Vietnam

stringy

Planning to go in September for 2 weeks. Probably going to try and stay in southern Vietnam because of time limitations. Would like mixed holiday, beach and sightseeing? Anyone have any tips?

Where to go?
What to see?
Where to stay?
What/not to do?

PunyHuman

Recently I travelled in Vietnam and found the north to be much nicer than the south - felt much more authentic.

But countrywide highlights included:

Mekong delta tour taking in local market towns (My Tho / Can Tho)
Presidential palace and war museum in Ho Chi Minh City
Da Lat in the central highlands, nice and cool compared to fierce heat in HCMC
Nha Trang for the beach, although there are nicer less touristy places down the coast
Cu chi tunnels are good but pretty claustrophobic
Hoi An and Hue are great but maybe a bit far north if you've only got two weeks
Ha Noi is a lovely stately city, much more relaxed than HCMC

One problem with travel in Vietnam is the fact that it's almost impossible (and technically illegal) to stray from the established trail. Also, the tourist industry is rapacious, so I would advise that you shop around, confirm all details and hold on to all tickets. Regarding hotels, I found them to be clean, good value and plentiful.

Have fun!

comet

Oh yeah be warned it seems like everyone is out to rip you off in Vietnam, so have your eyes open as wide as possible. Beautiful country and definitely worth seeing but its not a friendly a country as Thailand.
I travelled from center to north Hoi An, Hue, DMZ tour (impresive Vinh Moc Tunnels being the highlight), Hanoi (lovely city with its great old quater), Halong Bay (take a night or two on a boat in the bay and get away from it all), Sapa (going walking in the fantastic scenary of paddy fields near to the chinese border and see lots of local tribes in traditional dress follow you around trying persistently to sell you stuff they've made). I imagine in September you can expect a nice bit of rain in some parts.

shano

we (myself & the mates) have been tossing the idea around for a few years of heading over there and possibly will do so this November.

Who did ye book your trips through?

how long did the flights take?

Roughly how expensive was it? (flights + hotel + spending)

we were thinking of a ten day trip - is that enough time? too much?

comet

For 10 days you can't do the whole country, you'll have to pick North or South. I only had 10 days too and did it as part of a longer trip to SEA so only had a short flight in Bangkok - Danang. If possible I would say take a bit longer but if that’s all you got then go for it. I planned it well so that I did everything I wanted to. Accommodation was about 10 or 12euro for a nice room with aircon, you can go cheaper or dearer as you want. The places I listed above would make a good 10 day itinerary. Its relatively cheap country but i think I found Thailand cheaper. There was one restaurant/bar in the very picturesque Hoi An selling a pint for about 20cent or something if I remember its called "19".