Vietnam Itinerary - should I drop anything as too much
 

The following is my itinerary - if you feel it is too much please suggest what location you would eliminate and what location you would spend extra time leaving Detroit on Feb 26 at 8 pm
Arrive Feb 28 11:00 am. Hanoi sightseeing during day then take night train to Sapa
Sun Mar 1 - Market then to Sapa spend night in homestay
Mon Mar 2 - trekking then night train to Hanoi
Tues Mar 3 - day in Hanoi
Wed Mar 4 - travel to Halong Bay stay overnight on junk boat
Thurs Mar 5 - travel back to Hanoi leave on night train to Hue
Fri Mar 6 - day sightseeing in Hue
Sat Mar 7 - leave Hue for overnight train to Da Nang
Sun Mar 8 - sightseeing in Da Nang
Mon Mar 9 - bus to Hoi An spend day sightseeing
Tues Mar 10 - leave Hoi An and take overnight train from Da Nang to Nha Trang
Wed Mar 11 - sight seeing Nha Trang
Thurs Mar 12 - sight seeing Nha Trang
Fri Mar 13 - Bus to Da Lat
Sat Mar 14 - sight seeing Da Lat
Sun Mar 15 - flight to Saignon
Mon Mar 16 - cruise on Mekong Delta
Tues Mar 17 leave Saignon at 5:50 pm back to Detroit

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Well, start by tell us what you are interested in in VN. What draws you there?

Right now, you'll spend plenty of time in transit, but have almost no time to see/do/experience anything of VN.

Leaving for Sapa so soon after you arrive isn't a bad idea, but be aware that you will arrive jet lagged and that most people get little to no sleep on the trains to/from Sapa. You get back to Hanoi and I expect you will be exhausted, yet it is really the only day you have in Hanoi - a fascinating city that you won't get to experience. People either love or hate Halong Bay, but no one likes the 6 hour drive each way. If it was me, I'd start by cutting Halong Bay, as it takes up a lot of time that could be spent better in Hanoi.

Look at what you have written. You think you'll have half a day of sightseeing in Hanoi after arrival from the US. You will be jet lagged and won't be able to do as much as you might like. You have parts of two days in Sapa. You then have one day in Hanoi - your only day to spend there, and you'll likely be exhausted from two sleepless nights on the train. Again, you are using night trains which always sounds like a good idea. But at least you'll be on better tracks and may get some sleep.

You actually have more time for sightseeing in Nha Trang than anywhere else - and Nha Trang is basically a resort community.

You need to do some major surgery on your itinerary. You have less than three weeks, and have 10 destinations. Each time you change locations, you'll lose a half a day to a full day. You will spend more time in transit on this trip that you will seeing the places you came halfway around the world to see.

I too would skip halong bay... imo, Hanoi deserves 3 days min.

I would cut the delta too and spend the time in HCMC.

you have no allowances for missed connections, etc.

I don't think leaving for sapa the first night is a bad idea. You will be so tired from the transit to vn that you may sleep on the train from exhaustion. Hanoi is a fabulous city which deserves more time than you've allotted. When you return from sapa, I suggest skipping halong bay. While very nice scenery, you will regret spending so much of your time traveling on a very boring road. I would add a day to sapa, skip DaNang and go directly by train or car to hoi an. What is the draw of nha trang and dalat? If you want a beach day, you can do it when visiting hoi an. Spend two days there...IMO it's a lovely place to walk around. If you also want time in Saigon and the Mekong delta, I would go direct to Saigon from hoi an. You will spend your time enjoying your trip if you slow things up a bit and spend more time in fewer places.

I pretty much agree with dgunbug's itin. I liked Halong Bay alot, but agree the 3-4 hour drive each way is a waste given the short amount of time you have. Spend it in Hanoi instead. I would visit Hue and spend the night and then go directly to Hoi An. I thought Danang not much of anything other than the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture which you can easily stop at on the route if interested. I didn't spend time in DaLat or Nha Trang so can't address them. I would want more time in Saigon. I found the time we spent in the Mekong Delta rather uninteresting esp compared to other places in VN.

As Kathie suggests, it would be useful to know what your interests are otherwise any recommedations will be based only on our personal preferences.

A fe observations:

Don't expect to get any sleep on any overnight trains in Vietnam unless you are one of those very lucky people that can sleep anywhere!

Book only soft sleepers, bottom bunks, soompner rathe than later.

There is no "overnight" train from Hue to Da Nang so you may be spending more time in Hue than you think (Plenty to see though!). It only takes three hours. See timetable at

http://seat61.com/Vietnam.htm#Hanoi%...g%20-%20Saigon


Nha Trang is great for partying and scuba if that is what you want. Otherwise I would give it a miss.

Hanoi deserves more time.

Plenty of sight seeing in Saigon to warrant a couple of days. I love the Mekong Delta too. Ben Tre is your best bet for a short trip around the smaller canals but Can Tho is better for the city and the floating market, but as it stands you don't have enough time for that really.

You lost me on your very first entry. If you are arriving from Detroit in mid-morning you will most likely have been travelling for 30 hours and lost a day crossing the international date line. You apparently expect to catch up on your sleep on night trains. I'd have trouble doing that on luxury trains, of which Vietnam has none. Good luck to you if you can do it but this sounds to me like X-tremeTravel.

Personally I liked Hanoi much more than Saigon. We spent two nights in can tho, but we wouldn't recommend going just for the day.

Thanks for the information, that is exactly the type of critique I wanted from my itinerary so I can fine tune it. My objective is get a feel of the country and try to hit the best spots. I never travel twice to the same countries as there are so many to see in the world. I will probably do as recommended an cut out Nha Trang, which frees up a couple of days. Is Da Lat worth the adventure, if not then I will spend other days in another location?

Also, you are correct about the travel to DaNang it was in the morning.

I have listened to some of your comments, I will be adding an extra day in Saigon and visiting the Chu Chi Tunnels. I am adding a day in Hanoi and really want to go to the bay but no sure if I should do Halong or Bu Tang Bay? In Sapa do you think I not enjoy it enough if I spend a 1 1/2 days touring in order to do the market. Or should I just miss the market, or stay an extra evening. I am thinking of dropping the Da Lat excursion and spending one night in Nha Trang which gives me two full days then leave for Saigon. I think it will give me a little time to unwind in Nha Trang before heading to Saignon. Does this appear to be more reasonable and will give me a good overview of Vietnam. Thanks in advance for all your help.

BuTang Bay has lots less boats.

Larsay is spot on. Some extra tips- You can either walk around day 1 if you are comfortable with a map, or take a motorbike taxi (cheaper than taxi). If you decide you aren’t comfortable with a map or on a motorbike, then make sure you stick to Mai linh or Vinasun. The others will rip you off. Uber can also be a good way to get around and its easy because you don’t have to worry about giving them cash each time you take a ride- just theres less of them to use. One of the best things about HCMC are the hidden cafes in old buildings. You should check out:

Loft- 96 Pasteur, Bến Nghé, 1, Hồ Chí Minh
Luisine- 70 Lê Lợi, Bến Thành, Hồ Chí Minh
La Rotonde- 77B Ham Nghi, 1st Floor, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam