Me again.....now starting to think of things again and almost ready to bite the bullet and commit to flights/travel dates.

It's not surprise that flight schedules have changed since I started this thread and now Vietnam Airlines flys from Can Tho to Da Nang. Having looked at flight schedules, I've reworked our itinerary and am able to get one extra day in Vietnam. Please let me know your thoughts of this itinerary:-

Day 1, Arrive Hanoi, transfer to hotel
Day 2, Hanoi
Day 3, Travel to Halong Bay, overnight at Halong Bay
Day 4, Halong Bay to Hanoi
Day 5, Hanoi
Day 6, Fly Hanoi to Da Nang, travel to Hoi Ann - I'm not sure what time I should book the flight for.
Day 7, Hoi An
Day 8, Hoi An - My Son - Hue
Day 9, Hue
Day 10, Hue - Da Nang - fly to Can Tho
Day 11, Visit Cai Rang. Travel to HCMC by bus in the afternoon
Day 12, HCMC
Day 13, Depart HCMC in the evening.

How does this look? I know flight schedules can change again, so I wanted to add a day in Hue in case Vietnam Airlines changes the flight time from Da Nang to Can Tho. At present the flight is scheduled to leave Da Nang at 8 pm.

I did think of the train from Hanoi to Hue, is this a better option than the flight? Is the train comfortable. My concern is that we get a good night's sleep. We don't mind spending on a two berth private AC cabin for the train ride. If we took the train, we'd adjust the itinerary like this:-

Day 1 - day 5, same as above
Day 6 Hanoi to Hue by overnight train
Day 8 Hue - Hoi An
Day 9 Hoi An - My Son - Hoi An
Day 10 Hoi An - Da Nang, fly to Can Tho
Day 11 - day 13, same as above.

We can add one extra day somewhere if need be and remove it from our stay in Hong Kong later in the trip. Is an extra night in Can Tho wise?

I welcome comments and suggestions how to improve the itinerary.

Thanks in advance.

I think after coming to can tho city , continue your travel by flying to Phu Quoc Island. Instead of going back to Saigon right away. There are some great beaches there, I think you won't be disappointed