Tell me about Vietnam

[Stokey]

Thinking of booking a 2 week trip, 2 children aged 10 & 12. Would love people's recommendations. We'd be flying in and out of Hanoi, and would definitely want a chunk - maybe 5 days - of beach time.

Do you have to fly in and out of Hanoi? Much better to fly in (or out) of Ho Chi Minh then you can do pretty much do the length of the country without doubling back on yourself.
We didn't do any beaches really, but would definitely recommend a cruise around Halong Bay (1 or 2 nights), a couple of days in Hanoi just wandering, Hue and Hoi An down the coast for history / sightseeing. Inland to Da Lat (in the hills) for some relief from the heat!

Hanoi is where the cheaper flights are going to. It would cost an extra 1.5k to fly to HCM or in one and out of the other. Maybe we'll take an internal flight to get to the south, or just stay north and central.

@Stokey Vietnam is a fabulous destination. Hanoi deserves a few days and from there you can travel to Halong Bay.
Hoi An in the middle was overrun with tourists when we were there in Jan 2020. It's a great spot for getting clothes made.There are a few beaches outside Hoi An but they are not great.Danang is the airport that serves Hoi An.
I've been to Mui Ne, a beach area, around 15 years ago.It''s about 4 hours from HCMC.For beaches most people go to Phu Quoc an island off the south coast of Vietnam.
We did a three day tour of the Mekong Delta which I'd recommend.
Have a fantastic time and enjoy the food.

Do one of the cruise tours, most hostels and hotels will book you on one. A coach picks you up and drops you back. You get lunch on the boat, it takes you around ha long bay, and you get to explore a couple of islands. Ask about Surprising Cave.

It’s a fabulous place. You could spend time in Hanoi enjoying the markets and gardens, move to halong bay for your cruise section and then work your way down the coast to Hue, Dalong, Hoi An using the train?

Have a look at the itineraries on the Selective Asia website. I’d actually recommend booking through them too, they’re competitively priced and very helpful/knowledgeable.

I’m at work just now but did a tour a few years ago which I can detail, including a beach stint on Phu Quoc which was paradise.

Will get back to you later if that’s ok

I thi

@Stokey

Hanoi is where the cheaper flights are going to. It would cost an extra 1.5k to fly to HCM or in one and out of the other. Maybe we'll take an internal flight to get to the south, or just stay north and central.

Is that direct flights from UK to Vietnam? I remember them being really expensive so we went London -> Bangkok -> Hanoi and back from HCM via Bangkok. Internal flights in Vietnam are really cheap and easily available. Or the train down the coast is really good as well (but more expensive than flying!)

We flew into Danang on Qatar airways via Doha.

We flew in (and out) of Hanoi, and travelled down to Hoi Ann by train, and flew Danang-Hanoi as the start of our return journey home. It was far cheaper than any alternative as we were restricted with our travel window. Just watch your luggage allowance with the internal flight, like EasyJet it's an extra.

I booked it myself and used the advice from Seat61 on moving down the country by train, and the train travel worked as planned.

We stayed at Oriental Suites Hotel in the Old Quarter in Hanoi, and while is was not the most luxurious or spacious it was clean, well run and i would happily return. The best feature was the staff and while young, they were super helpful when a typhoon cancelled our 2 night trip up to Halong Bay, found space for us in the hotel and arranged an inland trip to Tam Coc which rescued our plans.

We stopped at Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park (for ziplining, dark mud cave, cycling) and Hue on our way south to Hoi An.

We went in 2016 so I may be a little out of date!

Thanks for so the tips, I'm getting excited now! The national park and taking the train one way sounds great.

There's a new airline Bamboo air that flies direct from London @IsThisNameTaken. No idea what it'll be like but they include a cabin bag.

When are you thinking of going there?

I ask only as currently Vietnam have suspended the issuing of visas and entry into Vietnam to most foreign nationals regardless of vaccination status (with no indication as to when this will resume) Have a read of the Foreign office travel advice on Vietnam.

Lots of reports that it is opening on 15 March. Fingers crossed this will happen!

I went for 3 weeks whilst travelling with now DH and it was amazing. We started in the north and travelled down ending in phu quoc which was just beautiful.

We had an amazing holiday there about 4 years ago, kids were 12,10 and 7. We had 3 days in Hanoi (you get there late in the day so need the extra one). Hanoi's roads are mad, you want to stay somewhere near Hoam Kiem lake near the weekend as they shut the road and it's not quite so manic.

The water theatre is great - needs pre-booking and also the museum of Ethanology where you get a glimpse of the different types of dwellings that the many different ingenenous groups inhabited over the last couple of centuries. We enjoyed the military museum as well.

We then travelled to Halong Bay area for a cruise - we were actually more off the beaten path, but nearby.

Then to Hoi An - we stayed in the Angsana hotel which wasn't in the centre, but on a lovely beach. We did a group cookery course and market tour in Hoi An which the kids still talk about..

Flights are easy, but I would book yourself, rather than through an agent as we got bumped, which wouldn't have happened if I'd booked them myself.

What I would say is though, that I wouldn't do it at the moment. Vietnam is a communist country and things change quickly and arbitrarily. Our old au pair's brother contracted COVID there last year and was forcibly quarantined in an old mental asylum for 3 weeks.

I've travelled a lot, and Hanoi is one of my very favourite cities.

What time of year are you going? We’d love to head that way but we are going to be traveling in July so it will be a bit too warm then so might head to Bali instead which is closer for us anyway.

If you are going into Hanoi, a visit to Sapa would be interesting. Spend an overnight on one of the junks on Halong Bay too.