along.

Would have loved to have time to fit in Sapa.

Because we only had 3 weeks, we took internal flights around Vietnam but got the bus into Cambodia and spent a few days in both Phnom Penh and Siam Reap.

thesto

Hey all sorry to hijack, am also planning a SE Asia trip at the moment. Vietnam will be the end of our trip and at the moment it looks like I'll have up to 30 days for Vietnam and flying back to Dublin from Hanoi. My question is regarding Visas.

I'll be travelling Thailand beforehand and had planned on going to Cambodia then into Vietnam, working our way up to Hanoi (potentially crossing the border into Laos for Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang - I know we'll need a multiple entry visa for Vietnam to do this).

Would we be best doing a Cambodia loop and back to Bangkok, then flying into Ho Chi Min or is it possible to cross the Vietnam border and obtain a Visa on Arrival that way?

I have read mixed reports about Visa on Arrival and it seems it is only available in airports?

TheStook

thesto wrote: »

Hey all sorry to hijack, am also planning a SE Asia trip at the moment. Vietnam will be the end of our trip and at the moment it looks like I'll have up to 30 days for Vietnam and flying back to Dublin from Hanoi. My question is regarding Visas.

I'll be travelling Thailand beforehand and had planned on going to Cambodia then into Vietnam, working our way up to Hanoi (potentially crossing the border into Laos for Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang - I know we'll need a multiple entry visa for Vietnam to do this).

Would we be best doing a Cambodia loop and back to Bangkok, then flying into Ho Chi Min or is it possible to cross the Vietnam border and obtain a Visa on Arrival that way?

I have read mixed reports about Visa on Arrival and it seems it is only available in airports?

Im 90% sure its only in airports. And make sure you have dollars cause they only accept them for some reason.

Have a great time in Vietnam, Im only home 2 weeks, so jealous!

Make sure and visit Hoi An. Its absolutely beautiful!

thesto

TheStook wrote: »

Im 90% sure its only in airports. And make sure you have dollars cause they only accept them for some reason.

Have a great time in Vietnam, Im only home 2 weeks, so jealous!

Make sure and visit Hoi An. Its absolutely beautiful!

I'll do some more research and weigh up the different costs.

At the moment looks like you can get a one-way flight from Bangkok to Ho Chi Min City for approx 30 so that plus the Visa on Arrival may well work out cheaper than the embassy multi-entry visa and crossing the border by bus. If it's a case of pennies I'll just go with whatever makes most sense, don't fancy backtracking needlessly.

Thanks - happy to take anyone else advice that they have!

TheStook

thesto wrote: »

I'll do some more research and weigh up the different costs.

At the moment looks like you can get a one-way flight from Bangkok to Ho Chi Min City for approx 30 so that plus the Visa on Arrival may well work out cheaper than the embassy multi-entry visa and crossing the border by bus. If it's a case of pennies I'll just go with whatever makes most sense, don't fancy backtracking needlessly.

Thanks - happy to take anyone else advice that they have!

I think you'd be much better off flying to be honest. It wont work out much more expensive and its so much easier. Some of the buses over there are nasty.

As for general advice, all I can think of right now is to take out plenty of money and keep it safe as most of the atms will charge a €4/5 fee which is annoying when youre only taking out 20/30 at a time.

Edit - Another thing which I found annoying was the fact that all airports in Nam have no bus information online but rest assured all of them have shuttle buses outside them which are infinitely cheaper then taxis or a shuttle bus organised by your hostel/hotel.
In Hanoi for example, a taxi is €15+ to get from the airport to the centre but if you go out to the right there will be a man working for the bus company and youll get a one for like €1 or something silly

thesto

TheStook wrote: »

I think you'd be much better off flying to be honest. It wont work out much more expensive and its so much easier. Some of the buses over there are nasty.

Thanks for all the advice, very much appreciated!

Provisional itinerary right now looks something like this Bangkok > Koh Chang > Ko Kut > Cambodia ... sorry to hammer on about this but I'm interested to hear your thoughts...would you really backtrack to Bangkok to then fly to Vietnam rather than keep that Eastern trajectory and continue into Vietnam over land? Flights from Phnom Penh seem considerably more expensive!

stratowide

thesto wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice, very much appreciated!

Provisional itinerary right now looks something like this Bangkok > Koh Chang > Ko Kut > Cambodia ... sorry to hammer on about this but I'm interested to hear your thoughts...would you really backtrack to Bangkok to then fly to Vietnam rather than keep that Eastern trajectory and continue into Vietnam over land? Flights from Phnom Penh seem considerably more expensive!

I did this in feb-march this year only in reverse.
If you cross from cambodia to vietnam by land you will need a pre arranged visa
but by air a VOA will do.
Bangkok seems to be the hub for flying in indochina.Its the cheapest too.
Make sure you have dollars when you land in vietnam,there was a few people in hanoi airport without any.They wont let you in without visa payment.

I did...Bangkok-Chiang mai-pai-Chiang mai-Bangkok-Hanoi-Da nang-hoi an-HCMC-phnom pehn-sihanoukville-koh chang-Bangkok.

It was all bus and train bar Bangkok-Hanoi-Da nang-HCMC.

Booked all these flights a week before I flew.

I ended up in Bangkok three times during the trip,no bad thing as it was my favourite city.Pai and koh chang being my favourite places.

TheStook

stratowide wrote: »

I did this in feb-march this year only in reverse.
If you cross from cambodia to vietnam by land you will need a pre arranged visa
but by air a VOA will do.
Bangkok seems to be the hub for flying in indochina.Its the cheapest too.
Make sure you have dollars when you land in vietnam,there was a few people in hanoi airport without any.They wont let you in without visa payment.

I did...Bangkok-Chiang mai-pai-Chiang mai-Bangkok-Hanoi-Da nang-hoi an-HCMC-phnom pehn-sihanoukville-koh chang-Bangkok.

It was all bus and train bar Bangkok-Hanoi-Da nang-HCMC.

Booked all these flights a week before I flew.

I ended up in Bangkok three times during the trip,no bad thing as it was my favourite city.Pai and koh chang being my favourite places.

How did you find Da Nang out of curiosity?

We did HCMC-Da Nang-Hoi An-Hanoi-Bangkok-Nha Trang-Hcmc and Da Nang was the only place we didnt love. In fairness I got badly sunburned in Hoi An and we didnt get to do much in Da Nang but 10 mins in the city centre and we had enough. Just far too hectic compared to even HCMC.

Afraid we might have missed out on it so just looking for your opinion

TheStook

TheStook wrote: »

How did you find Da Nang out of curiosity?

We did HCMC-Da Nang-Hoi An-Hanoi-Bangkok-Nha Trang-Hcmc and Da Nang was the only place we didnt love. In fairness I got badly sunburned in Hoi An and we didnt get to do much in Da Nang but 10 mins in the city centre and we had enough. Just far too hectic compared to even HCMC.

Afraid we might have missed out on it so just looking for your opinion

I was in Da Nang a couple of years ago, tbh I wouldn't go back.
Big town/ small city on the coast, could be anywhere. Full of Russians on holidays & I didn't particularly like them.
Was chatting a couple of locals there & they all said it is going to be a big Russian holiday destination. They are building a lot of five star hotels & resorts there.
It doesn't really feel like a Vietnamese town & imo there's nothing there.
You didn't miss much

TheStook

bubblypop wrote: »

I was in Da Nang a couple of years ago, tbh I wouldn't go back.
Big town/ small city on the coast, could be anywhere. Full of Russians on holidays & I didn't particularly like them.
Was chatting a couple of locals there & they all said it is going to be a big Russian holiday destination. They are building a lot of five star hotels & resorts there.
It doesn't really feel like a Vietnamese town & imo there's nothing there.
You didn't miss much

Yeah Nha Trang was like 90% Russians it was bizarre. Had no idea it was sch a popular spot for them. All signs/menus were in Russian first, then English then Viatnamese lol. Didnt have any trouble though.

Thats great to hear. It looked fairly ****e tbh, so many resorts being built on the coast. Doesnt feel authentic or something.

TheStook

TheStook wrote: »

Yeah Nha Trang was like 90% Russians it was bizarre. Had no idea it was sch a popular spot for them. All signs/menus were in Russian first, then English then Viatnamese lol. Didnt have any trouble though.

Thats great to hear. It looked fairly ****e tbh, so many resorts being built on the coast. Doesnt feel authentic or something.

Yea, and Na Trang was actually way nicer, I stayed more days there then I planned.
The whole coast from Da Nang town to the airport is going to be full of 5 star resorts.
Which will probably cost a fortune & the people working there will still get paid crap wages.

BOHtox

How do you travel around in Vietnam? Is having a driver's licence a must or is it all trains and buses? And do you do it all yourself or is a lot of it done through tour guides?

davo2001

BOHtox wrote: »

How do you travel around in Vietnam? Is having a driver's licence a must or is it all trains and buses? And do you do it all yourself or is a lot of it done through tour guides?

Driving would be a last resort for me, they drive like lunatics, most of it is organised via bus/train/plane by your tour guide.

donegal.

you probably won't do any driving youself unless you hire a bike or moped or something for a days sightseeing

i never used tourguides, public transport very easy to use

rounders

Hi sorry to resurrect the thread but I having difficulty finding out what I need to do for to get a visa. I fly out to Thailand on the 28th for four weeks and then Vietnam for two I will more than likely by flying from Bangkok to Hanoi.

From what I can see i have too options the embassy were I send off my passport to London or VOA. Too late for the embassy but does anyone have advice on the VOA route?

Tipperary animal lover

I use vietnamvisacorp for voa every year, very easy process, just download what they send to you also down load entry/exit form and fill ready for the voa counter. Plus 1 passport picture and have $25 for stamping fee.

rounders

Perfect thanks!

anewme

Na trang was scary...where I stayed had loads of old Vietnamese ppl spitting on the floor during breakfast at the hotel....all I recall is a strange mud baths...would not go back in a fit...for me Hoi An and halong bay are must sees

djPSB

Has anyone done scooters or motorbikes in Vietnam?

Heading there for 3 weeks and would like to get in a half day or full day bike tour in the country.

How does the insurance and licence work?

knipex

bubblypop wrote: »

Only advice I'd definitely give you is go somewhere else other than Ho Chi Ming! It's fine, but it's a big westernised city, comparable to many others such as Bangkok.

There's so much more to see in Vietnam, id only stay a day or two there.
Hanoi on the other hand, is different, well worth seeing.

+100%

Hi Chi Ming is not vietnam..

Hanoi is a beautiful, the old quarter, coffee by Ho Kiem Lake, the French qurter.

Its been a few years but 20 years ago Hanoi was my favorite city in the world, cars were rare enough, streets were full of motor bikes, food was cheap and amazing.

10 years ago more cars, less motorbikes so traffic was worse but food was still amazing, the coffee is great.. Still cheap.

Even 5 years ago its was well worth a visit and still one of my favorite cities in the world. Amazing how you can relax in the midst of the chaos..

dev100

djPSB wrote:

Has anyone done scooters or motorbikes in Vietnam?

djPSB wrote:

Heading there for 3 weeks and would like to get in a half day or full day bike tour in the country.

djPSB wrote:

How does the insurance and licence work?

You can hire guides to take you around and they do the driving ... Avoid getting scooters in the big city's it's organised chaos walking across the roads in HCMC , it took me a while to adjust you simply walk out amongst the traffic and they go around you . Just YouTube videos on HCMC or Han Oi.

Insurance wise and license as far as I'm aware you technically ain't allowed but it's south east Asia money is king.

anewme

We got talking to a gang of local lads and they offered to bring us out and we were riding pillion on the back of their scooters at one point they brought us down a back alley for coffee- it was like something from a Quentin Tarantino movie. how were not killed in traffic or murdered is beyond me.

Looking back now, I have absolutely no idea why I did it or why I thought it was ok to do ..tearing through traffic, weaving in and out ..it was crazy, dangerous and probably one of those times where you feel the blood coursing through your veins and think it's good to be alive.

tomwaterford

Possibly a more open discussion question (maybe move if necessary-mods)


But im hoping to go to vietnam on next few weeks,but have injured myself and am on painkillers (nothing too serious)....just wondering whats the procedure for getting into country with them/would i best off to leave it

Havnt anything booked yet like

Tipperary animal lover

Hi tom, my partner is on strong medication and never had any hassle entering or leaving Vietnam( been to Vietnam many times, just back from there4weeks ago) put them into your luggage that's going into the hold .

tomwaterford

Tipperary animal lover wrote: »

Hi tom, my partner is on strong medication and never had any hassle entering or leaving Vietnam( been to Vietnam many times, just back from there4weeks ago) put them into your luggage that's going into the hold .

Will I need a letter from a doctor etc going??

What's the best places to see there...I'd be more for hiking /cycling vs partying and most likely going alone....Is there any facebook page etc worth checking out

Tipperary animal lover

For sure bring a doctors letter cover your ass if questioned, northern Vietnam great for hiking /cycling if you base yourself in sapa you'll find plenty of treks to do, down south around the city of dalat plenty of trekking to be had, Mekong delta has trekking, see all depends how long you have in Vietnam, you don't want to be rushing through the country like most travellers do in 2 weeks, I found the south better than the north people food and weather wise, but north was much better scenery. You have to remember that many small companies don't have websites arriving in say sapa or dalat walk around and see what's on offer trekking wise what suits your budget and go with that. You can get a cheap SIM card about $10 unlimited data 60mins local calls. What's really big now is tourists motorbiking(you can buy bikes easy enough pure balls of crap) from hcmc to Saigon and stopping along the way or other way around, you'll really see the country that way but your not covered for insurance and someone hits you its your fault that's how the Vietnamese work, just be clued in scams a plenty in the country.

djPSB

Will just add my tuppence to this having recently returned from backpacking holiday.

Ho Chi Minh: Spent two and a half days here which is probably enough. Went to the museums which are well worth a look. Didn't make it to the tunnels. Hectic city. Very quiet at night compared to Hanoi.

Dalat: Highly recommend the canyoning here. Not a whole lot else to do here so two nights is plenty. Nightlife finishes at 12 mid week.

Nha Trang: Very resorty. Full of Russians. Probably a place for couples. Nice beach. Probably my least favourite place we visited. Nightlife was dead when were there.

Hoi An: Beautiful little town. Lovely markets and great food. Nightlife very good and some very good hostels here. Lovely beaches and very close to De Nang. Stayed 4 nights.

Hai Van Pass: Rented scooters and drove the Hai Van Pass. A great experience but challenging. Beautiful scenery. Would only recommend driving scooters if your a competent driver and feel comfortable doing so. Very dangerous and have heard many horror stories. Driving through a monsoon on the motorway is not for the feint hearted. Takes 8 hours to drive this, was never so relieved to get off the bike when we reached Hue. Still one of the highlights of the trip.

Hue: Not much to do here. Just stayed one night.

Hanoi: Flew from Hue. Really liked Hanoi and preferred it to Ho Chi Minh. Alot more backpackers around and just a nicer city in general. You could easily spend 4/5 nights here. Nightlife was very good here.

Halong Bay: Did the 2 nights stay on an island in Halong Bay plus tubing and kayaking. A great experience and one of the highlights.

Other points of note:
Sleeper buses: Absolutely lethal. Would not get on them again. Others may have had better experiences. But definetly the most dangerous part of the trip and closest we were to being killed. Google sleeper bus crashes in Vietnam and make your own decision. Sleeper trains would have to be a better option.
Time:We had 3 weeks and we were tight for time and there still some places we missed so try allow yourself more time if possible.
Scooters: As above, very dangerous, heard alot of horror stories while talking to other backpackers there. But a good experience if you're comfortable driving them.
Cost:Vietnam is so cheap. You can literally live of €10/day if you wanted. Some hotels/hostels are €6 per night and dinner can be got for less than €2.

anewme

djPSB wrote: »

Will just add my tuppence to this having recently returned from backpacking holiday.

Ho Chi Minh: Spent two and a half days here which is probably enough. Went to the museums which are well worth a look. Didn't make it to the tunnels. Hectic city. Very quiet at night compared to Hanoi.

Dalat: Highly recommend the canyoning here. Not a whole lot else to do here so two nights is plenty. Nightlife finishes at 12 mid week.

Nha Trang: Very resorty. Full of Russians. Probably a place for couples. Nice beach. Probably my least favourite place we visited. Nightlife was dead when were there.

Hoi An: Beautiful little town. Lovely markets and great food. Nightlife very good and some very good hostels here. Lovely beaches and very close to De Nang. Stayed 4 nights.

Hai Van Pass: Rented scooters and drove the Hai Van Pass. A great experience but challenging. Beautiful scenery. Would only recommend driving scooters if your a competent driver and feel comfortable doing so. Very dangerous and have heard many horror stories. Driving through a monsoon on the motorway is not for the feint hearted. Takes 8 hours to drive this, was never so relieved to get off the bike when we reached Hue. Still one of the highlights of the trip.

Hue: Not much to do here. Just stayed one night.

Hanoi: Flew from Hue. Really liked Hanoi and preferred it to Ho Chi Minh. Alot more backpackers around and just a nicer city in general. You could easily spend 4/5 nights here. Nightlife was very good here.

Halong Bay: Did the 2 nights stay on an island in Halong Bay plus tubing and kayaking. A great experience and one of the highlights.

Other points of note:
Sleeper buses: Absolutely lethal. Would not get on them again. Others may have had better experiences. But definetly the most dangerous part of the trip and closest we were to being killed. Google sleeper bus crashes in Vietnam and make your own decision. Sleeper trains would have to be a better option.
Time:We had 3 weeks and we were tight for time and there still some places we missed so try allow yourself more time if possible.
Scooters: As above, very dangerous, heard alot of horror stories while talking to other backpackers there. But a good experience if you're comfortable driving them.
Cost:Vietnam is so cheap. You can literally live of €10/day if you wanted. Some hotels/hostels are €6 per night and dinner can be got for less than €2.

Exactly my experiences....for me Hoi An (especially) and Halong Bay were highlights...hated Nha Trang! There was a huge cockroach in my bed in Hue crawling on me, so that put me off that place!

I did the Tunnels in Ho Chi Min, the Tunnels and the War Museum were my highlights of Ho Chi Min.