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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

If I loved Vietnam, where else should I go...

22 replies

FeltCarrot · 17/09/2019 17:59

As the title says, holidayed in Vietnam this year having never travelled out of Europe/USA before. Absolutely loved it, the country, history people, the whole adventure of it.
Want to start planning for next year and need some ideas. Only problem is I work in a school but do have 2 weeks in May.
Where would you go?

OP posts:
iwannaseeyoudance · 17/09/2019 21:18

What did you like so much ?
We went to malaysia last year and travelled around loved the culture scenery food people so perhaps that might appeal?
But I've never been to Vietnam so cannot really compare

TheVeryHungryTortoise · 17/09/2019 21:29

I did Vietnam a few years ago and loved it!!

I couple of my other stand out destinations that may appeal to you were:
Nepal- the Nepalese people are just so lovely and welcoming, go to Pokhara and get trekking!
India - I particularly enjoyed travelling around Rajasthan. Great for interesting history and beautiful architecture.

Daisypie · 17/09/2019 21:31

Continue to explore the Mekong and go to Cambodia and Laos.

Clayplease · 17/09/2019 21:41

I'd also suggest Cambodia and Laos and Thailand also amazing 😍

nononever · 18/09/2019 06:48

Peru, Nepal, Cambodia. Glad you enjoyed Vietnam, off there in not so distant future along with Cambodia.

Doormat247 · 18/09/2019 08:04

Sri Lanka is stunning. Beautiful country and lovely, kind people.

Pondock · 18/09/2019 08:12

Myanmar is stunning. Get there before mass tourism if you can. Also agree with Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.... Especially North Thailand. Have a fantastic trip. The planning is half the fun.

ShanghaiDiva · 18/09/2019 08:24

I am also a huge Vietnam fan.
I think you would also like Cambodia and weather should be good before the start of the rainy season. Food is not as good as Vietnam imo, but amazing sights, lots of great value hotels and restaurants, easy to organise..just fabulous!

Rua13 · 18/09/2019 13:41

I agree with Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia.May is the start of the monsoon season in India.You could travel to the mountains in India(Shimla, Manali or Dharamsala).I went to Ladakh a few years ago in July.It's at high altitude and only open a few months a year because of access to roads.

underneaththeash · 18/09/2019 16:30

I wouldn’t go to Cambodia in May - far too hot!

Costa Rica?

Original poster
FeltCarrot · 18/09/2019 18:04

Thanks everyone, the thing I loved most about my trip was the fact that we only spent a few days in each place (travelled north to south) so no time to get bored! I found the history of the country fascinating and the people were so welcoming and friendly.
Thinking about Thailand as a possibility but wondering if it will be too similar to Vietnam iyswim.
Ideas we have had include S.Africa/Brazil and Cuba.

OP posts:
HappyHolidays75 · 18/09/2019 19:38

Having travelled in Vietnam, Malaysia (peninsula and sabah - Borneo) Laos, India and Sri Lanka I'd say any of those.
All suited to a similar tour. Not sure how you moved around, but all suited to public transport. Sri Lanka was the most recent and possibly my favourite (1-4 nights per place). Laos was amazing though, infact they all were really.
I'd get lots of guidebooks from the library and start reading.

nononever · 20/09/2019 06:39

Japan? My husband's colleague is just back and said it was an amazing place.

Original poster
FeltCarrot · 20/09/2019 13:43

My son would never forgive me if we went to Japan before him! It’s on the list though😄

OP posts:
nononever · 20/09/2019 14:25

My son would never forgive me if we went to Japan before him! It’s on the list though😄

What about South Korea? Son has been and absolutely loved it. He's going to Japan later in the year. Personally I don't fancy it but maybe I'm being swayed by a recent program showing guards shoving people into bursting at the seams trains at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo (busiest in the world apparently), it looked like hell on earth! The whole programme seemed to focus of crowds of hundreds of people.

SJane48S · 21/09/2019 18:10

We went to Sri Lanka earlier in the year. I loved it - beautiful country with a lot of history, culture and wildlife. Travelling around with a private driver was cheap and all easy to arrange from the UK. I'd go back - I'm a bit risk adverse so will probably leave it a couple of years but the reality is they'll have stepped security up and there isn't less of a risk in many European cities. The East coast weather wise in May would be better. It's been many years since I went to Cuba but Havana was great - a city stuck in a time warp in lots of ways! The countryside from what we saw was attractive with not much reliance on machinery. It was cheap as well. Varadero I didn't like much (lots of AI palaces). The food is revolting (especially if you're vegetarian) but it ticks the culture, history & country coming out of seclusion box that Vietnam does.

HappyHolidays75 · 21/09/2019 21:11

SJane48S we went to Sri Lanka in July/August (you helpfully shared lots of your trip before hand).
I have to say, security seemed sensible and appropriate everywhere (bag checks at big tourist sites, 1 road check, minimal vehicles permitted at airport - just as you'd expect in london) and we felt completely safe throughout (single mum and kids).
Very tempted to return next summer but following this thread for more ideas!

minipie · 21/09/2019 21:18

Central America - esp Guatemala and Mexico (the Yucatan and the south west corner). Really loved Guatemala though you have to be willing to get up early and take chicken buses!
Peru
Morocco
India (but May is not ideal unless you stick to the northernmost bits)
Bali/Lombok

Travelfish is a great resource on SE Asia if you fancy the same area of the world again.

SJane48S · 22/09/2019 18:34

@HappyHolidays75 glad you had a great time. Feels like a special country doesn’t it?

PenguinsRabbits · 24/09/2019 02:24

Been to Cuba, South Africa and Brazil. Didn't rate Cuba, South Africa (Cape Town) and Brazil (Rio and Paraty) very interesting and lots of wildlife in South Africa but you need to take a lot of care re safety in both. In South Africa enjoyed seeing Table Mountain, penguins on beach and big 5. Brazil Rio was spectacular and Paraty good for history, cobbled streets, horse and carriages and fishing boats as well as rainforest and beaches.

Love Costa Rica which is pretty safe, great for wildlife and rainforest and adventure type activities - less good on history, food and culture.

Lizzieee2727 · 07/10/2019 16:02

My honeymoon was in May and was a SE Asia adventure! 3 days in Beijing (any longer and you need a proper visa), 3 days in Singapore, 3/4 days going through Java in Indonesia (stayed on a coffee plantation, climbed Mt Bromo too), 4 days in Bali and 5 days in Borneo. Absolutely loved every minute of it, happy to recommend hotels and activities we used! Whole trip with flights for the 2 of us was £2500 and that's with us staying for a fair few nights at the rather plush Shangri-la in Borneo.

Lizzieee2727 · 07/10/2019 16:04

Oh we found the cheapest way to fly in was to Beijing and then use internal flights with Air Asia (as cheap as Ryanair on a good day and far nicer). Have also done Myanmar which I think I loved as much as Vietnam, some of Malaysia and Thailand too. Both my husband and I work at unis so our big holiday is usually in the Easter holidays.

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