yestravel

I don't know how you are allocating your total trip time. If you can spare another night in Sapa, I think it would be well worth it. There is lots to see in the area and the town has beautiful views.

helen63

Yestravel,

Here is what I am thinking for now:

1. 2 days in Hanoi
2. Sapa - 2 or 3 days
3. Halong Bay - 2 days
4. Hue/Hoi An/Dong Hoi (?) 4-5 days
5. Mekong - 2 days
6. Saigon - 2 days

So, if I add a day to Sapa, we will spend less time around Hue/Hoi An area.

crellston

I really do feel that you are moving around too much in the time available. I have visited Vietnam probably 6 or 7 times during the course of the last 25+ years and the one thing I have learnt is that less really is more in that part of the world. I understand the desire to pack in as much as possible but slower travel really is more rewarding Vietnam. 2 days in anyone place is one night and constantly moving from place to place means that a high proportion of you vacation time will be spent in transit rather than actually seeing stuff

Having visited all the places you mention, I would be inclined to leave out Halong Bay but that is just my subjective view and I know others love the place. I know it is a UNESCo World heritage site but I just don't think it is amongst the best Vietnam has to offer.

It largely depends on What YOU find of interest, but for me, Hanoi deserves more than 2 days. Sapa really need 3 days to explore the town, markets and nearby villages.

Hue and Hoi An are close together and could be combined. The days allocated to each of those depends on whether you want to experience the rich history of Hue and great food or the quaintness of Hoi An. The latter is very picturesque but is heaving with other tourists which somehow detracts from the experience, at least for me. I would go for two nights in Hue and one in Hoi An

You could easily see the main sights of central Saigon and Cholon in a couple of days but, given the time available I would leave out the Mekong delta unless you have a pressing desire to go there and use the days elsewhere

helen63

Crellston,

Thank you for your opinion! I am in complete agreement with you that my plan is rushed. And this is the case for many of our trips, even though I try to make them as slow as I possibly can.
Unfortunately, in my reality, I do not know when I get a chance to re-visit Vietnam again, and if I ven get this chance at all.Even this trip is under a huge question mark though it is booked.
With that, I tried to include places I always wanted to visit thinking of Vietnam or looking at Vietnam pictures. And Halong Bay is one of them.

I already cut out some of the places that normally included into similar two weeks tours (like Ninh Binh).

We have diverse interests - history, culture/local customs, food (including street food), photography, so we are trying to fit a bit of everything.

Where would you allocate days if not spent in Delta?

And possibly, I underestimate Hanoi...I need to read more. However, I thought our days better spent in the center.

son845

Your comments are interesting. My TO proposes me others natural destinations like Cat Tien National park in the north of Saigon. I am reading information about it. But I will never cut the Delta Mekong (boat + 30 km on bicycle along the Mekong River).

I think 3 days in Sapa is better.

yestravel

Agree that you are moving around very quickly. But I understand your thinking that you want to see certain places and may not return. I found the Mekong the least interesting of all the places we visited in VN. Maybe because we spent 2 nights there which we did not need. Some people do day trips I think to the Mekong Delta. You could check into doing that rather than spending a night out there. I would definitely add at least one if not 2 more days to Hanoi. I agree that I would try and do 3 days in Sapa. Even in the fog we enjoyed our days there. Not sure about combining Hoi An & Hue as they are a good 2-3 hour drive apart. You could do 2 days in each place. As Crellston describes they are very different. Hoi An is a nice place to kick back and just walk around. We did a half day out to My Son from Hoi An. The beach there is nice. Agree that it is touristy, but still a nice break during our time in VN.

thursdaysd

I visited the delta on the way from Saigon to Phnom Penh, and like yestravel was not impressed. I would add the time to Hanoi, which I've enjoyed enough to visit three times.

Marija

I agree with yestravel. Hanoi is fascinating. We did a daytrip to the Delta from Saigon and it was a bust. Looong not scenic drive to get there and not particularly interesting once we arrived. Wish we had spent the day in Saigon. On the otherhand, the drive between Hue and Hoi An was beautiful.

NorahKat

By the way, I think 15 days is a bit rushed.

crellston

Freeing up a couple of days from the Delta would give you more time in Hanoi which has so, so much to offer including amazing street food which I see is one of your interests. If you are looking for beautiful scenery then include an overnight stay in the Mai Chau valley. Very peaceful and totally different from Sapa a taste of rural Vietnam but only around 3 - 4 hours from Hanoi.

Here is a link to a few of my photos from our visit to Mai Chau a few years ago

http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blo...ai/3/tpod.html

dgunbug

I agree with the above posters. The delta and Saigon were my least favorite areas of vn. Sapa needs 3 days and you are short hanging yourself on Hanoi. I still dream of returning and wandering the atmospheric streets in the old quarters and eating the wonderful food.

yestravel

Mai Chau is indeed lovely as crellston says. However I would not switch out Sapa for Mai Chau & don't see how you can add it in.
I would do
Hanoi 4 days
Sapa 3 days
Halong Bay 2 days
Hoian/Hue 2 days each
Saigon 2 days -- I thoroughly enjoyed Saigon and did not expect to like it at all.
However you plan it, you will have a great time!

helen63

First, I would like Thank everyone for all these responses and suggestions! This is so appreciated! Really makes me re-think and research places I did not think of.

Wow! So many votes against Mekong Delta, which I hoped would be one of the highlights... My son (he is traveling with us this time) never seen any floating markets (we saw them previously in Thailand, but not him), so I thought he would really like them. He is the one who is really interested in gastronomy and local food.
Maybe, we will compromise here - I add one day to Hanoi, and still keep day trip to Mekong.

I also wanted to ask you about Halong Bay and Sapa.
My husband and I do not kayak. Will we miss a lot by not participating in kayaking tours from a boat? Do they normally have any other options?

How hard those treks/walks from village to village in Sapa?

dgunbug

We did not kayak and didn't feel like we missed anything. The water was filled with man of war (jelly fish) and we did not swim. You will see floating villages on halong bay.

We did not consider the hiking in sapa to be too difficult althought here are different levels of hikes. Do try to arrive or leave from sapa on a Sunday so you can spend the day at the bac ha market (not to be missed!)

thursdaysd

There weren't any floating markets when I visited the delta, but I have to tell you that the floating villages were anything but romantic. A tin hut is a tin hut, whether or not there's a fish farm underneath it.

I didn't kayak either. Halong Bay is all about the scenery, and you don't have to be at water level to admire it.

I didn't find the Sapa trek demanding (I was mid sixties at the time), but I imagine the guide will tailor it to your apparent abilities.

sartoric

Agree that one night on Halong Bay is enough. We did kayak, entering a small enclosed lagoon via a cave type tunnel. Spent maybe 15 mins there before the tide looked like precluding our exit. Pretty scenery marred by plastic junk in the water with the incoming tide. The drive from Hanoi to Halong city is a lesson in traffic management for first timers. Expect to see at least six vehicles overtaking abreast, best to shut eyes really.

We spent 2 nights in Sapa, and should have stayed longer. The mountains are fabulous, we found the people charming, and it was very easy to wander around town to people watch from the balcony of restaurants. Fantastic food here too, and great handmade textiles. The 13 kms hike we did started off a bit daunting, but got easier and was so enjoyable, a roadside lunch on this trek also memorable. I think the guide made this day for us, she was 16, had a four month old baby at home, chatty, responsive to our needs, just delightful. She was of the Red Dzao tribe, and was booked through our hotel in Sapa.

I'd go back to Hanoi in a flash. We stayed about 9 nights in the old quarter, loved the atmosphere and the dodgy aspects. Watch your step !
Enjoy your time in this fascinating country !

yestravel

The floating markets we saw in the Delta were much larger than what we saw in Halong Bay. That said, it was really no big deal. We have photos of boats making coffee and serving it, others selling various fruits & foodstuff -nothing really exciting. Fun to see, but not a must see.

It was cold when we were at HB so we skipped on kayaking. Most of the other people on the boat - mostly in their 20's 30's did kayak and they all enjoyed it. They went out for about an hour or so. We just stayed on the boat and enjoyed the scenery and watching them.I don't recall anyone swimming, but this was February. On the 2nd day we war boat into boats, paddled by others and they take you thru various small villages and point out the various buildings. That was interesting. But as said, it's all about the gorgeous scenery on the bay. We didn't hike out of Sapa, but we did hike on our 4-5 day drive to Sapa. The guide will adjust to your abilities. Ours tended to be overly cautious actually.

helen63

Thank you again! I am clear on kayaking and trekking.

Actually one more (strange) question on Sapa walking - how do they handle bathroom situation during long walking? Just checking, because my husband had a recent surgery, and he kind of needs to know what to expect.

About Mekong Delta markets - Tonkin plan suggests Cai Rang (supposedly the nicest one) and Cai Be. Apparently, this can be done in one day as well.

Marija

We went with Tonkin to the Cai Be market and it was a big yawn. The "standard " route seems to include a couple of factory visits, a "show"" and lunch. The lunch was very good. It's a long drive to Cai Be from Saigon. IMHO the food markets in Hanoi, Hue and Hoi An are much more interesting. Consider the street food tour in Hoi An. I found it a bit hokey but much more fun than the Delta.

sartoric

We left for our walk at around 9.00 am and returned by about 3.00 so didn't need a bathroom. We did stop for green tea at a place where there would have been one. i reckon your guide will be able to find one for you. Talk to him/her about your situation.

About the Mekong delta, I enjoyed it. We visited Chau Doc and Cai Be where tiny skinned rats were available at the market - i was not tempted. We toured a brick factory, you see the kilns all along the Mekong here, in a way it was good for me. I bought a small fabric water buffalo which sits on my docking station at work. Every time I think my job is too hard, I look at the buffalo and remember the women making bricks by hand.......
If you are used to independent travel you will find Viet Nam pretty easy.
Enjoy.