I wanted to get thoughts on the following itinerary and whether people thought it was too much. I do not mind the frantic nature of the trip and would rather see what I can in the limited time I have.
I am pondering:
12/28 - Arrive in Hanoi in the evening
12/29 - Explore Hanoi
12/30 - Fly to Hue around noon, explore in the afternoon
12/31 - Have the morning in Hue, take the train to Hoi An (or Danang and cab) that afternoon
1/1 - Day in Hoi An
1/2 - Fly later in the day to BKK

Any thoughts? I know myself and have traveled like this plenty, but if it seems ludicrous, I would love to know.

Also, is Furama resort in Danang a good bet and just take the shuttle to Hoi An, Nam Hai is probably too pricey and I cannot see what the comparable option would be in Hoi An.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Yes, I think this is nuts. If you want to have any experience of the place, you need to choose one city and spend time there and in the surrounding area. This itinerary will guarantee that your expereince of VN will be of going one place to another.

Kathie,
THanks for your reply.

I am trying to balance my wife's desire to be at beach for NY's with my own desire to see Hanoi.

Would you drop Hue and stay the extra day in Hanoi?

Do 3 days in Hanoi and 2 days in Hoi An. Several nice beach hotels to stay at in Hoi An (Golden Sands, Victoria). Danang isn't very exciting, but Hoi An gives you a blend of beach and small town to spend your time in.

I like Bisbee's plan.

Basically I too agree with Bisbee. We were in Vietnam at new years in 2005/06 and spent NYE in Hoi An and loved it! We stayed in Vinh Hung Merchant’s House 1 which is an old chinese style hotel right in thecentre of the old town. It is a lot different from the usual tourist type hotels and lacks some of the facilities like a restaurant and is not as luxurious as some , but its position and ambience IMO more than make up for this. We stayed in one of the rooms on the 1st Floor which was used by Michael Caine as his dressing room when filming The Quiet American and is stacked with chinese antiques.
For dinner on NYE we went to one of the riverside restarants (I think called The Brothers?) and had a great meal an a fantastic view of the lantern parade that they float down the river each year - take a camera if you go.

As for the beach, I would point out that it will probably be relatively cold and a bit wet at that time of year so you may not want to spend time on the beach. We rented a couple of bikes to cycle out around the surrouning villages and down to the beach.

Perect, thank you for the advice. I will drop Hue for an extra day in Hanoi.

I had originally planned to go to Angkor for three days prior to this, but would Angkor be a better place to spend NYE?

Thanks again for all the advice.

Try 3 days in Hanoi and 2 days in Halong Bay.

I can't imagine visiting Northern Vietnam and not checking out Halong Bay. I'm sure you can find a suitable beach there.

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

It's likely to be cool and misty at Halong Bay in late Dec-Early Jan. If your wife really wants beach, Halong bay wouldn't likely be her definition of a beach!