Planning a 1st trip to Vietnam for this December, and need some help. This is probably the last long, exotic, trip we take until after we have kids and they are old enough to travel to exotic places (10-15 years!) I've gone through All Asia Travel, and Mrs. Chi has been VERY helpful so far.
I'm considering this itinerary:

DEC 22 - DAY 01 ARRIVE HANOI
Arrive Noi Bai Airport. Meet and transfer to hotel. Overnight in Hanoi.

DEC 23 - DAY 02 HANOI – HA LONG (B)
Morning in Hanoi, drive to Halong Bay. Check in hotel. Overnight in Halong
DEC 24 - DAY 03 HA LONG – HA NOI (B)
Morning cruise of Halong Bay.Back to ha noi, overnight in hanoi

DEC 25 - DAY 04 HANOI - HUE (B)
Take early morning flight to Hue.

DEC 26 - DAY 05 HUE – DA NANG – HOI AN (B)
Transfer to Hoi An. Check in hotel in Hoi An.

DEC 27 - DAY 06 HOI AN (B)
Overnight in Hoi An.

DEC 28 - DAY 07 HOIAN - DANANG - HO CHI MINH (B)

Transfer to airport for Ho Chi Minh city. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh city.

DEC 29 - DAY 08 HO CHI MINH CITY

DEC 30 - DAY 09 HO CHI MINH

DEC 31 - DAY 10 HO CHI MINH – SIEM REAP (B)
Transfer to airport for departure flight to Siem Reap, a town of AngkorTemples.

JAN 01 - DAY 11 SIEM REAP (B)

Overnight Siem Reap.

JAN 02 - DAY 12 SIEM REAP - HANOI (B)
Transfer to airport for flight to Hanoi. On arrival, transfer to hotel in Hanoi. Overnight in Hanoi

JAN 03 – DAY 13 HANOI DEPARTURE (B)
Day free until transfer to airport for departure flight.


We have 1 "floating" day we need to put somewhere before Siem Reap so that we don't have to be in a hotel in Siem Reap over new years, as all the hotels we're looking at have some stupid compulsary gala.
I know everyone is going to say "that itinerary is crazy, you're going to hate the trip" which is why i need some advice.

Mrs. Chi is very sure that the travel isn't too hectic, and we'd enjoy all the places. When i mentioned we might take out Hoi An, she thought it was a bad idea, as most everyone who visits it loves it.


First, my wife and I are not into outdoorsy stuff (hiking or biking), we like to see the old culture of a country, sights, buildings, temples, and natural beauty etc. We don't care much for museums. We don't like sitting around watching the world go by, we like to be doing stuff. Walking around, exploring, seeing sights, EATING, not just "relaxing". (Last year we went to hawaii, and we spent about 1 hour on a beach relaxing...that was enough, we drove around and saw sights the rest of the time)

To me, the food is almost as important as the sights, to my wife not as much
I'm debating removing HCMC altogether and putting those days into Hanoi and Hue, but we're wondering if we're going to regret going to vietnam and not even seeing one of the very major cities. We're really not interested in war stuff like the museum and Cu Chi tunnels (i'm sure they would be fascinating, but it isn't out top preference).

We're definitely going to Angkor, so removing that isn't an option, and we would like to get some custom clothes so Hoi An is pretty important.

Thoughts anyone?
thanks!
jason

I think Mrs. Chi, no matter how nice she is, is misleading you when she tells you the itinerary isn't too frantic. First of all, you have no time in Hanoi, despite the fact that your stated interests are in cultural sites and Hanoi is the most interesting city in VN. You are spending all of your Hanoi time at Halong Bay.

Also, you tell us that getting clothes made in Hoi An is important to you. You don't have enough time there for quality tailoring. (Many peolpe aren't sure that quality tailoring is available in Hoi An, but you can be assured that you won't get quality tailoring with so little time there.)

If it were me, and it isn't, I would cut HCMC. There isn't nearly as much to see and do there as there is in Hanoi. If you cut HCMC, you'll have time to enjoy a bit of what Hanoi has to offer.

You don't have enough time in Siem Reap. It takes a full three days just to see the major temples, and basically, you have one day. Not all of the hotels in Siem Reap require a new year's gala. Lots of mid-range hotels do not. I'm guessing your agent is only looking at higher priced options.

If you restrict your itineray to Hanoi (and Halong, if it interests you), Hue & Hoi An and Siem Reap, you can just barely squeeze it all in.

By the way, you might want to price doing this on your own, as I suspect you are spending lots of money for not very good travel advice.

For the amount of time you have I would totally redo this.
Day 1- Hanoi
Day 2- Hanoi
Day 3- Halong Bay
Day 4- HaLong Bay- Hanoi
Day 5- Hanoi
Day 6- to Saigon
Day 7- Saigon
Day 8- Saigon
Day 9 - To Siem Reap
Day 10- Siem Reap
Day 11- Siem Reap
Day 12 - To Hanoi
Day 13 -- depart

Other option is to skip Siem Reap and just do Vietnam.

Actually -- if you are willing to eliminate Saigon I would do it and add the time to Hue and Hanoi. Hoi An is a touristy place that some like but it ain't the real thing.

Thanks for the thoughts. As much as i like to save money, doing this on my own is too much of a time consumption, i'd rather pay someone to take care of the details.

I think we'll eliminate Hoi An from the itinerary, which will give us extra day and a half in Hue, plus the floating day i mentioned i'll add onto Hanoi at the beginning, and i think we'll have full day in Hanoi the day after we return from Siem Reap as our flight isn't until 11:55pm.

Thinking about it, i don't think i could remove Saigon entirely, i would regret it.

Thanks for the help. I know it isn't what you guy advised, but you help me think through it

Any more thoughts, please don't hesitate to post.

jason

Oh, about the hotels in Siem Reap, my wife is a little less adventuresome than I am about hotel stays, so we'll be staying in the upper level hotels. Guess i have to compromise somewhere

How much are these NYE galas? I would just pay it and do the itinerary you desire. To me, it would be worth it to spend an extra day in SR even if I had to pay for a gala dinner.

Jason, I never feel miffed when someone doesn't follow my advice slavishly - after all it's their trip.

One thing I would think about in terms of HCMC - remember it's a very large modern city. Not much of its heritage is left - it was mostly destroyed. Unlike Hanoi, where much of the ancient heritage in intact. I spent a whole week in Hanoi (one day out of town) and never ran out of fascinating things to do or see.

The gala is $70!! Talk about ripping off tourists. Changing the dates to miss the gala is fine, i'll spend an extra day in Hanoi.

Kathie, i wish i could spend more time in all the places, but unfortunately work always seems to get in the way of traveling!
A few co-workers here (vietnamese) said it would be shameful for me to go to Vietnam and not go to HCMC, but that is where the are from, so they're probably biased.

I would agree with Kathie that Hanoi merits more time than Saigon, especially if you're not into museums, and are not spending any time in the delta. Is there a particular reason you're spending a night in a hotel rather than on a boat when you visit Halong Bay? It seems a big waste to me.

Add me to the chorus telling you that you're significantly short-changing Angkor. Take a look at a good guidebook, and you'll see just how much there is to see there. And that's not counting time you might want to spend at the lake or visiting a school.

BTW, even if you're not into museums, make sure that you have time in Danang to visit the Chan museum - it will introduce you to a whole new culture. And My Son is a better reason to visit Hoi An than the tailor shops.

$140 is not that much money in the grand scheme of things. I would pay it or find accommodation that does not require a NYE gala.

Thursdaysd: good question, i'm not sure why we're not staying on a boat..i'll find out..that sounds nice.

we will be going on a day trip on the Mekong.

"Hoi An is a touristy place that some like but it ain't the real thing".

So what is the real thing?? Sure there are touristy places in Hoi An, but there are touristy places in all of Vietnam.

I also agree with Kathie that you should look into booking a lot of this itinerary by yourself. You don't need All Asia Travel to book your hotels in Hanoi, HCMC or Siem Reap and you don't need her to book your Mekong Delta Day Trip either. There are multiple trips daily that you can book yourself through Sinh Cafe or TNK Travel. Cost is $7, including lunch (but not drinks). They leave around 8am and return by 5pm.

can i make a totally off the way suggestion (i am known for them)....scrap VN all together and substitute thailand and include more time in SR.....you need 3 days total in SR, imo.....two full days at the very least or else scrap it....3 is really only going to allow you enough time to see parts of what is there and no lake trip....

bangkok is affordable and the food is the best you will have at an affordable price....

get rid of any travle agent and we will assist you quite easily!!

bob

that's "off the wall"

Rhkk: that is "off the wall"! We're def. going to vietnam.
Thailand is next on our travel list..but who knows when.

As far as doing this myself, i'm sure i could, but my wife feels more comfortable, at least the 1st time we visit, to have someone work out the details.

It has come to my attention that we'd be visiting Hue during the heavy rainy season (Sept-jan). Is this a bad idea? Should be concentrate on north/south and siem reap?

I don't like the idea of sitting in a hotel room all day because it is raining so much in Hue all day.

jason

Glad to hear you're not going to skip HCMC. I found it fascinating. The Chu Chi tunnels are one of the most memorable places I've ever visited. The War Remnants Museum is also incredible -- so interesting to see how a war is reported from the "other side." Completely different from any other museum ... don't miss the propaganda movie. It's unbelievable.

You could lose a day there, though.

Agree with the others that you might want to consider changing to add a day to Siem Reap.