yestravel

Viet Nam will be the first leg of a longer trip to SEAsia (our first to the area). We'll be away a total of 7 weeks and would like to spend about 3 weeks in VN. After reading lots of TR on this board and others and guidebooks we've taken a first stab at an Itinerary. I would appreciate any comments on the itinerary below. While I want to check out a beach or two mainly to see the scenery, we're no longer beach people, so not interested in spending much time on a beach. We're always interested in seeing and experiencing the culture of a country, musuems, doing hikes or treks and hangng out in cafes and eating good food! WDYT?

Looking to hear places we might have missed or amount of time in locations. Any ideas are welcome.

arrive HCMC mid Feb stay 2 nights

visit Mekong Delta - thinking of a one night stay there

Back to HCMC and Fly to Danag and transfer to Hoi An 3 nights

Private transfer to Hue for 3 nights

Fly to Hanoi and stay 4 nights

Considering a 1 night 2 day trip to Halong Bay -- a little concerned about the weather for that type of sail, but it sounds like a do not miss whatever the weather. We'd hit there the end of Feb/early March.

Hanoi to SaPa by train and spend 3 nights in SaPa

Back to Hanoi and on to Laos.

I've just sent an email to Tonkin Travel and may work with them once we've decided what we want to do depending upon their prices. They get mentioned alot on this board, r there other Travel agents that we should check with? Thanks for your feedback!

Craig

WDYT = What do you think?

The following comments are based on our experiences in northern Vietnam:

The reason Tonkin is mentioned so often is that they are responsive, they don't force guided tours on you, and their pricing is good.

I don't recall anyone ever saying they had really great weather on Halong Bay. Just do it.

I assume you mean 2 nights on the train and 3 nights in Sapa? If so, that will be plenty of time to get a feel for the area. Try and work in one of the markets if you can.

Hanoi will probably be one of your best opportunities to experience the culture of the country, visit museums, hang out in cafes and enjoy great food. Hopefully 4 nights there will give you 4 full days, at least.

thursdaysd

I think you have too long in Hoi An - but if you're shoppers and want to buy clothes maybe you'll like it more than I did. I'd take time for Hoi An and add to Hanoi, especially if you do Halong Bay.

cestgaston

Sounds like a great time in Vietnam!
I would not miss a couple nights in Dalat (short distance from Saigon)Great weather(mountain climate=less humid) and scenery(hiking)
Agree with Craig: Post Card weather in Halong Bay is,well, on Post cards...Just do it,it is unique.
We have used Indochina Travel Service.They were very reasonable,accommodating and the level of service was remarkable

sf7307

yestravel, I think we're going to cross paths --- we're working on our itinerary right now, which will include much (but not all due to time constraints) of what you're considering, and also starting in mid-February 2011. Wish we had 7 weeks!!

yestravel

craig, yes, WDYT is what do u think. Your report was really helpful in sorting thru the N Viet Nam portion, thanks again for so much detail.

thursdaysd, we enjoy some shopping, but not alot. So u think 2 nights in Hoi An?

cestgaston, thanks for the rec -- will check it out

sf7307 - 7 weeks sounds like so much when u start and then u begin looking at where u want to go and it suddenly doesnt seem like so much. Lots of crossed paths for us. I looked on your profile and you're from SF (no surprise with your screen name!), we will be out there in Sept and I see u will be in DC this summer which is where I live. Maybe we can connect and compare planning notes in one of the 2 cities?

thursdaysd

Yes, I think two nights in Hoi An would be plenty.

crellston

Two nights in Hoi An is plenty and I would use the extra night.
add an extra night in HCMC. Some great restarants and street/market food.

If you can try and factor in a train journey from Da Nang to Hue much better than the road trip.

Ha Noi is the place to chill and just experience the culture/food and historical sites. Personally, I would leave out Ha Long bay in favour of a trip to the Ba Be lakes area or maybe the Mai Chau Valley.

sf7307

yestravel, I know! I told my DH we actually need 3 months!!

JerryS

We spent 10 days in Vietnam in 2006, primarily in Hanoi, HaLong Bay (we were on the Emeraude overnight - a wonderful experience.), and Ho Chi Minh City. It was a wonderful trip.

Our guide in Hanoi was a young man named Hung do. He was fantastic and at the time worked for a large agency. He has recently formed his own company and, I believe, can offer you a creative and interesting trip. Check out his website, www.henritours.com.

If you do contact him, tell him that Ann and jerry recommended him.

Whatever you do, have a great trip.

yestravel

crellston -- thanks for your suggestions. We could work Mai Chau Valley in I think. Didnt you do a blog? I recall reading it related to NW Argentina as we were there around the time u were. Woul dyou mind giving the url?

JerryS -- I will check out your guide in Hanoi. Also looked at your blog and enjoyed it-thanks!

dgunbug

I wouldn't add another day to Saigon, but I would consider adding time to Hanoi. You may want to find out if there are any flights from Can Tho in the Delta to Danang directly so you don't have to drive back to Saigon. We flew Can Tho to Hanoi directly.

yestravel

dgunbug -- we're staying the minimum time we can in HCMC. We arrive there late at night so that adds a night. Good idea on looking for flights from Can Tho, hadnt thought about doing that. Thanks!

crellston

Hi Yestravel - I did add some photos of Mai Chau to the our blog but no narrative here is the url http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...ai/3/tpod.html

We visted Mai Chau when driving the Dien Bien Phu Loop. We got the train to Sapa stayed in The Victoria Hotel and did a couple of day treks around the villages in the Sapa valley. We then drove south through Lai Chau and Dien Bien Phu. Saw some great scenery and met some wonderful people along the way. We were supposed to stay at Son La before returning to Hanoi but changed our minds at the last minute. Really glad we did as we had a fantastic couple of days there.
We arrived in the village and our driver arranged lodgings for us in a homestay. The rooms were basic but clean and there were communal facilities (again clean). We ate with the family and a couple of other guests and the food was excellent - all cooked over an open fire in the courtyard.

In the evening the village was hosting a reception for a group of political science students from Hanoi Uni and we were invited along to the party by area's political cadre (and Mr Big!). The party involved the whole village and involved a number of speeches and toasts, a few songs/karakoe and much rice wine! This was followed by a traditional dance display by the girls and boys in the village - absolutely amazing.

The next day I went hiking out through the valleys. Starting out at dawn,the cockerels ensuring no hope of further sleep I walked along the paddy fields through to the next couple of villages the sunrise and mist made it one of those magical picture postcard moments. At the other villages people invited me in to their homes for tea, pho and refusing simply was not an option. Some of the friendliest people I have met in Vietnam if not all of Asia.

If you didn't want to stay in a homestay, I believe there is now an upmarket lodge in the area with all mod cons - Mai Chai Lodge?

We were in Mai Chau in 2006 or 07 and, as is the way of teh world, places do become busier but I doubt it could have changed too much.

yestravel

crellston--thanks for the additional info. Nice pictures on your blog! How did u get your driver? Was he pre arranged or picked him up along the way?

crellston

We booked our driver via a travel agent in the UK who sub contracted to http://www.topastravel.vn/. They were very good in most respects and the guide was fine but the driver was a bit of a maniac. I hesitate to recommend them, mainly because the vehicle they supplied was a 30 year old Toyota Landcruiser which would have been fine for the trip if only it had had some tread on the tyres and working lights and instrumentation. All of which became all too evident when we were driving through the high passes around Mt Fansipan in the fog and ice! (they do have a nice eco lodge just outside of Sapa). That said, they are one of the more reputable outfits in Vietnam.

For other trips we have booked as and when we arrived in the various location which has generally worked out well - there are loads of travel operators in the Old Quarter in Hanoi and we spent a morning there just trawling these operators before deciding on www.kangaroocafe.com who sorted out our trip to Ba Be in a couple of days.

One further word of warning - Tet celebrating the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit is on Feb 3-7, 2011 which seems to tie in with your travel dates. Travel will be a lot more difficult around this time as most Vietnamese will go back to there villages over the holidays (which drag on for a month). Trains planes and buses will be difficult to arrange during this period so it is ESSENTIAL to book travel and hotels in advance. Many places, particularly in the north will close for the period. That said, we spent the period after Tet 2008 in Vietnam and it was very quiet and some places were closed but no less enjoyable and the bonus was that there were lots of celebrations and street displays going on. We did however have to stay in Hue for a week as it proved impossible to get flights back to HCMC - http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...3280/tpod.html

yestravel

Thanks for the additional information. We arrive in HCMC on Feb 14 arriving in Hanoi on the 24. We'd hit the SaPa and Mai Chau March 1 on. I was hoping by the time we get to the hill country the celebrating might be winding down. In any case we are trying to work out and make arrangements this summer to avoid any problems. Do u think that would work out?

crellston

I am sure it will work out fine. The key is to book travel arrangements WELL in advance as flights and trains do get booked up months in advance and fares rise the closer you get to Tet. As an example we had to wait a week to get any seats out of Saigon at all and the only seats we could get before our visas expired were business class at vastly inflated fares.

yestravel

I've started working with Tonkin and thanks to your advice and others think we've pretty much worked out the VN portion of the trip.
Thanks to all for your advice!