Anyone been to Vietnam?

[JasonTindallsTan]

Hi all,

I’ve just booked a multi centre trip to Vietnam with DH, DD (22) and DS (16).

4 nights Hanoi
4 nights Danang
5 nights Hoi An.

Anyone been, any advice? Any must sees/do?

We’re going in July which I’ve been led to believe should be alright weather wise. Please don’t disabuse me of this notion 😂😂

I'd include Saigon.

Loved it! I had a very different trip but loved Hoi An and Hanoi. Didn’t really do Danang. Saigon/Ho Chi Min is great but probs a bit far south and would involve additional travel. Mekong delta was great though. Think about doing some local trips/cooking courses if that’s your thing. Avoid the wine (it’s not great!) but beer and food fantastic and cheap. Very jealous!

Hué and the forbidden city is worth a trip. Not so far.

We went this year and loved it !!
A cooking class in Hoi an is good and they take you to the markets, also my son sanctuary is definitely worth a trip we did a day trip from Hoi an and did marble mountain too . Also had a great day doing a bike ride you get a boat to an island and ride around it - was stunning and loads of fun.
Hoi an has some fabulous restaurants the morning glory chains are great , also if you fancy a day at the beach there are some cute rustic restaurants .
Danang has the fire bridge and some great markets .
If you run out of things to do in Hanoi - Ninh Bin is definitely worth a trip you can get train or a driver .

@JasonTindallsTan weve booked Kuala Lumpur and 7 nights Danang Easter
with DS 16. Will visit Hoi Ann looking forward to it 👍

Take a day trip from Hoi An to Sunworld in the Ba Na hills . The Golden Hands Bridge is well worth seeing

See if you can fit in an overnight trip to Halong Bay while you are in Hanoi.

We did that plus a two night cruise on halong bay. Loved it.

I've been to Vietnam twice. First time was a short stay in Saigon / HCMC and I loved it - great food really interesting city - we did a moped tour which was brilliant. Second time we spent 8 days in Hoi An which was far too long. It's very pretty but nothing to see / do. The beach is a cab ride away. We also did the Hue trip but again it's a long way. Basically I'd add Saigon if you can and do a shorter stay in Hoi An. We also went in July and it was very humid and wet at night but bearable.

The stops are booked as is so no opportunity to add on Saigon on this occasion, the Hoi An hotel has a private beach so by that point we’ll probably be ready for a few chill days rather than extensive sightseeing.

Thank you all for your thoughts, I’m gonna have a good read and look at all the suggestions. More are always welcome!

Who did you book with? Looking to do this next summer (2027). Interested in hearing re weather situation too.

I just booked with a local independent travel agent who was advertising it as a package deal and I just asked them to price it up for the dates that worked best for us.

From my research the weather will be hot and humid in the north with heavy downpours that will clear as soon as they arrive and a bit drier and less humid more centrally. We did Mexico last year and that was described similar to the north so I’m hoping I know what to expect (it was fine).

Forgot to say we have a day trip to Ha Long Bay included in the package.

May I ask how much it is costing? I was thinking of a similar trip at the same time.

Everyone I know who has been has loved it.

Sure, flying Heathrow direct to Hanoi with Vietnam airlines and then an internal flight from Hanoi to Danang and same in reverse 13 nights later, B&B accommodation, day trip on Ha Long Bay and private transfers was £1549pp

We did Vietnam last year. Hanoi, Halong bay, Hoi An, Danang and Ho Chi Minh. Loved every minute of it. And it is so cheap!

Hanoi is fantastic - so atmospheric and buzzy. Hoi An is beautiful (though very very touristy) and Danang is completely different - like a cosmopolitan city. Halong bay an incredible sight though unfortunately we had bad weather so probably did not experience it at its finest. I really wanted to go to Nimh Binh as well but we just didn't have time.

In Hoi An it can be fun to go down the river in a coconut boat. We visited a lovely hot springs park in the mountains. There are several great shows in the evening - we went to memories which I absolutely loved (all about the history of Vietnam). Just wandering around the centre is fun though - great shopping!

Marble Mountains are amazing in Danang. Hoi an beach is nice, but Danang beach is better. We did snorkelling trip to Cham islands as well.

Food fantastic everywhere. Any questions, just ask.

Street food tour in Hanoi. Clothes tailored for you in Hoi An ((got some amazing washed silk cargo trousers there), Ha long/lan ha bay from Hanoi. Liked Ang Ban beach - seafood was amazing!

Oh I’m getting really exciting reading these!

DD is a bit of a fussy eater so I’m slightly concerned about that but she’s 22 so it’s on her not to starve. She doesn’t mind spice but veggies other than peppers and anything remotely ‘odd’ or ‘textured’ she is a bit funny about 🙄

Love the sound of snorkelling and coconut boats, what kind of price are excursions?

Vietnam is amazing. We went last summer and loved every second. Don’t worry about the weather. We had a few showers but it was fine although very hot.

My Uni aged DD is also fussy. She managed fine with noodles and rice generally. She also managed to find pasta / pizza in a couple of places and circle K / 7 eleven had plenty of crisps / chocolate / snacks.

We did Hanoi, Hue, Danang, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh a year ago, absolutely loved it all. We did an overnight in Halong Bay which was fabulous and the Cu Chi tunnels which was a hard day but fascinating at the same time. We visited loads of temples but we didn’t have any beach time in our itinerary as it was an organised tour.
I think my favourite place was Hoi An, busy but so cool and like pp have said, very cheap with excellent hotels, friendly people, fantastic food and scenery.

I fully intend to return one day but add in some beach time, have a fabulous time, I’m just a bit jealous 😊

They eat a lot of baguettes if she likes those. And it sounds like she would like fried rice dishes and soups (depending on what’s in them).

I remember going to a couple of big parks super early in the morning and there were loads of groups of pensioners doing joint exercise. It was kind of mind-blowing and uplifting. I would recommend if you can handle early mornings.

Baguettes would be a win as would chicken and rice so I’m hopeful she won’t starve!

Of all the tours we did, we both thought Bana Hills wasn’t worth it. It’s a weird mish mash of sights that didn’t make sense. But if you must go, say no to the buffet, the food was awful. There’s plenty of other eating options there.

Nihm Bin was beautiful and a lovely day out.

We’re going to Vietnam in April on honeymoon. Our itinerary is 3 nights Hanoi, 2 nights Ninh Binh, 1 night Ha Long bay, 6 nights luxury beach resort Hoi An, 3 nights Hue, 2 nights HCMC. We were after some decent down time by the beach and trying to see as much of the place as possible. We booked through Trailfinders who were super helpful. We don’t usually bother with travel agents, but with this being our honeymoon we thought it was worth it.

Exciting! Your incinerará looks great!