michmich11

Hi,

My husband and I are scrambling to put together an itinerary to Vietnam, Bali and Hong Kong for departure next month. Here is what I've worked out so far, any input would be greatly appreciated!

7/16 evening: Arrive Ho Chi Minh City. Spend 1.5 days.
7/18 fly to Hanoi. Spend 5 days in and around Hanoi, Halong Bay.
7/24 fly to Bali. Spend 2.5 days in Bali.
7/27 fly to Hong Kong. Spend 3 days in Hong Kong.
7/31 fly home.

Some notes: I would have preferred to fly directly to Hanoi and skip HCM this time around but we are booking with miles and that doesn't seem to be possible right now.
After writing this out I am thinking it may make sense to fly out of Hanoi on 7/23 instead of 7/24 to give us an extra day in Bali.

I should also tell you a bit about us: We are interested in a combination of active and relaxing experiences, good food, meeting new people and learning about the culture and history of the places we visit.

Any thoughts? Thanks so much!

Kathie

2.5 days in Bali? Silly. You are flying a long way for the briefest of glimpse of Bali. Save Bali for when you have time to enjoy it. And while I don't know what your flights look like, I'm guessing your half days don't really count as time in a location. Have you figures in time at the airport, transfers, checking in and out? You will spend much of this trip in transit.

I'd suggest you confine this trip to VN - mostly Hanoi and surrounding area - with a stop in Hong Kong.

PS> Are you counting days correctly? It takes three nights to give you two full days in a place, 4 nights to give you three days.

michmich11

Thanks for your feedback Kathie. I know it seems crazy to try to fit Bali in--the reason for that is that we have won two free nights at an exclusive hotel there and really want to take advantage!

Since I've posted I've also found better airline routes that will get us straight to Hanoi instead of traveling through HCM.

7/22 Arrive Hanoi. Spend 5 nights.
7/28 Fly to Bali. Spend 4 nights.
7/31 Fly to Hong Kong. Spend 4 nights.
8/4 Fly home.

Does this seem more reasonable?

Kathie

Yes, that is much better.

marmot

Believe you mean 7/27 Fly to Bali. Be aware that big Islamic holidays following Ramadhan begin the week of July 27. This doesn't affect Bali directly, but indirectly there will be a lot of movement within Indonesia. So lock up your flights and hotels as soon as you can and allow extra airport time.

michmich11

Thanks Marmot that is very good to know!

Prachuap

4 nights in Hong Kong? To eat food? I would skip it.

I would just do Bali and one other place.

I lot of people like Hanoi but for mine Krabi/Phang Nga region kills it.

Whilst flying is cool, time in airports and packing/unpacking sucks. Best to move less and have more fun time.

Prachuap

What about Bali and Kuching? They are much closer and air asia flies to them. Kuching has plenty of cultural interests plus nature.