Vietnam anyone?

[BaconAndAvocado]

Considering planning a big family holiday to Vietnam but know very little about it other than it looks fantastic and friends that have been rave about it. We’re 2 adults and 2 DCs who will be 15 and 17 when we go.

Not sure when to go as we’re stuck to school holidays. Would it be too rainy in the summer? We’re happy to go over the Christmas holidays.

DD has recommended Hoi An and Ha Long Bay looks superb.

Would travelling independently be ok? Or is a package better?

Any tips and advice gratefully received.

We are going in the Easter hols for 2 weeks and can't wait. We are travelling around north to south and will spend a night on the sleeper train and a night on a boat in halong bay. We are going on a organised trip with small family groups and activities. Our dd's are 11 & 13

lovetosup That sounds great! Can I be nosy and ask which company you are using?

We are going with Intrepid. They have different trips for different age groups / fitness levels

DH and I went in 2019 and planned it all ourselves. We looked at on line agents to see what was possible in terms of the time we had and then went for it!
we flew into Hong Kong, just weeks before the demonstrations then flew to Hanoi for a few days including a night on a boat in Ha Long Bay. We flew again to Hue, then had a private car drive us over the Hai Van Pass, through Danang and on to Hoi An. From there we flew to Ho Chi Minh before flying home via HK.
we might have been lucky with hotels but they were fab and not expensive and very helpful booking transport to and from the airports.
We had booked HaLong bay before we left but other excursions, city tours, cu chi tunnels Mekong trip we booked once there.

Vietnam is amazing one of the best countries I've ever been to and travelled a lot. Amazingly beautiful, so much culture, fascinating history. Highly recommended. We went at Xmas. Did it all ourselves. Flew to hi chi Minh city and spent some time there and then went down via a trip on the Mekong delta River (incredible to see) to Phu Quoc Island for Xmas which was amazing. Then went back to the mainland and travelled upwards stopped off in Hanoi (highly recommended) and then onto Hanoi where we stayed in a hotel for 1 night before we took a 2 day night cruise in Halong Bay (Hotel held our bags until we returned). An absolute must. We did a mixture of nice hotels and then some more budget. For the Halong Bay some you could do were 500pp and the boat was fancier but we did something more simple, clean and nice and while it's quite touristy and you stop for kayaking and bits you cannot beat the breath taking views when you wake up in the morning.

Sorry I said Hanoi twice but meant Hoi An in the middle.

It's fabulous! The people, the culture, the food, just an incredible vibrant place to visit .

@llyh Our Hanoi hotel looked after our bags after we checked out to go to HaLong Bay too!

It's an amazing country. We went in Easter 2019 for our 25th wedding anniversary and cycled from Ho Chi Minh City to Hue, then took the overnight train to Hanoi and then went on a boat in Halong Bay. Because we were cycling we did it in a group with Exodus, as we needed luggage etc transferred, but I'm sure you could do it on your own.

I loved every minute of it apart from the Hai Van Pass where I thought my lungs and legs would give up on me!

@EmmaGrundyForPM Wow! How long did that take you? My DH would have loved that as he is an ironman’er and frequently cycles 80+k. I, on the other hand have an electric bike and still find that a struggle at times! 😅

Very jealous I would love to go to Vietnam, I used to watch a streamer who basically got trapped in Vietnam when the lockdowns hit. Looks like a fabulous place.

We did a package tour but sorted our own accommodation (v cheap!). Dalat is lovely, obviously ha long bay! Ho chi Minh is a real highlight. I wasn't as keen on Hanoi but that might just be me. Nha Trang is ok but was very very russian when we were there - a bit "brits abroad" but the Russian version of it which was exactly as you'd imagine!! Hoi An is amazing. Absolutely spectactular.

Yes same!

Weather wise - I went in August a few years back. And although there were rain downpours there was plenty of sunshine too. I only went to Hoi An / Da Nang as it was part of a trip to Hong Kong too but I would love to return to explore the north and south more when my DS is older!
Hope you have a great time!

I loved Vietnam we did 2 weeks in February, nice weather then. Planned all ourselves after watching the Michael Portillo Great Asian Railways he goes on the train acros the country! If you want to do trains they’re so cheap and save time and money on accommodation you can get. 4-person berth and sleep on the night trains. Man in Seat 61 website has good advice. It’s very set up for tourism, easy to book day trips etc when you arrive somewhere. Hoi An is beautiful and we loved Hanoi.

I always look at itineraries on travel agents websites then recreate them myself!

We went for 16 days, but the cycling was only 8 days. I'm overweight, unfit and in my 50s and managed fine. The most we ever cycled in a day was 65 miles, some days it was only 40 or 50. It was great fun.

Currently in the planning stages, plan to motorbike around, but struggling to find a reliable outfit to rent from so it's stuck at stage one still

If your doing the whole of vietnam it's better to work your way from the bottom up as it gets prettier as you go

Thanks everybody!
So far I’m earmarking Hoi An and Ha Long Bay.
What are the other Must Do’s?

Bana Hills outside of Danang is pretty wacky. Has the longest highest cable car (i think) and the Golden hand bridge which was worth a trip.
We booked a free walking tour of Hanoi with a couple of students, they do it to improve their English, we bought them a coffee and gave them a tip.
in HCM we did a mini bus tour, saw the main sights. A word of warning, the War Remnants Museum is quite tough, but extremely thought provoking.
Cu chi tunnels and Mekong Delta tour were also excellent.

Golden Hand Bridge

FeltCarrot that looks spectacular! Where is that?

Google Bana Hills, Danang. It’s north of HoiAn so we had a driver take us there. You take the cable car up the mountain side to a strangel disneyesque town at the top. Then another funicular took us to the bridge.
The driver who took us, waited until we were finished, a good few hours, then took us back to Hoi An. Very cheap I seem to remember.
The same happened in Hue, we took a taxi to Emperor Tu Duc Mausoleum which was in the middle of nowhere. Taxi driver waited for us, just as well as another coup,e were struggling to get a taxi so we shared with them.

In Hoi An I went on a food tour and cookery class with 'Coconut Fragrance Restaurant and Cookery Class' hoianecotour.net/ It was one of my favourite parts of travelling in Vietnam. Absolutely recommend.