Two-Week Trip Report: Japan and Vietnam Dec 2015
 

Hi everyone, thanks for the info here at Fodor (I mostly read up on previous discussions and did not ask much questions), we (a couple at early 30s) enjoyed our two-week trip to Japan and Vietnam. I would like to share my trip report with fellow travelers :)
Here is our route
Japan: Kyoto - Hakone - Tokyo
Vietnam: Hanoi with overnight cruise to Halong Bay->Hue ->Hoi An-> Danang

Please see my blog for details and pictures:
https://paris2athens.wordpress.com/2...n-and-vietnam/

Thanks for reading! Please let me know if you have any questions.

Nice pictures of Japan, thanks for sharing!

Enjoyed reading your blog! Amazing how much you packed in your 2 week trip, but it doesn't feel rushed when I read it. Lovely photos, too!

I enjoyed reading your blog and viewing your beautiful photos.

Could you please tell me which company you used for your tour of the Hue tombs, how much pp it cost, and did you do it while you were in Hue or before you left home? Thanks

Thank you for the link to your blog. Its so well done!!

Thanks everyone for your kind words!

@progol I will admit that in Tokyo and Kyoto we were pretty tired at the end of each day, but after a good night's sleep we were ready to go again the next day.

@shelleyk We used Sinh Tourist (https://www.thesinhtourist.vn) to book our Hue tour, and booked online a few days before the trip (while we were in Japan). It costs 259,500 VND excluding entrance fees.

The only thing that annoys me about SinhTourist is that before I book, they didn't tell me that I needed to get my credit card verify at their office before tour day, otherwise they don't pick us up from the hotel. We were asked to be at the tour office 30 mins before the tour starts, which was 7am. It was a bit tough since we did the evening flight from Hanoi to Hue the night before and didn't get to sleep until midnight. Luckily, our hotel (Hue Serene Palace- a good 3 star hotel) was just 4 mins walk from the office.

On the day of tour when we arrived at the office and the lady on staff gave us attitude about why didn't come the day before. (well, because we were in Hanoi.) To me having to get my credit card verified kind of eliminates the benefit of booking online.
I found out later that Hue Serene Palace also book the same tour for their guests and they gets hotel pick up.If I had known I would have book thru our hotel to get extra sleep. (although it costs about $3 USD more).

And then after we got on the bus of course there was the usual "city center tour" where the bus made circles to pick up guests from different hotels, but it is common for all the day tours. We didn't start driving to Hue until around 8:30. But once we get through the early morning wait and bad office staff attitude, the rest of the tour was great like I described in my blog. Tour guide was excellent, and lunch was good.

If you want to book your tour after you arrive in Hue, you should be fine. There are lots of tourist offices in Hue and your hotel can help (although usually they charge a commission).

nice pics tho, these just initially let me want to travel right now.
Could you make a list of specific fees that you've spent for your itinerary - thanks a bunch.

Lovely blog and I loved the beautiful pictures. We're going to be in Japan for two weeks in May, and this was really helpful! Thanks for posting.