After many ideas back and forth we think we think we have decided on the following trip!

March 5th - fly from Sydney to Singapore. Spend 3 nights in Singapore.

March 8th - fly from Singapore to Hanoi.

March 8th to 16th - Travel from Hanoi to Saigon. Unsure at this stage but we need to be back in Saigon by the 15th! This is the part where we need advice on getting around, things to see and do and best places to visit in the time we have available!

March 16th - fly Saigon to Singapore then onto Sydney.

I have visited Singapore before yet my partner hasn't and neither of us have visited Vietnam. Any tips, ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

With a mere 8 days for Hanoi to Saigon, you'll need to choose your destinations carefully. Many people would recommend that you choose just Hanoi (plus either Halong bay or Sapa) and HCMC.

Tell us what interest you most and perhaps we can be of more assistance.

www.betterbidding.com www.booking.com for best hotel deals

usually for me 5 stars bidding priceline from $50

www.virtualtourist.com reputable postings from locals

Beware lots of Vietnam touts/trolls here

Always pay with CC never wire money and insuremytrip.com

Happy Travels!

>>>I have visited Singapore before yet my partner hasn't and neither of us have visited Vietnam. Any tips, ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated!<<<


Greetings, Little Miss,

Can't help you with Vietnam (not on my current business travel/holiday loop), but more than happy to help with thoughts re our fine home of Singapore.

Noticed you're flying SYD-SIN. Can assure you from personal experience, Singapore Airlines has some mighty fine A380s plying those sectors. Sweet and serene rides, indeed. Perhaps worth perusing singaporeair dot com for more info.

Your proposed SIN lodging/lifestyle budget would be helpful. Many fine choices.

(And for any of you near future Singapore travellers out there: next week promises to be rather loud and crowded with the always thrilling Formula One circus in town. I've enjoyed the last few editions (personal/professional reasons); should you be around and 'up close', do consider ear plugs.)

Enjoy your planning.

macintosh (robert)


... Singapore Airlines, You're a Great Way to Fly ...

We were in Hanoi in March 2011 and, let me tell you, it was cold and miserable. Rainy, windy, little more than 10 degrees centigrade (50 degrees F) on some days. Halong Bay trips were cancelled due to fog on several days and people who did go at about that time reported dismal weather and poor visibility. Now March 2011 was colder than normal, but I should have planned more carefully. So check the weather charts and consider confining your trip to the more comfortable HCMC and the central parts of VN.

We were also in Hanoi in [early] March 2011 and when we were there it was cool, but never cold (except at Halong Bay), and we had no rain at all over the 5 days we were there!

I think the Riverside District is the best place to stay in Singapore. There is a nice combination of museums and entertainment, restaurants, shopping and moderate to pricey hotels. If you can afford it, the Raffles Hotel is spectacular. It dates back into the colonial period and is built in the British colonial style. If you can't afford it, it is fun to stroll around it anyway for it's colorful history. The Novotel Clarke Quay is much more affordable and has a nice location and good views.
A nice cheap place I like to grab lunch is at Komalas. Vegetarian fast food (Indian?) served on a banana leaf.
The main shopping district in Singapore is around Orchard Road. It is fantastic if you plan to shop.

After researching a tad more and taking into account our travel time from Australia and also wanting to maximise our time in Vietnam we have decided to skip the Singapore part of the leg as thats always a great place to stop over when heading to and from Europe which is in the works also!

So far this is how the holiday is looking!

Day 1 - Fly SYD - SIN (3hr layover) then SIN - SGN

Day 2 - Day in HCMC

Day 3 - Day in HCMC

Day 4 - Day in HCMC

Day 5 - Fly SGN - HAN with Jetstar Asia

Day 6 -Day in Hanoi

Day 7 - Day in Hanoi

Day 8 - Ha Long Bay cruise

Day 9 - Ha Long Bay cruise

Day 10 - Ha Long Bay cruise

Day 11 - Hanoi

Day 12 - Fly HAN - SIN - SYD

Day 13 - arrive in Sydney


We are planning to fly all other sectors with Singapore airlines. I work for an airline myself and I am a plane freak - I cant wait to get on the A380!

Any tips and ideas for things to do whilst in these places would be greatly appreciated!

The one thing I would change is to add a day in Hanoi and reduce the number of days on Halong Bay.

The 3 days in Ha Long Bay is a junk boat cruise for 3 days & 2 nights..

Day 1 - pick up from hotel in Hanoi, drive to Ha Long, overnight on boat

Day 2- day on boat, swimming, fishing, kayaking..etc overnight on boat

Day 3 - morning on boat, transport back to Hanoi

Should I look at doing the 2 days and 1 night cruise instead?

Hi LMF,

I was on a 2-day 1-night HLB cruise a couple of weeks ago and while it was the highlight of our time in Vietnam, the trip felt a little overscheduled due to the short duration. If you enjoy being on the water I don't think you'll regret spending the extra day. The weather can be very unpredictable, however, so there is always the risk that rain will curtail your activities. We were lucky but bad weather moved in as we were leaving and we heard about cruise cancellations the next day.

Great to hear. We were thinking that the 2 day/1 night would be very rushed considering its a 4 hour drive out to HaLong Bay. What company did you use? We have narrowed down a few companies and are currently looking at Calypso after reading some good reviews about them on tripadvisor.com. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Other posters on this forum recommended Handspan Travel (www.handspan.com) so we relied on them and were very pleased with their service. Handspan booked us on Indochina Junk's Dragon's Pearl I which goes out beyond HLB to Bai Tu Long Bay. Dragon's Pearl III was going out at the same time for the 2-night trip and appeared to be a virtually identical junk. The accommodations, meals and activities were all superb and we had a great time.

>>>We are planning to fly all other sectors with Singapore airlines. I work for an airline myself and I am a plane freak - I cant wait to get on the A380!<<<


Warm greetings again, fellow aviation aficionado, and congrats in advance for flying A380s with Singapore Airlines. I've loved each and every A380 flight with SQ; upstairs/downstairs, all classes. (Judicious seat selections, naturally.) Great product and gracious service with special crews. You probably know of SIA's more liberal pre-flight seating policy for those flying Y -- and meal options. It's all there at the singaporeair website. Enjoy!

(And speaking of SQ's biggest, pleased to confirm that Singapore Airlines will be launching A380 service, SIN-FRA-JFK, effective 15 January 2012. Another potential - and spacious - option for those of you flying from the greater NYC area.)

Warm wishes to all from a warm and festive Singapore evening. An exciting (and loud) F1 time awaits in our sweet home of SIN.

robert