Your Tips for Vietnam please

[Glitterbiscuits]

I’m off for a week at the end of October for half term
It’s years since I’ve done long haul and I’m not looking forward to the indirect flight as the gap is only just over an hour.
We are seeing Hanoi, Ninh Binh and Halong Bay.

Its all coming too quickly now and I feel like I shoud have booked for Spain instead!

Id welcome some tips please.

Thanks

What sort of tips are you after? It’s a lovely place to visit, with friendly and welcoming locals, excellent food (maybe book a street food tour or cooking class for Hanoi) and plenty to do

The Yacht Hotel is fabulous if you need a hotel in Ha Long.

Take care in HA Long bay, make sure you know where the life jackets are on boat trips. It's stunning and well worth the trip.

Crossing the road in Hanoi is an act of faith, take care. You must try their salt coffee, it's delicious.

Hanoi Prison Museum is worth a visit as is the Women's Museum.

Check the hotel mattresses/sheets for bed bugs. It's worth bagging your clothes in extra plastic in the suitcase and use a hard shell suitcase. Don't put suitcases on the bed or the floor.

Have a great time xx

Is this a package ?

Indirect flights are unusual. Do you mean you stay on the 'plane?

We went at Easter. My tips

Go to Bai Tu Long Bay (Remea or Indochina Junk go there, think a few others too) rather than the main part of Halong Bay. Much quieter and less polluted, same amazing scenery. Indochina Junk does a bbq on the beach which was great, but probably only if it will be good weather when you are there.

Go cycling in the area around Bich Dong in Ninh Binh, it’s lovely. Most hotels have bikes to borrow. Go on a boat tour first thing or later in the day (say 3pm+) to avoid the day tripper crowds and queues. Boat tour 3 from Tam Coc is good.

In Hanoi, book a (free) food or city tour with Hanoi Kids. They are students and it’s really interesting chatting with them as well as being taken to local spots.

Oh also

Watch out for museum opening days in Hanoi - quite a few are shut on Mondays

Try an egg coffee and a salt coffee, and banh mi from the roadside stalls (look for a busy one)

If you’re with tweens or teens prepare to do a lot of shopping for North Face rip offs

Be prepared for fake AI reviews of restaurants, they are easy to spot once you get your eye in but there are so many…

Not a package holiday.
Im hoping not to see a bed bug! Yikes!

We didn’t come across any bedbugs but we were staying in quite nice places! Did see some cockroaches though on the overnight train 😳

Hanoi- Halong Bay- Ninh Binh- Hanoi is a better order.
Lan Ha bay/ Bai Tu Long bay is less touristy than Halong Bay (Overnight on junk or Cat Ba island).
As for Ninh Binh, stay in Tam Coc and do a boat ride in Trang An.

Get a local to show you how to cross the road in Hanoi! Once you’ve started, keep moving forwards and the motorbikes will avoid you. Never step backward.

We loved Hanoi. Recommend the Hoa Lo Prison aka the Hanoi Hilton. Originally built by the French as a prison for Vietnamese freedom fighters and later used to house American POW pilots. I’m not sure the Americans would agree with the descriptions of life there.

We also found Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and the Museums around it really interesting. The queues were not busy in the afternoon and the mausoleum is a one-off. All of the information is in English as well as Vietnamese.

Definitely recommend going to one of the Water Puppet theatres. Really funny.

Agree to go for Bai Tu Bay rather than Ha Long if you can. We did a day trip with Indochina Junk which was amazing.

If you want to see rural life, try a night or two at Moon Garden Homestay in Ky Son. Not too far from Hanoi. They take you on beautiful bike rides through the rice paddy fields and past lakes with water buffalo; to local temples; around the local village; cooking lessons; cycling to an ancient preserved village for tea ceremony…loads of activities.

Vietnam is amazing! My top tip is to download the Grab app before you go and link a Revolut card etc to it. It's the SE Asian equivalent of Uber, only loads better. It's cheaper than taxis and the price is fixed in the app so you can't be ripped off, and payment is automatically taken from your card after each journey. It is so cheap, safe and convenient, I can't recommend it highly enough! A car will be with you in less than 5 minutes, and it's hard to even spend £2 on a ride! You can also order fantastic food through it, which we found handy if we'd arrived at a hotel late in the evening etc.

Hi op, it's a very long way to go for a week. Expect bad jet lag on your return.

The nicest place I've visited and I've seen many is hoi an. It's beautiful.

Hanoi is also lovely but I wouldn't recommend China town as we felt very unsafe there. Watch out for the mopeds too! Enjoy :)

Yes to Grab app and Revolut card, or a Halifax Clarity card.

Also get an e sim!