Vietnam Accomodation and Tour Info

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We thought that we would provide some candid reviews of our time in Vietnam. We have used a combination of booking agents such as: hostels.com and agoda.com

Ho Chi Minh City

Green Suites Hotel (http://greensuiteshotel.com/)
$26/night for a private room
Great location in the backpacker district (District One). The staff were helpful and you didnt get the feeling that they were trying to impose tours on you. Free WiFi and internet- facebook friendly property. Definitely not the cheapest, but at least they had a lift, 24hr reception and security and a small hot breakfast included. The hotel was quiet and well maintained.

Overnight Train to Nha Trang
$30 each (Soft Sleeper)
Luckily enough the four berth cabin was half full meaning it was ours to do as we pleased. The trip left at 8pm at night and arrived at 530am. Sleeping was easy enough, but dont forget to bring some snacks and speakers for your computer so you can watch some movies!

Nha Trang

Backpackers House (http://www.backpackershouse.net/)
$18/night for a private room
Pillow slips were mouldy but were changed upon request. Breakfast was included in the price and more than adequate. Bottled water was included in the breakfast but unless you requested it they didnt give it to you. Location was excellent, close to the beach, close to the bars and restaurants. Noisy venue as it is aimed at the under 30 international party crowd. No lift, so lugging the bags up four flights of stairs was difficult in the narrow stairwell. Fridge and TV/DVD powerpoint were suspect, so we had a warm fridge for a couple of days until it was fixed.

5 Day Easyrider Tour (Nha Trang to Hoi An) Papa-Hanh Easy Rider
$550USD for 2pax for 5days (Food not included)
Expensive tour but worth the money if you are interested in seeing rural Vietnam. You could probably negotiate the price with other vendors but we were satisfied that the guide was as good of a guide as we could have expected. Accomodation along the way was provided and the properties are found below:

Lak Resort- Daklak Night One
We had the option of staying in a homestay or hotel and we chose the hotel option after Jez fell off his bike. Good decision as the homestay was nothing more than a bunky old wood house with tough beds and cold shower. Different to the other homestays that we have been to in the past from the point of view that a) there was no family to interact with and b) this looks like a good margin earner for the tour company. The Lak Resort was surprisingly ok considering we were off the tourist trail, and the place has a large restaurant on the lake. The only thing was that they had an extensive menu but limited availability of dishes, At least the bedding was clean, the room was large and the bungalow was private. There was an internet terminal in the lobby, but you have limited access on a slow connection.

Eden Hotel- Buon Ma Thuot Night Two
This two star hotel is a hive of Easyrider tourists. The lobby is filled with motorbikes in the evening for security purposes and the property seems purpose built for this tourist trail. Alot of foreigners on their way south to HCMC or Nha Trang or like us on the way north from Dalat or Nha Trang to Hoi An. Unbelieveable site watching the porters move all the bikes outside at 7am. Internet facilities were less than adequate, and the rooms were ready for a makeover but there was a lift for guests and aircon. But overall, this was an ok place to sleep after two days sitting on a bike. Wifi was available in rooms as was Karaoke and massage facilities.

Hotel Hoang Thinh- Kon Tum Night Three
A one star hotel that is among the bottom group of places we have stayed. The water and electricity gets turned off at 11pm for cost saving (they buy electricity from China apparently) which means that if you prefer to sleep with aircon when its +30 degrees and 90% humidity then you may be in for a shock. The service was poor and when asked if they could turn our electricity back on they told us to open the window. Our tour guide rectified the issue eventually. The internet terminal in the lobby was temperamental and typical of the whole property. They had a lift which was nice- I guess!!

Be Chau Giang Hotel- Huyen Phuoc son Night Four
Located in a gold mining town in the Central Highlands, this is one of two commanding properties for this place. Usually booked out by either tourists or foreign miners, this property caters well for their target market. Significant cash has been spent on the lobby and upkeep, with most rooms being not only clean with balconies but also quite spacious. Now this isnt the Le Meridian in Chiang Mai but was the highlight hotel for our tour.

Hoi An

Dai Long Hotel
$16/night for a private room
Located centrally in Hoi An, it was a 15min walk to the Ancient Town and a 5km walk to the beach. The drawcard of Hoi An is the Ancient Town so if we were to come back we would want to be in and amongst this part of the city. The two beaches are quite nice as well, with most places out there offering free transport into Hoi An. The property offered free wifi, and had 24hr reception/security. Friendly service, and great free advice we dont have too much bad to say about this place.

Hoi An to Hue (via Danang) by Soft Seat Train
$10USD for a private car to Danang
$3USD per person for soft seat train Danang to Hue
The cheapest price we could find for a car ride to Danang was $10 and was a pleasant way to see how much development is going on on this 45min trip. Greg Norman golf courses, 5 star resorts and a plethora of premium apartments will be commanding this strip of China Beach in the not too distant future. There is no airport in Hoi An, which is serviced by Danang and this stretch of road will very much be a trophy for Vietnam to demonstrate that this country is very much open for all levels of tourism.

The train trip to Hue from Danang is very picturesque and this beautiful two and half hour rail journey takes your attention away from the sweaty seats left by the previous person and the 'local odour' that seems to permeate the cabin (as most of the people have travelled up from Saigon and sat in the same seat over 20hrs prior). The trainline is squashed in between the cliffs that fall into untouched ocean and the mountainscape on the other. If you have a choice between train and bus for this route, we would advise to take the train as the bus isnt as magic due to a tunnel highway that has been bored into the mountain.

Hue

Original Binh Duong Hotel
$11 per night for a private room
Quite a popular hotel with backpackers. Seemed like the friendly front desk operators were very perceptive for any form of tour opportunities! There were computers in the rooms but the internet connection was very temperamental as was WiFi.

Hue to Hanoi by Soft Sleeper Train
$30USD per person
16hr trip
Were lucky enough to have a couple of friendly English girls in our cabin and as they had speakers we were watching the Inbetweeners on the pc before bed. The trip is ok, but BE WARNED that you should try and organise a hotel pick up for you to avoid the dodgy taxi driver scam artists. First and only time we got stooged in Vietnam.

Hanoi

Relax Hotel Hanoi
$8USD for a private room
Cheapest digs in Hanoi but the venue was poorly maintained. We had rain during the night which left puddles of water in our room. The TV didnt work, and the shower curtain was very mouldy. As for the staff, they were helpful and friendly.

Halong Bay 2 day 1 night tour
$50USD per person
Seems like we got a bargain at fifty bucks each. We had an awesome crew on or boat, with three of the nicest American girls we've met and a couple of UK lads that added to the fun. Karoke machine overheated twice- hopefully it wasnt due to the singing!!!

Moonshine Hotel
$16USD per night for a private room
WiFi didnt work in the room and there was no attempt to address this problem. Breakfast was included but was bought off the street. Overall the room was fine, but if you shop around its possible to get similar benefits for less cash.

Wing Hotel
$10USD per night for a private room
Perfect price, responsive service. No fridge in room, but aircon and usual standard hotel features abounded. I think the price of these rooms fluctuate up to $18/night so you know that you have some bargaining power. This hotel's tourist desk gave us the cheapest bus ticket to Nanning at $27 also- which was how we came across this hotel in the first place.

Hanoi to Nanning (China) by bus
$27USD per person
10hr trip
Bring some snacks as you're in for a long one! The changeover in China is easy enough, but there was nowhere to get lunch so we were starving when we arrived in Nanning. Make sure your iPod is charged and you have a very clear understanding (in Chinese) of where your hotel is!!!

Our next entry will be on China and our stops enroute to Hong Kong.

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