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Central and North Vietnam questions - weather, logistics

Central and North Vietnam questions - weather, logistics

Old Sep 12th, 2013, 03:44 PM
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Central and North Vietnam questions - weather, logistics

We're in the very early consideration of a trip but big picture at this point. When and how. Likely to commence arriving at the Danang airport to starting the visit focused on Hoi An, Hue, etc. From there, we'd either fly or take a train to Hanoi and spend the remainder somewhere close to there. Probably Halong Bay for an overnight.

What would be the best time of year for these areas, weather wise, so as to be the most temperate without living under umbrellas all day? Any caveats for choosing the best weather period? (such as, will also everything will be chock-a-block queues, lots of shops closed ala Europe, etc?) LP is rather unclear (at least their website is... curses, my travel library including LP Vietnam is boxed and buried at the moment)

And for travel between central and north - fly and get on with it? Or is the train a fairly pleasant/scenic way to go? Possible stops along the way or better just take an overnight?

Finally, if we have 3 weeks rather than two, would any weather advice change if we were to include a round trip deviation to Luang Phrabang? Another tangent we've been on is whether to revisit Hong Kong on the tail end.

Additional thought, though we're not yet at the "what to do, where to sleep phase", I never mind early thoughts to process. If anyone is so inclined to stray into those areas, be aware that we're a family of 3 with our six year old daughter among us. She's pretty patient and switched on to what's going on but she has her limits... especially at looking at old things behind glass. Interaction is good. Knowing what would suit her and give her something to look forward to is one of my upcoming projects. The name escapes me as to the cave where you're paddled upriver to get to it? She'd dig on that.

TMI above probably, but hate to have people spin their wheels due to too little info.

Any and all advice gratefully accepted.

Thanks,
Cliff

ps, we have been to parts of SE Asia before - Thailand, Cambodia, Bali... but not Vietnam. So we kind of know what to expect, culture and tone of the trip wise.
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Old Sep 13th, 2013, 07:21 AM
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I can't answer a lot of your questions, but no one else has chimed in yet, so I will give my two cents worth. We were in Vietnam for 2 weeks in december - not the ideal time for weather in the north, since you are free to pick any time I would probably skip that - but it didn't stop us from having a spectacular time!

We flew from Danang to Hanoi on Vietnam Airlines had no problem booking all my internal flights on my own via Vietnam Airlines website and found all the flights easy.

Have been to Thailand and Cambodia but not Luang Prabang - top on my list for our next trip to SEA!!

Our kids were quite a bit older than your daughter when we were there in Dec. 2011, but I still think she might enjoy some of the things we did in Hoi An. We did a bicycle tour with Heaven and Earth Bicycle Tours - I know they have a lot of young families go so you might want to check on the bike situation for young kids. We also did a very hands on cooking class with Van of Green Bamboo that if your 6 yo was inclined that way, I think she would really enjoy. Lastly, a highlight for us there was a street food tour with Neville of TasteofHoiAn - if your daughter is an adventurous eater than she might enjoy - you can determine that.

I'm sure she would have a lot of fun on a Halong Bay Junk boat. We were on the Red Dragon with Indochina-junk.com.

Here is a link to my trip report along with pictures which you may find helpful:
http://www.fromhometoroam.com/catego...hristmas-2011/
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Old Sep 13th, 2013, 08:55 AM
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Here is the weather site I use: www.weatherbase.com It gives historical averages for each place.

Personally, I'd just fly to Hanoi. You certainly can take a train, but it's a long trip. I'm guessing your 6 year old will be better off with the short flight than the long train ride.

Hanoi has so much to see and do (and eat). I have a museum recommendation that will charm your 6 year old as well as being interesting for you: The Ethnographic Museum in Hanoi. It has traditional dwellings of a number of ethnic groups built on the grounds, so it is very interactive.

Luang Prabang is delightful. Do add a week if you can. It is charming and quiet, a place to soak up the atmosphere. Your daughter will likely enjoy chatting with the young novice monks. You can go up the river to the Pak Ou caves from here. We loved it, but not everyone does. It's a traditional Buddhist pilgrimage site with hundreds of Buddha images left as offerings. It is low-key, unlike the cave at the Perfume Pagoda which is all glitz.
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Old Sep 13th, 2013, 04:37 PM
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Thanks for the recommendations. I'm already quite sold on LP but time will drive that decision before it ever comes to a vote. I have my pitch ready

The train was the biggest question mark, as adding in little domestic flights really changes the possibilities (and prices) if one is trying to plan everything on one ticket. If the int'l carrier with the best deal is something other than Vietnam Airlines, I may try doing the domestic/+Laos, if applicable, separately. Mostly just curious about potential scenery and/or maybe an interesting mid-way overnight. (We do often enjoy not-so-touristy places. e.g. we really enjoyed Battambang and some towns on the south side of Tonle Sap in Cambodia). But in reading, it seems the train is 16 hours? We (& daughter) deal fairly patiently with flying that amount of time back and forth from home here in Melbourne back to my hometown in the midwest US. But not happily! Perhaps a quick flight would be better.

Would train be the best way from Hoi An to Hue? It seems fairly close but maybe not commute-for-the-day close and I think we'd want to base in each for at least a night or two.

Great recommendations for kid-friendly activities. Caves, boats, little villages (and glitzy stuff all the better), all good. Thanks for those. She's a pretty good eater. A little green veggie averse but we get them in one way or the other. We do a lot of Asian and other various cuisines at home which she often helps me with. And she's my pho buddy when I'm ready for going out for a bowl here at home. We're ready to eat!
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Old Sep 13th, 2013, 06:19 PM
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With the long flights you have, adding the 16 hour train trip seems like torture - at least it would be for me. I always look at the proportion of my trip I will be in transit vs. the amount of time I get to spend somewhere I want to be.

I wouldn't even try to put all of the flights on one ticket! I'd say just buy the intra-VN tickets (and LP ticket) separately. I don't think it will make a difference in price.

I'd hire a car and driver for Hoi An to Hue, it's supposed to be a beautiful trip, though several hours.
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Old Sep 14th, 2013, 02:15 AM
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Oh no, sorry - the 16 hours is our normal non-stop flight from home to LAX (and then another several to "back home" in MO). Just to explain that we/she aren't unfamiliar with long trips. We're actually a 9 hour non-stop from HCMC from Melbourne. Still long, but comparatively, the flight part won't be so bad.

I'd been thinking separately, like you said, as I was seeing a combined Qantas/Dragonair flight thru HK for quite a savings. Hard to say if that'll be there when we nail down dates, but interesting. I know you're very familiar with SE Asia travel so am encouraged that it wouldn't be a big deal to break the parts up.

Good idea about the car and driver. If the trips scenic, I probably wouldn't mind pulling out the camera.
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Old Sep 14th, 2013, 12:15 PM
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We were in VN for 3 weeks in Feb 2012. We've got a lengthy TR of our 9 week trip to SEAsia. Northern VN was overcast and a touch chilly. We arrived to Hanoi to lovely sunshine and weather, but that deserted us. Our trip to Halong Bay, while very enjoyable was partly in misty weather. In some ways the cool weather was welcome as it had been very hot elsewhere on this trip.

We used a driver from Hoi An to Hue and that worked out great. It was scenic, and pleasant. We stopped at the Chaim Museum and the touristy Marble Mountain, but it was empty and fine for the views if nothing else. Your daughter would likely enjoy it. We booked our driver thru Tonkin Travel, but I'm sure it is easily done on your own. Also agree that you want to stay in both HoiAn and Hue and not day trip it.
Not sure if you plan on possibly staying in Danang or just flying into it. But we thought Danang a big nothing. Reminded us of FLA with huge condos along the shore and not particularly scenic.
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Old Sep 14th, 2013, 04:38 PM
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CClinton- we were in Vietnam/Cambodia over Christmas/New Year 2011. I had checked the temperatures for Hanoi- 24C from memory- & packed accordingly. It was COLD, at least to an Australian. Hanoi misty, rainy, cold. But an excellent chance to purchase North Face knockoff jackets in the markets. Halong Bay was also cold, rainy & misty. Lovely to look at but little opportunity for kayaking, beaching etc. If you are going in better weather I would suggest 2 nights at Halong- it is quite a drive from Hanoi & the extra time would allow for a more relaxed visit. You may be interested in an Hanoi restaurant called KOTO (Know One, Teach One)It was set up by a Melbourne Vietnamese to help street kids & to give them skills to work in the hospitality industries in Hanoi. Food & service were very good, the warm fuzzy of helping the kids even better. I would also recommend flying in Vietnam- we looked into the trains & decided they were just too long when we could see so much more with the time saved. I am sure you will really enjoy Vietnam.
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Old Sep 14th, 2013, 08:28 PM
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I found early November to be a perfect time to visit Hanoi and Halong Bay. Kayaked and swam at Halong Bay--very comfortable. We were lucky in Hue and Hoian because we missed heavy rains by a week (visited in mid-November). That trip was two years ago--no guarantees how it will be when you visit, of course! We arranged our flights and car service through Tonkin Travel in Hanoi and were pleased with the results. Flew from Hanoi to Hue, and drove from Hue to Hoian.
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Old Sep 15th, 2013, 12:28 AM
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aprillilacs - I really appreciate the assistance! I'm thinking this Nov will probably be a bit soon. School year winding down and and well, just not quite ready. Not sure though I can wait for the next! Starting to think late March might be good. Maybe.

I see Tonkin Travel has come up a couple of times. I'll check them out for a car and maybe the internal flight(s) too.

Trotsky - We're not too beachy and I don't mind a little chill. The downside is the packing. Hot leaving, warm one place, cold the next. Layers... but I don't love carrying bags of layers. Even though we've loved more than one "spring" trip through Ireland. Hoping this time to nail just about shirtsleeve weather in the coldest spot, though I realize you never can know for sure. I really appreciate the KOTO suggestion... and I rarely take a list of restaurants usually. We're hole-in-the-wall or street food people, but really love the cause. We've often found ways to help or work with kids in our travels.

yestravel - I am off to have a read of your TR. Nice of you to publish one here. You've already confirmed a couple of thoughts I'd had regarding not finding Danang proper a very popular destination and, due to photos, me thinking our daughter would like Marble Mountain.


Thanks to all.
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Old Sep 15th, 2013, 07:24 AM
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November is a fine time to visit Hanoi, but a terrible time to visit Hoi An/Hue as they typically have flooding at that time of the year. March will be a better time to visit central VN, and the Hanoi weather should be good then too.
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Old Sep 29th, 2013, 05:23 AM
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the best time to visit Vietnam from Sep to Apr next year, however, Hue and Hoian you can avoid travel on Oct because sometimes there are floods and typhoon this month
It is better travel by plane among north to central and central to south because train just standard and so noise
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Old Sep 29th, 2013, 07:47 PM
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Thanks for the information on weather. We're still sorting a bit. Early phase planning and all.

Seems it may evolve into a shorter trip rather than longer, in deference to a trip to South Africa and Lesotho later on. So now I'm trying to figure out if the shorter trip is best made to somewhere I'd like to settle in and not move around as much. Could still be Hanoi only... or maybe Kathmandu area. (either are reasonably similar in distance and price, give or take an hour and $50)
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Old Sep 30th, 2013, 06:02 AM
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Between Hanoi and Kathmandu, I'd likely opt for Kathmandu, though we enjoyed Hanoi. I have a Kathmandu trip report here from several years go, and you might find photos of both places helpful: www.marlandc.com
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Old Sep 30th, 2013, 01:43 PM
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Thank you Kathie. Either sound pretty great! I've actually been reading your trip report on Kathmandu over the last couple of days, as time allowed. Very good! Thanks so much for taking the time. A positive about Kathmandu, for me, is that pretty much what I most want to see is within a few miles. With Hanoi, I know I'd be wanting to wander out further on overnighters. Which, in a shortened trip, might make things feel like a rush. We're notorious dawdlers on trips as it is.
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Old Sep 30th, 2013, 01:57 PM
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Yes, Kathmandu is convenient in that way - whatever you want to do/see in the Kathmandu valley is a very easy day trip.
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Old Sep 30th, 2013, 02:56 PM
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It seems it! Which is good. And btw, Cheryl's pictures are fantastic.

(I managed, somehow, since to have become hooked on your report about Sikkim and Kolkata. Which isn't even remotely on the "maybe" list. lol Fun report though. Just the description of the flight in would confirm my wife's every misgiving about traveling to India)
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Old Sep 30th, 2013, 03:17 PM
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Glad you are enjoying the reports and the photos.
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