Hi.. Traveling to our annual visit to the Philippines to visit with my wife's family this January . Last year we side tripped 4 nights in Bangkok and 1 night in Pattaya .This year we have our sights set on a 5 night trip to Vietnam. We will with we did last year most likely which is get settled in PI and after a week head ti Vietnam then return to PI for another couple of weeks. Looking to experience food and culture there. Is it possible to do 2 cities ie: De Nang +Ho Chi Minh or Saigon? Thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!

Yes. Flight time for Manila to Hanoi is 3.5 hours or to HCMC is 3 hours. Then about 2 hours for a domestic flight in VN.

Southern part of Vietnam (Saigon as a base) will have better weather at that time of year.

Firstly, despite what is said in post #4 above, I would forget about Da Nang, it is one the less interesting cities in Vietnam. Very little by way of culture. I just consider Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC and Saigon are one and the same).

The food in the north and the south is very different. Both are great cuisines and on food alone, I would find it hard to choose between the two.

With just 5 days to play with bear in mind you will lose one day transferring between the two. There is more than enough in Hanoi to keep you busy for 5 days. In Saigon you could spend a few days in the city and combine with a side trip to the Mekong Delta either Ben Tre or Can Tho or maybe a homestay like Green Village which is out in the countryside near Can Tho. Here is a link to our blog which covers some of our travel in these places. My wife also wrote a few post re Vietnams food https://accidentalnomads.com/category/vietnam/

If you did want to look at Central Vietnam then I would consider Hue rather than Da Nang

ho chi minh city is amazing, so much to see and do there! my fave is the war remnants museum, it's pretty heavy so I'm not sure if it's something you like.

Also, check the weather when you're visiting it's currently the rainy season there

That would be 3 nights HOI AN (NOT Danang, a large city) + 2 nights Saigon, OR 2 nights Saigon + 3 nights delta Saigon-My Tho-Can Tho-Cia Be Anh Binh Island)-Saigon

Hi
I think if you only have 5 days/nights, then just chill at one of the cities so as to get the maximum from the trip. Last year, my neighbours had visited Vietnam, and they kept praising Da Nang as one of the most outstanding places to visit. Apparently, Ba Na Hills is a destination that just cannot be missed! I think, just staying at one place is the best. And, I think the place to stay would be Da Nang.

Would you visit France or Italy in FIVE days ? Makes NO sense ! If 5 days only, 3 days Hanoi and 2 days Lan Ha Bay (Halong Bay)

It is possible to do two cities but in five days you could only scratch the surface of either. I wouldn't bother with Da Nang, it wouldn't even make my top 20 places to visit in Vietnam.

Saigon or Hanoi would seem to make sense. Both have amazing food (but I am never too sure what people mean when the talk of experiencing culture).

You could spend a leisurely five days in Saigon or you could get around the main sites in two or three days which would then allow time for a trip to the Mekong Delta if that interests you.

You could easily spend the whole five days in Hanoi. Personally , I wouldn't bother with trips out to Halong Bay or anywhere else as there is plenty to do within the city.

I wouldn't bother with trips out to Halong Bay

One of the most astonishing sites on Earth!!!!

[QUOTE=Larsay;17588089]I wouldn't bother with trips out to Halong Bay

One of the most astonishing sites on Earth; /QUOTE]
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Halong is a world heritage site , of which there are thousands around the world. It is, of course, my necessarily subjective opinion, but it wouldn't make my top 100. Furthermore, I would want to waste half a day travelling there and another travelling back out of a five day trip.

Thanks for your input and suggestions..Let me try it this way. If we wanted to base ourselves in a nice city and venture from there for sightseeing,part day type trips (no need for heavy war stuff) just to see some sights ,places of interest etc and experiance some good food.what might yoou suggest?Thanks..This will be in Feb 2025

3 days Hanoi including day of arrival and 2 days cruise Halong. Cruise Halong.

Feb is a great time to visit just about any part of Vietnam.

I assume that from the PI you would fly into Hanoi or Saigon or possibly Danang? Not sure exactly what you mean by " part day trips" half days, full days? Presumably not overnight trips.

Hanoi probably has enough to keep you busy for the full five days and you don't have to visit any of the war related sites if that is not your interests. The food is incredible, especially the street type food and that in small , "one dish " places. The markets are amazing . Hoan Kiem Lake and the old quarter are places where you can wander endlessly . Ha Long Bay is too far for a day trip IMO but the Mai Chau Valley or Ninh Binh are just about possible as day trips though would be better overnight (avoid weekends though). Temple of Literature, The Women's Museum and Museum of Ethnology are all worth seeing as is the Ho Chi Minh complex.

Saigon arguably has less to see within the city. Although war related the Reunification Palace is well worth a visit though the War Remnants possibly not if you are not into war stuff. Some of the exhibits from the American War and especially the French occupation are horrific. Cholon (Chinatown) is worth a half day. You could do a day trip to the closer parts of the Mekong Delta. Many will included a trip to the Cu Chi tunnels but that is now little more than a tourist trap. Ben Tre or Vinh Long or even Can Tho would be better but, again , I tis an overnight trip. The food in Saigon is excellent but very different from the north. The people tend to be friendlier and less reserved than those in the north.

Da nang is not the most interesting city, but you could I supposed use it as a base to visit Hue and/or Hoi An. Hue has lots of history , amazing food and the citadel , the tombs, the perfume river etc. A nice place for a few days and easy to borrow a bike and cycle around the sights. Hoi An is quaint but very, very busy with (mostly Chinese) tour groups. OK fo a day visit but no longer would I want to stay there.

Does it have to be Vietnam? It doesn't really lend itself to the sort of trip you want.

Thanks.we will be based in the Pilippines for 5 weeks taveling and visiting friends and family there. Last year we did 5 nights in Thailand 4 in Bangkok and 1 night Pattaya just to visit another Asian country as we are in the Philippiness usaully every year for 4-5 weeks during Jan/Feb.My wife is orinally from the Philippines I am from NJ not of Asian decent.So I mentioned to my wife that now that we have more free time to visit other Asian countries using the Philippines as a base.This year we would like to get a taste..just a taste of Vietnam. Next year if we go to the Philippines will be somewheere different..maybe India for 10 days.Thailand and Vietnam are close enough to Manila that I can always revisit if I desire. So Im initially thinking Da nang and Hoi An.If this is the case how do you suggest we divide our time between the 2 ?

Sorry downtown but I don't think I am going to be much help. As I think I explained in my last post, I am not a fan of either Da Nang or Hoi An. For me Da Nang is just big modern, Amain city with little to offer the tourist. The main reason so many tourists visit there is to stay in one of the many mega hotels strung along the coast road for km after km. Just not for us! Many of those touristed will do day trips to Hoi An making it very overcrowded much of the time. It is undoubtedly quaint and I loved it the first time I visited nearly 40 years ago. I have been back a couple of times since and was frankly shocked. Mornings and evenings the old town and riverside are jam packed with tour groups, mostly Chinese from the hotels in Da Nang. On the positive side, the old town is very picturesque, there are lots of great restaurants there and it is great place to do a cooking class if that appeals. There are also some beaches just out of town and cycling through the countryside is nice. The Cham ruins at My Son make a nice day trip from Hoi An. I suppose, if I were to spend 5 days there I would likely split it 2 Danang and 3 Hoi An.

My choice would be to simple fly to Danang and get a taxi straight to Hue and spend the whole 5 days there. Here is a link to our blog which covers some of our travels in Vietnam. You will have to scroll through a bit but there are several posts about all the places mentioned https://accidentalnomads.com/category/vietnam/

Another thought, for one of your trips is Malaysian Borneo. We have also spent a lot of time there. Very different from Vietnam but great food, wildlife, beaches and jungle. Indeed on one trip we did it the opposite way to you and flew to the Philippines for a few days in another country. There were several flight options with Air Asia as I recall.

Thank you all for your suggestions and comments.I am revising our trip with more focus and am reposting another thread.