Vietnam

[cennals05]

Heading off to Vietnam for 3 weeks in January. Haven't booked or planned anything other than the flights in and out. Fly into Hanoi and out of HCM.

Anybody got any 'must see' places?

[Mic]

Been to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. Crazy traffic and great/cheap food. Did day tours out to Halong Bay and the Cu Chi Tunnels which were very enjoyable.

Have heard lots of good things about Hoi An and Sapa, as well as Nha Trang.

[godoubleblues]

spent a couple of weeks in Vietnam in 08
Halong Bay is a must, beautiful place, if you can spend a night on a junk, do it, takes you out to some of the islands in the bay
also visit Hoi An and Hue, fab places, we did a cooking class in Hoi An and had a blast, also some cheap taylors in Hoi An
Hue is full of history and yeh Hanoi and HCMC are mad houses, great fun though

and the place is so cheap, $1 tiger beers

[pompy]

Hoi An and Hue were my 2 fav spots. Hoi An is a beautiful town with great french artchitecture, a relaxing feel and and awesome restaurants. The old town lights up at night with lanterns and the riverfront is gorgeous. Hue is an amazing place which a lot of people leave off their itinerary. Get yourself a motorbike taxi for the day - cheap as chips and he will take u around to all the historical sights, tombs, temples and ruins, as well as the amazing citadel. I didn't like Hanoi, but I enjoyed HCMC. Halong Bay was ok but I was expecting a bit more to be honest. I hear Phu Quoc (an island south of the country, very close to Cambodia) has great beaches and a relaxing place to spend a few nights to a week but I didnt make it here.

[Cambridge Clarrie]

G'day mate,

A guy I work with has just been over to Vietnam and has posted some great blogs onto our website. There's some good info on places to visit as well as some video footage of him travelling around.

http://www.raa.com.au/travel_blog.aspx?SecID=274&act=list&tagid=45

Hope you find it useful...

Cheers.

[cennals05]

G'day mate,

A guy I work with has just been over to Vietnam and has posted some great blogs onto our website. There's some good info on places to visit as well as some video footage of him travelling around.

http://www.raa.com.au/travel_blog.aspx?SecID=274&act=list&tagid=45

Hope you find it useful...

Cheers.

Thanks, great information. I remember John from when I worked at the RAA!

[TroyGFC]

do a 3-4 day trip on halong bay on a junk. also hoi an is a must.

[TroyGFC]

i highly recommend a scooter at hoi an, quite easy to ride around compazred to hanoi and siagon. we drove all along the countryside there over rice paddies, best part of holiday, beats doing tourist stuff!!

[scottroo]

thinking of heading over with a mate at the end of the year for 10 days or so, including new years, anyone been? what are the places i must see?

[Dirko]

Halong Bay
Hoi An
Hue
Mekong
Cu Chi

Vietnam is an awesome spot.

[godoubleblues]

Halong Bay
Hoi An
Hue
Mekong
Cu Chi

Vietnam is an awesome spot.

I concur

and Tiger beer is very cheap

[pompy]

Halong Bay
Hoi An
Hue
Mekong
Cu Chi

Vietnam is an awesome spot.

I concur

and Tiger beer is very cheap

You could give Cu Chi a miss if you dont have time out of that list. Tiger beer not so cheap - better off with Beer Hoi or 'Fresh Beer' - 10-20cents a glass depending where you are. You will find them on street corners -you could shout the neighbourhood a round for a couple of bux!

[cennals05]

thinking of heading over with a mate at the end of the year for 10 days or so, including new years, anyone been? what are the places i must see?

I went for 18 days back in January. Love the place. Everything is so cheap.

We started in Hanoi and worked our way down to Saigon.

The places I’d definitely recommend are Halong Bay, Hoi An, Nha Trang and Saigon.

Halong Bay will be cold at the time you are planning to go but is still worth it. An absolutely beautiful part of the world. We did an overnight stay on a boat and the food they serve is amazing. I really want to go back when it’s warmer.

Hoi An is lovely. If you want any clothes, shoes or anything made this is where to do it, but you’d need a few days if you wanted to do that. One night in Hoi An is fine if all you want to do is see the place.

Nha Trang is the place to relax. We spent 4 days here and just ate, drank and got massages (not those kind of massages). The Sailing Club is a must on one of the nights.

Saigon. Be prepared for the crazy traffic. If you have time I’d recommend at least a day trip to Long Tan. We did an overnight tour and stayed in Vung Tau at The Grand Hotel. We did the trek from Nui Dat to Long Tan. We also visited the Ba Ria Orphanage which was opened by the AVVRG. Our tour guide was amazing and this was definitely the highlight of the trip for me.

Otherwise in Saigon, there are the markets, the American War Museum and the Reunification Palace. We also did a day trip out to the Mekong Delta and to Cu Cu Tunnels. Both were good.

[Q.]

Not to put you off going there, but it will pay to do some research on Halong Bay junk boat tours. Have heard some horror stories, including the following from an Melbournian I met in Chiang Mai.

http://journals.worldnomads.com/chilleep/story/66029/Vietnam/Halong-Bay-MUTINY-Raise-the-Jolly-Roger

[cennals05]

Not to put you off going there, but it will pay to do some research on Halong Bay junk boat tours. Have heard some horror stories, including the following from an Melbournian I met in Chiang Mai.

http://journals.worldnomads.com/chilleep/story/66029/Vietnam/Halong-Bay-MUTINY-Raise-the-Jolly-Roger

Yes about 3 weeks after we got back a boat sunk and 12 people died. Some of the boats do look dodgy. You can get different levels of tours. We didn't do the cheapest one and booked ours in the Tourist Information Centre in Hanoi.