Hi, I am a woman in her 30's who will be traveling solo in Vietnam and Laos for 12 days in August. I have come up with a rough itinerary and would love some feedback on it.
Monday pm-arrive in Saigon
Monday-Thursday am Saigon
Thursday am- fly to Luang Prabang
Sunday am fly to Hanoi
Tues-Wednesday Halong Bay overnight
Thursday to Saturday Beach town?
Would you recommend any changes to the itinerary? Which beach town will be best in August, with nicest beaches and the best town surrounding it? Which beach area would be best for scuba diving?
I would also like hotel suggestions for each place. I like to save in some places so I can splurge in others, so I would appreciate a variety of suggestions. I really only like to spend extra for a hotel if it is worth it and something special.
As for activities, I would a love a recommendation for cooking classes. I am also interested in spending time at the Elephant Camp outside of Luang Prabang. Has anyone done a program there?

Thank you!

Well, to each his/her own, but I'd spend more time in Luang Prabang and Hanoi and less time in HCMC. You'll only have two full days in LP but you want to spend one day in an elephant camp? If that's the reason you are going to LP, fine, but LP is such a lovely place, I'd suggest you slow down and experience the spiritual ambiance of this town of wats.

Would anyone suggest skipping HCMC and just flying into Hanoi? Opinions seem so mixed on the city.
As for the elephant camp I was asking those who have been there to make sure it was a reputable, well run camp. Spirituality is very personal- my previous experience with elephants through the Thai Elephant Conservation Center is one of the most spiritual experiences of my life.

I haven't traveled with this limited amount of time before and I am having a lot of trouble planning this trip. i would definitely appreciate everyone's advice and expertise.

There is arguably more to see in Hanoi than Saigon butit really depends upon what your intersts are. Nha Trang is the place for scuba diving (the ubiquitous Rainbow Divers run by Jeremy Stein are very good) but dont forget that you should not fly for 24 hours either side of diving so this limits the amount of divin you could do. 12 days seems like a reasonable amount of time but travel between locations will probably take up the best part of a day each time. I would suggest cutting down on the number of locations and concentrating on maybe 3 that you REALLY want to see. With only 12 days personally, I would stick to Vietnam but, if you are fixed upon LP then it does warrant a bit more time and going in August which is the wet season (I think!) there should be a lot less busy.

I have done some elephant trekking in Laos but that was around Tad Lo on the Bolavens plateau. I havent used them but Green Discovery Tours in LP may be worth checking out. There are a number of operations on teh main street in LP that will organise treks when you get there but some are of doubtful quality/ethics.

I have trekked with Green Discovery and was very happy. (Luang Nam Tha not Luang Prabang) I felt it was an ethical operation but as a westerner I suspect I will never really know.

Personally I would cut down the time in Saigon. Luang Prabang is definitely a town to savor slowly.

Also you are visiting Vietnam twice and will need a multi visit visa. This may not be a problem - it just costs more)

I will definitely cut down my time in Saigon and add the time to either LP or Hanoi.
I still have some questions:
For a beach town: Scuba diving is not a requirement, just something if I would do if I have time and and in a good spot for it. Eliminating that-what is your favorite spot on the beach? Hoi An seems to have most going for it-do you agree? Where do you recommend staying there?

For Halong Bay I was planning on the 2 day/1 night trip with Handspan. Have you had good experiences with them and which boat is best?

Hotel in LP- Is La Residence really worth it? I am surprised that they don't seem to be offering off-season rates. What about the Aspara?

I could push LP back to the end of my trip. If I am only transiting back through Vietnam I wouldn't need the multi visit visa, right?

If it were me (and it isn't), I'd fly into Hanoi and skip HCMC this trip. You'll enjoy your trip more if you don't spend too much of your time moving from place to place. Hanoi, with an overnight at Halong Bay, Luang Prabang and a beach location in VN are plenty for 12 days on the ground.

La Residence is clearly the best hotel in LP. Take a look at a current thread entitled Luang Prabang Hotel Recommendations for more details. There have been reviews of all of the nicer accommodations here on Fodors, so do a search for the ones you are considering.

If you are interested in luxury accommodations, you'll want to consider which boat you want to be on in Halong Bay. Generally, Handspan books lower-priced boats, but I expect they have access to booking at least some of the nicer ones as well. Search here for Halong Bay boats and you'll find plenty of higher-range recommendations.

Whether you'll need a multiple-entry visa if you save LP for the end of the trip depends on exactly how your connection in Hanoi works. I remember someone here flying through Hanoi on their way home discovering they did need a multiple entry visa. I don't remember the details. So check carefully on that.

Definitely skip Saigon - with only 12 days it's not worth it. Hanoi is my very favorite in SE Asia - so many good restaurants and really the Paris of SE Asia. Be sure to book Hanoikids - wonderful free tours. I was also in Hoi An again last trip - very touristy, but never a dull moment there either, and the beach is awesome. I like the small guesthouses and inexpensive hotels - they're so clean and friendly in VN.
This site gives excellent leads for places to stay/eat in Hanoi: http://newhanoian.xemzi.com/en/venue/top

The Aspara is a nice hotel at a reasonable rate (we paid $50 a couple of years back) It is nicely decorated and v.trendy with a nice bar/restaurant. It is situated overlooking the the Nam Ou rather than the Mekong so the views are not as good but it is a great central location close to the main areas of interest but dont expect 4/5* levels of comfort.

Hoi An is packed with tourists but a great place even so. The beaches around looked very nice (or at least they did as far as I could tell through the constant rain we had during or 5 days there!!) We stayed at http://www.vinhhunghotels.com.vn/vinhhung1_hotel.htm which is the only hotel actually in the old town. We had a "suite" on teh first floor which was jam packed with chinese antiques and very quaint and a bit different from the usual suspects (and was used by Michael Caine during the filming of The Quiet American)

Hey, not sure where you are coming from or if you have been to Asia before but I would throw Siem Reap and the spectacular Angkor ruins into your considerations. You only need about 3 days there and Siem Reap is very safe and traveler friendly with a great area with bars restaurants and cafes at night in addition to the amazing ruins to explore during the day (all very close together and easily enjoyed by renting a cheap tuk tuk to get from place to place). I would replace either Hanoi or HCM with Angkor myself. This would also be the place to splurge on the hotel as it has beautiful new hotels with great swimming pools for ~$150US a night or less.

I live in Hong Kong and did a trip last September that included Luang Prabang and Siem Reap. It was fantastic and Vietnam airlines flies between HCM, Hanoi, Siem Reap and Luang Prabang DIRECT! The LP flight is operated by Lao airlines.

With this itinerary I would do ~3 days in Siem Reap, ~4 or 4+ days in LP, and the rest on whatever you decide to do in Hanoi. In LP I would suggest doing an elephant day tour one day (Tiger Trails is very reputable and great)and a trip on the mekong river. Either from the Mekong or other trails I would also highly recommend trying to do a homestay in a small town. I did this from LP and it was one of my most memorable travel experiences ever. This was also arranged through tiger trails. In LP I stayed in the Lao Wooden House. It was very reasonably priced (~$30 a night), had air conditioning, a nice clean bed, and a great central location.

I have not been to Hanoi, but if you end up in HCM, I would consider staying in a higher end hostel there. You can book and read traveler reviews on Hostelworld.com. I stayed at a fine place in a great location for about $10 a night. HCM does not need anymore than 3 days and is very cool, but not even close to a LP or a Siem reap in terms of a cool travel experience in my opinion.

I hope this helps. Happy travels : )

Thanks-I already spent a week in Siem Reap 2 years ago as well as a month in Thailand. I fell in love with SE ASia, but was looking to see new places on this trip.

Unfortunately I am going to have to push this trip back-it looks like I will have a to shave a couple of days off my vacation and I don't want to do Vietnam with even less time.
Thanks so much for the help- I plan to go in the next year or so and the info was very helpful.
I'm really glad to hear Tiger Trails is reputable-they are the ones that book trips to the elephant sanctuary I was looking at.