Organizing Vietnam

Old Mar 19th, 2023, 12:35 PM
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Organizing Vietnam

The last two weeks of November and the first week of December have become our go-to window for our annual end-of-year trips. One of the places we're considering for 2023 is Vietnam. Our Asian travels took us to Cambodia and Thailand the same time last year and Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan in years past. We're into a mix of urban and the outdoors, museums and day hikes among interesting landscapes, history, culture, and good food. We do not need time on the beach or in the water.

What we're currently looking at is a very standard itinerary, perhaps not surprising given that this would be our first time in Vietnam. Right now, we're thinking:

Fly into Hanoi, 4 nights
Halong Bay / Bai Tu Long Bay or Lan Ha Bay, 2 (Any advice on Bai Tu Long versus Lan Ha? I understand both would get away from some of the crowds and traffic of the main portion of Halong Bay.)
Ninh Binh, 3
Hue, 2
Hoi An, 3 (including My Son and Marble Mountains?)
Saigon, 4

Also of interest is Phong Nha - Ke Bang, but from what I've read, it seems November may be off limits due to potential flooding.

What about Dalat? Seems like a good place for a change of scenery, being outdoors, and relaxing. What do you think?

What about the Mekong Delta? Would we be better off staying at a base such as Can Tho and taking day trips? Or staying on a boat for a couple of nights, or would this be too similar to overnight on a boat at Halong Bay?

Thank you for your advice and feedback.

Last edited by tripplanner001; Mar 19th, 2023 at 12:43 PM.
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Old Mar 19th, 2023, 01:50 PM
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Hi TP -- we were in VN as part of a longer trip to SE Asia about 10 years ago, so been awhile. Spent about 3 weeks going to most of the places you mention. We did not go to Dalat or Ninh Binh which I wish we had. The main disappointment for me was the Mekong Delta. I liked the day on the river, but we stayed 2 days and wish we had skipped that part of the trip. I have a long TR, VN is at the end OUR SEASIA Odyssey

Happy planning!
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Old Mar 19th, 2023, 06:33 PM
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Yestravel, thank you. I just read the Vietnam portion of your report and find it quite helpful. A question for you as well as others who've visited more recently: What is the wifi situation in Vietnam? Is it functional in Hanoi and in Saigon? Are Google and Outlook accessible?
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Old Mar 20th, 2023, 12:24 AM
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Hi Tripplanner001,

Your itinerary looks sound but the weather could be an issue in Nov/Dec. It is a great time for the north and south but it is the height of the wet season in the central region. Hoi An especially is prone to storms and flooding at that time of year. You may be lucky, maybe not. I would definitely forget about Phong Nha Khe Be. In the central region, the highlands will see much better weather Da Lat/Buon Ma Thuot/Pleiku are all interesting places but would be high on my list for a first time visit.

4 nights apiece in Hanoi and Saigon are about right though you could consider 5 and 3 nights as Hanoi has arguably more to see.

Weather aside, 3 nights in Hoi An is good too. Half day for the old town and a half day for My Son and half a day for the countryside. The Marble Mountains can be visited on the way from Hue/Da Nang to Hoi An. Taxi drivers are used to tourists stopping off there. Now that the Chinese are travelling agin I think you should assume that Hoi An will be very crowded!

I confess I am not a great fan of Ha Long bay but many are. Bai Tu Long and Lan Ha are definitely better options and could easily be combined with Ninh Binh where you could probably get away with just two nights.

Apart from the mountains in the north, the Mekong Delta is a favourite part of the country. You have several options for the delta. Land based, say Ben Tre and/or Can Tho. If interested in a homestay experience , the delta is your best option. Can Tho is an ok city but most go there just for the floating market which you need to visit at dawn. After that you will be done by 9am. Homestay in the countryside near Can Tho will arrange trips to the markets.TheChau Doc near the Cambodian border is my personal favourite but it is along way from Saigon. A live aboard boat is another option and would probably enable you to see more of the delta in a short stay than a land based trip.

The wifi in Vietnam is generally excellent. High speed on >50mbps in most places. you can also get data sims very cheaply. The government sometimes censor certain website, (usually the BBC which is annoying for an Englishman like me!)

Here is a link to the Vietnam section of our blog. https://accidentalnomads.com/category/vietnam/ If you click on my screen name I am pretty sure I also posted trip reports for some of our may trip to the country.

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Old Mar 20th, 2023, 04:46 AM
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Crellston, thank you. This is very informative and arms me with what I need to continue researching.
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Old Mar 20th, 2023, 05:54 AM
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Originally Posted by tripplanner001
Crellston, thank you. This is very informative and arms me with what I need to continue researching.
I always find Crellston's suggestions to be sound ones. We had fog on the overnight to the ay but I still found it was nice trip. The drive was long and boring unless its changed since I was there. Even though we were in VN so long ago we had no trouble with wifi. I vaguely remember some censorship but it wasnt an issue. I used an eSim in Egypt in January and it worked great. I used Airalo and they were helpful with support & reasonably priced.
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Old Mar 20th, 2023, 09:57 AM
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Yestravel, thank you. I've never visited a Communist country before but your report made me think about Internet access. The one place that comes to mind in terms of poor access is Azerbaijan when we were there in 2019.
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Old Mar 20th, 2023, 01:55 PM
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Disclaimer: I visited in Sept-Oct 2015, northern part of country only. Wifi --dont recall any problem with it, even in the small northern VN villages i visited. Everyone used mobile phones. Even bus from Hanoi to Halong Bay had wifi.
Took a lovely overnight cruise to Bai Tu Long Bay. Relaxing, scenic (karsts), great fun, with brief stop at a small island, but (for me) one night sufficed (there are two-night trips also). Other than a few fishing boats, there were no other boats in Bai Tu Long Bay (though that may haVe changed by now) until near pier at Halong Bay were all boats were boarded.
Easy to reach Ninh Bin via road/car after your depart the boat at Halong Bay (or vice versa). ( I didnt see any standard itineraries suggest that--alll had me returning first to Hanoi- but it was an easy drive.) I loved Ninh Bin area (though not the place i stayed). Three nights, staying in the countryside around NB, is a good number, time allowing
You don't mention Sapa, part of many standard itineraries. I didnt go there (went instead farther north) but people I know love Sapa, though it's more visited, with its spectacular scenery and hillside hikes.
Re: being in a Communist country, interesting indeed. In Hanoi --at least as a tourist vs inhabitant--you'd barely know it, e.g. billboards of Colonel Sanders KFC next to large photos of Uncle Ho, high end shopping and chauffeured Mercedes in French District of Hanoi next to the red VN flag.

Last edited by CaliNurse; Mar 20th, 2023 at 02:00 PM.
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Old Mar 20th, 2023, 07:35 PM
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CaliNurse, thank you. Appreciate the first-hand feedback you're providing. It is much appreciated.
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Old Apr 5th, 2023, 08:57 PM
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Halong Bay / Bai Tu Long Bay or Lan Ha Bay, 2 (Any advice on Bai Tu Long versus Lan Ha? I understand both would get away from some of the crowds and traffic of the main portion of Halong Bay.)
THREE days if you include Bai Tu Long. Agency indispensable. Check the websites of specialists such as Oriental Bridge Travel, Parfum d'Automne or APT Travle.

Ninh Binh, 3
Yes. Stay 2 nights at famous Chez Loan in Tam Coc; End of day 3, night train Ninh Binh-Huê (ask Loan to make the reservation for you when you arrive)
Hue, 2
Yes. First day: Imperial City and THien Mu Pagoda (in cyclo-pousse). 2nd day : the Mausoleums of the Nguyên Dynasty + train Huê-Hoi An or BETTER, car to go on top of the Pass of the Clouds (superb panorama - Tell the driver you want to go on top of teh Pass, not through the tunnel). Stop at Marble Mountain on the way (25 km south of from Danang)

Hoi An, 3 (including My Son and Marble Mountains?)
Definitely the two. My Son.

Saigon, 4
Not very exciting ! 1 and half day and the erst in the Delta (Siagon-Mython-1 night in Can Tho, next morning Cai rang Floating Market + very interesting Noodles village)
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Old Apr 9th, 2023, 04:45 PM
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Larsay, thank you much.

Thinking about whether to drop Hue and Hoi An given the time of year.
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Old Apr 9th, 2023, 09:12 PM
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It would be a great pity to drop at least hoi An. What you do is, before going there, check the weather by typing "Hoi An" on Googles Search and see the forecast
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Old Apr 10th, 2023, 05:41 AM
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Thanks Larsay. November and December seems to be on the rainy side for both Hue and Hoi An. Unfortunately, we won't have the flexibility of waiting until we get there to decide. Do you think we should hold Vietnam for when we could go in a different month?
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Old Apr 10th, 2023, 09:28 PM
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Originally Posted by tripplanner001
Thanks Larsay. November and December seems to be on the rainy side for both Hue and Hoi An. Unfortunately, we won't have the flexibility of waiting until we get there to decide. Do you think we should hold Vietnam for when we could go in a different month?
Some rain in November, very little in December
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Old Apr 10th, 2023, 11:04 PM
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Tripplanner. August to February is the rainy season in Hoi An. If you take a look at the weather statistics you will find that November and December are the two wettest months of the year with an average of 15 and 14 days of rain respectively. You may be lucky and get a few dry days or you may experience heavy rains and even floods. The one advantage of visiting at that time of year is you would miss the worst of the crowds visiting from the mega hotels close to Da Nang.
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