Yeah I did it solo for 5 weeks, totally fine, you’re only as alone as you want to be. Made a ton of lovely Vietnamese / traveler pals.
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Sounds great. I had a nice time at Ha Long Bay but it’s quite geared towards the boat trips and unless you’re doing a cruise, they seem to follow the same route more or less. Fine in low season but might get a bit much if it’s busy. Think I’d have opted for Ninh Binh with a bit more research.
Also good to be heading in the right direction!
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yes.
on the simple fact that in Vietnam you get around within a big city or out into the countryside beyond it riding on a motorcycle or sat on the back of a motorcycle taxi… I would say it is practically the most solo traveller suited country i have been to and not a family destination
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Prob worth noting driving a bike there really not advised unless you have a decent chunk of experience riding with some of that in Asia, it is totally insane in terms of hazards everywhere from all directions at once
In the countryside it’s more fine but in Hanoi etc it’s hardcore!
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How was your trip @roastthemonaspit ?
Well it started with a moment of absolute stupidity on my part upon arriving at Heathrow and discovering that Irish passport holders needed a visa to enter Vietnam. I had previously googled “Are EU passports OK” and google told me yes. Was absolutely mortified and thought the holiday was cancelled (my partner has a UK passport so was facing going on his own). Had a very quick google and found this website and following a very stressful 15 minute WhatsApp exchange and a ridiculous amount of cash parted with, I had a visa and could fly. Felt so stupid, the only bit of comfort being a couple behind me in the queue had exactly the same issue. Lesson learned!
Anyway, we arrived in Hanoi on Christmas Day which was very surreal as of course, Christmas isn’t really a thing in Vietnam. Its celebrated (some shops had decorations) but everything is open as normal. To begin with we found Hanoi quite intense - I know people warn you about the bike traffic but it still took us by surprise - but soon got into the rhythm of the place. Had several amazing meals and was a good city to just wander round, assuming you can handle the traffic. Highlight was the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, a deeply surreal experience and also where I was greeted by Vietnamese children like I was famous (I am very western and very tall).
After that we did a one night cruise in Ha Long Bay which was a nice change of pace. I have never been on any sort of cruise ship before so that was a bit surreal (and some of the guests had a sense on entitlement that I have never seen before). There was karaoke on the boat which I decided to veto. In the morning we got into kayaks where we were taken to nearby caves which was lovely. I would say you don’t need to do the overnight - a day trip would be fine - but given its a couple of hours from Hanoi it was nice to not have to rush back.
Quick stop back to Hanoi to get our luggage and then on to Hoi An, via the sleeper train. I had never been on a sleeper train before and my partner wasn’t thrilled with the idea (he does like his comforts) and whilst it wasn’t that bad comfort wise, it was very noisy and as they are slow trains - not the smoothest ride. The scenery the next morning was breathtakingly good and worth it alone. Overall though, a 90 min flight will win over a 16 hour train next time, for sure.
After a bleary eyed taxi from Da Nang train station to Hoi An, we settled into the very pretty town. I had seen Hoi An on Race Across the World (where the young lad lit a lamp for his dead mum, you may recall) so knew it would be a spectacle and that it was! Its very touristy but crucially its still worth doing as the food is uniformly excellent and some great museums too. Special shout out to the gay bar Living Colours where we spent NYE and had bingo as their entertainment, my sort of place.
Oh and there was a Mr Bean themed bar, for some reason.
An early flight to Phu Quoc (a sidenote - air travel in Vietnam is seemingly chaos, regardless of where you are going, allow 2 hours minimum even for internal as queues etc are insane) for some downtime. A main attraction of the island is a gross looking fake Europe almost theme park, which we had zero interest in so found a resort in the SE corner of the island which was very quiet and also alarmingly cheap. Two beautiful beaches were nearby and we spent our time there reading by the sea and eating. Blissful.
Then the final stop was Ho Chi Minh City. I had been warned of how crazy the streets were here but compared to Hanoi is was a lot easier, though may be as we got used to it by that point. A really interesting place - clearly more “westernised” than Hanoi. Went to the War Remnants museum which was the most harrowing museum I have ever been to (necessarily so, obviously) and really stark how bare it laid the horrors of the war. A sobering way to end things for sure.
Overall it was a brilliant couple of weeks - didn’t quite fall for it as much as I did Thailand but could not fault any of it. The people were overwhelmingly friendly, never felt remotely unsafe at any point and all very affordable (so long as you don’t have to pay a three figure sum for a fucking visa).
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After visiting the war remnants museum, me and Mrs Pete sat in a bar and barely spoke for an hour or so.
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I was very hungover which I simply cannot recommend.
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Had a similiar experience at a medical museum known as ‘the museum of death’ that we decided to visit in Bangkok.
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Sounds and looks great (visa issues aside - glad there was a solution albeit spenny). Christmas was still being celebrated in late January with tinsel and decorations at our hotel in HCM. Can’t be sure we weren’t being trolled 
Had a similar experience with Phu Quok. Zero interest in the theme park areas but there were some lovely surrounding villages and beaches that were relatively tourist free.
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I went to that museum about 20 years ago when it used to be called The Museum of American War Crimes. Similar experience to everyone else but essential.
Great photos brings back lots of good memories. The food was amazing everywhere.
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Say for example you were thinking of going for around 14 nights with 4/5 stops, wanting to get a mix of cities, nature and some time on a beach, and your darling partner would prefer to avoid internal flights if possible, what sort of plan would you build out? Hypothetically
All depends what time of year, really, if you’re set on avoiding the islands. Beaches by Da Nang / Hoi An are lovely but needs to be right time of year.
Probably around this time next year. Jan/Feb
I can send you my long list that I had planned, if it would help?
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Yeah that’d be great, thanks
We did about two weeks, no internal flights or trains, didnt venture south. Mini busses were fairly cheap and weren’t massive journeys iirc.
Spent a good few days in Hanoi, then shortish bus out to Ha Long Bay, one night on the little cruise there, then a few days on Cat Ba Island (great beaches, really lovely and relaxing all round) then to Ninh Binh and back to Hanoi to fly back.
Would’ve liked to get to Hoi An but really happy with everything we did. Best holiday I’ve ever had, still think about it all the time.
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