Kristina

This is just the bare bones of what I have so far. I'm open to suggestions.

(Day 1)-Depart LAX
(Day 2)-Arrive Hanoi 9 PM- Hotel Elegance 4 (4 nights booked)
(Day 3)-Hanoi
(Day 4)-Hanoi
(Day 5)-Hanoi
(Day 6)-Day in Hanoi, Overnight Train to Hue or Fly to Hue early?
(Day 7)-Hue (possibly La Residence?)
(Day 8)-Hue
(Day 9)-Car or Train to Hoi An
(Day 10)-Hoi An
(Day 11)-Fly Hoi An to HCMC
(Day 12)-HCMC
(Day 13)-HCMC
(Day 14)-HCMC
(Day 15)-Fly HCMC-BKK -Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit (3 nights booked)
(Day 16)-Bangkok-Day with Tong
(Day 17)-Bangkok
(Day 18)-Fly back to LAX 8am

My questions:
Day 7- Take the train or Fly?
Pros of taking the train; cheaper both in transportation and save on 1 night hotel. Could be interesting and fun.
Cons; don’t sleep well while moving. Flying is faster.
If we fly, should we shift a day somewhere? Add to Hue or Hoi An?

Days 11-14-Too many days in HCMC? Maybe a Day trip to the Mekong delta area during this time? Maybe an overnight somewhere else? We have no interest in visiting the tunnels so I don't know if I even want to do this.

Should we add another destination by juggling a couple of days somewhere?

Any input on the Day 7 issue (train vs. Fly) would be greatly appreciated because I’d like to book that Accor hotel deal for La Residence in Hue and it expires tonight.

Thanks!

Amy

This will skip around a bit, but first the HCMC question: I truly enjoyed going down the Mekong (and staying overnight at Can Tho.) We went to the floating market in the morning, then a long leisurely ride back (mostly on the top of the boat.) There's a trip report with a photo link at the end here: http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...d-far-away.cfm I found the Cao Dai temple visit to be fascinating. Of course, I found the tunnels to be very interesting as well, but I'm a bit of a history buff.

I'd go with the flying into Hue, myself, but I'm sure some of the train aficianados on here would disagree with me! Two days in Hue should be okay, although again it depends obviously on how you like to stretch things. If you're getting any clothes made, Hoi An is the place, so you might want to add the day there, but it is a relatively small place otherwise. You could add in a day in Danang and visit the Cham museum. And, of course, so much depends on the time of your flights.

By the way, if the bus is still running between Hue and Hoi An, that would be my recommendation! Amazing scenery, good test of your cardiac system.

Kristina

Hi Amy-
Thanks for the reply and the link to your trip. Looks like it was great.
I know everyone gets clothes made in Hoi An, but I doubt we are going to do that.
Hmmm...if we fly we could do 2 nights in Hue, 2 in Hoi An and 2 some place else, but where? Note, to do this, we'd need to shorten HCMC to 3 nights from 4.

thursdaysd

I'd drop a day from Saigon in order to add a Halong Bay overnight to Hanoi - or even another day just for Hanoi, but I much prefer Hanoi to Saigon. I'd also vote for time in Danang, both for the wonderful Cham museum, and to experience a town that's off the main tourist track.

If it's not too expensive I might actually vote to fly to Hue, even though I'm usually one of the people advocating trains, and I've done that route twice. You really don't get to see any scenery, though, and Vietnamese trains aren't the most comfortable around. Make sure you see My Son while you're in Hoi An.

For another TR on Vietnam see www.wilhelmswords.com/asia2002.

crellston

I would normally recoomend train travel in Vietnam as it provides a much better opportunity to see the countryside and meet tthe people., but with limited time air travel makes more sense. The exception to this would be if you took thursdaysd advice to visit Danang. The train ride from Danang to Hue (4hrs approx) is one of the most scenic in the world and well worth the effort. I hope to managed to book La Residence, it is definitely teh best place to stay in Hue (try and get a room overlooking the river)

Kristina

Hmmmm...sounds like we should fly.

I decided not to decide yesterday. I didn't want to lock myself into a set schedule yet by prepaying the room at La Residence. Plus, I had the feeling we'd get the "small, dark room in the back" with that "special rate".

So, I'm still looking for input. Keep it coming.

Thursdaysd-read your whole report last night, thanks!

crellston, I think we might take the train from Hue to Danang. As you said, I've read it's very scenic.

maryanne1

Having been to the Mekong from Saigon 2 times I would definitely plan a night there. The floating market and seeing how the people live along the river is an unforgettable experience. Also it took my second trip to Hanoi to go to Halong Bay,but don't try to do it in a day. Spend a night there either on the boat or land.

The drive between Danang and Hue is another unforgettable experience. I had a private driver so I cannot comment on the train ride. Hue was a city I enjoyed. Do go out to one of the tombs along the river by boat.

Hanoi is a city I enjoyed more than Saigon. The Women's Museum there is one not alot of tourist visit that I enjoyed.

Whatever you decide it will be a great trip. Vietnam is one of my favorite countries in the world.

thursdaysd

kristina - I haven't flown in Vietnam, so I don't know whether tickets sell out, but aside from that, and maybe really high-end hotels (never stay in them), you could arrange the whole thing once you got to Hanoi. The old town is loaded with travel agencies - the only problem is picking one, especially if you're trying to distinguish the original Sinh Cafe from the copies!

thursdaysd

Ooops, I had forgotten that I did fly Saigon to Hanoi. I bought that ticket from Delta Adventure Tours when I arranged my trip through the delta to Cambodia. I bought it on 11-20-02 for a flight on 11-22-02.

ducky2

We did same Vietnam itinerary with same number of days and it worked out fine. We flew to Hue - quick and convenient. We do not like train travel as it's difficult to get a good night's sleep and you arrive tired. From Hue to Hoi An, we hired a car/driver from hotel for $60(1 yr. ago)and you can stop whenever you want. Number of days in HCMC is OK. We did a one day tour of Mekong Delta with Sinh Cafe which was good enough for us. They have many tours and real cheap(make sure it's original Sinh Cafe if using them).

In Hanoi, check out Hanoi kids. They are college students who will show you around at no charge. We toured HCM Mausoleum and Temple of Literature and took them out for lunch.

Happy planning!

Kristina

A question for those of you who have done Mekong Delta tours: we've spent a fair amount of time witnessing river life in Thailand and Cambodia. I'm wondering if this is substantially worth it or maybe more interesting to spend time elsewhere?

maryanne-I will look for the Women's Museum in Hanoi, thanks.

thursdaysd-I wish I could travel like you do without advance reservations, but because our time is so limited, I think I'd prefer to have most of it done ahead of time. And you mentioned Halong Bay. I'd really like to see it someday, but I think we're not going to do it this trip as the weather in that area in July is supposedly unpredictable and can be very rainy.

ducky-thanks for the info. I have Hanoi Kids on my list to contact before we go. You enjoyed your time with them?

filmwill

Kristina, have you considered a 2 day jaunt to Sapa (and the outlying areas?)

Didn't know if that was your speed or not, but my biggest regret from our VN trip was not going there.

marya_

A few comments.

1. Has the Women's Museum reopened already? I wanted to visit it last summer but it was closed for renovation and due to reopen this year. Maryanne, how was it?

2. Others have obviously had much better Mekong Delta tours than ours so buyer beware, Kristina. Business associates booked a standard one-day visit for us to go to My Tho through Tien Giang Tourist. We had a van and driver from HCMC to My Tho, then a boat tour with a couple of stops. The whole experience was very canned and uninspiring; all the value of the experience derived from interaction with the guide rather than with the place. Perhaps the SInh Cafe tour mentioned above is better?

3. Concerning filmwill's encouragement to visit Sapa, I would just caution that you carefully research July weather in that area. Last summer, there were terrible rainstorms and flooding in July in that part of Vietnam. I don't know how typical that is but it bears mentioning.

thursdaysd

I didn't think the Mekong delta tour was that interesting. The best part was crossing the border to Cambodia by boat and seeing the immediate difference between the countries. If you've already spent time on the rivers in Thailand and Cambodia I think you can skip it for this trip. Do try to make it to the Cao Dai temple, though.

Kristina

Filmwill-I would also like to go to Sapa one day, and staying in Northern Vietnam was our original itinerary. But once I investigated the weather, I decided not to risk it because it may be just be too rainy to go in July. It will have to wait for another trip. I was disappointed, but now I'm warming to the thought of getting the "grand overview" of the country; North, Central and South.

Marya and Thursdaysd, your comments are exactly why I am hesitating on the Delta tours. I think I have to go back to the guidebooks and look for something else. Maybe a few beach days?

One thing I've noticed is that most people don't tend to stray too far from the coast in the central region of the country. Is there a reason for that? Not much to see? Hard to travel? Thinking "out loud" here...

Amy

Of course, there are no guarantees , but I was in Hanoi in July and the rain tended to be short bursts, not a day-long type thing. Ha Long Bay was one of the highlights, even though the one day did have overcast skies: they were actually kind of exciting looking: http://travel.webshots.com/photo/291...53546425NtNJrG And sleeping on the boat is something I highly recommend. (Not to make the decisions even more difficult!)

The Delta tour to me was more along the lines of a relaxing way to spend a couple of days at the end of the trip; it was very peaceful going along the river and watching the kids along the shore and such, but if you've done similar trips before you know what I mean. I'm a river fan, myself, and, as I said, it was soooo relaxing.

I'll grant you, July might not be the ultimate time to travel in Vietnam, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well the weather turned out. One of my favorite "little moment in time" memories, actually, is related to a cold and rainy morning: getting pho for breakfast at a little cafe right near my apartment. Mmmm, mmm, good on a chilly morning.

maryanne1

The things that added to my Mekong trip so much was the driver and guide I had so that is probably why I enjoyed it so much. The guide took me to his Mother's home for a typical Vietnamese meal. A thing he did not normally do. So beautiful back in the jungle. That was my 2nd trip with him. The other thing he took me on a small boat to visit an older man who had actually fought with our soldiers during the war. The old man climbed his banan tree to get me bananas. By the time I left his home"I was his sister and he was my brother". I loved sitting in the square in Can Tho seeing Vietnamese life as well as what I saw along the river.
Vietnamese friends recommend Sinh Cafe tours (in fact my guide worked for Sinh travels before he became a private guide).
All of these things added so much is probably why I am such of an adovate of this area.

I definitely thought the Women's Musem in Hanoi was a very interesting place to visit. Another place you will find few tourist.

Also my travel to Halong Bay was during a misty rain time- not a downour,but seeing it through the fog made it very dreamy and surreal. It is quite a distance there so that is why I would suggest spending the night. You see alot of country life on the drive there. This time I went on a bus with other travelers with a day and night trip with Anne's tours. I stayed in a place overnight on the land. Many have mentioned the boat overnight which might be quite interesting.

I've never been to Sapa,but at dinner one night I met one of the tour guides to Sapa. Sounds interesting,but I would not want to go in the rainy time.

I visited an orphanage in Saigon that was started by an Australian woman. So touching!

It is the personal experiences that meant so much to me.

Kristina

No Amy, you're not making my decisions any easier.
I'd pretty much ruled out Halong Bay, but if we do go it would be for an overnight and not just a day trip.

thursdaysd

"most people don't tend to stray too far from the coast in the central region of the country" - well, that's because the country is pretty thin there! From my TR; "The northern section around Hanoi, won from Chinese control, is joined to the southern highlands and the Mekong delta near Saigon, partly won from the Cambodians, by a narrow spine of land separating Lao from the South China Sea. At its narrowest the country is only 30 miles wide, which is why the Ho Chi Minh Trail detoured though Lao territory. "

One place I don't see mentioned here, and that I haven't visited myself because it did sound a bit tacky, is Dalat, which is in the southern highlands, and is a Vietnamese honeymoon destination.

ekscrunchy

Kristina: I did not see this thread until now. I can't help with the train vs plane issue. But I can tell you that there is a big variety of rooms at La Residence. Even though I booked through Exotissimo and had been assigned good rooms elsewhere, the room at LA Residence was one of the small and dark ones. I did make a switch to one facing the river,but it was in the back building, beyond the pool, and so the river was very far away. Too far to see any river life. So make sure that you inquire as to the various buildings and which rooms are available before you book. The hotel is worth seeing, even for those who do not stay there.

I hope this was helpful..

Although I've spent sometime in Saigon on 2 trips, I never had much desire to do a Delta tour..maybe next time!