viet nam visit
 

There will be seven of us in N viet nam in Dec. We arrive in Hanoi on Dec. 22 and leave on Jan. 1st. I need help in planning where and how to see things. We would like to take an overnight on Hulong Bay. We're interested in Kayak tour as opposed to junk. However, it might be too chilly. We'd also like to go north on the overnight train to the villages north of Hanoi, and of course some time in Hanoi itself. Any help in planning would be appreciated.

If you want to visit Sapa in the north I think you should spend at least three days, especially if you want to overnight in one of the villages. I don't know about kayaking tours of Halong Bay, some tours include kayaking, book your tour in Hanoi. I would recommend 2D3N at Halong Bay.

http://www.travelsinasia.com/Vietnam/Vietnam.html

We did Hanoi, Sapa and the Dien Bien Phu loop Dec/Jan 2006. The weather raged from hot and sunny to near freezing. My guess is that it would be too cold (&misty) for kayaking.

Sapa itself was a disapointment but teh scenery around Sapa was amazing. On option you should check out is the Mai Chau valley, about 1/2 days travel from Hanoi, IMO better scenery that Sapa, v. friendly people and less touristed. Have fun it is a great part of the world!

Can someone clarify exactly what is "trekking". Is it straight walking for 4-5 hours or is it stopping along the way to enjoy scenery, etc. And someone else weigh in on weather, temperature, and feasibility of kayaking and hut camping in Ded.

I was in Vietnam in Nov. 05. We were in Halong Bay end of Nov. We stayed on Cat Ba Island and had a local fisherman tow out a kayak to an isolated area. We kayaked for a few hours and then he picked us up again. It was warm-around 25 degrees C. and a bit cloudy. It was peaceful. We felt in awe of these large limestone karsts projecting as far as the eye could see. We didn't make it to Sapa, but heard it was getting down to freezing at night. Another very worthwhile idea is Tam Coc south of Hanoi. Local woman take you in small boats into caves and through the gorgeous rice fields. Also on the same afternoon, we went bicycling on quiet country rodes with a guide, we stopped and spoke to locals along the way. We even had some school kids jump on the back of our bikes to hitch a ride back to school after lunch. This was a day trip out of Hanoi easily book at a tourist cafe.

Having done a John Gray trip in Thailand, I would only do a Sea Canoe Vietnam trip (trained by John Gray every year) in Halong Bay. http://www.inserimextravel.com.vn/