My husband and I have just returned from three weeks in Vietnam. I used this forum a lot when planning our trip so I thought I%26#39;d better give something back by posting a trip report (beware it%26#39;s very long!).
What We Learned:
I%26#39;m not sure I%26#39;d agree, but my husband thinks that two weeks in Vietnam is enough and that Hoi An and Nha Trang could be skipped.
Book tours and hotels in advance by e-mail during peak times.
Almost all organised tours will stop for twenty minute breaks in ';tourist traps';, selling souvenirs, food, etc.
Bargain, bargain, bargain!
Check your change.
Agree prices per person with taxi drivers, motorbike and cyclo riders in advance.
Tet officially lasts three days, but can go on
unofficially for a week or two.
If you are visiting during a busy time, like Tet, presume that the hotels listed in the guidebooks and in the top twenty on this website are probably booked out. Find a hotel that doesn%26#39;t have a website or an e-mail address and phone them to make the booking - more than likely you%26#39;ll get a room.
A lot of the motorbike and cyclo drivers are also drug dealers and pimps! We were offered drugs at every corner and if my husband was out on his own, he was offered a prostitute!
I know this is a contentious point, but we found the food to be just awful!
Vietnam isn%26#39;t for everyone - it%26#39;s very much a diamond in the rough. Visit with an open mind and a sense of adventure.
Our Trip:
We spent four nights in the Metropole Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. We arranged an airport pick-up. The hotel itself was fine and was in a good location. Our first obstacle was trying to figure out how to cross the road (do it very, very slowly and look left and right constantly!).
We went on a day trip the next day to the Mekong Delta with Sinh Caf茅. The bus takes three hours, which is very long for a day trip (I%26#39;d recommend spending at least one night in the Mekong Delta area). The bus itself was quite comfortable and the tour was ok though a little rushed - it was good to see the area. However, I slightly regret not going with a more upmarket tour operator.
Sinh Caf茅 itself was very busy - travellers and hawkers swarming everywhere - it was difficult to concentrate and get the damn tours booked. Getting the bus the next morning was even crazier - travellers everywhere with suitcases, backpacks, etc., with ladies selling towers of copies of Lonely Planet books milling their way through. It was really difficult to know which bus was ours and we weren%26#39;t the only ones who were confused! However, we were there during Tet, so maybe that had something to do with it.
The next day (Tet Eve) we went to the Cu Chi Tunnels (again with Sinh Caf茅). I think the bus journey took about an hour, though can%26#39;t remember exactly. The tunnels were interesting and were well worth the visit. However, due to Tet, it was one of the few attractions that were open, so it was swarmed with tourists. We couldn%26#39;t stop for longer than half a minute at each point of interest, as there would be another tour group coming up behind with their leader shouting at us to move on - it felt like a conveyor belt.
We went to the War Remnants Museum that afternoon - that was very good and was well worth the visit. That night we went to join the Tet celebrations on the street - flowers everywhere and fireworks at midnight! There was a great atmosphere. There were motorbikes everywhere though - I%26#39;ve never seen anything like it in my life! We went for a few drinks then in the backpacker area (can%26#39;t remember the name of the street). There is a really good atmosphere there. While sitting enjoying our drink, we saw an accident right in front of the bar, where one motorbike (a man, wife and child on it) crashed into a man on a motorbike in front. Then they ended up fist fighting in the middle of the road, with all the other bikes just swerving around them! The next day was Tet, so just chilled out.
We went onto Mui Ne the next day on a Sinh Cafe bus. It took about five hours. We had a nightmare trying to find accommodation - everywhere was booked out due to Tet. We ended up at the Panandus Resort, which was lovely, though was very busy. Also, I can%26#39;t explain it very well, but despite the pool, the beach, the gardens, etc., there just wasn%26#39;t a very nice atmosphere. Also, we ended up paying twice the going rate due to Tet. Despite what I had heard, I found Mui Ne itself not to be anything to write home about. The beach itself is quite littered and all of the hotels are directly on the beach, so you can%26#39;t see it from the road - there%26#39;s no promenade and it%26#39;s very spread out.
We only spent one night there and went to Nha Trang by Sinh Cafe sleeping bus the next night. Oh, the Sleeping Bus, what an experience! Leather reclining seats, all very nice, but we swore ';Never again!';. The bus just went ';Bumpety-bumpety-bump'; all the way. We were right at the back and the substitute bus driver was sleeping on top of the bags right behind our heads. I have never heard anyone snore like him ever, ever in my life. Nothing would wake up - his whole body was being lifted with the bumps on the road, but his snores seemed to just get louder! He wasn%26#39;t the only snorer either. There were loads of Vietnamese on the bus as well, and they had brought children, but hadn%26#39;t bought the seats for them, so of course, the kids weren%26#39;t comfortable and kept on waking up either talking or crying, so the parents ended up sleeping on the floor to give their kids the seats. When the bus stopped for a break, I had to climb over sleeping bodies to get out for some air. It was so stuffy I couldn%26#39;t breathe - they didn%26#39;t have the air con on. I got no sleep whatsoever.
We arrived in Nha Trang at around 5:45am and couldn%26#39;t check into our hotel for hours yet, so we dropped off our luggage and went to the beach to watch the sunrise - gorgeous. We went to the Asia Paradise Hotel then for breakfast - wasn%26#39;t great and was very busy. We were so tired at this stage that we couldn%26#39;t keep our eyes open, so we managed to convince the receptionist at the AP Hotel to let us check in early. It was an ok hotel, but wasn%26#39;t very clean - I certainly wouldn%26#39;t recommend it to a friend. I would say there are loads of better hotels in the same range. Unfortunately, again due to Tet, we had a nightmare finding accommodation! We went to the Long Son Pagoda that afternoon - really worth a visit, but full of beggars and hawkers. Two girls in shirts came up to us claiming to be students of the monks (yeah, right!) and trying to get us to buy postcards) - could not get rid of them. There%26#39;s also kids there who will ';mind'; your shoes while you go into the Pagoda and then get aggressive when you won%26#39;t give them money for it. We went to the Sailing Club bar and restaurant that night - it%26#39;s lovely, set right on the beach, but the prices are extortionate by Vietnamese standards. The Louisane Brewhouse is nice as well. We went to Vin Pearl resort the next day by cable car. We had a nice time there, though it%26#39;s all very fake - man-made beach and all that. All in all, I would say that Nha Trang is nice though a little smelly and didn%26#39;t feel as safe as the other places we visited in the country.
We flew from Nha Trang to Danang and headed to Hoi An. We got an airport pick up from our hotel, the An Huy. Nice hotel, but could have been cleaner. Also, there was no lift and every morning at about 4am, a rooster would wake us up - it didn%26#39;t stop all day! Hoi An itself is nice, though I found it to be the worst place for hawkers. (';You come in my shop?'; ';You buy?'; ';Hello!'; ';Where you from?'; ';Hey you!';.) We spent three nights there, but two would have sufficed. There isn%26#39;t much to do there except go shopping, and even then, nearly every shop sells the same thing. I wouldn%26#39;t bother buying tickets for the museums and preserved houses -they%26#39;re nothing to write home about to be honest. Also, there were massive rats everywhere at night time as all of the shops leave their rubbish on the streets. The beach is about a five minute drive from the town. It%26#39;s nice, but there aren%26#39;t much facilities around and it%26#39;s full of hawkers (Tip: wear sunglasses and pretend to be asleep when they walk by).
We got a bus with sleeper seats to head to Hu茅. The sleeper bus was far more comfortable during the day -the air con was on and we were near the front of the bus. We also figured out how to pull up the seats. We stayed in the Camellia Hotel, which was lovely and the staff were very professional. However, they have a nightclub and the boom, boom, boom noise from it goes on until midnight. It%26#39;s really very loud. We should have spent two nights in Hu茅, but we could only stay for one as our flights were already booked. It was very nice. We each got a cyclo ride around and saw all the sights. The Imperial City is really worth seeing.
We went on a private day tour of the DMZ with Mr. Vu (we found a thread recommending him on this site). His e-mail address is vudmz@yahoo.com. He was very professional, as was the driver. They brought us to all the major site, including the Vinh Moc tunnels. My husband is very interested in war history, so he found it fascinating.
We flew then from Hu茅 to Hanoi where we stayed in the Green Mango Hotel and Restaurant. It%26#39;s nice and clean with friendly staff, but perhaps a little overpriced for what%26#39;s on offer. It%26#39;s ';shabby chic'; and the food is nice, but there is no lift. We quite enjoyed Hanoi and went to all the major must-sees.
We went to Halong Bay for one night with Indochina Sails, leaving our luggage in our hotel in Hanoi. It takes a few hours to get there. Bear in mind that Halong City itself is not nice in my opinion. We were on their newest junk - it was lovely.
We went to Sapa then (one night on an overnight train, one night in the Chau Long Hotel and then one night on the train back to Hanoi). We left our luggage in our hotel in Hanoi. We reserved a two-berth soft sleeper cabin. This is an absolute must if you want to get a comfortable night%26#39;s sleep. The Chau Long Hotel was ok - it could do with renovation in some areas. I found the staff to be a little unfriendly. We had booked our tour with Handspan Travel, who were very professional. Sapa is absolutely beautiful, one of the nicest places I%26#39;ve ever been. We had a private guide who brought us to the surrounding villages. We ';trekked'; everywhere. Believe me it is tough work, especially as I%26#39;m quite unfit! Everywhere is steep and we took the hard routes to most places as we thought it would be more of an ';experience';! What was I thinking! Also, although the weather was supposed to be bad at this time of year, it was actually very hot - I got badly sunburned. You can buy or rent warm clothes and hiking gear in the town, so I wouldn%26#39;t bother bringing them. The hill tribes were very friendly, but they really work hard at selling their wares and will follow you around the town, up or down the mountain, everywhere - in the hope that you%26#39;ll buy something from them! We arrived back in Hanoi at something like 5am and went to the lake to watch the locals doing their Tai Chi as the sun rose. We then went to a caf茅 for breakfast and checked into our hotel.
Trip Report
';There isn%26#39;t much to do there except go shopping, and even then, nearly every shop sells the same thing. I wouldn%26#39;t bother buying tickets for the museums and preserved houses -they%26#39;re nothing to write home about to be honest.';
I beg to differ in your assessment of Hoi An! There is a great deal to do in the Hoi An area.
Trip Report
i am planing my trip to vietnam and would like to ask if the boats-junks in Halong Bay are clean?
are there any incects? like cocarachas? because some people that have visited Vietnam say its full!!
Isn%26#39;t it interesting how different people can have totally different experiences?
I guess we must not look like good customers for drugs- we were never once offered any, and my husband was not offered any prostitutes- I%26#39;m sure he would have told me so we could both have a good laugh, as we did in Macau :-) I feel jealous ;-D
We enjoyed the food, and while we love spicy food it%26#39;s not a requirement. So the subtle fresh flavours of regular VN food had much appeal.
We also loved Hoi An, and as we enjoy seeing how other people live and lived in the past, the museums and preserved houses were quite interesting to us. My husband especially is not a fan of museums that have endless shelves of stuff, so he really liked the preserved houses. The only place we felt pressured into entering shops/stalls was the cloth market, so our ';we%26#39;re not buying anything'; faces must have worked :-) We also only got to see one rat, a small, dead one.
I hope that in spite of your trials and tribulations you enjoyed your visit overall.
Wow...incredible how everyone has different experiences in the same country!!! Unfortunately, it doesn%26#39;t sound like you really enjoyed your trip to Vietnam - sounds like you were expecting something completely different..???
In our visits to VN, we neither, have ever been offered drugs or prostitutes, have never been short-changed and Mui Ne, Nha Trang and Hoi An are some of our fav places to spend time...mind you we also spend more than one or two nights in all of these towns.
Travelling at one of the busiest times in VN (Tet), probably wasn%26#39;t such a great idea, however, your trip seems to have been rather rushed and unplanned, with hotels, tours etc not booked in advance, something you should consider, when travelling at such a busy period.
Bus trips in VN - well, we%26#39;ve learnt you take the good with the bad!!
Thanks for sharing your experiences, good %26amp; bad, let%26#39;s hope you enjoyed at least some ';good'; memorable moments in a country that we think of, as one of the most wonderful places in the world.
rech :)
Thanks to all, as I am planning to go by tour operator and I wanted to get an idea on where we should stop and what to see. I had a good friend of mine go over last year and she just loved it.
I have taken notes from everyone to add...although I will have to get on the web to figure out when and what Tet is.
Cheers
My experience in 8 trips to Vietnam over the course of 4 years has been mostly positive. I guess it%26#39;s probably a matter of chance. One person will have mostly bad experiences while another will have mostly good. Your chances of a bad experience are increased when you go to Vietnam during Tet without a solid game plan. I never encountered any large numbers of vermin. My inexpensive hotels rooms were clean and the service was more than adequate. I loved the food and look forward to eating there again when I return next week.
Our last 6 trips to vietnam were all very pleasant. We always stay at the Asia Paradise Hotel while in Nha Trang and the service and rooms are all in good order? I can relate to the bus trips! Very bumby,slow and hot! Thats why we fly now to each location. TET is not the time to visit vietnam. Its a big long week holiday for them and everything is closed or busy with local vietnamese traveling up and down the country to be with family. At times it can get be tough on the handycap. I have seen that for some of the tourist there. But planning a head with a good local viet travel company can be very useful for the handycap. Happy Travels
Rina,
I laughed so hard with your snoring problem on the bus. Same thing happen to us at the foot massage place, the man next to me snore so loud, I can%26#39;t enjoy my massage at all. I think if you return to VN and book a private tour, you might enjoy it more than Sinh Cafe. Sinh Cafe is a very budget tour company.
Good warts %26amp; all report! Unfortunately if you do take the budget option %26amp; travel by bus, it will be assumed that you are a poor backpacker %26amp; you will be disrespected %26amp; treated accordingly.
Personally I much prefer Hoi An, especially the beach, to Nha Trang, which is the most overrated place in VN and being steadily ruined by high-rise development and greedy locals. But each to their own I guess!
Reading back over my trip report, it does seem a little negative - I hadn%26#39;t intended on it being that way! I actually enjoyed our holiday, despite it%26#39;s ups and downs! I%26#39;m glad we visited during Tet as there was a great atmosphere - finding accommodation was the only problem. We don%26#39;t like booking in advance. We like to leave our options open, eciding as we go along how much time we%26#39;ll spend in each place. We hate being tied down. Having said that we did loads of preparation (I know the Lonely Planet guide on the country almost be heart by now!). I had visited Hanoi and Halong Bay a couple of years ago for work, so I had a fair idea of what to expect.
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