A friend and I are going to Vietnam in August to visit my son and his wife in Saigon. My friend and I will be taking side trips to the above cities. I would appreciate recommendations re sighseeing tours within these cities. One of us has a knee injury and really cannot do any adventure type tours. We are both interested in learning about the history and culture of these cities and also enjoy local arts and crafts and food. Would love to hear about specific tour companies that you recommend. Do you think there is any reason to book these in advance.
I was in Hanoi in 2002 when my son lived there and we all went to the Pottery Village which I enjoyed. We took cooking classes in HoiAn as well which was fun. Would be most interested though in general sightseeing to help us get acclimated to the area.
Thanks so much
Pam
Vietnam City Tours - Dalat, Hanoi, HoiAn - recommendations
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pam, i think you can do it all on your own..
book 3* hotels and you will be very pleased..
i used tonkin travel to do my hotels and airflights..
We used Origin Vietnam for some private tours and transport as well as accommodation bookings. It made it much easier to get around in Hanoi and Saigon in particular so we could see some major sights and find out interesting tidbits from local guides without wearing out our kids. They were very easy to deal with.
Hoi An you can definitely DIY - it's a very easy place to explore. We hired bikes but your knee might not cope with that.
I should also say that Hanoi is a fantastic city to explore on foot, especially the old town, so even if you do some tours make sure you have time for just wandering around.
Hey. We just got back from Vietnam. We booked everything on our own and had no trouble. We booked through Viator.com for activites and for everything within the cities we just wandered on foot on our own. Seems daunting but infact it isnt! Enjoy!
Do note that viator will book you with local companies and you'll pay far more than you would if you booked with the local company directly. I'd say wait until you get there and see if you want a guide somewhere.
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