I recently returned from my first ever visit to Vietnam and I wanted to summarise my experiences from the trip. Both in terms of the planning and thoughts behind it, but also in terms of how it went, what I did right and what I would have done differently if I had known what I know now.
I'm not an expert. That's kind of the point of sharing both planning and reality.
I'm not known for my brevity, and this article will reflect that.
In general, it will be organised in such a way that the first part will be my considerations and planning, the second part will be a presentation from each destination of what I liked and what I would change. This will include my reviews of the hotels and the activities booked.
Finally, I give an overview of how much money I spent and what it was spent on.
At the end, I also provide a weather chart for the different areas with recommendations on when to visit them.
Important disclaimer: This article is non-commercial and written solely to help others get an overview of their planning. None of the companies mentioned or links used have any influence on this article and I do not receive any payment, discount or special treatment! Links are included so that you can benefit from the contacts if I recommend them.
Links may be expired, I can't control that.
Who am I?
Of course, it's crucial to plan your trip according to who you are and what you value.
I'm 62 years old and used to travelling. I went backpacking (interrail) when I was a teenager, I've hiked in Greenland and Sweden, I've slept in small tents at rock festivals, I've lived in primitive accommodation. I've travelled on trains for days, I've sat in long-distance buses.
But Been there, done that! I've outgrown it. Now I want the journey to be reasonably quick, I want a real bed to sleep in and I don't want it to be in a room where many other people are sleeping. If I'm going to party, it's an advantage if it's with people I have something in common with and in an environment where conversation is possible.
Unfortunately, I'm also 62 years old physically: I can't keep up with what I once could, I'm not in good shape, I get tired more quickly, my back hurts more easily and, quite frankly, my arse hurts more easily too, both physically and mentally.
My background is in the education sector, but I left that in 2007 to devote myself to my own small travel company in Prague, helping Danish guests make the most of their precious holiday days, tailored to the individual. Since Covid, I have supplemented the income with a remote job for a Danish financial magazine.
My work situation is such that I can work flexible hours. On the other hand, I can never completely avoid work, even when travelling. But July is the least busy period at the magazine, so my Vietnam trip was placed in July, which is far from the best time weather-wise. But I would rather sweat than work 35 hours a week while I was in Vietnam.
What I wanted to get out of the journey
I have previously travelled to Southeast Asia, namely Thailand, four times, each time for about a month. There are many things about the culture in this part of the world that fascinate me, not least the friendliness and also the food.
Now I wanted to experience Vietnam instead, and I wanted to plan my trip in more detail than I've done when I've visited Thailand, where I've come home a few times with the feeling that it was fine, but that I didn't get to see much. In Vietnam, I wanted to be sure to see more while also leaving room for "empty" relaxation days without planned activities.
Initially, I took inspiration from the Vietnam tour programmes from some of the Danish travel agencies that specialise in just that, and then I also watched a lot of YouTube. In addition, I've been a member of some large Facebook groups that are all about travelling to Vietnam. If you can put up with seeing the same question repeated several times a day, it's a good place to find inspiration and, as it turns out, also get in touch with locals who could offer transport, cruise bookings and scooter hire. Therefore, I had some fairly precise wishes before getting into the details of hotel bookings, domestic flights, guided tours, etc.
Planning destinations:
I knew for sure that I wanted to visit different destinations, but had also decided that I wanted to allocate enough time in each place so that I wouldn't feel like I was just constantly moving on. Furthermore, I knew I would prioritise the big cities of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Hanoi, as I had previously been fascinated by Bangkok and wanted to have similar experiences.
The choice of intermediate destinations (and the rejection of others) was primarily based on various YouTube channels where people I like and whose opinions I respect have shared their experiences.
The main channels I've watched are the following - but I've also watched many others. If I've chosen to subscribe to them on YouTube, they're in the list, if I've just watched but not chosen to subscribe, they're not:
Flora And Note: https://www.youtube.com/@FloraandNote
Paddy Doyle: https://www.youtube.com/@PaddyDoyle
Brian and Carrie: https://www.youtube.com/@BrianandCarrie
Perpetually Abroad: https://www.youtube.com/@perpetuallyabroad
Joel Friend: https://www.youtube.com/@Joelfriend
Sammy and Tommy: https://www.youtube.com/@SammyandTommy
As mentioned, I've watched tonnes of videos other than the channels mentioned.
Here are the areas I chose - and why
The numbers in brackets show how many nights I booked hotels in each location:
Ho Chi Minh City (7) - I was excited about the big cities
Da Nang (5) - Lovely city on a great beach. Also known for good restaurants of all genres, low prices and traffic where I would dare to ride a scooter. Interesting sights that I wanted to experience.
Hoi An (6) - beautiful and ancient city close to Da Nang. Unesco World Heritage site. Atmospheric and beautiful city, and here too there were sights that appealed to me.
Ninh Binh (4) - scenic area, also with attractions that appealed to me.
Ha Long Bay cruise (1) - after watching many videos from there, it was really just a matter of deciding whether I wanted to spend a relatively large amount of money on this. And I was happy to do so.
Hanoi (7) - the same as HCMC, I was excited about the big cities
Some of the areas I considered but decided against - and why:
Nha Trang - In many ways I think the city is similar to Da Nang, but I've also seen videos that focus a lot on everything being cheap and attracting tourists I can't identify with, so I chose to skip it. Besides, I would have my beach town needs covered in Da Nang.
Da Lat - Opinions are a bit divided here, and many are fond of the city. However, I didn't really see anything that made me absolutely have to include this city. But now, after returning home, I think Da Lat will be included in my next trip.
Hue - Hue was actually in my original plan as a full-day excursion from Da Nang, but I decided to cancel it (more on that later). That was the reason why I didn't have overnight stays in the ancient royal city. That mistake will be corrected next time.
Phong Na-Ke Bang - huge nature area with spectacular caves. I don't have the strength and energy for long hikes over several days, I think, so I skipped it.
Phu Quoc - holiday island that seems to me to be too commercialised and almost artificial in its layout with newly built cities that are supposed to be reminiscent of Europe.
Sapa - Mountain town with beautiful nature, but also overly touristy. Best experienced on guided or independent hikes in hilly terrain. And I didn't dare to gamble that I had the energy for that.
Ha Giang Loop - A stunning stretch of winding mountain roads through breath-taking scenery and vistas. Most often experienced on a motorbike you drive yourself (out of the question, I don't have a licence) or on the back of a local motorcycle guide, so-called Esay riders in groups of backpackers with accommodation in hostels and drinking in the evening. I couldn't do that, my back and arse would hurt endlessly (in more ways than one) and I would become the party killer of the group. I've since realised that you can actually get the experience by car and with better accommodation, and it's on the planning list for next time.
Mekong Delta - a large nature reserve south of Ho Chi Minh City, where you can get a closer look at life on the river as lived by the locals. But the tours I've seen there have seemed like factory-made activities on, say, a bee farm, which is busier with tourists than regular everyday life. I haven't given up on finding something more real.
The overall plan then became:
2-9/7: Ho Chi Minh City. Then fly to
9-14 July: Da Nang. Then land transport (car) to
14-20 July: Hoi An. Then fly to Hanoi and from there land transfer to
20-24/7: Ninh Binh. Then land transport to
24-25/7: Ha Long Bay. Then land transport to
25/7-1/8: Hanoi
Domestic flights:
Most domestic routes are covered by two airlines, Vietnam Airlines and VietJet. The former is often the most expensive, but on the other hand, it is known to have few delays and cancellations, something VietJet is very notorious for having problems with. When I compared prices including checked baggage, which I would need, the differences were small, so I chose Vietnam Airlines. Both of my flights were on time and the airline was very accommodating and helpful when I asked for a minor name change on my 2nd booking: Security at the airport in Ho Chi Minh City wouldn't accept that my flight ticket said Sorensen when my passport says Sørensen and Soerensen respectively. It's not a problem I've encountered before, but only because I also had my Czech residence permit with Sorensen on it, they let me on board with a reminder that I shouldn't expect it a second time. I contacted Vietnam Airlines who, after receiving a photo of my passport, changed it on the next flight without any problems and without charging for the service.
Accommodation:
In advance, I had given some thought to budget and requirements when booking accommodation:
I knew that accommodation is cheap, so I set what I thought was a low budget, namely DKK 300 or €40 or $44 per night. In my searches for accommodation, this was the amount I used as a maximum. As it turned out, I went much lower.
Criteria I wouldn't compromise on in the room itself:
- Private bathroom - preferably with a screened shower, if I could see it in the pictures
- Aircondition
- Spacious, 30 m² or more
- Terrace or balcony
- Table or workspace suitable for laptop with reasonable seating position
- Comfortable seating area, i.e. sofa and/or armchair. I don't want to sit on my bed and read or watch TV
The above meant that in all hotels I actually ended up choosing their best/largest room or suite.
I didn't make the same demands on the hotel's facilities. A pool, for example, is fine, but I know from experience that the likelihood of me using it or sitting by it is very low. I did, however, pay particular attention to reviews that mentioned the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff.
I also emphasised location. Even though I knew that the most popular areas would have the most tourists and perhaps the most tourist traps, I wanted to use these areas as a base on my first visit. Then I can move away from there next time when I know the areas better.
As I planned quite early, about 5 months before the actual trip, I always chose bookings that could be cancelled. Many things can happen in 5 months that make it impossible to complete your trip.
AirBnb or hotel - and preferred search platform.
A few notes about AirBnb:
In all destinations, I also searched on AirBnb within the same budget, and everywhere it was possible to find alternatives. But each time I still ended up choosing a hotel for the following reasons:
- I'm not convinced that the AirBnb review system is honest and that bad reviews are actually visible. If you include certain words, such as "worst", your review is automatically filtered out.
- In many apartments, it is difficult to accurately assess on-site facilities from the photos. For example, whether the balcony exists and whether it is usable.
- Once you've chosen, there's no alternative if something doesn't work out. In a hotel, you can be moved to another room.
- Many apartments have one or more reviews that mention cleaning or perhaps insects as a problem. Once you've checked in, it's a slow and exhausting process to resolve these issues.
- I don't always feel confident about the location as you can't see it exactly before you book.
- In a hotel, there is a reception desk that can guide and perhaps book experiences for you.
- The AirBnbs I found as alternatives did not represent a saving compared to the hotel rooms I would book. In fact, in most cases, quite the opposite.
If it was a point for me that I wanted to cook for myself, I would have looked at AirBnb in a completely different way. But this was not important to me in Vietnam.
A few notes about the booking portals:
I often choose to find hotels on the big booking portals and then approach the hotel directly and offer them that I book directly at the same price. This can be an advantage for the hotel, which saves on fees and I get a good welcome. This option is not straightforward in Vietnam, where direct contact is difficult or impossible to find.
The two largest hotel booking portals in the area are booking.com and Agoda. There is a huge difference in the quality of the two portals:
- Booking.com can include search criteria and requirements in the results so that the price shown in the overview is the price of the cheapest room that fulfils all your requirements.
- Booking.com seems to have fairly accurate descriptions of room amenities.
- Agoda lists room amenities that don't exist. For example, there are many windowless rooms in hotels in Vietnam, but Agoda states that there is a city view. This is an outright lie and makes me not trust the other information on Agoda.
When searching for hotels, I still compared booking.com and Agoda. I made sure the room facilities met my requirements before checking if Agoda had a better deal for the same room. In 4 out of 5 cases I chose booking.com, but in the last case - my hotel in Hanoi - I chose to book through Agoda as they offered to include breakfast, which was not an option on booking.com. The price was pretty much the same.
My scepticism towards Agoda turned out to be well-founded. When they charged my credit card for the hotel in Hanoi, they sent me a confirmation of the booking. And this confirmation had two serious errors: The room I had booked was "Suite Room with Balcony - Upper Floor". The room mentioned in the confirmation after payment was ‘Superior Double with Balcony’, an inferior room category with 5 square metres less and further down the building. In addition, breakfast was no longer available.
I contacted their ‘customer service’. It took me close to 3 hours to get some sort of clarification, as they guaranteed to have been in contact with the hotel assuring them that I would get the promised room. But no one in the big global company, Agoda, was able to technically change my booking confirmation to show the correct room on my weblogin and in my app. They simply refused to acknowledge the breakfast. This kind of amateurism is rare, and as far as I'm concerned, Agoda is out of the picture for future hotel bookings.
However, the hotel gave me the room I booked and was also exceptionally helpful. We'll come back to that.
Planning and booking activities
There are several ways to get inspiration for what you want to experience in the different destinations. The Facebook groups I mentioned earlier provide good inspiration, but my main sources besides YouTube were actually the two portals getyourguide.com and klook.com. Both sites offer a wide range of activities, from airport transfers to guided multi-day tours, and sometimes you can also book entrance tickets to different places. Both sites also provide a good overview of what's available at each destination.
For me, getyourguide.com was the site I felt most at home on, partly because of the way the information is displayed, and I've actually only used that one, but that's personal preference rather than criticism of klook.com.
In general, I am deeply impressed by how cheap these kinds of experiences are in Vietnam compared to, for example, Prague, where I offer something similar, but at completely different prices.
I knew I wanted to start with some basics that cover the entire culture of Vietnam, so the first things on the list were:
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh: Guided Walking Tour of Saigon’s Main Sights (DKK 349 or € 46,5 or $ 51)
Private guided tour with emphasis on the main sights of HCMC and the history of the country
Saigon: Hidden gems and coffee with local students (DKK 118 or €15.5 or $17)
Private guided tour with a student on a scooter to lesser known areas of HCMC
Ho Chi Minh City: Food Tour by Scooter with Eleven Tastings (DKK 211 or € 28 or $ 31)
Guided tour, private or group, by scooter to street kitchens scattered across HCMC.
Cooking Class with Ben Thanh Market visit (DKK 310 or € 41,5 or $ 45,5)
https://www.getyourguide.com/ho-chi-minh-city-l272/ben-thanh-market-tour-and-cooking-class-t123044
Small group cooking class. You can book it with or without an introductory market visit.
Da Nang
From Hoian & Danang: Hue City Tour with HaiVan Pass (DKK 456,5 or € 61 or $ 67,-)
Full-day luxury coach tour through the Hai Van Pass to Hue including guide and entrance fees in Hue.
(I chose to cancel, more on this later)
Da Nang: Lady Buddha, Marble Mountains, and Am Phu Cave Tour (DKK 191,5 or € 25,5 or $ 28)
Full day tour incl. lunch to first Lady Buddha and then Marble Mountain
(I chose to cancel, more on this later)
Hoi An
From Hoi An: Market Tour, Basket Boat Ride and Cooking Class (DKK 242 or € 32 or $ 35,5)
Cooking class including market tour and boat trip in the famous basket boats in a coconut plantation
Hoi An: Vietnamese Coffee Culture and Coffee Making Class (DKK 103 or € 13,5 or $ 15)
https://www.getyourguide.com/hoi-an-l831/vietnamese-coffee-making-class-in-hoi-an-t468955
Course on Vietnamese coffee and coffee culture, including how to prepare the 5 classic flavours yourself
Ninh Binh
As much as I wanted to, I couldn't find any interesting tours in Ninh Binh that didn't depart from Hanoi, which wasn't relevant to me. That's why I knew from home that I wanted to rent a scooter in Ninh Binh so I could visit the interesting places on my own.
Ha Long Bay
This vast natural area with 1969 islands (they say) is a Unesco World Heritage Site, and for good reasons. A one- or two-night cruise is therefore something most tourists in Vietnam choose to include, and I was sure that I wanted to go on such a cruise. At the same time, I was sure that I would settle for one night. Firstly, it's expensive, and secondly, with two nights, you'll often spend day two on a smaller boat with various activities and visits to a fishing village, because the large ship has to pick up new one-night passengers. And I'm too cost-conscious to pay several hundred dollars for an extra day on a small boat with a few activities. For me, it's the luxury ship itself that's the attraction.
The range of ships and prices is almost overwhelming, but there is a websitewhere almost all of them are described, so it's a good place to start. It gives you a sense of prices and options. Price per person can vary between $100-800. In the first phase of my planning, I tried to stay under $150-200, but you have to remember that when travelling alone, the price per person will be significantly higher than when you are two, and I decided to increase the budget to around $300 with the search criteria ‘5-star ship’ and ‘best suite on the ship’. This narrowed down the options and I made a list of 5 specific ships and on each of those ships a specific room/suite. I knew I would also need transport 3 times, namely Hanoi airport -> Ninh Binh, Ninh Binh -> Ha Long and Ha Long -> Hanoi. I made a post in the Facebook groups asking for exact quotes for the 5 ships including the mentioned transfers, and I got quite a few enquiries. One stood out, namely Du Lich Viet from the company TH Global Travelwho quickly provided quotes for all 5 ships, including the room and transfers I wanted. All prices were lower than I could find elsewhere and I chose to book my cruise at La Casta Regal in the ship's VIP suite. The total price was $300 for the whole package, and the lowest price I could find elsewhere just for the cruise alone was $310.
Hanoi
I considered another trip to street kitchens, but didn't decide from home. I wasn't sure how much I still ‘’craved‘’ at this point.
However, I booked a free trip with a student through the Hanoi Kids organisation, where you decide whether you want to support financially and by how much.
Find Hanoi Kids here: https://hanoikids.org/
I also booked the following services from home:
FAST TRACK SERVICES TAN SON NHAT AIRPORT (HCM) | NO WAITING (DKK 168,5 or € 22,5 or $ 25)
A shortcut to the short VIP queue on arrival. Learning from previous arrivals in Bangkok where I've queued for a couple of hours after 20 hours of travelling, I was prepared to pay for faster access. And it worked, I was through all checks and ready at the baggage carousel 15-20 minutes after meeting my contact person.
The contact person, on the other hand, was rather rude. He didn't introduce himself, but rushed us to the right (short) queue where he asked if I had checked in luggage. When I said yes, he asked for my boarding pass, took a picture of it and left without saying goodbye. I was unsure if he would do more for me and if I would see him "on the other side", where I actually looked for him for a while, but I didn't see him again. I didn't really need him either, but it was frustrating not to have been told anything.
Through GetYourGuide (unfortunately the link no longer exists):
Ho Chi Minh: 4G Unlimited Data SIM Card for Airport Pickup (DKK 104 or € 14 or $ 15)
SIM card with unlimited data for 30 days. The data provider was Vinaphone, the second largest telecoms company in Vietnam with less coverage than the largest, Viettel.
I had good coverage and I guess it's true that it's unlimited because I used more than 350 Gb, including 56 Gb on a single day when I uploaded many video files to Dropbox. Much to my surprise, it also worked on my last day, which was day 31.
I will go to great lengths to find an equivalent sim card next time, I'm not good at having data limitations.
If you arrive in Hanoi instead of Ho Chi Minh City, there is this, which I believe is the same:
https://www.getyourguide.com/hanoi-l205/30-days-unlimited-data-sim-card-t734049/
Through Agoda:
Transfer from my hotel in Hanoi to the airport on my return journey. (DKK 73 or €10 or $11)
It was cheaper than Grab, which is usually the cheapest option.
Access to Song Hong Lounges at Hanoi Airport (DKK 177 or €23.5 or $26).
I had a 7:30pm flight and obviously had to check out of my hotel a lot earlier, so I decided to book lounge access. Despite my troubled relationship with Agoda, I have to say that their price was very low (GetYourGuide: DKK 313, 43% more expensive), and the Song Hong lounge was exceptionally nice. Plenty of space, inviting buffet, shower facilities, a clean and well-maintained smoking area, plenty of non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks, calm atmosphere, good furniture, massage chairs, direct view of the runway. It was well worth every penny!
About Grab app:
Your transport needs and even food delivery needs are solved with this app, which could be described as Asia's answer to Uber. Install it from home and register your payment card so you don't have to deal with it after a long journey. The biggest advantage is that when you enter your destination, you're given a range of options for transport, motorbike and different "car classes" and you can see the exact price before you book. When you press book, you get the driver's name and car licence plate so you're sure to find the right one, and the built-in trip reporting system makes it a bad idea for the driver to drop you off far from your destination, for example.
It's safe and efficient and almost always the cheapest option. On slightly longer trips, for example from Da Nang to Hoi An, it can sometimes be cheaper with private transport, which you will be offered in minutes if you ask in one of the Facebook groups. But Grab is generally so cheap that it becomes a ‘travelling buddy’ and I often used it if I had to meet a guide in a particular place. In Hanoi, I used it in such a way that I decided on an attraction I wanted to see, took a Grab there, and then after the visit I walked from there to look at an unfamiliar area. If it was further back to the hotel than I wanted to walk, I could take a Grab the rest of the way, but I usually walked the whole way with lunch and coffee breaks or something similar. My most expensive Grab ride was DKK 34 (€4.5 or $5) from the airport to the hotel in Da Nang.
You can order food delivery through Grab. I did it a few times. It's fast and cheap.
The journey itself, destination by destination
Ho Chi Minh City / Saigon
Arrival
The airport is quite straightforward, baggage reclaim took some time. When you want to grab a Grab, you have to walk away from the terminal itself, it's easy to find and can be recognised by various people with Grab logos on their clothes. Ignore them (even if they are pushy) and just order your own Grab through the app. In my case, it came in 2 minutes and cost DKK 30 (€4 or $4.5).
Hotel
I had limited my search to District 1, which is the most central.
I ended up booking Jan Hostel Central Point, which despite the name can be described as a home stay and not a hostel with dormitories and shared accommodation. Like a 3-star hotel, I would say.
I booked the largest room, King Room with Balcony of 55 m². For a 7-night booking, it cost DKK 249 or €33 or $36.5 per night (including breakfast).
I booked it because of the very central location and good room layout with a semi-separate bedroom and a cosy seating area with armchair, sofa and coffee table. The dining area, which was suitable as a computer station, was also an advantage. The bathroom was accessed from the balcony and not from the room itself, but I knew this in advance and didn't consider it a problem as it's a private balcony where no one else is present.
The hotel reviews are very much characterised by praise for the front desk staff.
The welcome was cosy due to the receptionist ‘Moon’, who is generally here and there and everywhere and incredibly sweet and helpful. In the background was the boss, Jan, but she was more reserved. I was shown to my room, but when I was left alone and started looking around, I wasn't entirely satisfied. The kettle, TV and furniture on the balcony were missing. That's what first caught my eye. I had the impression that they only had this one room of this type. I went down to reception and pointed it out. Now Jan intervened and said half-heartedly that I could get another room, which I wasn't quite prepared for as I didn't think they had another of the same type, but they did. We took the lift up and at this point Jan would no longer make eye contact with me or talk to me. It was oppressive and uncomfortable. Room 2 had a kettle and TV and a couple of chairs on the balcony. On the other hand, the sofa group had been replaced by an extra bed, which was not quite as cosy - on the contrary - but now my protests stopped, I didn't want to make Jan angrier. Later I realised that a bedside lamp was also missing. It sounds like I'm being difficult, but the problem was that all the lights had to be switched on and off at the entrance, and when I went to bed it was pitch black when I then had to find my way into the bedroom and go to bed. I used my phone as a light, but it wasn't optimal.
After a few days, I summoned up the courage to ask Moon if she could get me a lamp, and she did.
The hotel is not the quietest place. In the evening you could hear the music from the nearby party street, but it didn't bother me at all, partly because I was tired and partly because it was a fairly constant sound, which I find less disturbing than alternating between noise and silence. But in the morning I was bothered by the noise. There were quite a few roosters in the area that would be crowing at sunrise, and people would start working and listening to music in the alley below my room, and I found it hard to sleep. Earplugs solved the problem.
The bed was comfortable and the pillows were good. The bathroom worked fine, but as the water came from solar panels on the roof, it was difficult to have a warm shower when it was cloudy. Cleaning was OK, but at unconventional times, namely in the afternoon. In the morning, rooms were prepared for new guests, and existing guests had their rooms cleaned typically after 3 p.m. This may suit many people's rhythm, but not mine. I was out exploring in the morning, in the afternoon I was resting or working. I had my room refreshed twice in one week, both times because I simply left it for the same reason, even though that wasn't the plan.
Despite Moon's tremendous friendliness, the great location, and the fine breakfast of 5-6 options to choose from along with fresh fruit and a beverage, I never felt comfortable at Jan Hostel Central Point after the initial conflict with a cranky and actually rude host, and I won't be returning. But that doesn't mean I'm warning you against booking there. You might want to consider the place, it's good value for money. The pictures in the gallery below are from the first room I got.
Activities:
The first day I was tired after travelling, but no more so than I needed to check out the area I was staying in. I had researched beforehand that there was a TP Bank ATM fairly close by that doesn't charge a fee when you withdraw money (your own bank still does), so I visited it, and then I ate my first pho in Vietnam at the Michelin-recommended restaurant Phở Việt Namwhich I had seen a recommendation from Perpetually Abroad on YouTube.
I have created a video on YouTube from my first dayincluding a room tour of my hotel room.
3/7 at 10am: Ho Chi Minh: Guided Walking Tour of Saigon's Main Sights (DKK 349 or €46.5 or $51)
Private guided tour emphasising the main sights of HCMC and the history of the country.
"My" guide named Huỳnh Hữu Trí Thức but called himself Mr Castle, was well-spoken, welcoming, very knowledgeable and good at giving engaging explanations. The trip was definitely a success. We visited the War Remnants Museum about the war with the US, which is a must-see, as well as the Independence Palace, the post office, the cathedral and the bookshop street. In addition to knowledge about these places, I got an overview of Vietnam's history and a lot of information about life in Vietnam.
The next morning I took a closer look at some of the highlights of the trip, especially the Independence Palace, before heading out on this tour in the afternoon:
4/7 at 2pm: Saigon: Hidden Gems and Coffee with Local Student (DKK 118 or €15.5 or $17)
Private guided tour with a student on a scooter to lesser known areas of HCMC
"My" guide, who called himself Long and was a student, picked me up on his scooter and we saw a number of places I might otherwise have missed, including the place where the monk Thích Quảng Đức burned himself in protest on 11 June 1963. That part in particular was very moving, but I also appreciated the flower market, residential neighbourhood and not least our coffee break, where we had good and informal conversations about big and small things in everyday life.
5/7 at 6pm: Ho Chi Minh City: Food Tour by Scooter with Eleven Tastings (DKK 211 or € 28 or $ 31)
Guided tour, private or group, by scooter to street kitchens scattered across HCMC.
Without thinking about it, I had booked this as a private tour, but in the afternoon I was contacted by the organiser who asked if it was OK if I was put together with a few other participants, and of course it was. In fact, I had been a little worried about how I was going to manage all that food alone. It was even better when the group got together. We were 3 participants, each with ‘our’ driver/guide, and the other two participants, a couple of young guys from the Netherlands, and I clicked right away and enjoyed each other's company. We covered a lot of ground, both food-wise, in our conversations and on the city tour, and it turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. We talked about their and my plans for the rest of our travels, but unfortunately we didn't exchange contact information. But much later, on one of my last nights in Hanoi (and last nights in Vietnam in general), someone suddenly called out to me. And it was the two Dutch guys with a third mate. It was a cosy reunion, where we drank beer and exchanged travel stories and good advice. Unfortunately, we parted once again without exchanging contact info, but that's how it goes. In any case, they were an incredibly positive element in my trip.
The most important thing, of course, was that the tour itself was well organised and exciting. Everything we tasted was delicious, and I was probably most surprised by how diverse it was. We also learnt a lot about how to eat the dishes and how to order them. A rewarding and recommendable trip.
https://saigoneseexperience.com/packages/private-saigon-eleven-tastings-food-our/
WhatsApp to Mr.Jonny: +84984741514 from the food tour company
I've made a video on YouTube about the tour
The next day I took a Grab to the Bitexco Financial Tower, where you can visit the observation deck, Saigon Skydeck, on the 49th floor for an entrance fee. The entrance fee is around 10 USD and I definitely thought it was worth it. I was there in the middle of the day and it was by no means crowded. There is good information and screens to help you understand what you are looking at. The weather was clear that day and it was exciting.
7/7 at 9am: Cooking Class with Ben Thanh Market visit (DKK 310 or € 41,5 or $ 45,5)
https://www.getyourguide.com/ho-chi-minh-city-l272/ben-thanh-market-tour-and-cooking-class-t123044
Small group cooking class. You can book it with or without an introductory market visit.
I chose to include the market part and it turned out that only the instructor, Oanh, and I were in this part. I got a lot of good and valuable information and recommend that you include the market.
In the kitchen we were just 3 participants to receive instruction from Oanh, who is exceptionally good at explaining, instructing and motivating. We cooked a total of 3 dishes. Oanh and her team had prepared everything really well and the most important parts of the cooking were left to the students.
I got a lot out of this course, which I highly recommend.
I made a YouTube video about the experience
About Ho Chi Minh City:
Of course, Vietnam's largest city is vibrant, exciting and fascinating. But it's also hectic, chaotic and noisy, which is part of the experience, but for me it became too much.
Traffic, and especially the many motorbikes/scooters, is dominant and pedestrians are at the bottom of the hierarchy. This means that pavements are rarely used for walking, but are more often utilised for scooter parking, dining and shopping. As a pedestrian, you have to walk on the road, and you don't always feel welcome there. You have to avoid motorised traffic and if there is no room for both scooters and pedestrians in a narrow space, for example, you will be honked at to make you move. It's not like in the countries where I normally travel that a motorised road user shows a little patience towards a pedestrian. To cross the road, you have to zigzag between traffic, which you quickly learn. If there is a zebra crossing, it makes no difference, but as a rule, even scooters usually stop for red lights in the traffic lights.
For me, it turned out that 7 nights in Ho Chi Minh City was not the right prioritisation. It wasn't that I was sad to be there, but I would have been fine with 2-3 nights less.
Da Nang
I flew from Ho Chi Minh City with Vietnam Airlines to Da Nang and it was unproblematic (apart from the name issue on my ticket mentioned earlier). For me, there was plenty of time when I calculated 2 hours at the airport for baggage drop, security and getting to the gate. The plane flew on time.
In Da Nang, I took a Grab to my hotel. It cost DKK 34 (€4.5 or $5).
Hotel
I didn't have an overview of the different districts in Da Nang, but I had decided that I wanted to be close to the beach and chose SOCO Hotelwhere I had booked their largest room, King Suite with balcony and views, stated at 60 square metres. The room and the hotel were not new, but a bit worn, and that was OK with me. I had booked 5 nights and the price per night without breakfast was DKK 140 (or €18.5 or $20). It was possible to buy a buffet breakfast at the hotel for VND. 80,000 (DKK 22 or €3 or $3.5), but I didn't think it was for me, so I went to the minimarket next to the hotel instead. You could also just walk out of the hotel to the first stall with Bahn Mi sandwiches
The room was located on the 8th floor. It was very spacious and well-appointed with a sleeping area with a comfortable king size bed at one end and a sitting and lounge area with a sofa and coffee table at the other end. In the centre was a kind of room divider with a fairly large flat screen TV. The bathroom was also spacious and had a bathtub but unfortunately no shower screen. This detail was a minus in an otherwise lovely room. There was a fairly large makeup table and/or desk, but I would have liked a better chair for PC work. The terrace was very spacious and furnished with 2 chairs and a table. To my surprise, I actually had a sea view when I looked to the left, where I could also see that it was about 300 metres to the most famous beach in Da Nang, My Khe.
On the top floor of the building there was a fitness room and a large sun terrace with great views. The hotel does not have a pool.
The hotel is located next to a fairly busy road and you can hear it, even on the 8th floor. For me, it didn't affect my sleep, the air conditioning was not among the quietest, and the regular hum of the air conditioning meant that I was not bothered by the outside noise. I was also not bothered by the "grey noise" from the AC, it wasn't that loud.
The reception staff were helpful and smiling, and a younger man who calls himself Jeny made a difference. He always had something he wanted to talk about, and he was interested in what I had experienced and what my plans were. He actually listened, because a few days later he typically asked how things had gone. It was nice.
There are many restaurants and street kitchens, cafés and shops right by the hotel, including a good selection of groceries. It is free to park any rented scooter in the basement, which is manned.
My assessment of SOCO Hotel is that it was exceptionally good value for money and will be at the top of my list when researching my next visit to Da Nang.
Scooter rental:
I had decided that if it was possible to rent a 50cc scooter in Da Nang, I would do it. The 50cc engine size is because this means that a motorcycle licence is not required in Vietnam. If you want to drive a larger motorcycle or scooter, you need an International Driving Permit (IDP) issued by countries that have signed the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic of 1968.
You can rent a scooter without it, but it's illegal to ride it. Of course, this means you can be fined (up to 2,000,000 VND), but even worse, no insurance will cover you if you cause property damage or injury to yourself or others. My personal opinion is that it's not only stupid, but also immoral to take such a risk on behalf of others!
I had researched that there was a shop 10 minutes walk from the hotel, Just Bikes, which rents bikes and motorbikes of almost any kind, and I had checked in advance that there was an available Honda Cub (50cc) that I could rent.
Chris, who runs the shop, was exceptionally helpful and friendly and gave me 2 scooters to choose from and a thorough tutorial on how to use the semi-automatic transmission, which is simple and in many cases better than an automatic, especially on hills. I got a slight discount and paid a total of VND 430,000 for 4½ days so I dropped it off the night before I had to leave anyway. This is equivalent to DKK 115 or €15.5 or USD 17.
Activities:
I had pre-booked 2 activities in Da Nang:
From Hoian & Danang: Hue City Tour with HaiVan Pass (DKK 456,5 or € 61 or $ 67,-)
Full-day luxury coach tour through the Hai Van Pass to Hue including guide and entrance fees in Hue.
When GetYourGuide charged my credit card and I received the final confirmation, a change had been made: it no longer described a ‘luxury bus’ but instead a ‘minibus’, which was a minus as a large part of the day would be spent in the bus on the 11-hour excursion. It's funny that you can still see the word ‘luxury’ in the link above, but no longer in the description and pictures if you click on the link. I was in contact with the company, but they wouldn't guarantee anything, and the thought of spending so many hours in a minibus, possibly uncomfortable, combined with the fact that there would be little time in Hue itself, made me cancel.
Da Nang: Lady Buddha, Marble Mountains, and Am Phu Cave Tour (DKK 191,5 or € 25,5 or $ 28)
Full day tour incl. lunch to first Lady Buddha and then Marble Mountain
I decided to cancel as I now had my own vehicle and could visit the sights at my own pace.
The Hai Van Pass
Chris from Just Bikes had promised me that the rented scooter would be fine for trips around the city and to nearby attractions, but not to plan a trip through the Hai Van Pass on it.
The Hai Van Pass is a stunningly beautiful mountain route between Da Nang and Hue, and it became world famous when the 3 Top Gear guys featured it in their Vietnam special back in 2008. It's a winding route full of hairpin bends and stunning views, and around the halfway point you reach the top before descending again on the other side.
I decided to give the route a try. I didn't expect to reach the top, but as part of the section before the climbs was a beautiful coastal road, I thought that part alone would be worth the trip.
So I set my GPS to the summit and set off with the idea that I could just turn back when/if the little scooter had to fight too hard to pull an overweight half-elderly Dane towards the top.
As it turned out, the Hai Van Pass was by no means an insurmountable task for the little Honda Cub, and after 41-42 kilometres I reached the top without any problems, where I took a break, had a refreshment and drove back towards Da Nang. After all, there was no need to drive down the other side when I didn't have an errand there.
It was an amazing day and still stands out for me as a huge highlight among my experiences in Vietnam. When I return to Da Nang, I'm going again!
I've made a video from the trip, which you can watch on YouTube. On the same video there is also a room tour from my hotel room in Da Nang.
Lady Buddha and Marble Mountain
I visited both sights on my scooter on two different days. They are sights I highly recommend visiting and both places offer beautiful views. July is hot and I should have gone earlier than I did on both days, especially Marble Mountain was a very hot and also somewhat physically demanding experience. But recommendable.
My Khe beach
Very close to my hotel you can visit My Khe beach, which is one of the most beautiful beaches I've seen. For a fair price (around $3-5) you can rent a sunbed, where it is also possible to be served both food and drinks at affordable prices. There are also many cosy cafes, beach bars and the like. The sand is white and soft and the beach is very long. There is also a very long seafront promenade.
The waves can occasionally be quite strong and you should watch out for them. On the ‘right days’, surfers, especially beginners, can really enjoy the beach.
Onwards to Hoi An
The easiest way to travel between Da Nang and Hoi An is by private car. I think it's possible to take a bus, but I didn't investigate that further.
Checking the Grab app, the price from my hotel in Da Nang to the hotel in Hoi An was around VND. 375,000 or DKK 100 or €13.5 or $15. On Facebook I had seen a price of VND 250,000 and when I asked for a quote, I immediately got an appointment with a man named Lam Linh, who took me both to Hoi An and later back to the airport in Da Nang, both times for VND. 250,000 or DKK 68 or €9 or €10. He was precise, friendly and helpful, so it was perfect.
Hoi An
I had seen many people rave about Hoi An beforehand, but my natural scepticism, which is hereditary in the part of Denmark I come from, made me lower my expectations. I really didn't need to do that.
The ancient part of Hoi An, a Unesco World Heritage site, has its own unique atmosphere with old houses that aren't very tall, plenty of dining and shopping options and a very special atmosphere whether you walk along the river or in one of the parallel streets without river views.
There is a big difference between day and evening in Hoi An. During the day there are fewer people, but in the evening, when the sun has set and the many lanterns are lit everywhere, there are crowds both in the streets and on the water, where it is a popular activity to take a boat trip in a small boat with a driver and possibly launch a small ‘raft’ with a candle in it to pray for good luck. Personally, I skipped the boat trip and under no circumstances would I have launched anything into the water that could not very quickly become part of nature's cycle, which I highly doubt a small raft of coated cardboard and a candle can.
Throughout Hoi An, both in the ancient part and the more modern part, there is a huge variety of food and drink, and it is possible to eat well at an affordable price. If you want to sit in the most popular places, the prices will of course reflect that, but I didn't see anything that was surprising or unreasonably expensive.
If you like to go to the market, there are plenty of opportunities to do so, including a local food market during the day and a more tourist-orientated market in the evening.
In parts of the ancient city, scooters and other motorised vehicles are prohibited in the evenings, and a surprising number comply.
Hotel
In Hoi An, it's most expensive to stay amidst the crowds in or near the ancient town, and it's certainly charming, but when I was searching for hotels, my eye fell on one that was a 10-minute walk away, across the river and down a narrow road. I thought it would be more quiet and peaceful, and it was. Of course, I haven't tried the alternative, in the centre of everything.
So the choice fell on Hoi An Silk River Villa, a relatively small 4-star (according to the booking.com system) guesthouse with a swimming pool. I booked a Junior Suite with balcony, which was listed as 45 square metres but actually felt bigger. It was on the first floor (second floor if you're American) and there was no lift. This was not a problem. The price per night including breakfast was DKK 154 or €20.5 or $22.5.
It was divided into a seating and dining area with a small kitchenette and a sleeping area. There was a sofa and armchair with a coffee table and a dining table with 4 chairs and thus a good workspace. The two areas were separated by a room divider with a TV.
In addition, there was a spacious balcony with the most beautiful view of the river and then old Hoi An on the other side. There was no furniture on the balcony, but I used a chair from the dining table that I took into the room when I left it. The bathroom was great with the best shower of the whole trip.
Something I also came to love was the lighting in the room. There were a lot of lamps that could be switched on independently of each other and I could create any combination from efficient work light to calm cosy lighting. It was really nice.
The staff at the hotel were mainly women and they were incredibly sweet, helpful and even caring. From a thorough introduction to the options in Hoi An and the surrounding area, to suggestions for self-guided tours, good tailors, to itineraries and traffic tips, they were always there. As for the route plan, it was for my trip to Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary, which would also take me along busy country roads. Sing, who was the staff member I spoke with the most, especially in the morning, was very concerned about my safety in traffic and made me promise not to drive faster than 40 kilometres per hour. She stood outside waving goodbye and seemed relieved when I came back later. The cliché ‘you arrive as a stranger and leave as a friend’ didn't feel like a cliché in this context. I was genuinely sad to leave after the 6 nights and would have liked to extend my stay.
Breakfast was delicious and freshly cooked, you decided on a primary dish the night before, such as pho or omelette, and it was served in the morning with coffee or tea, juice and a delicious fresh fruit platter.
Hoi An Silk River Villa was my absolute favourite of the hotels on the trip, and without checking out any other options, it will be my choice next time!
Scooter rental
While I was still in Da Nang, I made a post on Facebook looking for a 50cc scooter for my stay in Hoi An. I got 2-3 enquiries, including from Trần Thị Cường, who offered me to rent one for 5 days for just VND 400,000 or DKK 110 or €14.5 or €16. It was unbelievably cheap and Trần even delivered the scooter to the hotel an hour after my arrival and picked it up at the end, the night before I had to leave, when I had decided to add VND 100,000 for the trouble. She (Trần) can be reached on WhatsApp at +84 33 850 4680
The scooter worked perfectly and was comfortable to ride. It could be parked for free at the entrance to the hotel.
Activities:
From Hoi An: Market Tour, Basket Boat Ride and Cooking Class (DKK 242 or € 32 or $ 35,5)
Cooking class including market tour and boat trip in the famous basket boats in a coconut plantation
I'm a foodie, so I had no hesitation in choosing an extra cooking class after checking that the dishes were different from the first class. I also chose to include basket boats in the coconut village, as it's an activity you almost ‘must’ try in Hoi an, but which I was a little sceptical about and therefore probably would have otherwise skipped.
We started with a market visit. This time it was a much larger group than the first time and unfortunately the guide didn't speak very loudly and even though several participants asked her to speak louder, I realised that I couldn't concentrate on listening properly.
We then travelled by minibus to the coconut village where the cooking school was located. First we had a ride in the round basket boats that are characteristic of Vietnam and were allegedly invented because the French colonisers imposed a tax on fishermen for their boats, but the fishermen then started sailing in the large baskets, which they claimed were not boats. It's in a beautiful area and actually quite charming, but overly ‘touristy’. For example, there is karaoke and disco with ‘Gangnam Style’ (yes, always that one) out in the middle of the water where most boats meet, and it all becomes comical in a slightly embarrassing way. But at least I got to try it.
The cooking class itself was very simple and most of the time was spent cutting vegetables into brunoise, or very small cubes. But the two dishes we made were delicious. We were promised 4 dishes and we did get 4 dishes: steamed rice rolls (Bánh Cuon), crispy stuffed pancakes (Bánh Xèo), beef noodle soup (Phở bò) and for dessert, sweet mung bean soup with coconut milk (Chè Đậu Xanh). But the last two dishes we didn't make ourselves, they were just being served to us. It was disappointing and a waste of time, which is why I can't recommend this course if you want to learn how to cook Vietnamese food.
Hoi An: Vietnamese Coffee Culture and Coffee Making Class (DKK 103 or € 13,5 or $ 15)
https://www.getyourguide.com/hoi-an-l831/vietnamese-coffee-making-class-in-hoi-an-t468955
Course on Vietnamese coffee and coffee culture, including how to prepare the 5 classic flavours yourself.
The course took place in a café where, in addition to being served coffee, you can also learn how to make it yourself. We made the 5 most popular flavours: strong black coffee, iced coffee with condensed milk, egg coffee, salted coffee and coconut coffee. We also got the recipes and a version of the special Vietnamese coffee filter, a ‘phin’. We received good and precise instructions as well as some general knowledge about Vietnamese coffee farming, roasting and blending. Vietnam is especially known for growing the robusta bean, which typically has at least twice the caffeine content of the arabica bean, which is the most common in Europe, for example. And since it took about 30 grams of coffee per cup (at home I use 8-10 grams in my drip coffee machine), 5 servings (if you drank it all) was something that almost made me feel like I could walk on the walls. Next to me sat a nice German family with two sons aged 11 and 13, and without blinking or flinching, all family members consumed all the coffee. Respect to those boys!
I honestly loved the coffee course and found it to be exceptionally good value for money.
Self-guided tour to the Mỹ Sơn sanctuary
One of the area's famous attractions is Mỹ Sơn. Mỹ Sơn is a Hindu temple complex in Quang Nam province in Vietnam, recognised as a Unesco World Heritage site.
Mỹ Sơn is located near the village of Duy Phú in Quang Nam province in central Vietnam, 40 kilometres southwest of Hoi An and approximately 10 kilometres from the historic city of Tra Kiệu.
The complex was built from the 300s until the 1100s. It contains a series of temples and towers connected to each other through a red brick construction. The monument has often been the victim of robbery and during the Vietnam War the monuments were used by the FNL as their base, which is why it took a lot of damage.
It is located in a jungle area and was completely covered by jungle vegetation until it was rediscovered by Frenchman Camille Michel Paris in 1898 and uncovered. The area is scenic and on the day I visited, there were only a few visitors. I don't know if that was unusual, but it was very peaceful and it was an almost meditative experience to visit. In fact, it was a pretty amazing day, I thought!
An Bang beach
From Hoi An it's about 6 kilometres to the famous An Bang beach, which is definitely worth a visit, whether it's for swimming, relaxing in a beach chair, eating and drinking at one of the many cafes or restaurants - or all of the above. An easy scooter ride, or as always, it's cheap to take a Grab.
Bespoke clothing and customised shoes
Tailors and leather shops can be found all over Hoi An, where you can have clothes made, shoes made or perhaps a personalised bag.
I had already planned from home that I wanted a suit, some shirts and two pairs of shoes, so on my first day in town I had everything measured. I chose one tailor (Trend) for the suit and 4 shirts, another tailor (SeSe) for two more shirts because I happened to see that they had some shirt fabric I absolutely had to have, and then I chose the leather shop Laughing Cow for the two pairs of shoes. At Trend, they also helped me find an older gentleman who could sew 2 caps (sixpence) for me. My head is 64cm in circumference and it's almost impossible to get a hat that fits.
Usually you can come the day after your booking for the first fitting and then you may need one or two more visits to make sure everything is as it should be. You may be able to get by with 2 nights in Hoi An, but 4 is better.
The price depends on the fabric you choose, among other things.
For 1 suit, 6 shirts (including 2 short-sleeved), 2 caps and 2 pairs of shoes I paid a total of DKK 3,240 or € 432 or $ 475.
Onwards to Ninh Binh
I went to the airport with the same driver mentioned above and from there I flew to Hanoi with Vietnam Airlines, a smooth and timely trip.
As mentioned earlier Du Lich Viet from the company TH Global Travel had organised the transport from Hanoi to Ninh Binh for me. I was met at the airport and taken by car to Hanoi where, after a half-hour wait, I was taken by a ‘limousine van’, a minibus with large comfortable seats, to Ninh Binh. The minibus was full and I was the last one to get off, just 20 metres from my hotel. In other words, the transport worked exactly as it should.
Hotel
Two days before travelling to Ninh Binh, I was contacted by the hotel, I had booked 5 months earlier and asked to cancel on the grounds that their electricity had suffered water damage due to heavy rain and they needed to get it repaired before they could receive new guests. I'm not sure I believe the story because the room I cancelled was available on booking.com afterwards. My theory is that they were approached by a larger group and my room had to be part of the puzzle if it was to work out. I know the hotel industry well enough to know that this is usually the real reason behind "technical issues".
So from having booked everything well in advance, I was suddenly out at the last minute. There wasn't much to choose from, but I decided to book Tam Cốc Moment Homestay in the town of Tam Cốc. I chose the hotel because the young host couple was highly praised in the reviews (and rightly so) and because it was in the centre of a town with lots of restaurants and the like, which my original choice had not actually been. Despite the central location, there was no noise at the hotel. I chose a deluxe double room with a balcony and was pleased to see from the photos that it was quite spacious and had a sofa. Unfortunately, when I arrived, it turned out that the room I was given (the only one available) had an extra bed, which took up too much space and rendered the sofa corner useless. There was also no workspace for the computer, but the host, Tommy, agreed that I could take the small table from the terrace into the room and use it. But that didn't make the room any less crowded. In other words, the room didn't live up to the criteria I normally set, but that's how it had to be when you're out late, even if it's through no fault of your own. On the other hand, the hosts were incredibly sweet and helpful and full of good advice. However, it was a bit annoying that they locked the entrance to the street in the evening, because the guests didn't have a key. One night I arrived at a locked door at 10pm and had to call them to get in. I didn't like that.
The price per night including breakfast was DKK 138 or €18.5 or $20 and it was fantastic value for money. I won't be returning simply because they don't have a room that fulfils my requirements, but for most people, this small hotel is a really good option for good, cheap accommodation in an ideal location.
Scooter rental:
Online I had found the company NinhBinhMotorbike.com, which was also recommended on Facebook, and they delivered a 50cc scooter to my hotel immediately upon arrival. In fact, they brought two scooters so I had something to choose from. Great service! I paid DKK 170 or €22.5 or $25 and it was collected again just before I left.
Activities
As mentioned earlier, since I couldn't find activities to book through getyourguide.com, the programme in Ninh Binh was done on my scooter.
I went to Ecotourism parks Bird Park Thung Nham, a large nature reserve that is home to more than 45 bird species. I knew that you should come early in the morning or late in the afternoon to see as many birds as possible, and I didn't do that. I expected it to be a large natural area that would be as untouched as possible, but I was wrong. The part of the park you visit is landscaped and made Instagram-friendly, and only in the background you can see wild nature. It was a bit like being in an amusement park without the roller coasters and carousels, but it was still very beautiful. There had been a period of extraordinary rainfall, so the rock caves that you can normally visit were closed for safety reasons. I arrived on a day with a lot of local visitors, mainly large families and groups, and Vietnamese culture is not a quiet one, so at some point I deliberately started to go where there were the fewest people. I have to admit that the highlight was the drive there and back through stunningly beautiful landscapes.
On the way back, I took a boat ride in a boat that a woman was rowing with her feet on the oars. I had seen that this particular place should exist, Linh Cốc, with not many visitors, and that was how it was. In fact, I didn't see any other guests until we had finished my hour-long tour, which included a couple of caves. As mentioned, there had been a lot of rain and the water was so high that we could barely squeeze through the caves with me lying on the bottom of the boat. This trip was beautiful and peaceful and the highlight of the day.
In the town of Tam Cốc, where my hotel was located, there was also the option of a boat trip, but it was very crowded, so I would definitely prefer the quieter trip 3-4 kilometres outside the town. Find the coordinates of the place in the description of the video below.
I have made this video from the day on YouTube. It also includes a tour of the room and the hotel in general.
In the evening I visited Hoa Lư Ancient Capital, which is a fairly newly built temple area in Ninh Binh. It looks great in the evening light, the locals loved it and I enjoyed the visit.
The next day I drove to Bái Đính Temple area, a huge complex with many temples, pagodas and a high stupa that you can climb to enjoy the view. It was built between 2003-10 at the foot of a somewhat older temple area and I highly recommend a visit.
On my last full day in Ninh Binh, it was basically all-day rain from the aftermath of a tropical cyclone named Prapiroon, that had hit the northern part of the country, so I took a rest day, which wasn't too bad. But if I could have, I would have visited the original old capital, Hoa Lu. That will have to wait until next time.
Onwards to Ha Long Bay
As mentioned earlier, I had pre-booked transport from Ninh Binh to Ha Long Bay, where I had booked a luxury cruise, and again it worked smoothly in a so-called "limousine bus" with plenty of space and comfortable seats.
Cruise on Ha Long Bay
I've explained my choice of cruise before, so let me just briefly summarise what I wanted:
- 2 days/1 night
- 5-star cruise ship
- Best room/suite on board
The choice came down to La Casta Regal with accommodation in VIP suite (also called honeymoon suite, but I was travelling alone...). The online price is $310 for 1 person including all meals and activities but excluding drinks. As previously described, I got it cheaper including 3 overland transfers.
We were taken to the ship on a smaller tender boat and then welcomed with an introductory meeting in English and Vietnamese and a buffet lunch. The buffet was overwhelmingly delicious and there was plenty of everything. I settled for a modest number of prawns and oysters at first, but when I realised there was more than enough, I enjoyed feasting on such delights. It was the best meal of the cruise.
My room was exactly as I had hoped, rather opulent bordering on the vulgar, and I particularly appreciated my hot tub with sea views and my large terrace throughout the front of the ship, which has plenty of space and different places to stay so you never feel crowded.
We travelled through Ha Long Bay and on to Lan Ha Bay, which is a little less busy. You can read descriptions and watch YouTube videos of how beautiful it is, but I couldn't really realise it until the cruise itself. Absolutely stunningly beautiful!
Whatever cruise you choose, there will be activities such as kayaking, swimming, beach visits and the like, and almost everyone participated. I didn't, instead I enjoyed the peace and luxury on board, both in my room, in the ship's pool and on the sun deck - both of which I had to myself.
In the late afternoon there was a happy hour in the cocktail bar, which brought the guests together to socialise again. There was also a course on how to make spring rolls.
Dinner in the evening was served plate service at the table. As a special and thoughtful detail, the menu had already been presented during lunch, so that allergies, vegetarianism, religious considerations and other requests could be noted. I myself had no comments.
Unfortunately, dinner was a disappointment. The first few courses were OK, but the service was so fast-paced that I had to insist on finishing one dish even though they brought the next one. For me personally, the fast pace completely ruins the experience. Firstly, I eat quite slowly and secondly, I want time to taste and smell the different elements on the plate and admire the presentation. I also like to have a break of a few minutes between courses. But here it was clear that the kitchen and not the guests dictated the pace, and if you hadn't finished a dish, the next one would be brought to the table anyway, where it would sit and get boring. After the third course, I said stop and insisted on finishing this dish, having a break of at least 20 minutes before the next course, and finally that when the next course arrived, it should be freshly prepared and not have been waiting for half an hour or more. I was already behind schedule, the first guests were leaving the tables. I didn't manage to make them understand. I had to send the food away after 5 minutes and explain everything again, and when I was served the dish after the break, everything was dull and sad, including the sauce, which had congealed into a weird blob. I approached the deputy supervisor, who took action and made sure I got a freshly prepared dish. Not the one on the menu, because there was nothing left, but another dish.
Meanwhile, I was alone in the restaurant, everyone had gone their separate ways, and after 8pm nothing else happened that night. It was more than a little boring.
Breakfast the next day was fine, and after an activity, a slightly boring brunch was served as we sailed back towards Ha Long and the end.
The conclusion for me is that a cruise is a great experience that I would like to repeat, but despite the fact that I was more than happy with my room, I had chosen the wrong one as it actually became quite unsuccessful from dinner onwards and the subsequent absence of life on the ship after 20:00.
Hanoi
Hotel
In Hanoi, I booked Art Hotel Ha Noi through Agoda, but I've used the link to the same hotel from Booking.com here as I simply don't want to recommend Agoda. I booked a Junior Suite with terrace on a high floor and the room, listed at 30 square metres, was spacious and well-appointed with a large but slightly hard double bed, a comfortable sofa, another sitting area with an armchair and a small coffee table and a large terrace with comfortable furniture. Booking 7 nights, I paid DKK 169 or €22.5 or $25 per night without breakfast. The hotel is quite small and located in a small alley in the Old Quarter, a few minutes walk from e.g. ‘Beer Street’ and surrounded by restaurants, cafés, bars, grocery stores, shops with copy clothes and much, much more. There may be some noise from the small alley below the hotel, but nothing that bothered me. The old-fashioned style of the room with furniture that looks like antiques and red plush reminiscent of a brothel in an old western might split opinions. I thought it was cosy.
The room and bathroom were not state of the art, and some would call it rather worn, so it's not luxurious, but as things functioned, the room met my expectations. Except for one thing, the absence of some sort of desk or other workspace for my PC, which I was under the impression was part of the decor and part of the reason why I chose this room/hotel. I asked the front desk - adding ‘it's 100% OK and understandable if you can't help’ - if they might have a small table somewhere the height of a dining table and a chair I could borrow. The young man, who had an office in the reception area, immediately spoke to the manager who allowed him to transport one of his two desks and work chair to my room and less than 10 minutes later I was provided with a fully functional workstation in a corner of the room. It was overwhelmingly kind, in my opinion, and it was just one of several situations where this particular member of staff was accommodating and helpful. In addition to the fact that I had my best workspace of the trip so far, it also gave me a nice feeling of being a welcome and appreciated guest. The daily housekeeping worked flawlessly and if I chose to skip a day, I was still provided with two bottles of water. So although the hotel and room are on the more basic and also worn end of the 3-star spectrum, the good room, the overwhelming help and the low price helped put the hotel on my list of options when/if I return to Hanoi.
Activities in Hanoi
I had only pre-booked one activity in Hanoi and I left it at that. I had booked a private tour through the organisation Hanoi Kids, which is a voluntary club of students that offers free tours in Hanoi, where guests can choose to contribute to the club's activities through a voluntary contribution. They offer city tours and food tours, and I had chosen the former.
I was accompanied by a female student who calls herself ‘Candy’ and she showed me many interesting places in the old quarter and in the French Quarter. It's really exciting to meet local young people and get an insight into their lives and their plans and dreams, and we had great conversations about the differences between her society and the West, which I know best. I highly recommend Hanoi Kids!
For your information, I gave them VND 400,000, which is equivalent to DKK 108 or €14.5 or $16.
On the other days, my activities mainly consisted of taking a Grab to an attraction and then using this location as a starting point for walks in areas other than the Old Quarter.
Some of the locations were:
Hỏa Lò prison, originally established by the French to punish rebellious Vietnamese and later used for American prisoners of war during the American War (or Vietnam War, as we usually call it). I chose to hire an audio guide and it was an interesting and recommended visit.
Tran Quoc Pagoda, a Buddhist temple complex on a small peninsula in the large West Lake in Hanoi. Not only is the pagoda interesting, but the lakeside area is also beautiful and obviously a place where the locals go on outings. On the way back I passed the Presidential Palace, which is securely fenced off, and Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum, which was not open for visits that day.
The temple of literature, which is a very beautiful and peaceful temple area and a historic university. Also recommended.
Lotte Observation DeckThis is a tall skyscraper where, for a rather hefty fee (around $10), you can visit the viewing deck on the 65th floor and walk 360 degrees to see the city from all angles. It was very fancy, but there wasn't much in the way of maps and the like, and it wasn't nearly as interesting as the Bitexco Financial Tower in Ho Chi Minh City. It gets a lukewarm recommendation from me at best.
Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum, which is a medium-sized art museum with collections from many eras. It's a fine museum, but contemporary art is underrepresented for my taste.
Train StreetThere are trains running through Hanoi and in some places directly through residential neighbourhoods. In the Train Street you can sit in a café and wait/hope for a train to pass close by while you're there. There are lots of tourists, Instagram is glowing and I thought it was fun! (The train arrives 19 seconds into the video)
Michelin Guide
The Michelin Guide has many recommendations in Vietnam, including 7 restaurants with 1 star. However, there are also 58 restaurants that have been recommended with a Bib Gourmand.This is given to interesting restaurants at every level, including those that are almost like a street kitchen that just goes the extra mile. By the time I reached Hanoi, I had eaten a lot of Vietnamese food that was perhaps getting a bit monotonous, so I started targeting restaurants with a Bib Gourmand. This resulted in many good, but still cheap experiences, and if you're even a little bit of a foodie, you should remember this guide and make use of it!
About Hanoi:
It's obvious to compare Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi as they are the country's largest cities, and when it comes to the areas where you typically go as a tourist, I think Hanoi is the more pleasant of the two cities with a more old and traditional atmosphere. I also find the selection of restaurants, cafés, shops and so on more inviting. If you like to shop for knock-offs, it seemed more manageable to me as there are plenty of shops with such goods in the Old Quarter and I found it more relaxed than a very large market such as Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City, where the pushy behaviour of the vendors does not suit my temperament at all and where I almost end up feeling like a person on the run. But of course it's individual.
But as with Ho Chi Minh City, I realised that the city is hectic and noisy in the long run and that 7 nights was more than I needed. The city is both fascinating and vibrant and at the same time somewhat stressful. I was excited and looking forward to the two main cities from home, and I loved visiting them, but my main lesson learnt regarding my planning was nevertheless that a total of 14 nights in the two cities was a wrong decision and I could have done with, for example, a total of 8.
Journey home:
My flight back to Europe left at 19:30, and to avoid sweating in the city streets while I waited, I decided to buy access to the Song Hong Business Lounge at the airport. It can be purchased on Klook.com for $31.55, but due to my hotel booking with Agoda, I was able to book there for $26. It was money well spent, the lounge was comfortable, the food was good, and the drinks selection was great including a selection of cocktails from the kind bartender. It turned annoying waiting time into relaxed indulgence.
A comment about the airport itself, at the risk that I was there on an atypical day: All stages from arrival until you were ready to go to the gate went exceptionally easily and quickly, from baggage claim to various passport/boarding pass checks (there are a few of those) to security, and I ended up with the feeling that I have never passed faster through an airport with shorter queues and adequate staffing. But I have to emphasise that I only tried it once and don't know if I was just lucky.
Budget/economy in brief:
People often ask how much money you should budget for travelling, and it depends on personal needs and choices.
But here's what I spent on my trip described above with 31 nights, 30 in hotels and 1 on a luxury cruise (300 USD).
I would characterise it as a mid-range budget, not as cheap as possible, but not extravagant either.
The amount includes everything I spent from the time I landed in Vietnam until I got on a plane out of the country, but it doesn't include the international flights to and from Vietnam, as they depend entirely on where in the world you are travelling from.
In brief, the amount includes the items mentioned below, but is not limited to them. For some of the larger items, the amount is listed for that item, but it's not possible to do it all the way through. For example, I can't remember all the entrance fees, but if you are interested in any of the places mentioned, you can google it quickly.
30 hotel nights in mid-range hotels, but consistently in the best/largest room in the selected hotels: DKK 5,490 or €732 or $800
Luxury cruise: DKK 2,062 or €275 or $300
2 domestic flights: DKK 915 or €122 or $133
All transfers to and from airports and between cities/cruises
Grab ad libitum
15 days scooter rental: DKK 548 or €73 or $80
All meals, drinks, snacks, café breaks, etc.
All entrance fees to attractions
4 private guided tours, 2 cooking classes and 1 coffee course: DKK 1,470 or €196 or $214)
Lounge access at the departure airport: DKK 180 or €24 or $26
Fast track service at the arrival airport: DKK 165 or €22 or $24
Unlimited data package for my phone for the duration of my stay: DKK 104 or €14 or $15
Total spend for the above plus the categories I may have forgotten: DKK 16,454 or € 2,194 or $ 2,396.
It is simply the sum of the amounts spent from my account during the period.
Note that what I spent on clothes and shoes in Hoi An is NOT included as it in no way contributed to the trip, but were purchases I don't have to make at home.
Something that ALSO ISN'T included are evening parties. As a 62-year-old solo traveller, I didn't have the imagination to think of places where I could go out and party at night and feel comfortable and part of the target group. This may be due to a lack of imagination. But if you're a party animal, this should be added. You can usually get beer for 1-2 USD, wine and drinks are much more expensive.
For reference, I can add that including flights from Prague to Ho Chi Minh City and finally from Hanoi to Prague, the total cost of a month's holiday in Vietnam for a solo traveller was DKK 25,500 or €3,400 or $3,740.
Weather in Vietnam:
Vietnam stretches quite far from north to south, and the best time to visit the country varies depending on where you want to be - see the table below. July, where I travelled, is hot and humid, and in many places it's rainy season. My experience was that yes, it was usually very hot with high humidity, but it didn't rain nearly as much as I expected. There were showers many of the days, but they were short and I wouldn't say that the rain was a problem.
In the Facebook groups, the most common question is "what's the weather like in xxx month?", and if you ask me about it in a comment, you won't get an answer. But here IS the answer: this chart and Google are your friend, and neither I nor anyone else has a crystal ball that can help you more than that.
NOTE! Click on the table to open it in a new window or right-click to download it
THANK YOU for reading this far - I know it took a long time
Please feel free to leave a comment so I get a sense that I'm not just talking/writing into nothingness. I would appreciate that.
Have a great trip to Vietnam!
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Spændende læsning 🙂
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Agradeço imenso esta publicação. Muito orientadora, explicativa e com muitas dicas que tomei boa nota.
Mais logo irei ver os videos no youtube.
I really appreciate this publication. Very guiding, explanatory and with lots of tips that I took good note of.
Later I will watch the videos on YouTube.
Extremely helpful and insightful guide, Thank You. I will be referring back to certain sections and watching your videos as additional research for our trip next year.
I enjoyed your writing style.
Thank you very much!