Vietnam 2020

Dottydingo

Im looking at planning a trip to Vietnam next April
So looking for some advice 😊

Theres myself, husband & 15yr son, we have about 16 days inc travel & about a £4k budget.
We have travelled quite abit of Thailand & Sri lanka which we all absolutely love.

Anyway does anyone have any ideas on best parts to visit at that time of year?

PompeyPete

Have a look at this link...

https://www.selectiveasia.com/vietnam-holidays/weather/april

It should give a reasonable idea of which areas are best in April

Wherever you decide to go, the country is great value for money. My advice though is not to over commit yourself to an over ambitious itinerary.....Less = More.

It's very easy to self-guide, domestic flights are good with Vietjet or Vietnam Airlines. Make sure use their official websites as there's plenty of look-alikes, ditto with hotels.

Vietnamese money the dong, plastic notes, and no coins.

It's a fantastic country with very friendly people, good food and cheap drinks.

northwest1965

Dottydingo wrote: »

Im looking at planning a trip to Vietnam next April
So looking for some advice 😊

Theres myself, husband & 15yr son, we have about 16 days inc travel & about a £4k budget.
We have travelled quite abit of Thailand & Sri lanka which we all absolutely love.

Anyway does anyone have any ideas on best parts to visit at that time of year?

We're planning our 1st trip next February (late).
We're flying to HCMC and doing Danang, Hue and Hanoi with Halong Bay. Planning to do an internal flight

PompeyPete

northwest1965 wrote: »

We're planning our 1st trip next February (late).
We're flying to HCMC and doing Danang, Hue and Hanoi with Halong Bay. Planning to do an internal flight

Da Nang as a destination ain't that good, you need to be closeby at Hoi An. Fly to Da Nang, then a taxi to Hoi An, it's not expensive.

If your next destination after Da Nang [Hoi An] is Hue, then it's a really scenic and cheap 4 hour train journey from Da Nang. There's train from Da Nang @ 0835 every morning. 3rd Class is best as the the windows are open, ie. no dirty glass windows to look through. It's also a very authentic way to travel, mixing with the locals. Ask your hotel to book the tickets for you.....very cheap, and you need to sit on the right hand side going to Hue for the best views.

Hue is alright, quite spread out though, so you'll need to use taxis to get between the sights. We were completely washed out there for 5 days by a Tropical Depression, but that was September.

It's easy to book Halong Bay via your hotel in Hanoi. ALL hotels have travel desks, and are usually very good as they need to keep up a good reputation.

Imo don't be tempted with Sapa. Nice place, but currently blighted by over construction, and far too much hasle by over enthusiastic vendors and touts.

A word on internal flights. When they're good they're very good, but they often get disrupted by the weather, or frequent schedule changes. The earlier you book the more likely the schedule will change, often more than once.

The north, ie Hanoi can be quite cool in February.

Doshwaster

northwest1965 wrote: »

We're planning our 1st trip next February (late).
We're flying to HCMC and doing Danang, Hue and Hanoi with Halong Bay. Planning to do an internal flight

I'd skip Danang itself as there isn't much there apart from Chinese casinos and "massage" parlours but it is has a decent airport so is good gateway to the middle of the country and is in reach of Hue and Hoi An.

Internal airfares in Vietnam can be excellent value but take their published schedules with a huge pinch of salt as bad weather and general SEAsian attitudes to timekeeping cause regular delays and cancellations.

northwest1965

We were planning on 2 nights in Danang at a beach resort to just chill, should we change this?

so far we have
2 nights HCMC
1 night Mekong Delta
1 night HCMC
3 nights Hoi An
2 nights Danang
2 Hue
1 afternoon Hanoi
2 nights Halong Bay Cruise
2 nights Hanoi

I appreciate we are all different, but how should this be changed?

PompeyPete

northwest1965 wrote: »

We were planning on 2 nights in Danang at a beach resort to just chill, should we change this?

so far we have
2 nights HCMC
1 night Mekong Delta
1 night HCMC
3 nights Hoi An
2 nights Danang
2 Hue
1 afternoon Hanoi
2 nights Halong Bay Cruise
2 nights Hanoi

I appreciate we are all different, but how should this be changed?

A lot of travelling, plenty of opportunity for delays. That'll give you less time in your next place, and as you don't have much time anywhere that could leave you disappointed.

You really don't seem to have allowed for any travelling time, and travel can be very time consuming and frustrating.

Can't see much point in accommodation in Da Nang and Hoi An. If beach time is important then just stay in Da Nang, and taxi it to Hoi An for days/evenings.

Halong Bay is 5 hours by road each way from Hanoi, plus on the day you go you'll have already travelled fro Hue. Hue airport is tiny and a fair ride south of the city.

Only my opinion, I'm sure someone else will chip in.

Doshwaster

northwest1965 wrote: »

We were planning on 2 nights in Danang at a beach resort to just chill, should we change this?

so far we have
2 nights HCMC
1 night Mekong Delta
1 night HCMC
3 nights Hoi An
2 nights Danang
2 Hue
1 afternoon Hanoi
2 nights Halong Bay Cruise
2 nights Hanoi

I appreciate we are all different, but how should this be changed?

I would skip Danang totally and add the time onto Hoi An or Hue

Consider whether Halong Bay is worth 2 nights.Personally I thought 1 night was sufficient. Apparently the roads from Hanoi have improved since I was there 4 years ago so the transfer time should be less now.

Doing Vietnam from HCMC to Hanoi in 2 weeks is still a stretch and as PP says doesn't allow much slack for delays

richardw

Btw there are direct flights from Da Nang to Cat Bi on VietJet and Vietnam airlines.
You can get from Cat Bi air port to HaLong Bay https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g303944-i13450-k5220360-Transportation_Hai_Phong_airport_to_Halong_Bay-Hai_Phong.html

slinga

northwest1965 wrote: »

We were planning on 2 nights in Danang at a beach resort to just chill, should we change this?

so far we have
2 nights HCMC
1 night Mekong Delta
1 night HCMC
3 nights Hoi An
2 nights Danang
2 Hue
1 afternoon Hanoi
2 nights Halong Bay Cruise
2 nights Hanoi

I appreciate we are all different, but how should this be changed?

You are definitely trying to do too much in too little time.

northwest1965

Day 1 Arrive in HCMC at 1.30pm
Day 2 HCMC
Day 3 Mekong Delta
Day 4 Mekong Delta (this is a cruise) can be changed
Day 5 Fly to Dananag and take a car to Hoi An
Day 6 Hoi An
Day 7 Hoi An
Day 8 Train to Danang Beach Should we extend Hoi An instead?
Day 9 Danang Beach
Day 10 Train to Hue
Day 11 Hue
Day 12 Fly to Hanoi
Day 13 Halong Bay Cruise Isn't this a 3hr trip (not 5?)
Day 14 Halong Bay Cruise
Day 15 Travel back from Halong to Hanoi
Day 16 Hanoi
Day 17 Fly home

I am really out of my depth a bit, so how should we change this?