christo

Am planning to visit Vietnam with possible add on to Ankor Wat next winter and am looking for recommendations for a 2-3 week tour. Will welcome beach resort ideas and recommended tour companies.
Any weather considerations in Jan - Feb?
All info appreciated!
Merci.

rhkkmk

jan/feb is a great time to go...the later you go the hoter it will be...

perhaps use bangkok as a central point and visit vn and angkor from there...there are many thai beach destinations as well...

suggest that you spend 3-5 days in angkor and suggest you plan on a guide and driver---$20 each per day...the best money you will spend on your trip..

i have only been in the north of vn so can only suggest that to you...hanoi is worth a couple of days, halong bay is worth 2 days...saigon gets low marks from many people---just a big city...

angkor is fabulous and will be a highlight of your trip....

i love bkk and it offers something for everyone...lux to cheap....lux is at a reatatively low price by western standards however....

all of these places can be visited on your own, with or without some local help...

i used asiantrails.com for help in vn---very efficient and not costly..

christo

Thank you.
I am familiar with Thai beaches and Bankok and although I don't yearn for another vist to BK you may be right about using it as good starting point and a stay at a Thai beach rather than Vietnam's.
Ciao

DavePitt

See http://www.exotissimo.com, they were great for our two weeks in the country. And we loved The Furama Resort (http://www.furamavietnam.com), its a great staging stop for Hue, Danang, and Hoi An visits. Loved the Caravelle in Saigon. You have a lot of hotel choices in Hanoi, but you should consider the Metropole. Their web site gives you all the scoop you need, even if you don't book with them. I made all our arrangements via e-mail with no problems at all. The handled internal air, rooms, car/driver/guide.

butch

We jsut got back last week from a 2 wk trip. This was our second trip here - last year was just a few days tagged onto our Thailand trip.

This year we started in Hanoi - stayed at the Melia because Metropole was booked - Melia is in a great location -- walking to just about anything you want from here is easy. We did check out the Metropole and it is lovely. Last year we stayed at the Hanoi Opera Hilton and it was terrific.
We really enjoy Hanoi - there are lots of interesting museums, the water puppet show is not to be missed!! shopping is great but I found things (art, lacquerware, clothing) to be more expensive than in Hoi An.

For lunch you should try Cha Ca La Vong (14 Cha Ca Street). They serve turmeric-dusted whitefish that you cook at the table, served with a mix of veggies and noodles -- for two people with 4 beers, lunch was around $10USD!!! It is the only thing on the menu and they don't need anything else - it was delicious. It's located in a 104 yr old house in the Old Quarter. For dinner we tried a newer place called Wild Rice (6 Ngo Thi Nham St.) - The decor is understated elegance with superb service and delicious food -- all for about $15USD for two -- we ate like a king and queen. Highly recommend both -- both places were written up in Travel and Leisure mag in Sept 03 -- they were right on. For the best ice cream (coconut) you have ever had check out Kem Tran Tien (54 Pho Trang Tien St.) -- it's a wild place with a ton of people on the sidewalk - you cannot miss it. It's near the Opera House and Hoan Kiem Lake.

We did the usual tourist things - Army museum, Ho Chi Mihn mausoleum, Hanoi Hilton which is the old prison - very intersting place.

Last year we did just a one day trip to Halong Bay - it is beautiful and I imagine it would be specatular to do the two day trip but for us with limited time, we enjoyed the short trip.

I have heard that Sapa in the north is another great place but it does require an overnight train ride to get up and back so again it comes down to prioritizing based on your time/interests.

From Hanoi we went to Hue - unfortunately, Vietnam Airlines does not hesitate to cancel flights so we missed our early flight and got there late in the day and had plans to leave early the next day so we didn't get to do much but . . . I have heard others say that this is one place that is okay to either miss altogether or keep it short. It was too dark to visit the Citadel so we had a nice dinner and relaxed at the Saigon Morin Hotel - very nice place.

From Hue we headed to Hoi An via car with a driver. We traveled through the Hai Van pass - unfortunately it was very foggy so we couldn't see anything. Then we stopped at Marble Mountain which we were pleasantly surprised at the splendor of the marble Buddhas found deep in the caves - don't miss this.

We stayed in Hoi An last year and enjoyed the town, people, etc so much that we stayed three days this trip. We considered the Victoria Hoi An Resort because it is on the beach but heard a few too many things about not being worth the money. We did walk down to check it out -- looks nice, right on the beach with pool, etc. Might be just a bit too uppity for our style. They have elaphant rides on the beach -- a bit too touristy for us.

We returned back to the Hoi An Riverside Resort and were not disappointed. It is one of the loviest places we have stayed. Splurge and get one of the rooms with a river view in the back -- off the main street. The staff are gracious, helpful, friendly - the setting is right on the river across from rice fields - the serenity of this place will wipe out any stress immediately. The pool setting is wonderful - quiet and peaceful. The breakfast buffet is great and the restaurant for dinner and lunch is delicious with again beautiful views of the river and fields. It is more expensive than most other places. Because the food is so good, I took a lunch cooking class - I was the only one there so I had lots of attention -- it was about 2 hours after an early (6:30 am) tour of the market with the chef (Truc - means bamboo).

We did enjoy meals in town - dinner at the Mermaid Rest (2 Tran Phu St -- had the best stuffed squid of my life), Miss Ly Cafeteria 22 (22 Nguyen Hue St - fabulous wontons - very different from any we have ever had) and at Song Hoai (119-121 Ngugen Thai Hoc St -- cannot remember what we ate but it was great). We like to eat in case you haven't noticed - our trips revolve around food and we don't eat anything but local food because I can get a burger or lasagne at home!

I bought art here - great deals to be had. I got two beautiful abstract paintings for $100USD -- they would be a lot more in Hanoi and even more at home. I also picked up several rice paper paintings for $1-5 USD each -- cannot beat those prices - great gifts.

From here we flew to Nha Trang. There isn't much to do in this town unless you like to dive or just relax. We don't dive but sure did appreciate a few days vegging on the beach. We stayed at the Ana Mandara Resort -- it was very nice -- expensive but worth it. Within the first few hours we felt it was a bit too rich for us -- staff walking around trying to sign us up for something from a day trip, spa, diving, etc. Then we took a walk into town our first evening - what an experience that was. It doesn't have the charm of Hoi An or Hanoi. The streets got very dark and we were starting to have a difficult time reading the map and street signs looking for guess what -- a restaurant. We were not used to streets being so dark - everywhere else we had been was so lit up and lively. All of a sudden, the lights turned on all over the streets -- they must be controlled by the local govt -- not sure that that was our best guess. Anyway - we found what we were looking for Lac Canh Rest.(44 Nguyen Binh Khiem St.) I would suggest you get a taxi or at least stay walking on the main road along the water and then cut in. The food here is BBQ at the table - we did beef and squid -- it was yummie. It is truly a local hangout -- worth the walk in the dark

Anyway -- we realized that there isn't much to see and that the best place was right at the resort -- we spent the days lounging under a big umbrella, swimming and walking the beach. The beach is well guarded - only for guests. It is clean in front of the resort and then gets a bit crummy. I think we now realize why everyone was so interested in keeping us busy - they didn't want us to wander into town -- maybe we missed something but we didn't see anything worth visiting. The resort was a perfect spot - the staff are more than attentive and yes, the cuisine is wonderful. One of the best things about this place is that you could practically walk to the airport so you don't have to cut your time short with transfers -- you don't really hear the plans either.

From here we flew to HCMC -- please do not pay attention to the people that say not to go. We loved it! I was relieved because my husband didn't want to go based on what other writers have said and once there - he was glad I made him go. It is completely different than Hanoi so that much is true. What surprised us was that we were expecting it to be busier, louder, crazier than Hanoi and that is not at all what we found. It is busy but less horn honking, slower traffic. For March -- it was hotter than ever during the day but at night it was very pleasant. We stayed at the new Sheraton which was FANTASTIC! It is right next to the Caravelle which also looked nice. The Sheraton opened in May 03 so everything is so new and beautiful - highly recommend it. It is right on Dong Khoi Street which is smack in the middle of great shopping. We did go to the Rex Hotel for cocktails on the rooftop - great view of the city from there.

As for touring - we signed up to for a half day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels -- fascinating place -- a great exhibit of strength, determination and courage. Our last day we walked all over the city to see the Reunification Palace and the War Remnant Museum - both very interesting. Stopped by the old Post Office and Notre Dame Catherdal -- both beautiful. At this point - we have run out of steam and time! Our favorite meal in HCMC -- try Nha Phan (64 Le Thanh Ton St) -- we saved our best meal for last! This one is also new, in a beautiful old mansion that is very well appointed in decor. The service was unbelievable and the food was superb. It is the only place we opted to have wine and we had a great recommendation from our waiter. There is a sister restaurant called Nam Kha (50 Dong Khoi St) which also looked great.

We were disappointed that we didn't have time to take a river trip on the Mekong Delta and visit a few other places - next time.

This was a terrific vacation - the people of Vietnam are wonderful, so pleasant to meet, happy to do business with you. The history of the country is fascinating. We are glad to have had the chance to visit two times now as things are changing rapidly - lots of new hotels going up everywhere. This is all good for business and economic growth but I hate to see the beauty of the unspoiled areas changed.

Sorry for so much to say - just doing a data dump while it is still fresh in my mind. You will have a wonderful time -- Let me know if you have any questions.

Carrabella

Great report, Butch - thank you. I only have four days on the way to Europe, and your HCMCity recommendation confirmed my decision to see the best of it there and just enjoy the atmosphere - hoping to go back again for a longer trip another time. Can you answer my money-changing question, please? Carrabella