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.

Until recently went to Vietnam for 3 months every winter for maybe for 6 years. We travelled mostly by train all the way up and down the Country getting on and off where we had chosen, planned beforehand and mostly stuck to if trains were busy.
When doing your planning look at the weather in the area where you are going as it can be cold and wet in the North and hot and sunny in Central or South at the same time of year. Tet (Chinese and Vietnamese New Year) is very busy and the whole country seems to travel during this time to go and see relatives who they have probably not seen since the last celebrations. Shops are shut for about a week and restaurant prices increase due to higher demand.
I would recommend it to anyone, hotels are fantastic and cheap and was very well looked after everywhere. Man in seat 61 website is a mine of information re travel. One tip - if you are travelling by overnight train and there are 2 of you book both the bottom bunks so you are able to relax on your own bed when it is not sleeping time or you will be relegated to the top bunk by other passengers - insist on your numbered bed.

Completely amazing country. We did very similar things- travelling with 2 kids- younger than yours- 8 and 10 . We also took the sleeper train to Sapa mountains and spent one afternoon being shown batik technique by local women . There were lots of home stays in the area too although I didn’t book it with kids the age they were - so stayed in simple inexpensive hotel. We did a days walking through the fog on what i was promised were spectacular hills! Fog very hit and miss- the glimpses we got of Sapa were indeed amazing. Had lunch in forestry cabin in the middle of the countryside, and went to a museum showcasing all the various hill tribes all who have their own housing style and embroidery traditions. I would second the student walking tours in Hanoi - really interesting to chat to them about uni in Vietnam. We went to a surreal puppet show in Hanoi too, and afternoon cooking lessons and then a day trip to a temple advertised as being reached by’ being rowed down the river by a strong woman’ which as it turned out was exactly what happened. It’s expensive to get to but once you are there everything is very reasonable- or certainly was 8 years ago. We went for 2 weeks and stayed a bit longer in Hanoi and missed out Hoi An which I regret now - I was worried about dragging the kids around too much but actually it would have been better to keep moving. Would love to go back one day.

If you don't mind me asking, @EmmaGrundyForPM, which company did you use? I'm looking at cycle tours but don't fancy rides of 80-100km, or 6 hour days on a bus.

Just realised you said 65 miles, not 65km. Kudos. That would be too much for me.

Hiya
weve been to Vietnam twice, with and without our son. Places we loved most were Hoi An, Hanoi and Halong Bay. First time ( 16 years ago!) we flew from Hong Kong to Hanoi, did a cookery tour, puppet show and just wandered around the amazing city, went ro Halong Bay overnight and then did overnight train to Hue which we loved, hired bikes to do the mausoleums which were great then had time in Hoi An.
Second time ( 5 years ago) we had a week in Cambodia ( which was stunning) then a week in Hoi A with our then 8 year old. We spent time at the beach, did a bike tour through the local villages, went on a boat up the river, mask making, cookery lesson and just mooched. It was fab!
food is brilliant and v reasonable as are hotels. It’s pretty easy to organise yourself with a great train network plus cheap internal flights.
have a brilliant time!

Did any of you fly direct and if so, with which airline?

Always Emirates from Manchester via Dubai to HCMC (Saigon) with a stop over of a couple of hours.

We went before covid

We booked first hotel before going
Then booked all other trips & hotels once there

Hanoi
Recommend the water puppet theatre show

Enjoyed walking round the night markets & the museums

We booked a boat with overnight stay at HaLong Bay, but this was cancelled, due to storms & heavy rain. We did a day trip instead

Flew to Ho Chi Minh City
Cu Chi war museum & tunnels & other museums

We were on a tight deadline, so didn't have time to see everything
I enjoyed learning about Vietnam culture, customs & history from a Vietnamese perspective
Interesting food

Worth a visit? yes

You can pay in local or USA dollars

If you are changing currency the best rate can be found at the local gold shop not the bank.
Trip Advisor Vietnam Forum is quite busy and people are very good at answering specific questions you may have.

I found the Vietnam currency difficult, it is in millions

28,350 dong to £. We get larger notes then tie the others up into 30,000 bundles with cotton. Keep a small calculator and a crib card handy. 😃We have some 1 dong coins which we kept from the first time we went.

I've found this thread very useful as I am just about to book flights for family of 4 (dds 21 & 19) to Vietnam for June but have suddenly got cold feet. We've done a few Asia trips (Malaysia, HK, Bali, Thailand) pre pandemic but now this seems big!! Please reassure me

Anyway, my dds really want 4/5 days of beach. Can anyone recommend the best beaches. I think the central coast will have the better weather in June but any recommendations welcome. Thank you

Do it! You won’t regret it! We stopped off in Danang where the beach looked stunning but was too hot to walk on, we didn’t visit any other beaches but I’m sure someone else will have recommendations!

@llyh where did you stay in Phu Quoc and would you recommend it please? thank you

I have done the Da Nang-Hoi An tour and have a Hoi An cooking class . I really love this cooking class and enjoy so much, really recommended

you can visit Hoi An. Hoi An ancient town is very beautiful and romantic. I joined the Hoi An City tour and visited the traditional craft village here, very interesting. In addition, the food tour in Hoi An is also very attractive with many tasty dishes such as Cao Lau and chicken rice. If you are passionate about food and want to know about local cuisine, you can join a cooking class in Hoi An. I'm sure that this is such an interesting experience!

Did 3 weeks in Vietnam South to North. It is an excellent place to take 15 / 17 years. It is very good value, and very safe The best advice I can give is go onto the Tripadvisor Vietnam board and people post their trip reports. You can DIY it, there are always hotels, and every hotel will organise you a trip or transport to whatever you want to go to. We found BAOLAU site very good for booking any sort of transport with a UK credit card including the long distance train (reunification line) as the vietnam trains do not accept UK credit cards. The trains are basic in some ways (amazing amount of food offered mind) and slow, but with 4, you get a sleeper to yourselves. My personal favourites were Ninh Binh (btw, homestays are usually just what we would call B & Bs in UK) and I actually liked Da Nang (fab beach, Lady Buddha, great restaurants and hotels, no brits), we went to Catba rather than Halong (boats go to same place) Catba itself was disappointing but it is all about going out on the boats. Weather here is changeable, Hanoi and HCMC for all you can do there (war remnants is a must), and the teenagers will love the cheap gear on offer everywhere, particularly Hanoi and HCMC (fake branded stuff). Unlike other posters, I wasn't keen on Hoi An, yes, picturesque, but pushy and touristy., although I liked going out to My son at dawn. Haiphong was a waste of time. Get AC in hotel, take deet, get GRAB taxi app Hue is nice enough, very historic. The Hai Van pass is stunning. Your hotel will organise a private car to wherever for a good price. Enjoy xx

We are thinking of doing a week or two as a stopover to Perth (Aus) next July or August, as they are introducing a direct Ho Chi Minh to Perth flight in a few months. I believe its rainy season then, would you still recommend travelling then or not, any recommendations welcome! We will be returning from a month in the UK and Ireland visiting family, so want a fairly relaxing rather than intrepid trip, as we will be able to go back if they keep the route going anyway.

Great thread!

im going in a couple of weeks, this thread has been very helpful!
so excited 😆

For OP, it will be better to travel in Vietnam over Christmas; Travel with kids, you should do it on your own for slow travel (Do it yourself in Vietnam) is easy.
It is the rainy season in North (Hanoi), typhoon season and South (Saigon) in July/ August while it will be dry or less rain in Mid Vietnam (Danang, Hue…). South kinda has less rain than North of VN.

We flew Vietnam Airlines Heathrow to Hanoi non stop.
Halong Bay
Water Puppet show in Hanoi
Hoi An
Always recommend Vin Pearl theme park Nha Trang to people with teenagers. Also beaches around there
Cu Chi tunnels
River trip up the Mekong