Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi?

batman75

Giving strong consideration to going to Vietnam. Am more of a city person hence my question. Love sightseeing. 7 nights.

Kimiko 75

Personally if it's a straight choice between the two, then Hanoi, purely because it is different to other Asian cities. Ho Chi Minh is great, but it is very like other Asian cities, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur etc

But you can't go to Vietnam and just stay in one city! It's a beautiful amazing country with so much to do, it would be a waste to spend all your time in one place, imo.

Ha Long Bay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058417637/ho-chi-minh-or-hanoi

Firstly I would highly recommend visiting the country it's stunning from north to south but it's a massive country.

It's easy to travel but you need to plan and focus on where you want to go especially for just one week and what you want to see.

Hanoi and HCMC are very different experiences but 2 days in each is enough considering how much else of the country there is to see.

Before trying to give more advice when you say you love sightseeing what kind of sights? History, nature etc. Also travelling solo or with a partner and can you ride a motorbike\scooter?

batman75

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123574299#Comment_123574299

Thanks for replying. Travelling solo. Don't ride scooters. Love buildings more than nature.

Ha Long Bay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123574307#Comment_123574307

I personally think Vietnam is more noted for nature than buildings. It has some good museums especially the war museum in Hanoi.

HCMC is like the other poster said just another large asian city now where Hanoi still has the old school feel where some people don't really enjoy.

The gems are outside these cities. South of Hanoi places like Ninh Binh or north like Sapa and east like my username.

In the middle you have places like Hue Da Nang and Hoi An (Hue is more historic but Hoi An is a great little city)

Down south heading north from HCMC a place like Da Lat is interesting (coffee growing region much colder) but well up in the mountains.

Na Trang is on the coast on that side of the country similar to Da Nang but I would give it a miss as it's a Russian holiday location with not much to see.

Map below for scale it's around 1000 km from Hanoi to Hoi An.

If buildings and history are your thing somewhere like Siem Reap in Cambodia to see Angkor Wat and Phnom Penh for places like S21 might be more interesting.

Also if you do go to Vietnam make sure you get your online visa ahead of time through the official link.

https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/trang-chu-ttdt

Kimiko 75

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123574307#Comment_123574307

You should definitely travel to Hue and Hoi An then, just to see some more of the country, if you're not interested in the countryside itself.

Banzai600

we plan to go at some stage ourselves

have a look for tv show guy martin in Vietnam, he's a motorcycle racer and a real character, hence his tv shows being popular. Vietnam show is worth watching.

Boscoirl

I echo above, I prefered Hanoi over Ho Chi Minh, when we went we used HCM to do the War Stuff, museums, Tunnels, Mekong Delta etc, nothing of the city stood out to me other than the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

Hue, Hoi An and Ha Long Bay were the stand out places we visited

circadian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123577901#Comment_123577901

Same as this, I loved the bustle of Ho Chi Minh but had been on the road for about 6 months at that point. Depending on the time of year you'll get cooked with the heat, where Hanoi is usually a little cooler. Hue is a personal favourite of mine and the food there is absolutely smashing. Hoi An is very touristy but worth a visit.

OP if you could do more than 7 days then you'd really start to fit in some great excursions, Ha Long Bay would take a full day from Hanoi and like Ireland, the weather really needs to play ball.

jiltloop

When I visited Vietnam, I went to HCM first (and did a day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels) and then flew in to Siem Reap and visited Angkor Wat. I wouold highly recommend doing that if you're in Vietnam anyway. It's a short flight and Angkor Wat is one of the most memorable places I've ever visited. We then flew to Hue and visited Hoi An (again I would highly recommend this beautiful city). We then got an overnight train from Hoi An up to Hanoi and did Halong Bay too.

The highlights for me were Angkor Wat, Cu Chi tunnels, Hoi An and Halong Bay. If I was to pick a city between Hanoi and HCM I think I would choose HCM but both are very interested cities.

finbarrk

The War Museum in Ho Chi Minh is good.

KaneToad

I've visited both cities. Ho Chi Minh was preferable to me over Hanoi. That said, it took me 6 weeks to get from South to North so that may have influenced my decision. The novelty factor had worn off.

I would speculate that most people will have a preference for one or the other based on a similar (personal) reason; a hotel they stayed in, someone they met...etc

All of which suggests that there isn't much between the cities. You won't be disappointed with either.