1st visit to Vietnam

I鈥檓 looking to arrange a family holiday in Vietnam in July 2009. Probably not the driest time of year to go but we are restricted by term times; I think July / August is fairly wet but it probably will be here in the UK anyway!

Was thinking of flying in from Kuala Lumpur with AirAsia; maybe 3-4 nights Hanoi, beach for 7 nights then 3-4 nights in HCMC then returning to KL. What I wanted to know was what is it like travelling overland in Vietnam or is it much better to use internal flights, would we be best in the North, South or in between for a beach holiday and how feasible would it be to build a couple of days in Laos into our itinerary.

Thanks, Ian

1st visit to Vietnam

hi

We just returned last week. We did 3 nights saigon (did Meekong and Cu Chi Tunnels as day trips); 4 nights Nha Trang (great beaches and day trips to isalnds); 4 nights Hoi An (good tailors and China Beach - perhaps 3 nights would be ok); and 3 night Hanoi (must do Halong Bay - but car trip is scary; perfume pergoda and Ho Chi Minh Museum are ok).

we used internal flights...buses are slow and time consuming

Regards

Trevor

1st visit to Vietnam

For your timeframe you are wise to just take in a few destinations otherwise it will no be a very enjoyable ';family vacation';.

KL to Hanoi with AA is an economical route especially if booked during their sales which run often, but well in advance. We have used them many times and are happy with them for what we pay.

I would stick with 3-4 days Hanoi, overnight train to Hue 3 days, minivan to Hoi An 4 days (nice beach, fantastic town, shopping, food etc and then fly down to Saigon to finish off.

Forget Laos for this trip as you simply do not have enough time for both countries. We have some pics and stories of our similar trip here... www.bobandjanette.com which may help.

Happy %26amp; safe travels