Long Haul Destination Ideas

blindman

Moneygrabber89 wrote: »

Your like the Vietnam guro haha. Thanks mate.

You been to Vietnam multiple times I assume?

He is

Stick to his recommendations. :cool:

We went in March and stayed 3 weeks.

We stayed in Hanoi for 3 days, (about right for the city)then went to Halong bay for a 1 night cruise.

Then got a taxi to Ninh Binh for a 1 night stop (midday arrival then a 23:00 train the following day).

Overnight train to Danang then taxi to Hoi An

Stayed a couple of nights in Hoi An (more than enough for sight seeing).

Then onward (flight) to HCMC and other places.

So that was about 7 days up to the flight to HCMC.

You could easily make this into 14 as there are trips to Hue from Danang and then North from Hanoi there is Sapa.

Other coastal resorts have nice beaches so you can laze on them for a few days.

Very cheap accommodation\food\beer and transport. :rotfl:

I would consider returning to fill out the bits we missed.

Doshwaster

PompeyPete wrote: »

In that case I reckon Hanoi including day and/or overnight [eg. Halong Bay] trips, plus Hoi An would be enough. Halong Bay involves 2 full days if you did it as it's a long drive each way.

Hmmm... With 12 nights (plus 2 travel days) to play with I would be tempted to go with

3 nights Hanoi (maybe 4 if you have a late arrival on day 1)
1 night Halong Bay
3 nights Hue
3-4 nights Hoi An
1 night back in Hanoi before flight home

I'd skip Danang as apart from the airport there really isn't much of interest there.

Some people don't like Hoi An as they find it too quiet and a bit "fake" I found it to be a charming. I was unlucky with the weather in Hue when I was there a few months ago so I would like to go back as I didn't get chance to explore as much as I wanted.

We'll save our recommendations for southern Vietnam for another trip.

richardw

Btw https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Bi_International_Airport#Airlines_and_destinations is possible from Halong Bay and saves going back to Hanoi.

PompeyPete

richardw wrote: »

Btw https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Bi_International_Airport#Airlines_and_destinations is possible from Halong Bay and saves going back to Hanoi.

Yep, the theory is sound but the practice isn't. Flights in and out of these small domestic airports are notorious for delays and cancellations....great if it works, time lost if it doesn't, and on a short trip time is precious.

PompeyPete

Doshwaster wrote: »

Hmmm... With 12 nights (plus 2 travel days) to play with I would be tempted to go with

3 nights Hanoi (maybe 4 if you have a late arrival on day 1)
1 night Halong Bay
3 nights Hue
3-4 nights Hoi An
1 night back in Hanoi before flight home

I'd skip Danang as apart from the airport there really isn't much of interest there.

Yep, you could do that. It's extra dead time though travelling [to and from Halong Bay] and hanging round airports. Tbh I'd skip Halong Bay altogether as there's plenty to see in and around Hanoi.

As Danang is the airport for Hoi An and getting back to Hanoi it's difficult to skip.....I wouldn't stop there on a short trip. We have stayed there though for 5 nights and enjoyed it, hardly any tourists, some decent lesser visited sights, and a train station handy for getting to Hue.

We liked Hue but chose the wrong time to go.....caught in a Tropical Depression for 5 days.....plenty of beer [Saigon Green Label] and people watching time.

Doshwaster

PompeyPete wrote: »

We liked Hue but chose the wrong time to go.....caught in a Tropical Depression for 5 days.....plenty of beer [Saigon Green Label] and people watching time.

I was pretty lucky with the weather in Vietnam last September but did hit a 2 day downpour in Hue. Fortunately my hotel was just off the main Beer Street so there were loads of bars around

As I always say, you have to expect some rain in SE Asia and keep your plans flexible. If you want 2 weeks of unbroken sunshine then go to Dubai.

PompeyPete

Doshwaster wrote: »

I was pretty lucky with the weather in Vietnam last September but did hit a 2 day downpour in Hue. Fortunately my hotel was just off the main Beer Street so there were loads of bars around

As I always say, you have to expect some rain in SE Asia and keep your plans flexible. If you want 2 weeks of unbroken sunshine then go to Dubai.

Like this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1HBNXoQZLM

Moneygrabber89

Is there no quick way to get from halong bay to hoi ann instead of going back to Hanoi. Think we will give hue a miss as recently went to Japan do all templed out

PompeyPete

Moneygrabber89 wrote: »

Is there no quick way to get from halong bay to hoi ann instead of going back to Hanoi. Think we will give hue a miss as recently went to Japan do all templed out

See #34, plus...

https://www.catbiinternational.com/

Also see #35.

Vietjet and Vietnam Airlines cover the route to Da Nang. Make sure you look on their official websites and not a dodgy look-alike website. Okay, here you are...

https://www.vietjetair.com/Sites/Web/en-US/Home
https://www.vietnamairlines.com/

You haven't got a lot of time. You can rush around and hope everything fits into place.....if it does then great, but if it doesn't?

PompeyPete

Just found this very recent thread off the Vietnam Forum on Trip Advisor about getting a flight from Cat Bi to Da Nang...

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g293923-i9984-k11061968-How_to_do_Ha_long_to_haiphong-Halong_Bay_Quang_Ninh_Province.html

Your call.