Three Weeks In Vietnam

You didn't mention in your original post what kind of things you are interested in? It would help people give tips on what to see and do.

El Director wrote: »

Nice one John!

Looks like its down at the moment but this is the official site and have used it on my last two visits to Vietnam.

Hi El, forgot about evisa (sorry about that) we usually go to vietnam for two months so no good for us, when ya book your hotel in hanoi ask do they do airport pick up, taxi scams can be bad especially with your jetlag/new money etc, try to stick to mai linh taxes(green colour ones) when using transport, make sure meter is on and working properly as some can be tampered with and your trip could cost you a lot more, the 10,000k note and 100,000 note look similar, so watch watch you hand over as they can switch notes in a blink of an eye... one last thing sorry wrecking the head, when you arrive go to a shop and get a vietnamobile sim card it'll cost 100000 Dong for the month, much cheaper than using your own

First Up wrote:

It won't be much fun to be left off the plane because you don't have your visa paperwork.

And wandering around somewhere like Vietnam without proper health protection is the sort of madness you won't find to be fun at all.

Hey OP,

I've just finished a month in Vietnam and its well worth the visit! exciting times ahead!

As mentioned before, traffic is beyond mental- scooters and bikes come from every angle!! bit of a culture shock when you first arrive into Hanoi city from the airport!

We were on a backpackers budget so we stayed in cheaper hostels/hotels but there is a public bus you can get from outside Hanoi airport directly into the city- think it cost about 30,000 VND.

We went the same direction as you will be travelling and went from Hanoi to Halong Bay. Instead of staying in halong Bay itself we stayed on the biggest island there- Cat Ba island. we found it to be a great base with plenty of activities. I'd highly recomment trekking through the national park! We were able to get a boat out to Halong Bay and went kayaking for a fraction of the cost (we stopped off at a hotel there and the prices were crazy).

From there, we travelled to Tam Coc- it is a small village just outside Ninh Binh which is probably more known. A lovely small village unknown to alot of tourists so nice to see it before it becomes commercialised. I'd recommend renting bikes here and cycling through the rice fields- amazing!

We then went to Hue- a nice place to visit. Theres an abandoned waterpark here which is closed to the public (a quick google will show you some pics) but theres a nice security guard that will allow you in for a small fee- i think we payed 20,000 VND each.

Da Nang and Hoi An are both nice to see! We did find Da Nang quite commercialised and dirty though.. there were some nights it felt like mission impossible getting back to the hotel and avoiding the rats and cockroaches!! Ba Na Hills up in the mountains is fantastic though and well worth a visit- we got cheaper tickets on a site called klook.

Stopped briefly in Nha Trang and Mui Ne which is famous for the white and red sand dunes and then headed on to Ho Chi Minh/Saigon.

This was the first place in the four weeks we felt ourselves any bit uneasy and sure enough a fella tried to grab my purse outta my hand, i was just lucky i had a good hold of it (i was waiting to cross the street and he was on the back of a scooter) so keep your wits about you.

With taxi's if they are not metered agree on price before you get in or the price will jump. We used grab- an app you can download. You put in where you want to go and it will tell you the price of a taxi/bike and you order it. thats the price you pay.

Vietnam isnt as touristy as Thailand so people can sometimes tend to be a bit pushier when it comes to money; but its a fantastic country to visit!

Hope this helps some bit- i'm very jealous ye are at the beginning of this journey! Hope ye have a great time!

El Director wrote:

Maybe you are right about work, you know me so well Don’t worry dude, we got this

From what I know of you from your posts here, I wouldn't be too sure that you do.

pavb2 wrote: »

Hi OP and everyone else I'm thinking of going to Vietnam in September for two weeks but at an early stage of planning.

What is the best way to arrange this should I book flights and accomodation seperately on the internet or get a package deal or go through a travel company. Would it be too much to try and see Cambodia as well?

I went last September and the weather was great, not too hot.

I went with G Adventures for 2 weeks and found it great but some here seem to do it on their own no problem. I think it depends on the person.

G Adventures had an add on you could do after the two weeks in Vietnam to go Cambodia afterwards for three days I think. We regret not doing it.

+1 for Hoi An & the tailoring - it can be a 2 day turnover so dont leave yourself short there - well worth staying in the old city for a few days its like stepping into a different era.

I'd also recomment a 2 or 3 day trip in Halong Bay on one of the traditional boats - many have kayacks on board or that can be remted alongside & it is one of the few utterly beautiful places where you can indulge sport/safe swimming and exercise and almost idyllic romantic paradise in an otherwise fascinating but gritty country.

I'd also have a few days for Saigon - coffee plantations on the outskirts a few hours drive, the Chu Chi tunnels (daytrip) and a poke around the sites in the city - if youre not mown down by squadrons of kamakize speeding scooters.

I got lucky and got a deal with Singapire Airlines and got an incredible discount for the Legend hotel (Saigon) overlooking the "waterfront"- top floor - probably the most salubrious & best city hotel I have stayed in ever (& a pool). If the Japanese restaurant on the top floor is still open I would make it an absolute to eat there - one of the most extraordinary dining experiences ever.

In Saigon go to the lake for 5 or 6am & watch thousands across all generations practice in silence their thai chi as the sun slowly rises -and take rickshaws - its relatively safe & far far safer than cycling where you will be killed -especially in a city. There were thunderstorms and lightening storms every day and torrential rain that flooded the roads and streets & then dissappeared - uou could set your watch by them so bring a light plastic and sturdy flipflops.


Bring lots and lots of single dollar bills because you will never get change & nobody wants the local money & the banks have totally irrational money changing rules and restrictions on how much you can have.

And get to try and love their coffee -cold expresso over chunks of ice with condensed milk -served in the dogiest back lanes to the fanciest hotels and always, irrationally, called a cappuchino.


The food is nothing like Thailand ( its fairly dissappointing) and the people are tourist and westerner weary but you will need extra sim cards with huge capacity as there is something mad and wierd to take a photo of every inch of the way & you will never take enough to cram in what you are seeing.

I'd try and travel superlight and bring toilet roll :0 and high wedge flipflops as the squat toilets are not something you want to have thin flipflops around. Ditto hand sanatiser ocket size snd several each. A small pocket torch was very handy too as was a lighter for burning off leeches -get them quickly they leave scars & start to hurt hard suddenly despite being hilarious and disgusting and a great photo-opp.

Id try and do a homestay with a family but organise it locally after you get someone to recommend it - you want to be in a bamboo platform hut overlooking a paddy with other touristd (safe) -& you dont want to be in someones concrete shed with their scooter !

Id do a boattrip along the Mekong Delta again in a heartbeat -we had one in a traditional wooden boat & spent a few days swinging in hammocks watching the chaos & crazyness of the fishing & boat indusrty -stopping to eat at restaurants suspended on stilts & reached by crazy plank footbridges & picking the fish that would die from hatches under houses leading to private fish'farms' - madness!


You will have an amazing trip - its crowded, grungy and utterly fascinating. Just accept it in sll its madness and bustledont expect it to be or become Thailand as you will be dissappointed.


P.S. Tell your wife to bring knee length cotton skirts or trousers and light blouses that cover her arms (at minimum the tops of them) if possible . They are very nasty about 'nudity' and you can find yourself refused in kippy restaurants and slapped or catcalled outside of beach resorts if not dressed "properly".

Pps Caves & Marble Arches etc. All the usual guidebook stuff!

As previously recommended I would definitely book the easy riders tour, two of us did the one day tour from Hue to Hoi An with plenty of stops along the way and a beautiful trip over the Hải Vân Pass. We felt one day was enough as was recommended by friends they said two days on the motorbike began to get uncomfortable. Definitely book this tour. Further north I would certainly recommend going from Hanoi out to Halong Bay for an overnight boat stay. Na Thrang is a nice place to chill and enjoy the beach. Hoi An was my favorite town by far. In HCM definitely the tunnels and museums. The Imperial City in Hue is a must also. Fire any questions this way if you want.. but I am sure most of the stuff covered already. I recall one thing regarding money, was that there were very small maximum withdrawal limits when we were there, that was about 7 years ago so a lot could have changed. No harm having some US dollars to hand.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park was a highlight for me.

It's 90 mins on a bus from Dong Hoi.

Once there, get a moped(s) and go trekking/caving for the day as there's a good round trip loop through the national park with spectacular scenery.

Oh and make sure and take the mini detour to grab a beer at the "Pub with cold beer"

El Director wrote: »

Okay...time for an update!

The holiday is taking shape, basically 7 days in the north, 7 days central and 6 days in the south.

Great stuff what's your itineary?

Hi El, the carpe dm hotel in nha trang is a great little hotel(no breakfast), have a look you'd need to book early as always full, they can arrange pickup from airport.
For breakfast one of the best pho shops in the center is pho70 bach dang street about 15min wall from the hotel, get there before 9am as they sell out fast. After breakfast you have the wet market two minute walk from there have a look around.
For dinner try lac canh bbq very local has english menu, very smokey, cook your own bbq, try to sit in the building to the left as not as bad for smoke as the canteen on the right.
The I resort is good for a few hours have a mud bath massage and swim in many of the pools there
Vin pearl land is good for a day(ticket is high price can't remember how much) it's a big Waterpark, you get there by cable car.
For a nightcap head to skylight bar Havana hotel, fantastic views over the city, a bit pricey can get full but worth a look.
Hope this helps