Vietnam

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Discussion

simons123

Original Poster:

196 posts

22 months

Saturday 6th January
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Should hopefully get a bonus end of Jan so was thinking of booking a last minute trip (End of Feb) to Vietnam for 10-14 days.

Was wondering if it's better to go the south or north of Vietnam? If both how easy is it to get from the south to the north? Any recommendations for places to go?

Thanks in advance.

SimonTheSailor

12,684 posts

234 months

Saturday 6th January
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Very easy to get from the north to the south (or vice versa).
Coaches/buses/trains/motorbike tours..........

Saigon more of a modern city than Hanoi.
Not much time to do both areas.
I'd stay in the north - go up to Sapa on a train and chill out in the mountains and see the real Vietnam.

reggie82

1,372 posts

184 months

Saturday 6th January
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Agree with Simon, I much preferred the north.

Sapa is amazing, but make sure you go trekking as the town itself isn’t great and you need to get out into the rice fields to see the beauty. Ha Giang, Hanoi, Ninh Binh and Halong Bay all lovely and well worth visiting.

Old Merc

3,541 posts

173 months

Saturday 6th January
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Definitely visit Halong Bay, take a boat trip that includes a stop at Hang Sung Sot cave, amazing place.

daqinggregg

2,653 posts

135 months

Sunday 7th January
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Couple of things to note; depending on how late in February, you’re going.

Tet holidays, (Lunar New Year) is the 10th of February, think of a bit like UK Christmas. In rural areas some places may be closed for up 20 days.

Weather in the North can get a bit chilly especially in the evening, think high teens to mid 20’s. If heading to the mountains in the North, temps can drop into single digits.

Travel: Many great options, but if time is limited as in your case, domestic flights are plentiful and cheap. Download the Grab app for taxis.

mark seeker

815 posts

213 months

Sunday 7th January
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As others have said, definitely avoid Tet, it isn't a complete shutdown in the major cities for more than a couple of days, but if you are in somewhere small expect it to be very closed (I once visited during the period and we had 1 restaurant open, everything else was firmly closed).

I really recommend Hoi An if you want a break from the hustle and bustle of the cities, Hanoi and Saigon are both worth visiting, great experiences but intense noisy places (although food like no other).

JP78

68 posts

150 months

Sunday 7th January
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One of the best holidays I have ever had, as others mentioned it will be lunar new year (Tet) but we also went at this time and it was fine.

It depends on the type of holiday you want and whether you prefer staying in one place for a while or you like travelling about a bit. Our trip packed a lot in but didn’t feel too rushed at all.

We started in Hanoi, stayed for a couple of days checked out the major sights and then went and did a boat trip for two days on Halong Bay.

We then flew down to Hoi An and spent a few days there during the Lunar New Year which was great, Most places were still open, plus there were great firework and lantern displays on New Year’s eve. We rented a scooter and checked out some of the temples in the area too which was fun.

We then headed down to Ho Chi Minh we checked the sights and I highly recommend booking a Vespa Adventures food tour. We also visited the Cu Chi tunnels which I definitely recommend. Make sure you book a boat transfer to get to the tunnels, most people take the bus but the boat is much better as you get the Apocalypse Now vibes and arrive well before all the tourists turn up on their coaches.

We then flew to the island of Phu Quoc to spend the last 3 days relaxing on the beach which was awesome. We stayed at the Salinda Resort in one of their villas which was very nice indeed.

As I said it is quite a lot in 14 days but very doable if you want to check out a lot of the country on one trip.