Vietnam july/august

[Madison68]

We are going to Vietnam from the 25th of July till 9th of august. Any suggestion on itinerary and must see? Is it worth going to Cambodia or better to stay in Vietnam. As it’s monsoon season any area to avoid? We are a family of 4 with 2 teens. Currently booked flight to Hanoi and back from HCM.
thank you!

The middle of the country is the best at this time.

I travelled there in August a few years back. I didn't venture to the mountainous north due to rain and risk of mud slides. Central area was hot and sunny, south was hot, sunny but with heavy rain showers most days. Didn't stop us seeing the sights.

Mekong delta trip was great, floating markets, cycling. HCM was interesting, war museum a must byt harrowing. The Sky bar is fun for a sunset drink and a chance to get dressed up. Food feels more Thai in style.

Hoi An was amazing. Stunning place beaches close by and great food. Hue can be reached in a day trip.

Hanoi is interesting. Easy to do trips to Tam Coc and the unmissable halong bay for a mini cruise amongst the islands. Food is mostly Chinese leaning with some French dishes.

Would recommend trains or flights rather than buses for long distance travel.

It will be wet in North (Typhoon season so you should avoid far North) and South, while dry in Central VN at that time.
Focus on doing VN only due to the limited time.

Thank you so much. Can i ask which cruise you did? So many options
did you use an agency or you organised everything on your own?
thanks

We did Dragon Legend halong cruise, not the cheapest but it was amazing. A trip highlight. Mekong boat trip was mango cruises.

Didn't use an agency, just booked ourselves. Essy to book day trips via hotel or local agencies. Booked flights online, used booking.com for hotel bookings, trains we usually bought at the train station the day before travel. They usually have the train times in English on the booth window so you can just point. Worth paying more for first class. Do not get the sleeper buses!!

It's my favourite country that I've visited. Tourist trail is established enough to make things easy, but not so well known to lose its authentic feel. Enjoy!!

Thank you! I was planning the same. With Dragon legend too. As it’s a big ship, I was worried about being too busy and touristy.
thank you so much again

We've done city breaks to Hanoi and HCM in the past and I'm planning a trip for next summer.
We preferred HCM as our son was young and really struggled with the grittiness of Hanoi. We went to Cat Ba instead of Halong Bay and did it as a day trip. It was lovely and not as busy or polluted as Halong. We also did a day trip to Ninh Binh and that was amazing. It would be really nice to spend a couple of nights there. We did a day trip in HCM but it was long a go, not quite sure where. We organized everything through the hotel.
For the next trip, we'll revisit both HAN and HCM and mainly focus on the middle - Hoi An, Hue, Da Nang, Oxalis cave trip, and maybe a side trip to Phu Quoc.
Overnight train trip in the first part, and then a plane from Da Nang to HCM or Phu Quoc.
I found Trip Advisor forums quite useful as well as some of the FB groups.

We've done Angkor Wat as a long weekend trip and it was fine. If you're not coming back to that part of the world any time soon I'd do it. It really is amazing.

If you visit Hanoi then visit Don Duck for dinner and have cocktails at the top of the Tirant Hotel.

i don’t think i will do Halong bay, but i’m
still undecided between bai tu long and lan ha bay from cat ba.

We did lan ha bay- thoroughly recommended. It was stunningly beautiful, very similar geography but not as busy as Ha Long. It was magical.

Lan Ha Bay is less touristy than Halong Bay.

Visiting central Vietnam is the best at this time. You can visit some prominent cities such as Hoi An, Da Nang, Hue or Phong Nha. And the best way for you to visit places is by private car. I encourage you to use https://vmcar.com.vn/hue-to-hoi-an-by-car/, it cheapest and safe.