CailinDeas

Hi everyone,
Looking for some guidance on my Vietnam itinerary- My husband and I are slotting in with other family members travel arrangements. They have set their itinerary and we are hoping to join them for at least part of the trip if not all but maybe with some modifications. We know that we definitely want to do the Halong Bay cruise together and we will probably hire a driver together to go from Hue to Hoi An. Looking for some suggestions on how we might vary it a bit.
Here is the it
Day 1: Arrive Hanoi 09.50
Day 2: Hanoi
Day 3: Hanoi to Halong Bay- One night Halong Bay Cruise
Day 4: Halong back to Hanoi and then on to Hue- Travelling companions taking late flight to Hue. We are thinking of maybe doing overnight train instead. Would you see much in terms of scenery with it being night time? I love trains and just like the idea of sleeping on a train though I am sure this is a romantic notion! Think you might get more of a feeling for the country also?? Open to any comments on this.
Day 5: Hue
Day 6: Hue
Day 7: Hire driver together to see sights and transfer to Hoi An
Day 8: Hoi An
Day 9: Hoi An
Day 10: Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh (Fly from Danang)
Day 11: Ho Chi Minh
Day 12: Fly to Phu Quoc
Day 13: Phu Quoc
Day 15: Phu Quoc
Day 16: Phu Quoc to Ho Chi Minh
Day 17: Early morning international flight home

We are keen to have a few days beach relaxation at the end, should I consider cutting one of these days to spend more time in Hoi An or Ho Chi Minh? DH is quite interested in the war history side of things so want to be sure to have enough time to see the main history related sights. Is there any thing we could do to improve this?
Thanks for your help.
Cailin

thursdaysd

You have very little time in Hanoi. Can you drop at least a day from Phu Quoc and add time to Hanoi? Or arrive earlier? I find Hoi An overrated, but I don't shop. make sure to take a car and drive to My Son. See if you can fit in the museum in Danang.

I have taken the train from Hanoi to Hue a couple of times, but not since 2004. Obviously, you won't see any scenery at night, check the train times and the times of sunset and sunrise. It is definitely worthwhile to see the countryside if you will have some daylight. It also is, or was, a good way to meet some of the locals.

The berths were definitely on the hard side, but may have improved since I did it. See http://www.seat61.com/Vietnam.htm for current info.

Kathie

You basically have no time in Hanoi. Hanoi is perhaps the most interesting large city in VN. But the reason you have no time in Hanoi is that you are trying to visit too many places in too little time. Can you add a couple of days at there beginning of the trip - get to Hanoi before others do?

I understand that you are trying to coordinate with other people, which makes it very hard to make a really good itinerary, as changes you make will impact on when and whether you meet up with other family members.

At the very least, I'd add a day to Hanoi. I'd re-arrange the schedule so that you spend your day in HCMC at the end.

Taking the train can be a way to meet locals. But on the night train you (and they) hope to be sleeping. Note that many people find it hard to sleep on night trains, so you may arrive in Hue with no sleep. I'd encourage you to take a day time train if you really want to take the train, but your limited time makes that a difficult trade-off.

krgystn

Looks like a great trip, a bit rushed but you will see a lot. I personally prefer at least three nights per city, but to do this you will need to cut out one location. As much as I liked Phu Quoc, Hoi An also has beaches if you want to swap it out. The main thing I see is you are going to HCMC twice. Why not go all the way to Phu Quoc from Hoi An and then you will at least get two nights and a day in HCMC?

CailinDeas

Thanks everyone for your help.It's great to get guidance. It is so hard when you are under time constraints to know if you are getting the highlights covered. I did toy with the idea of a Sapa side trip but it ended up on the cutting room floor. I have already begged, borrowed, stolen and pulled in every favour known to man to be able to get a few extra days for my trip so unfortunately adding any more time is not a possibility. It's been a number of years since we have done a "big trip" favouring more local trips within Europe. So I suppose I am being greedy trying to cover as many places as I can, knowing that it will be some time before I get my long haul travel boots on again!
I am going to look in to Hanoi and Hue and see which has the sights that sound more up my alley and that are somewhat different to the other places that we will be visiting. I may swap a day there.
Still want to try and incorporate a train journey but the time could be an issue. I'd be happy to a small afternoon trip somewhere along the way! Also fancy an easy riders trip!!
It does make sense that we do HCMC all together at the end rather than a day before Phu Quoc and a day after and I think we will change around to do it that way- I think my sister's logic was to get all the sightseeing, more or less, out of the way and then flop and drop on the beach. Anyway, there is definite room for tweaking and I appreciate the suggestions. I'll keep working on it. Thanks again!

needmorevacation

I agree with putting the two HCMC days together, also adding a day to Hanoi if possible.

mareeS55

Definitely add at least one more day each to Hanoi and HMC. Lots to see and do, and you need at least the first day to get yourself into the idea of them, as they are utterly different to one another in terms of everything except the fact they're both cities at the opposite ends of Vietnam.

Night trains may have improved since my last time in Vietnam, but take the plane would be my rec.

crellston

We took the night train in the opposite direction - Hanoi to Hue. You won't get to see much scenery at night but perhaps a little in the early am. You will most definitely get to meet the locals, in fact you will more than likely be sharing a compartment with some. We didn't get much sleep but our travelling companions slept like babies!

More info and photos from our recent trip (inc. the train journey) and some of the places you are considering are on our blog http://accidentalnomads.com/category/vietnam/page/2/

HoI An is quaint and picturesque but very touristy. I much preferred Hue and do try to get out to the Imperial Tombs - even more interesting and impressive than the Citadel.

If you want a train experience, try and work in Da Nang to Hue or vv. one of the most scenic in Asia.

I agree with other re time in Saigon and Hanoi. You can see the main sight of Saigon in a very long , very fast day but it deserves more ( especially if you enjoy Vietnamese food). We spent a couple of weeks in Hanoi and didn't get bored ( but we were in the country for a long time).