a week in vietnam
 

we're planning a trip for late feb/early march. after reading some posts here & doing some research at our neighborhood borders, we have decided to do a week in vietnam & 4 days in siem reap. we only have 14 days (counting travel time to & from the us), so it's a short trip.

for vietnam, we were thinking about spending most of our week in hanoi, with a couple of day trips (perfume pagoda), & maybe a 1 or 2 night cruise in halong bay. then off to siem reap from hanoi.

i would really appreciate any insight on this tentative plan. thanks!

I think you are wise to limit your destinations to two: Siem Reap and Hanoi. (I just saw your response about honeymoon planning - it sounds like you learned from experience that 4 destinations in 9/10 days was too much!)

Hanoi is a fascinating city and there is lots to do. You can decide once you get there about the Perfume Pagoda and about Halong Bay. Read some of the comments here about Halong Bay. The opinions range from it being dirty and polluted and a waste of time to being a highlight. No one seems to think that a day trip is worth it, but those who liked Halong bay enjoyed the overnight trip. If you opt for two nights, consider doing something special (kayaking, for instance) as several people noted that by staying two nights, they got the equivalent of two one night trips, that is the itinerary was idential to the first day/night.

Hello,

I just returned from Hanoi and Siem Reap after finishing a medical mission in Hue.

Honestly, I had 4 nights in Hanoi and it was more than I needed. So, the idea of side trips or day trips is a good one in my opinion.

As someone else wrote, Halong Bay gets mixed reviews. With the limited amount of time I had in Hanoi, I skipped Halong Bay as I did not want to do it in a day trip.

While I do not regret that decision, I did run out of things to see Hanoi. Of course, there are others who could fill many days of sightseeing and shopping in Hanoi. For me, 3 full days would have been more than enough.

You can read my trip report on Hanoi as I posted it yesterday.

Siem Reap captured my heart and I could have happily stayed for weeks. In a few days, I will post my trip report on Fodors. So, you might want to check that out.

I stayed at Journeys-Within in Siem Reap and loved it. http://www.journeys-within.com/

Also, I would suggest you check out Ponheary Ly Foundation: http://www.theplf.org/ and consider sponsoring and incorporating a school field trip into your itinerary. Spending the day touring temples with Cambodian school children was the highlight of my trip. Enjoy!

To: childlife. You mentioned that you had posted your trip to Hanoi. Sorry, where can I find it? We might have four days there, and perhaps that is too much.

Thanks. Carol

Carol, we spent a week in Hanoi with a one day trip outside the city. That was the right amount of time for us, and we didn't visit Uncle Ho or the Hanoi Hilton, two landmarks most people visit. As childlife points out, it depends on your interests.

thanks for the tips -- i'll check out the trip reports.

childlife - we have already contacted ponheary ly & are arranging a field trip for the school kids, just have to finalize our plans first.

Agree with Kathis. Two places are enough. I have been in Hanoi on 2 different trips spending about 3-4 days each time. I found plenty to do there both times,but one time I went to Halong Bay overnight which I enjoyed. The journey to Halong Bay is interesting that you see alot of the countryside as well as small towns. Your plan sounds good to me.

Hi CarolSKov

If you select the Asia Forum and search for my screenname "childlife" you will see the link to my trip report. Hopefully, it will be helpful. Enjoy!

I have done a 2 week trip in Vietnam ( from south to north) in March this year and what I regreted more was not having spent more days in Hanoi, which I found fascinating ( I was there 2 days only). So I think 4 days is not too much.

does anyone think we can get a few days in luang prabang during this trip too?

Luang Prabang deserves at least 4 days. Don't forget, you have transit times from place to place, so if you opt for three places... well, subtract out two days for travel to/from the US and most of a day for each tranfer from one place to another, and you'll have just enough time to miss experiencing three different places!

All three of these places are special and you deserve enough time to get a real experience of them. Do you have your transpacific tickets yet? Remember that you are talking about places where there are no direct flights from the US. So you may well be transitting in Bangkok or Hong Kong which will take even more time.

Relax and enjot the two places you've chosen. You'll be back and can see other places on the next trip.

kathie --

thanks for the tips. i had a feeling that 3 places would be a little too much. i've just been reading some trip reports, which of course makes me want to see everywhere.

we're coming from chicago, so our layover happens to be in seoul, south korea -- almost regardless of where decided to start our trip.

we are trying to decide b/t flying into hanoi or saigon, and after more reading, i am wondering about hoi an....

luckily we have time before our trip & i have to wait for a new passport before booking the flight anyway.