Anyone been? Thinking about a trip in January with my partner and little one (will be nearly two).Vague plans are for something family friendly and beachy but hoping to see some history, temples and stuff if accessible. Have been mainly looking at the central/southern areas (anyone been to Phu Quoc?) but any and all tips welcome!
I was there for a month but it was back in 2008 and I never went to Phu Quoc (can’t remember why). Went to a bunch of other places though - Hanoi, Halong Bay / Cat Ba / Monkey Island, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang (scuba diving), Dalat, Cat Tien (night safari), Mue Ne (sand dunes), Ho Chi Minh, Can Tho (floating markets). Avoided all the war stuff. Amazing place.
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We went a few years ago. Hoi An is beautiful and probably covers all the things in your list - temples, history, great food. There are plenty of beaches round there and Da Nang too. Don’t think I’d recommend Hue with a toddler from our experience there, but Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh would have plenty to see and do, though they’re very busy.
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We took our (then) just 3yo and 5yo last year and they absolutely loved it.
Started in Hanoi, travelled down to Hoi An (stayed here halfway between the old town and An Bang beach), then on to Nha Trang (which is not a nice town, but there’s some great resorts down the coast) and finally HCMC. Spent about 3.5 weeks there in total and got around on overnight trains (kids loved those) and Grab taxis.
Would highly recommend.
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Bumping this as considering it for Christmas. Did you make it @jeffpistachiomagnum ?
We did! Loved it. Will do a post in a bit
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I think the time you want to go is dry season so you can go anywhere. Be warned, its a tough country to get around - the train system looks adventurous but is torturously slow and tiring. Vietnamese use domestic flights to hop between north - central - south.
I’ve done the central triangle before : Da Nang-Hue-Hoi An, and recommend it. Hue is the Imperial capital and has culture galore, great authentic coffee shops and amazing regional food of its own (try the dish Bun Bo Hue), and is about 2 hours from the country’s 3rd largest city and transport hub, Da Nang. Da Nang is also considered a foodie city by Vietnamese. Its got a Miamish city coastline with a gentle sloping beach that stretches for kilometre after kilometre without being a deckchair rental hell. Its not at the crystal clear or idyllic standard of South East Asian islands but there’s a down to earth feeling in how its used by locals as a city beach. There are traditional circular spinning fishing boats there too. Hue by the way has amazing jungle temples in its outskirts - get a taxi to take you around sunrise and youre basically the only person walking around an ancient temple or palace in a unique setting. The city centre itself has an impressive large palace thats pleasant to walk around.
Hoi An is about 40 minutes away from Da Nang by taxi (dont stress, its cheapest way to do it), unfortunately when I went the public bus there was just not operating which is crazy given how much of a tourist town it is. It’s an ancient trading town with canals, great for a boat ride in the town or nearby in the estuary in a traditional circular spimning fishing boat. As touristy shopping areas go in Asia, its actually quite good. The place comes alive at night with lanterns in and above the canals which makes for a pretty incredible spectacle. There’s a famous Banh Mi shop (Vietnamese sandwich in French baguette) there that Anthony Bourdain visited which eveeyone goes to but is worth it - just top tier Vietnamese Banh Mi. Hoi An also has more deserted beach style possibilities as there is a giant sandy spit a little past the town at the river’s estuary.
Da Nang and Hue are also good bases for day trips into the interior to mountains, rice paddies or lost jungle ruins. There are many excursions offered. Between Da Nang and Hue is the famous mountain pass from Easy Rider which many people hire a motorbike to ride up and down. The railway line between those two cities snakes along coastal mountains and is one of the most scenic routes in the world, but takes 4 hours instead of 2 by road, is not so comfortable and suffers from train windows that are not cleaned and scuffed making it hard to capture the view properly by camera.
In Vietnam you get around everywhere really by motorbike taxi (terrifying but normal) or car taxi through an app called Grab. This fills in gaps in local towns close to non-existent public transport systems.
What really attracted me to that area was the way you can relatively easily use each of the 3 cities as part of the same holiday with a different focus in each. I live in a big city so wasnt so desperate to sample Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi as they are pricier and a bit more intense. Central Vietnam is a bit more rough at times, but more laidback. Were I going there again (I hope too), I’d use the same three central cities and bolt on a few days maybe in northern Vietnam.
Get a (legit) massage in a boutique/high end parlour while in Vietnam. I’ve had massages in most Asian countries, the Vietnamese experience is the best for price value and when done in a well-reviewed place the best for relaxation and therapy. Best massage Ive had in my life was in Da Nang, though I bet you can find that in many cities with good research.
I cannot stress enough - almost every meal whether a hole in the wall place or a place you research online …is incredible. Such fresh ingredients, just even eating their salads that are customarially served with soup noodle dishes is heavenly.
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Me and Mrs did Vietnam- Cambodia - Vietnam in 2018. Travelled around by bus and got a boat up the Mekong river up to Cambodia. Had a fantastic time, except for picking up dengue fever when I got home. That was terrible.
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Quy Nhon for a really lovely non touristy central city and Con Dao island would be my top recommendations!
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Back in 1998 I spent a month in Vietnam and travelled from Hanoi down to Ho Chi Minh City with 4 days travelling round The Mekong Delta with a bloke and his son on a boat. Seems like a dream now but it was real. I’d never go back because I had such an incredible time and wouldn’t want to run the risk of spoiling that .The Vietnamese were exceptional people, I’m even very slightly welling up now even thinking about it. I do remember a place where I stopped (which I wasn’t going to but actually as the bus stopped there and locals were getting off I thought bollocks to it and grabbed my rucksack) and glad I did. It was a place called Nim Binh (if my memory serves me correctly) and you float on boats on rivers that run through caves. It was a top spot. Some best experiences were going to small towns and hiring a bike for the day and go just go cycling around the area. Everyone wanted to meet you and say hello and shake your hand or invite you in for tea. If they spoke English or not. Great times.
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I was there a year or two ago and had a similar experience. Vietnamese maybe the nicest people I’ve had the pleasure of encountering. It’s a great country
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I’m happy to hear it hasn’t changed much 
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Yeah I loved it, loads of fun inquisitive friendly people to meet! Staying in homestays is the best there, end up getting roped in to some good adventures most of the time
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So we went in January for just over two weeks. A little more of a well trodden path and used internal flights rather than the train as we would have liked, as we had our toddler with us. Would have loved to go to the hills in the North or Ninh Binh, but will keep them on the list for next time. One thing we realised doing our research is that as a long ass country, the weather differs considerably region to region. e.g. In December it looks like Hanoi averages 15 degrees and 28 degrees in Ho Chi Minh City.
Really loved Hanoi. The old quarter is popular with tourists but still full of charm and character. Enjoyed going to the Ho Chi Minhs museum and stilt house, water puppets (traditional puppetry telling stories from Vietnamese folklore accompanied by live band) and just eating a lot tbh. As @kostenurky says, could be a hut with a couple of plastic chairs but will serve the most amazing, flavourful dishes. And it’s not gone unnoticed. There’s a Michelin guide walking tour apparently. We stayed at Maison D’Orient Hotel, a small and friendly place, super reasonable, in a great location and run by lovely people. Would stay again.
Ha Long Bay was easily reachable from Hanoi and plenty of places will organise taxi’s/busses. This appears to be a seasonal attraction as it was completely dead when we went. There were still boat trips running to the islands, very misty and drizzly which ended up being quite atmospheric and cool. My take away was that it’s such a beautiful place, it doesn’t really matter too much what time of year you go. It was quite easy to organise next day boat trips there so wouldn’t worry too much about advance planning.
Phu Quoc - Stayed here for week towards the end of the trip. Beautiful island but not the easiest to get to without taking a separate flight. I’d be a bit picky where you go as there are some very Disneyfied tourist areas and sadly not all the beaches are well looked after. Stayed at the Gold Coast Resort, which was super peaceful, had incredible food and was the most relaxed I’ve felt in years. Would stay again in a heartbeat.
Ho Chi Minh City - Felt like more of a typical Asian city like Bangkok or Signapore compared to Hanoi. Cool place but felt like a couple of days were enough. Went to a nice vegetarian restaurant called Hum, it was a bit of an oasis in the city with lots of plants and flowers etc. Was a welcome stop after the sobering (but necessary) War Remenants Museum round the corner. For anyone missing sludge ales, there’s a good craft beer franchise called Pasteur Street with a couple of locations in HCM (and Hanoi I think).
Second the use of Grab App, which is a bit of lifesaver. Only thing I’d suggest is using the app for booking all trips rather than hailing off the streets. You tend to find lots of Grab drivers (who may or may not be legit) outside main tourist attractions and will price their fares way over the odds. We got stung doing this a couple of times and then stuck to the app, where the price is agreed before (like uber).
10/10 would go back.
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Yeah absolutely. One of the women at our Hanoi guesthouse came in on her day off to say goodbye to us. They are so good with kids too. At the airports, the security let people with young children jump the queues to save them waiting.
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Booked. Absolutely pumped.
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you’ll have a great time!
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You’ll love it. Where are you thinking of heading?
Currently putting together a plan (I have a SPREADSHEET and everything).
Flying into Hanoi, stay there a few nights
Head to either Halong Bay or Ninh Binh for a night or two (most likely the latter, Halong Bay looks pretty but not sure I can deal being on a boat for more than a couple of hours).
Then to Da Nang / Hoi An for beach time and for NYE.
Head to either Phu Quoc or maybe Bach Ma / Nha Trang ?? Undecided.
Finish in Ho Chi Minh, where we fly home from.
Well trodden route and I really wanted to get to Sapa but feels logistically tricky this time, one for the next trip!
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has anyone ever been to Vietnam solo? i really want to visit but usually end up going to frankly less adventurous places as a solo traveler. i assume there are absolutely shitloads of solo ‘backpacker’ type tourists?
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