We are planning a three week trip to Laos/Vietnam and are having a hard time making decisions about how to spend last few days. This part of itinerary is locked and loaded:

2 days Hong Kong
5 days Luang Prabang
2 days Hanoi
2 days Halong Bay
(night train to the South)

We have seven more days -- and cant decide which of these we should do (we are ending in HCMC but don't plan to spend time there)

Hue - interested in the history but dull? do DMZ?
Hoi An - charming and into food
Dalat - really interested in mountain biking in villages, seeing interior of country
Mui Ne - some beach time would be good - but worth it?
Other?

Would combining Hue, Hoi An and Dalat be too much? we are willing to fly between Danang and Dalat, then Dalat and HCMC

Why are you skipping Saigon? We really enjoyed spending time there. Different from Hanoi.

I would add time to Hanoi. I did not find Hoi An especially charming as it was overrun with tourists and tailors' shops. I found Hanoi more interesting than Saigon, but there are worthwhile sights in Saigon, incuding some very elaborate Chinese temples.

Only you can decide whether you want to spend time at the beach when there is so much else to see. I did visit Mui Ne, but in 2002, I think it is much more developed now. I went because I needed some down time in three month trip. I was there in December and the wind was strong enough in the afternoon to keep me off the beach.

I enjoyed Saigon at the end of three weeks in VN as it was very different than everywhere else we went. While Hoi An does have lots of tourists and tailor shops, I still liked it. Lots of interesting little side streets and good food and you could do beach time there. I also enjoyed Hue for its history.

I do agree that two days is not a lot for Hanoi. You can read my TR and learn more about what there is in these places.

As part of a 3-week trip to Vietnam, we spent 8 days visiting the places you list (Hue, Hanoi, Nha Trang, Dalat, and Phan Thiet/Mui Ne). Our transportation (plane, cars with drivers) was arranged by Tonkin Travel, as were our hotels, so the logistics were easy, though traveling between the places was time consuming. Here's how we did it:
--After Halong Bay, we drove back to Hanoi Airport and flew to Hue, where we stayed 1 night
--By car to Hoian for 2 nights there
--Flew from Danang to Nha-Trang, where we stayed 2 nights
--By car from Nha-Trang to Dalat for 1 night
--By car from Dalat to Phan Thiet (Mui Ne) for 1 night (and from there continued on to Ho Chi Minh City by car)

All were interesting places, but the highlights were Hue, Hoian, and Dalat. The beach at Mui Ne was quite windy--dozens of kite surfers filled the sky over the water. I think a 7-day trip to Hue, Hoian, and Dalat would work fine, with 2 nights in Hue, 2 in Hoian (with beach time if you want), and at least 2 in Dalat. We found Hue's historical sights to be well worth visiting, not boring at all. Hoian has lots of tourists and tourist-oriented shops; Dalat, much less so. It's quite a contrast to the rest of Vietnam, and a beautiful drive to get there.

In July, we went to all of the cities you list. I'm so glad you are doing 5 days in a Luang Prabang. We stayed 4 nights and I wish we stayed 2 more. We stayed 2 nights in a Hanoi and I could have stayed a third. I also ask why skip HCMC -- such interesting history, a vibrancy not felt in other cities and a great mix of interesting adventures in the city. My least favorite place was Hoi An. We went for rest and relaxation but it was too touristy, two crowded and during the time we were there too hot to enjoy the beach (not the fault of the town I know). But of course, there are people who loved it, so it's a very personal choice. My last bit of advice is to only split your last 7 days into two stops. Part of the fun of both countries is to have time to wonder and explore after you have done "the must stops." Enjoy. It's a magical trip.

Hue was wonderful. Nothing boring about it. Beautiful and varied temples, great food, and nice nice wandering. Never did the river trip, but did take a side trip to the Ashau Valley (Hamburger Hill). Five days. Wish we had longer.

The biggest reason to skip HCMC is that you don't have enough time to see it all. You could do central VN as per aprillilacs, but there is no time for anything more. As other have pointed out, you don't have enough time in Hanoi. We spent a week there - fascinating city with a lot of the old colonial architecture and streets intact. If you are doing two nights at Halong Bay, consider making it one night and adding the time to Hanoi.

Here is another vote for Hoi An - and as someone else mentioned you could do beach time there (depending on the time of year). We were there at Christmas so too cold for beach weather but we still really loved it. Two things you may really enjoy are the street food tour with Neville of TasteofHoiAn.com. Neville is charming and knowledgeable and you will enjoy all kinds of food you may not have tried. Do not eat breakfast before he picks you up in the morning.

We also did a fabulous cooking class with Van of Green Bamboo. She took us to the market to buy all of the food and then we went to her house to cook. We were a group of 5 so it was just us, but I think her max. is 6-7. This is a VERY hands on class - we did everything - cutting, sautéing, peeling, rolling and then sat down and ate our feast!!

We also did a great bike tour with Heaven and Earth Bicycle Tours (www.vietnam-bicycle.com/‎), where we took a boat to an island and biked around there - no cars so we just shared the road with other bikes, cows and oxen and the occasional motorbike.

We also really liked Saigon, but you will need to prioritize - probably wouldn't add it in place of some of the other places you mentioned.

Here is a link to my trip report of Vietnam that you may find helpful.
http://www.fromhometoroam.com/catego...hristmas-2011/

Just returned from Vietnam. I did 6 days in Hanoi and 6 days in HCMC. I would of been disappointed if I had spent only 2 days in Hanoi.

Thanks for all the terrific input. Based on your suggestions (and reading many of your trip reports) will make the following tweaks:
- Add 1-2 days to Hanoi
- Spend 2 days each in Hoi An and Hue
- Motorbike from Hue to Hoi An
- Make a overnight trip to Mai Chau while in Northern V
- Keep HCMC off list - not because not terrific, but because cannot do it all
- Will not go to Dalat, Nha Trang or Mui Ne

Sounds like a great trip-enjoy!

Cheryl: Glad you added a day or two to Hanoi... we loved the place. (Feel free to click my name if you can stomach reading another trip report.)

Just got back-trip report to come . We really liked Hoi An and also loved Sapa. Would hate to not visit Sapa.