hi, i am planning a trip to vietnam with my 9 year old son next august, and am tempted to join an organised family group as i am not feeling totally confident about planning our own trip. we have about 4 weeks in total to spend, but i will be on a budget. Can anyone recomend a family tour theyve done, or inspire me to go it alone! many thanks, deb

what do you like doing? that may help us give you advice

You do not need a tour for VietNam - in one end and out the other. It's cheaper going from north to south as most go the other way.

August will be hot with daily rain showers in the south; slightly cooler with occasional rain in the centre and a temperate summer in Ha Noi.

4 weeks is an ideal time to properly visit the country and see things in detail.

The usual stops are Ha Noi, with side trips to Ha Long Bay and Sa Pa.

Then south to Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang followed by a choice of an old French hill station called Da Lat OR a wind sport / beach centre of Mui Ne.

From either of these places a 6 hour bus ride gets you to SaiGon.

I took the lazy man's way out and joined a small group tour, but other family members have told me that it's pretty easy to book travel from city to city on air-conditioned mini-buses with local travel agents. One such (travel agency) that I've seen mentioned is Singh Cafe (more experienced visitors may wish to chime in at this point). There's also the overnight train option between Hanoi and Hue.

I do suggest that you buy a good guidebook, which will be a big help and should reassure you that independent travel in Vietnam is no great challenge. I haven't seen Fodors' - we used Lonely Planet, which may be more help for budget travellers anyway.

http://www.intrepidtravel.com/ are a UK based travel company that are highly regarded here in the UK They have a great website with lots of detailed trip itineraries which should give you a few ideas. They do do Family trips.

http://www.travelindochina.com/ is another UK/Australian operator who offer such trips and have a good reputation.

As other have said it is relatively straightforward these days to organise everything your self on the ground without using a tour operator. I have done it several times without problems (in fact teh only screw ups I experienced were on the one visit when we used a tour company!) That said travellin with a 9 year old has its own issues and only you can say whether you are comfortable dealing with the logistics of independent travel accompanied y a child.

There is loads to see in Vietnam and a month is a nice time to see lots without rushing and lots to interest your son (elephant treks, jungle walks etc.. I do wonder however, whether you should consider spending some time in neighbouring Cambodia (e.g. Angkor Wat) or Laos (Luang Prabang).

As smeagol has suggested, a little info on your interst will encourage a lot more replies and suggestions.

hi, many thanks for your reply.....getting the idea i should plan to travel independently as oppose to with a tour operator.. our main interests are wildlife, nature, swimming, beautiful locations and people. I'm not majorly keen on negotiating busy towns and cities although don't wish to be totally deserted either! Fynn is a good companion and quite hardy, though don't want to take on anything too demanding as we will be on our own. Would ideally like a combined trip of things we've never seen with chill out times and bit of adventure, which i guess is what travel is really about..

hi, many thanks for your reply.....getting the idea i should plan to travel independently as oppose to with a tour operator.. our main interests are wildlife, nature, swimming, beautiful locations and people. I'm not majorly keen on negotiating busy towns and cities although don't wish to be totally deserted either! Fynn is a good companion and quite hardy, though don't want to take on anything too demanding as we will be on our own. Would ideally like a combined trip of things we've never seen with chill out times and bit of adventure, which i guess is what travel is really about..