Vietnam Holiday! Ideas & Suggestions ?

Question

We are planning a holiday to Vietnam in August this year. We are mid age, but enjoy doing our own thing. This is the itineary we have come with, talking to travel agents, reading guide books etc.

Has anybody been or know any hotels / stayed at them or make any suggestions on somthing we should not miss.. add-on to itin or change. Also looking for value for money .. any booking agents reccomendations.

Arrivie Saigon -5 nights at Grand Hotel Saigon

Cu Chi Tunnels Tour

Transfer to Saigon Airport

Domestic flight from Saigon to Nha Trang with Vietnam Airlines

Transfer to Nha Trang Accommodation

3 nights accommodation at Ana Mandara Hotel Nha Trang

Trsf to Nha Trang Airport

Domestic flight from Nha Trang to Hanoi - Vietnam Airlines

Trsf from Hanoi Airport to Hanoi

2 nights accommodation at Hilton Opera Hotel Hanoi

Trsf from Hanoi to Halong Bay

3Days/2nights Dragon Pearl Cruise Halong Bay

Then 1 more night at Hanoi Hilton b4 flight to Saigon to connect to Intl flt.

Answer 1

My suggestion would be too late for your upcoming trip because you seem to have already planned every aspect of it. Next time, I would suggest that you keep a loose schedule and make your itinerary as you please while there. You will spend more time enjoying the experience and less time worrying about keeping to your itinerary.

It sounds like you're traveling rather plush, which could prevent you from experinecing the real beauty of Vietnam. Being with the Vietnamese people and making friends with them is a life changing experience. I would suggest that you find a means to acquire a guide from one of the schools there. There are numerous universities and trade schools who have students learning English. They would love to be a guide and usually only for the cost of their travels with you. You will have an interpreter, someone who can haggle with the local merchants on your behalf and a lifelong friend.

While in Saigon, you will want to visit Binh Thanh Market, the various museums and simply walk through the city from the Zoo, past the Cathedral and to Ben Thanh Market. Try to spend a day at Vung Tau Beach. You could spend some time at Suoi Tien Amusement Park and feed the crocodiles there. Cu Chi was a big disappointment to me, and I regrest going there. However, that is a personal opinion.

You want to talk to Ong Jon about Nha Trang, because that is his adopted hometown. He knows more about Nha Trang than anyone else I know.

In Ha Noi, you will be in Hoan Kiem District and close enough to walk to most of the major attractions there. Go to the Temple of Literature, Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, St. John's Cathedral and, of course, see an opera at the opera house next door to your hotel. Get up early and walk around Hoan Kiem Lake with the rest of the Hanoians.

While cruising through Ha Long Bay, DO NOT SWIM IN THE WATER. The sewage system in Vietnam is non-existant, which is part of the reason why the water there has a beautiful shade of green. Also be careful of what you eat and drink while on the boat.

Your tight itinerary missed an important destination, which is Hue. At Hue, you can vist the Nguyen Emperor Tombs, the Purple City and enjoy Vietnamese folk music while moored on a boat in the middle of the Perfume River. You should see if you could fit a couple days visiting Hue into your itinerary.

Have a great trip!

Answer 2

Wonderful! Of all my travels through North and Central America, Europe and Asia, I've never seen a country as beautiful, a people as friendly, helpful, gentle but fiercely proud, a culture so colorful and rich, a cuisine so varied and delicious as what I found in Vietnam. Such a treasure of the world so well hidden from most of humanity for such a long time and is just now being truly discovered and appreciated!

Saigon: The Grand Hotel is a 4-star hotel with a classic architecture that was built back in colonial time but completely renovated in 1997. Great rooms and services too. For another $20/day, you could, if you prefer, stay at the more modern, 5-star New World Hotel on 76 Le Lai St. President Clinton and his party stayed there during his 2000 state visit to Vietnam. The secret service and the embassy staff compared all the hotels in Saigon for months before decided on that one.

Remember that when you make your reservation at any of the 4 or 5 star hotels, you can also book your airport transfers through them as well. It costs a mere $ 10 or $12/person/each way and they'll pick you up right after you get through customs inside the terminal.

While in Saigon, make sure you visit Reunification Hall (the former Independence Palace), the home of the former presidents of the now defunct South Vietnam. It's preserved almost as it was on April 30, 1975 with all its beautiful furnishings and even a war bunker in the basement where President Thieu directed operations throughout the country back then.

I do recomment you shorten your stay in Saigon from 5 down to 3 days so you can use the time to visit Hoian after your stay in Nha Trang. You won't need more than 3 days in Saigon anyway.

Nha Trang: Great choice on the Ana Mandara. Before you're set on it, however, check out the Sofitel Vinpearl Resort as well. It's about $20 less/night and is located on an island.

After Nha Trang, I'd recommend flying to Da Nang. From there, take a day trip north to visit Hue, the former imperial capital and another to the south to visit Hoian, a UNESCO World Heritage site , an interesting 16th-17th century port city with original architecture from the period.

Hanoi: The Hilton Opera Hotel is a great choice too. However, before you book there, check out the Nikko Hotel also. It's rated at 5-star, more modern and it costs about $45/night less. Friends have told me the Nikko's staff seems to be much more attentive and efficient than that at the Hilton (and the Hilton is already very good!)

While in Hanoi, make sure you visit the Presidential Palace. The Vietnamese President receives official visitors there but does not live there so the complex is open to the public when there are no official functions that day. While there, visit the late President Ho Chi Minh's residence on the ground of the palace. The old revolutionary refused to live in the palace itself and instead, lived and worked in the former gardener's house during his presidency and until his death (1954-1969).

Also visit the Temple of Literature, the first university in Vietnam dating back to the 11th century (and one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the world) and while there, attend a concert of classical Vietnamese music. Notice the stone stelae where the names of succesful doctoral candidates were engraved and preserved for many centuries.

The Army Museum is another must see. To understand modern Vietnamese history, especially the Vietnam War, one must understand Vietnamese military history throughout the ages and this is the place. There are no gory displays so do not be concerned. You'll have a new understanding of the Vietnamese people after your visit to this museum.

Last question: Why do you have to fly back to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to connect to an international flight? From Hanoi you can fly to anywhere in the world via Hong Kong or Canton...

P.S. The weather in August will be hot throughout Vietnam. In fact, in the summer, it's hotter in the North than in the South. Also, the summer is also the rainy season which lasts from April through October. Why not wait until October or better yet November? It'll be so much cooler and dryer then.

Answer 3

get up early , on the street or down at the beach [ nha trang] by 5am at least once in a while. walk the public parks and dont be afraid to venture down narrow alleyways. meet as many of the people there you can, that includes not only vietnamese but back-packers and ex pats too.. "anna" is great so is the hilton ,but you dont have to go to viet nam to do that..those places are the same all over the world. get out on the street,rent a bicycle, go to the cheap bars, have coffee and "beer hoi" on the sidewalk, eat some pho...go a little slumming ..it will be, i promis, the best part of your trip. it will turn a vacation into an adventure. dont travel all that way and miss the real viet nam... tell all the xich lo drivers at "anna" ong jon says hello!