Flying to Vietnam with connection in Seoul
 

Hi everyone,

It might be the wrong forum to ask, but....anyway: We plan to go to Vietnam in October-November 2011. It appears that the flight to Hanoi goes thru Seoul and it won't cost any extra to spend a day or two in Seoul on our way to Vietnam.

We are thinking in arriving in Seould early in the morning (5am) on Oct 28 and flying to Hanoi either Oct 29th PM or Oct 30th PM e.g. one night or two nights in Seoul ? Should we spend an extra time in Seoul, since it comes at expense of Vietnam ?

Thank you very much.

A day in Seoul to go to the DMZ is quite worthwhile.

Sure--go for it! You will be pretty tired when you arrive, so I suggest you spend at least two nights in Seoul. This will help you adjust to the HUGE time change. There are plenty of interesting places to visit and things to do in Seoul. October is usually pretty nice....so weather will be a big plus too!

extra night or two is worthwhile

Just depends on how your travel. I've made dozens on longhaul trips, but never make a deliberate stopover. For me, if I have 2 weeks to go to one place, I want all my time and energy on that place. Of course, when I have to make a long layover due to connection issues, I usually do take that chance to go into that city for a visit.

I agree with RKKWAN.

The main deciding factor is how much time you will have in Vietnam. If time there is limited, I would not include Seoul. And I say that after having spent about 9 days there a few years ago.

I agree with the others, it depends on what you have planned for VN and how many days you have, ie. do you have 2 days to spare? Also remember that the weahter in Seoul in November could be quite cool.

Here is the summary of Fodorite mari808's long weekend in Seoul:

http://www.nonstophonolulu.com/blogs...ours-in-seoul/

Or if you want more details of her 72 hours:

http://www.nonstophonolulu.com/blogs/hello-seoul/
http://www.nonstophonolulu.com/blogs...inds-in-korea/
http://www.nonstophonolulu.com/blogs...-ful-saturday/
http://www.nonstophonolulu.com/blogs...nday-in-seoul/

While it is appealing to stop in Seoul, you must consider that you will have to bring winter clothing that you will have to schlep around in VN.

We spent 3 1/2 weeks in VN and could have used more time. There is plenty to see and do there, so I would also consider how long you have when you determine if you should stop in Seoul and what you would like to see.

If you do decide to stay over and if you are returning through Seoul, perhaps you can make arrangements at the airport hotel to store your winter clothing.

For your information, the Seoul airport is wonderful and there is a very conveniently located transit hotel on the premises. If you have an extended stay there, it is worth catching some sleep and a good shower between flights.