Suggestions on my Vietnam Itinerary?
Feb 17th, 2019 | 09:43 AM
#22
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,320
Likes: 0
I just got back from my first trip, so I'm a newbie. That said I agree with more time in Hanoi over Saigon. I was there 8 nights, but three of the days of that I was away (well, two and a half days I was away). I could easily have used the entire 8 nights just in Hanoi. I also really liked Hoi An and could have used more than three days there, too. There is a street food tour there which I recommend doing on arrival and not waiting until just before you leave, like I did.
Crellston nailed the traffic perfectly. Scooters can and will come from literally anywhere. I liken them to water going downhill - nothing will stop it, it will only divert it. A bus stopped in the road in order to let a turning car, coming from a side street, turn left in front of it? Well first of all not even clear why the bus actually stopped for that, but it did stop, and the car is making the left turn across traffic. All the scooters behind the bus are just flowing around it like water as well as diverting around the turning left car, again like flowing water. Another time: bus was parked at curb to let tourists off the bus (a big tour bus). Bus left two feet between it and the curb. Do not make the mistake of assuming that once you reach the front of that parked bus (after dodging scooters to get to the safety of the front of it) that you are in the clear. Like water going downhill, scooters are flowing around it like water including on the curb side where passengers are trying to get off the bus AND you are making the last run for the sidewalk from the relative safety of being in front of that bus.
Have you ever seen the movie "40 year old virgin" and the driving scene where the drunk woman is driving her car home and then tries to make the turn right in front of another car and of course gets hit and exclaims "that f**ker came out of nowhere". Well it's like that, minus the hitting things: "that f**ker came out of nowhere".
Crellston nailed the traffic perfectly. Scooters can and will come from literally anywhere. I liken them to water going downhill - nothing will stop it, it will only divert it. A bus stopped in the road in order to let a turning car, coming from a side street, turn left in front of it? Well first of all not even clear why the bus actually stopped for that, but it did stop, and the car is making the left turn across traffic. All the scooters behind the bus are just flowing around it like water as well as diverting around the turning left car, again like flowing water. Another time: bus was parked at curb to let tourists off the bus (a big tour bus). Bus left two feet between it and the curb. Do not make the mistake of assuming that once you reach the front of that parked bus (after dodging scooters to get to the safety of the front of it) that you are in the clear. Like water going downhill, scooters are flowing around it like water including on the curb side where passengers are trying to get off the bus AND you are making the last run for the sidewalk from the relative safety of being in front of that bus.
Have you ever seen the movie "40 year old virgin" and the driving scene where the drunk woman is driving her car home and then tries to make the turn right in front of another car and of course gets hit and exclaims "that f**ker came out of nowhere". Well it's like that, minus the hitting things: "that f**ker came out of nowhere".
Feb 17th, 2019 | 11:17 PM
#24
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
i recommend you to start from South to the North, from a warmer climate to colder climate, so that you can begin your trip light and buy warmer clothes as you need them, not start with a heavy pack and requiring to discard clothes halfway through the trip. It’s not economical and not a clever way of packing and organizing your pack.
Mar 29th, 2019 | 10:08 PM
#28
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 995
Likes: 0
Thought I would jump in here as we just returned yesterday from a 32 day tour to Vietnam and Cambodia.. When you say "drive" to Ninh Binh, you mean hiring a car as opposed to driving yourself? 2 days in Ninh Binh will allow you to see everything, but you are really short changing Hue and Hoi An. When you drive down the coast of Da Nang, it's like Santa Monica on steroids. I don't think I would spend any time there. It also depends on what you want to see in Hue and Hoi An. The Citadel is great, the tombs are really something else after all the hustle and bustle, although Ninh Binh is pretty chill. I didnt' make it to Nha Tran but have heard it is filled with Russians. Also I don't think anywhere is Vietnam is super diving. Great idea to let the divers go themselves an add an extra day in Hoi An to head out to An Bang for an afternoon. Are you booking a tour in the Mekong? Sometimes these are pretty standard, coconut candy factory, chocolate factory etc. If you are going to Cai Rang market make sure you go early, by about 5:30AM, that's when it's most interesting before it gets filled with tourist boats from Can Tho. It's better to spend more time in Hanoi than HCMC so I think you have that right.
Just remember, it's bigger than it seems in all ways. Travel will take a little longer than you think. But you will have great time I'm sure
Just remember, it's bigger than it seems in all ways. Travel will take a little longer than you think. But you will have great time I'm sure
