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Where to go in Vietnam?

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going to Vietnam in September and wondering which area is best to go to?
14 years ago, April 3rd 2009 No: 1 Msg: #68069  
We would be flying to either Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City and are wondering where is best to go from there for a well rounded trip (culture, beaches, nightlife). Dont have that much time otherwise we would do both and everywhere in between.

Thanks
R Reply to this

14 years ago, April 3rd 2009 No: 2 Msg: #68152  
N Posts: 5
fly in Hanoi, fly out from Hochiminh or vice verse. Hanoi is more popular with history and culture. Let's spend time with Hochiminh mausoleum, temple of literature, history museum, nightlife with Hanoi old quarter, especially during weekend as it is night market in Hanoi downtown. If time enough, take day tour or night cruise in Halong Bay, a world hesitate that you should visit when in Hanoi. Hochiminh can be seen with Cu Chi tunnel, a great tunnel during Vietnam War time, some of museums are also good to see. For beaches, should spend 3-4 days in the central of Vietnam where it is called Nha Trang. Really good to taste it if you want to see a real heaven there

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14 years ago, April 4th 2009 No: 3 Msg: #68181  
hi,
If you want to travel to Vietnam, I remmend you visit following webiste , you will get a lot of information. In addition, you can visit here to get more information of travaling to Halongbay. When you are in Hanoi, you can join daily city tour, Hoalu tam Coc, perfume pagoda & Halongbay.
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14 years ago, April 5th 2009 No: 4 Msg: #68283  
How long do you have?

If you have less then two weeks I would recommend that you concentrate on either the North or the South. As Jimmy says, there are many great places to see in Vietnam, and if you move around too much you risk missing out on some of them, or rushing through.

If you flew to Hanoi you could spend some time in the capital, doing the things that Jimmy suggests. You could spend 2-3 days looking around Hanoi. You could then take a cruise to Halong Bay and Cat Ba island; people usually do a 2 night 3 day tour, including a boat trip around the Bay and trekking in Cat Ba National Park. You can arrange this from Hanoi if you want a package. It's also possible to do on your own if you are the adventurous type. You can get a bus to Haiphong and go to Cat Ba on a ferry from there. You can also go up to Sapa, in the far North, near the Chinese border. You get an overnight sleeper train up there. There is good trekking up there and it's really beautiful. You can also visit lots of hill tribe villages. It's worth spending at least 2 days up there, more if possible because it's so relaxing.

From Hanoi you can take an overnight train or bus, or fly if you are short on time, to the ancient city of Hue, the beach city of Danang and Hoi An old town. All of these places are within a 12 hour bus/train ride of Hanoi.

If you have more time in the North you could consider visiting Ninh Binh, home of the Cuc Phuong National Park and Tam Coc (lots of impressive rock formations inland).


If you flew to Ho Chi Minh City you could do the city and Cu Chi tunnels, a tour of the Mekong Delta, a beach break to Nha Trang or Mui Ne and then perhaps a visit to Dalat in the Central Highlands. I'm not so familiar with the South of Vietnam, as I live in the North. I'm sure someone else will be able to advise you.

Hope this helps.

Kate Reply to this

14 years ago, April 22nd 2009 No: 5 Msg: #70406  
Hi Ross,

My girlfriend and I are also heading over in September. We are flying to start an intrepid trip on the 17th and last day is the 27th. We are doing from north to south.

Heres the link for the trip we are doing: http://www.intrepidtravel.com/trips/VSQ

it will be full on I imagine but we want to see as much as possible.

Let us know your plans.

cheers,

Jake Reply to this

14 years ago, April 26th 2009 No: 6 Msg: #71007  
Hi!
I am a local tour operator in Hanoi, Vietnam so I think I am good enough to give you some advices!
If you have 3 weeks in Vietnam then it is fine to travel from the North to the South. The places you should stop are Hanoi, Halong, Sapa, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Sai Gon and Mekong Delta.
If you have less than 3 weeks then you should concentrate on the Northern and Central Vietnam only! The South is less attractive than the North and the Central according to many travellers' feedback!
Depending on your time, you can decide what to do to fit your program. But Hanoi, Halong bay, Sapa and Hoian are the places that you should not miss!
For more information about these places, you can visit my homepage . On this page, you will find the necessary travel information all over Vietnam.
Happy Travel!
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14 years ago, May 2nd 2009 No: 7 Msg: #71712  
S Posts: 3
Here is a good resource when trying to figure out where to go in Vietnam:
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14 years ago, June 10th 2009 No: 8 Msg: #75681  
S Posts: 7
I recommend you come to Vung Tung ( Beach), Cu Chi city tour ( culture) and Ho Chi Minh city ( night life) and then go to Hanoi ( Ha long bay tour, Hoa Lu Tam Coc or Sapa) Reply to this

14 years ago, June 10th 2009 No: 9 Msg: #75685  
N Posts: 7
There's many place that worth to go.
First, I think of Hanoi. It's a nice city. From Hanoi you can easy to get Ha Long bay, Sapa.
Then, Da Nang is a good place. This city is near the beach, one of the most beautiful beach of the world. From Da Nang, you can go to Hoi An. Hoi An is an old town, beautiful, clean, peace. Then you should go to Cu Lao Cham, it's been found, new, wild, fresh
Beach in Vietnam is beautiful, you can choose Nha Trang, Phan Thiet, Phu Quoc, Vung Tau.
From Ho Chi Minh city, you can go to Cu Chi, Can Tho.
If you like mountain, you can go to Sapa, Da lat..
Many places for you to choose, i think it'll take you about 3 weeks in Vietnam.
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14 years ago, June 10th 2009 No: 10 Msg: #75689  
N Posts: 7
One more thing, if you'll travel in September, you should have a plan and reservation as soon as possible. Beacause it's the peak season in Vietnam.
Good luck! Reply to this

14 years ago, June 15th 2009 No: 11 Msg: #76196  
N Posts: 5
North: Hanoi, Sapa, Ha Long bay
Central: Nha Trang beach, Hoi An
South: Ho Chi Minh, Mui Ne Reply to this

14 years ago, June 15th 2009 No: 12 Msg: #76213  
ho chi minh - go to cu chi tunnel (long trip but worth it) and go to ben thanh market (don't forget to haggle!)

don't forget to buy VINAMIT! yummy snacks which you can bring back home for your loved ones 😊

and eat at PHO 24... seriously, the best! 😊

have fun Reply to this

14 years ago, June 15th 2009 No: 13 Msg: #76272  
N Posts: 2
vietnam is a great place to visit so have a lot of fun out there. I'd have to agree with the majority of the posts here already if you only have a short amount of time then stick to one area, i'd say the north was best. It will be pretty busy at the time you have chosen but you will still be able to make some good arrangements. I have a blog entry on my facebook group called 'Loving Vietnam' which describes my journey from hanoi down to saigon and we did that in 2 weeks, although it was really hectic and i was knackered afterwards. It will depend as well on how much money you have to spend as you can get some internal flights to save you a lot of time. Reply to this

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