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Thinking about visiting Vietnam
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I was there a few years ago for my honeymoon. If you have seen the Top Gear episode when they travel the length of the country then we did that same trip (not on mopeds). If you havent watched it then I definitely recommend.
Top gear special
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RCSRVg5w0M
This is the trip we did and the company we used
http://www.intrepidtravel.com/vietnam/vietnam-express-northbound-94723
The trip was great, 13 of us, mixed nationalities and a packed trip. I do enjoy having my own itinery but we loved all of what they organised and felt like we got the best out of our time there getting up early and cracking on with their plans.
My least favorite place was Ho Chi Minh, very busy city but quite modern and in contrast to the rest of the places we visited had less culture left. My favourite place was Hanoi, absolutely mental and plenty of attractions. I just enjoyed walking around dodging the mopeds.
Things I would do just to say you'd been there is a night on a junk boat on Halong Bay. This place is full to the brim with tourists, and very rarely do you see the place as you do on the photos. Regardless its cool to do for a day.
More like this
Chi Chi tunnels is a fair drive out from Ho Chi Minh but absolutely mental to see how the locals lived during the conflicts.
Try and time your visit with the festival of light in Hoi An. Stunning displays there and we missed it by a few days, gutted.
When we were there our guide told us the government had managed to fend off McDonalds/Starbucks etc but believe they have now given in to the western world.
I wasnt in to photography when I was there, which is a shame as it is very photogenic.
Top gear special
This is the trip we did and the company we used
http://www.intrepidtravel.com/vietnam/vietnam-express-northbound-94723
The trip was great, 13 of us, mixed nationalities and a packed trip. I do enjoy having my own itinery but we loved all of what they organised and felt like we got the best out of our time there getting up early and cracking on with their plans.
My least favorite place was Ho Chi Minh, very busy city but quite modern and in contrast to the rest of the places we visited had less culture left. My favourite place was Hanoi, absolutely mental and plenty of attractions. I just enjoyed walking around dodging the mopeds.
Things I would do just to say you'd been there is a night on a junk boat on Halong Bay. This place is full to the brim with tourists, and very rarely do you see the place as you do on the photos. Regardless its cool to do for a day.
More like this
Chi Chi tunnels is a fair drive out from Ho Chi Minh but absolutely mental to see how the locals lived during the conflicts.
Try and time your visit with the festival of light in Hoi An. Stunning displays there and we missed it by a few days, gutted.
When we were there our guide told us the government had managed to fend off McDonalds/Starbucks etc but believe they have now given in to the western world.
I wasnt in to photography when I was there, which is a shame as it is very photogenic.
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There's a lot to see. I spent a month there a few years ago. Halong Bay being the first place that I'd recommend, which Im sure you're already aware of.
I didn't spend a lot of time in the highlands, but they offer some fantastic photo opportunities. Sapa was where I stayed, and there are landscape opportunities galore, as I am sure much of the surrounding area will offer too.
Both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are really vibrant cities to visit, and definitely worth spending some time in.
Dalat is another hill station that we enjoyed spending time exploring. Again with a very picturesque setting, and a welcome break from the heat of the coast.
Hoi-An was probably my favourite place to spend time on the trip, and the coastline between Nha Trang and Da Nang offers some great beaches. Sunrise on the coast was always really enjoyable, as it's when the locals tend to head there, before the heat of the day. Lots of morning yoga - it's a sight to behold!
Other places worth a mention are Cuc Phong National park and the Mekong Delta. Also a trip to Phonsavanh in Laos to visit the Plain of Jars would be worth while.
I didn't spend a lot of time in the highlands, but they offer some fantastic photo opportunities. Sapa was where I stayed, and there are landscape opportunities galore, as I am sure much of the surrounding area will offer too.
Both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are really vibrant cities to visit, and definitely worth spending some time in.
Dalat is another hill station that we enjoyed spending time exploring. Again with a very picturesque setting, and a welcome break from the heat of the coast.
Hoi-An was probably my favourite place to spend time on the trip, and the coastline between Nha Trang and Da Nang offers some great beaches. Sunrise on the coast was always really enjoyable, as it's when the locals tend to head there, before the heat of the day. Lots of morning yoga - it's a sight to behold!
Other places worth a mention are Cuc Phong National park and the Mekong Delta. Also a trip to Phonsavanh in Laos to visit the Plain of Jars would be worth while.
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It's notably cooler in the North than the South.
The South is poorer than the North (Hanoi)
North, you have the capital Hanoi. People tend to leave you alone more in Hanoi than they do down South. You've also got Ha Long Bay and you can get transfers to there form Hanoi. You can stay a couple of nights on a big boat and go kyaking, swimming etc. We had massive fun at Ha Long Bay and was the highlight of out trip to Hanoi.
You can also go to Sa Pa while you're in the North if landscape photography/walking/trekking is your thing.
South, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is mental. I love it there. You do get hassled a lot there to buy crap. It's cheaper and chaotic. There's about 7m scooters in Saigon (might be 5 million...one or the other anyway). It's hotter and stickier by far in the South. You can go to the Mekong river for boat trips. Cu Chi tunnels, see the traps the Viet Cong set for the U.S. Also, you can catch a night bus to Cambodia (about £12) and go to Phnom Penh for a couple of days if you like. There are tailors galore everywhere in Saigon., I had 5 shirts made at a tailor called Nam Silk (if that's your thing). Tailors are a lot rarer in Hanoi.
I preferred to do it two holidays. One visit to the North and Ha Long Bay, one separate visit to the South and visited the Mekong Delta, Cu Chi Tunnels, Cambodia etc.
I also went Cambodia in it's own right as well. Hoi An is about halfway up if you decide to go from North to South in the same holiday, they make shoes and bags in Hoi An if that's your thing!
There's hundreds of tour operators in HCM City that offer day trips etc. I wouldn't book anything in this country and advise you to wait until you get there.
As for flights, my life is worth more than a couple hundred quid so I fly Emirates or Etihad.
I went Emirates when I went HCM City. Heathrow - Dubai - HCMC
I went Etihad to Hanoi. Heathrow - Abu Dhabi - HCM City - Hanoi (last leg was a crappy plane)
There are cheaper planes out there but I don't risk those dodgy Chinese ones I'm afraid.
Oh, beef phó and Vietnamese coffee are fabulous!!!
The South is poorer than the North (Hanoi)
North, you have the capital Hanoi. People tend to leave you alone more in Hanoi than they do down South. You've also got Ha Long Bay and you can get transfers to there form Hanoi. You can stay a couple of nights on a big boat and go kyaking, swimming etc. We had massive fun at Ha Long Bay and was the highlight of out trip to Hanoi.
You can also go to Sa Pa while you're in the North if landscape photography/walking/trekking is your thing.
South, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is mental. I love it there. You do get hassled a lot there to buy crap. It's cheaper and chaotic. There's about 7m scooters in Saigon (might be 5 million...one or the other anyway). It's hotter and stickier by far in the South. You can go to the Mekong river for boat trips. Cu Chi tunnels, see the traps the Viet Cong set for the U.S. Also, you can catch a night bus to Cambodia (about £12) and go to Phnom Penh for a couple of days if you like. There are tailors galore everywhere in Saigon., I had 5 shirts made at a tailor called Nam Silk (if that's your thing). Tailors are a lot rarer in Hanoi.
I preferred to do it two holidays. One visit to the North and Ha Long Bay, one separate visit to the South and visited the Mekong Delta, Cu Chi Tunnels, Cambodia etc.
I also went Cambodia in it's own right as well. Hoi An is about halfway up if you decide to go from North to South in the same holiday, they make shoes and bags in Hoi An if that's your thing!
There's hundreds of tour operators in HCM City that offer day trips etc. I wouldn't book anything in this country and advise you to wait until you get there.
As for flights, my life is worth more than a couple hundred quid so I fly Emirates or Etihad.
I went Emirates when I went HCM City. Heathrow - Dubai - HCMC
I went Etihad to Hanoi. Heathrow - Abu Dhabi - HCM City - Hanoi (last leg was a crappy plane)
There are cheaper planes out there but I don't risk those dodgy Chinese ones I'm afraid.
Oh, beef phó and Vietnamese coffee are fabulous!!!
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My words of advice are quite simple - wherever you visit - you'll get something from it. The photographic opportunities are endless - the people are friendly - the food is good - and the cost to your pocket won't be extortionate.
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I've just booked a weekend in Hanoi starting Friday. Just a little city break for 2 days. Should be fun 
OP
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I've just booked a weekend in Hanoi starting Friday. Just a little city break for 2 days. Should be fun
Hope you have a good time
Rich
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I've been - it rained - a lot - but I still got some great images I think I prefer it to HCM, and would happily go back again - however word of warning - don't take a tripod anywhere near the Mausoleum - they got very shirty with me - even though I wasn't using it. Oh and everywhere shuts early. Couldn't get much of a decent meal at 1000pm on a Sunday night. I'll pop up a few pics in a thread.
I think I prefer it to HCM, and would happily go back again - however word of warning - don't take a tripod anywhere near the Mausoleum - they got very shirty with me - even though I wasn't using it. Oh and everywhere shuts early. Couldn't get much of a decent meal at 1000pm on a Sunday night. I'll pop up a few pics in a thread.
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https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/t...e-and-scenery-from-a-very-wet-weekend.633487/
These were a few of my favourites from the time I was there.
These were a few of my favourites from the time I was there.
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We've just returned from a month in SE Asia. 1 week in Cambodia, 1 week in Myanmar and two weeks in Vietnam.
We travelled from Hanoi to Saigon during our trip, taking in a few sights along the way. It looked a little something like this;
2 days in Hanoi - plenty of walking tours available. See the French Quarter and Old Quarter. We stayed in a really nice (and relatively cheap) hotel called Arts Trendy - very helpful staff who booked us train tickets and tours, as well as being in the heart of Old Town. You can also plan on visiting the train line that runs through the narrow streets of the city. Aim to be there by around 4pm - there should be a train before 5pm, then around 6.30pm (ish...)
Overnight sleeper train to SaPa in the North - border with China. A really, really stunning mountain town surrounded by terraced rice fields and overlooking the Fansipan Mountain. You can do plenty of walking around this area, many of the local tribes have started up homestays and do tour guide duties. You can also visit about 3 large, local waterfalls, take the cable car to the summit of Fansipan mountain (it's normally in cloud though) or take a day tour to Bac Ha Market (on Sunday's only) which is famous for the colourful Flower Hmong Tribe, selling clothes, animals (puppies, kittens, pigs, ducks, ox, etc).
From Hanoi you can either do a day trip to Halong Bay, which we did, and regretted. It's a 4.5hr bus journey out, 2-3hrs on a boat, then 4.5 hr bus journey back. We didn't enjoy Halong at all, probably for this reason, but also because it's so crowded and incredibly touristy. Boats jostling for positing everywhere. There are plenty of tours that will do one or two nights on the boat so you get to see more of the bay, but I'm not sure that would've been any better.
We did do a day tour to Tam Coc, dubbed as the inland Halong Bay, which we loved. We took a private car in the end as we had to be back early for our train, but were there by 8am, one of the first tourists out on the river with a local lady rowing us through the towering limestone karsts, through low tunnels and among the rice fields. It was much more peaceful and serene, and you can walk up to a temple and overlook part of the river too.
We then headed down to Dong Hoi, caught a taxi to Phong Nha and visited the Phong Nha Kebang National Park. This place is famous for caves. there are plenty you can visit on day trips, either rowing down the river or a short guided walk in to the jungle, but we went all out and took a 1-night, 2-day trek/camp to Hang En, the third largest cave in the world. This is the cave where you have the well known photos of the tents inside the cave entrance with the ray of sun light coming in - that sun usually only happens around March (FYI). It wasn't cheap, about $300 each, but was definitely my most memorable experience. The walk is about 11km each way. Out to the cave is down the mountain (relatively easy) but you have about 2km back up the mountain on the way back, and it's steep!!! The other option for Phong Nha is Son Doong, the largest cave. You won't get on to a tour now for 2017 as they sell out in about 24hrs, but you can sign up to book a tour in 2018. It's about $1,500-1,800 and takes 5 days, you have to pass a fitness test and looks incredible. I'm planning to go back in 2018 just for this.
From Phong Nha we caught another train on to Hoi An. We ended up having four nights here - it's very peaceful, beautiful old town, and in the centre, they don't allow cars or motor bikes (for most of the day) which makes it nice to wonder around. We did a day trip to Cham Islands (http://www.vietnamscubadiving.com) and did some diving (not brilliant and a lot of the waters had problems with jelly fish infestations). We had considered camping on the island as they also offer that, or staying in one of the homestays. We also did a half-day cycling tour out of the town to Coconut Island, my wife rode a buffalo and we ate some local shrimp salad and Vietnamese Pancakes. (http://hoianecogreentour.com)
We were in Hoi An for the lantern festival and regretted it. Suddenly Hoi An turned from a peaceful, pretty town in to a horrible commercial centre packed with hawkers, touts, so many tourists, you couldn't move. It spoilt the place for us slights, but each to their own.
We took a flight from Danang (closes airport/train station to Hoi An) to Saigon and spent a day doing the War Remnants Museum in the morning (it closes at 12:00) and the Chu Chi Tunnels in the afternoon. Our hotel book the tunnels tour as it's about 1.5hr drive out of the city.
Our last day we booked a private tour to the Mekong Delta. We wish we had a bit more time (we were greedy in Hoi An) and did an overnight tour but although it was pricey, we really enjoyed the off-the-tourist-trail nature of our tour (http://waterbuffalotours.com/Tour/Detail?id=1). We visited a local village market, which obviously has very few white people visiting as they wanted to take our photos as we wanted to take theirs. We had lunch on the ocean front - delicious fresh seafood - then took a boat tour along part of the Delta and through a coconut plantation.
Emirates now fly in to Hanoi (through Yangon, Myanmar) and Saigon (both through Dubai).
If you want to ask any specific questions, feel free to drone me a PM.
Sorry for the long post.
We travelled from Hanoi to Saigon during our trip, taking in a few sights along the way. It looked a little something like this;
2 days in Hanoi - plenty of walking tours available. See the French Quarter and Old Quarter. We stayed in a really nice (and relatively cheap) hotel called Arts Trendy - very helpful staff who booked us train tickets and tours, as well as being in the heart of Old Town. You can also plan on visiting the train line that runs through the narrow streets of the city. Aim to be there by around 4pm - there should be a train before 5pm, then around 6.30pm (ish...)
Overnight sleeper train to SaPa in the North - border with China. A really, really stunning mountain town surrounded by terraced rice fields and overlooking the Fansipan Mountain. You can do plenty of walking around this area, many of the local tribes have started up homestays and do tour guide duties. You can also visit about 3 large, local waterfalls, take the cable car to the summit of Fansipan mountain (it's normally in cloud though) or take a day tour to Bac Ha Market (on Sunday's only) which is famous for the colourful Flower Hmong Tribe, selling clothes, animals (puppies, kittens, pigs, ducks, ox, etc).
From Hanoi you can either do a day trip to Halong Bay, which we did, and regretted. It's a 4.5hr bus journey out, 2-3hrs on a boat, then 4.5 hr bus journey back. We didn't enjoy Halong at all, probably for this reason, but also because it's so crowded and incredibly touristy. Boats jostling for positing everywhere. There are plenty of tours that will do one or two nights on the boat so you get to see more of the bay, but I'm not sure that would've been any better.
We did do a day tour to Tam Coc, dubbed as the inland Halong Bay, which we loved. We took a private car in the end as we had to be back early for our train, but were there by 8am, one of the first tourists out on the river with a local lady rowing us through the towering limestone karsts, through low tunnels and among the rice fields. It was much more peaceful and serene, and you can walk up to a temple and overlook part of the river too.
We then headed down to Dong Hoi, caught a taxi to Phong Nha and visited the Phong Nha Kebang National Park. This place is famous for caves. there are plenty you can visit on day trips, either rowing down the river or a short guided walk in to the jungle, but we went all out and took a 1-night, 2-day trek/camp to Hang En, the third largest cave in the world. This is the cave where you have the well known photos of the tents inside the cave entrance with the ray of sun light coming in - that sun usually only happens around March (FYI). It wasn't cheap, about $300 each, but was definitely my most memorable experience. The walk is about 11km each way. Out to the cave is down the mountain (relatively easy) but you have about 2km back up the mountain on the way back, and it's steep!!! The other option for Phong Nha is Son Doong, the largest cave. You won't get on to a tour now for 2017 as they sell out in about 24hrs, but you can sign up to book a tour in 2018. It's about $1,500-1,800 and takes 5 days, you have to pass a fitness test and looks incredible. I'm planning to go back in 2018 just for this.
From Phong Nha we caught another train on to Hoi An. We ended up having four nights here - it's very peaceful, beautiful old town, and in the centre, they don't allow cars or motor bikes (for most of the day) which makes it nice to wonder around. We did a day trip to Cham Islands (http://www.vietnamscubadiving.com) and did some diving (not brilliant and a lot of the waters had problems with jelly fish infestations). We had considered camping on the island as they also offer that, or staying in one of the homestays. We also did a half-day cycling tour out of the town to Coconut Island, my wife rode a buffalo and we ate some local shrimp salad and Vietnamese Pancakes. (http://hoianecogreentour.com)
We were in Hoi An for the lantern festival and regretted it. Suddenly Hoi An turned from a peaceful, pretty town in to a horrible commercial centre packed with hawkers, touts, so many tourists, you couldn't move. It spoilt the place for us slights, but each to their own.
We took a flight from Danang (closes airport/train station to Hoi An) to Saigon and spent a day doing the War Remnants Museum in the morning (it closes at 12:00) and the Chu Chi Tunnels in the afternoon. Our hotel book the tunnels tour as it's about 1.5hr drive out of the city.
Our last day we booked a private tour to the Mekong Delta. We wish we had a bit more time (we were greedy in Hoi An) and did an overnight tour but although it was pricey, we really enjoyed the off-the-tourist-trail nature of our tour (http://waterbuffalotours.com/Tour/Detail?id=1). We visited a local village market, which obviously has very few white people visiting as they wanted to take our photos as we wanted to take theirs. We had lunch on the ocean front - delicious fresh seafood - then took a boat tour along part of the Delta and through a coconut plantation.
Emirates now fly in to Hanoi (through Yangon, Myanmar) and Saigon (both through Dubai).
If you want to ask any specific questions, feel free to drone me a PM.
Sorry for the long post.
