15 invaluable days in Vietnam 💖


Two weeks in Vietnam flew by way too quickly. I would have stayed and done so much more! I loved this country so much, it made both of our equal top four from the trip (it’s a cop out because neither of us could choose a favourite place when we were asked ha).

We did Vietnam north to south: 

Hanoi - 2 night
Halong bay - 1 night
Phong Nha – 3 nights
Dalat – 3 nights
Hoi An - 2 nights
Ho Chi Minh City / Saigon - 3 nights

We travelled between these by long distance night-buses that are accessible same-day from most areas. I would do the same again, but I’d recommend preparing for there to be some drama on the buses; enjoy it if you can 😊!   

Travel wallet:

CCY: VND
Visa (British Passport): Visa not required if staying up to 15 days, e-visa available for stays up to 30 days if you apply in advance
Vaccinations: Required
Backpack budget: £-££ for tours

Peaks in pictures:



 Peaks:

Hanoi - 2 days

Visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
Visit Lenin statue
Walk around that area as there are a few presidential buildings to see
Visit the night markets around the Old Quarter
Eat the best Banh Mi / Banh My and people watch all day
Have the best Vietnamese coffee ever (condensed milk all the wayy!)
Walk around Hoan Kiem Lake at night
Visit the social bars in the Old Quarter – we ended up meeting some lovely people here who were visiting Vietnam for work 😊

*use Hanoi as a base to travel to Halong bay / Sapa
**recommended hostels in Hanoi were Flipside (where most stay and tours start), and Golden Sun Suites (in the centre of the Old Town right by the lake) but we didn’t stay in either

Halong bay – 1 night

We did the Bai Tu Long Bay boat tour for 2 days, 1 night (I couldn’t do longer than this on a boat by this stage of our trip! It’s something about the smell.) The area that this tour visits is described as being more untouched, prettier, there is less rubbish in the sea, mature crowd etc.

I can’t confirm the comparison because we didn’t do the other tour, but I can say this area is all of these things… although there is rubbish in the water wherever you go unfortunately.

My peaks of this tour included:

The sunsets and the UNESCO World Heritage caves (they are amazing) <3
Learning about Pearl farming and Kayaking through the bay
Making Vietnamese Spring Rolls with everyone
Our tour guide in general, she was so funny
Spending hours drinking on the deck, playing cards and doing absolutely nothing else

The other boat tour around Halong Bay is the Castaway tour (3 days 2 nights), which is more of a party tour involving staying overnight on Cat Ba island.

Our tour departed and returned to Hanoi, where we then got a night bus to Phong Nha

Phong Nha – 2 nights

We stayed for 2 nights because we did a full day tour with Jungle Boss Adventures to visit the caves and learn some Vietnamese History. This was the best thing ever!

The Tam Co (or Eight Lady) cave, the Elephant cave and the Dark Cave (we were swimming alongside hundreds of bats!!!) were brilliant, and so was the company. I think the swim through the Dark Cave was so traumatic that one guy on our tour started ranting and I swear he said “When I get back home I’m treating myself to a ****** costa coffee”!

Hoi An - 2 days

Our overnight bus went via Hue, we stopped here for the morning and watched the sun come up at the beach 😊
Our homestay had loads of bikes, we cycled around the Old Quarter (UNESCO Heritage area)
Ate loads; there are lots of different cultural eateries with great food, e.g. Greek souvlik, Mexican, Banh Mi etc
Cooking class (we did a vegetarian one, my pho was SO. YUM.)
Visit Phu Quoc beach
Visit the covered bridge
Explore the Night market, look out for good tailoring deals (we didn’t do this because we didn’t need clothes at this point… and we were on a budget 😉)
Drink at Tiger Tiger and Sunflower hostel

Dalat – 3 nights

Dalat has cooler temperatures than other areas in Vietnam, which makes the greenery really spectacular, so exploring on foot becomes an interesting adventure
Eat at Govinds if you feel like some Indian food
Do the Easy Rider Dalat motorbike tour – absolutely the highlight of my trip. We went to temples, learnt local history, drank amazing coffee, saw how mushrooms and weasel coffee is farmed, met amazing people, explored Crazy House and so much more. (Take me back…)
Drink at Maze Bar – this place is very weird, and very clever

Ho Chi Minh City/ Saigon - 3 nights

Stay in District 1, known for being more of a cosmopolitan area
Do the bike food tour – this was recommended to us as a must do, and I completely agree. We got taken around on the back of the moped around the city, learnt history and how our local guides really felt about politics in the country, and we tried out different types of local cuisine that I know we never would have done otherwise – we did the veggie option, and I know I’ve said this a lot already, but it was a massive highlight for me.
Visit Ben Thanh market / night market
Eat at 4P's pizza
Eat at Papparoti (we found this after going in Dubai,so more of a craving than anything else)
Go to the Water puppet show
Visit the war memorials: Cu Chi Tunnels – no explanation from me would do this experience any justice. Ironically I cracked my chest climbing into the tunnel,had to visit a virtual doctor and had difficulty breathing for the next two weeks while it healed.. but it was well worth it!
Visit the War remnants museum
Eat at HUM vegetarian; great choices and incredible service, go to the one by the river
Drink hot chocolate (and eat all of the chocolate!) at Maison Marou. Yum.
Get some coffee and people watch, there are so many people in this city, and there is some serious traffic so it’s interesting to watch!

Pits:

1) The on-arrival visa of 2 weeks is too short! That’s not really a pit, but Vietnam made both of our top three experiences (although this is really hard to do) so definitely would have loved to have more time to see more and stay for longer.
2) Hair loss 
3) Also, lots of geckos – but once you’re used to them and know they won’t come near people, it’s ok.

If I could go again, I would:

Hanoi: Go to the water puppet show, the Museum of Ethnology, the Women’s Museum and all of the Pergolas
Sapa: Visit here and stay a night in a local homestay, take a guided tour and go trekking through the villages and rice terraces
Ninh Binh: Visit here for a few days, it’s meant to be beautiful
Phong Nha: Book the Easy Tiger hostel (main backpacker hostel) in advance because it was full!
Da Nang to Hue: spend a day Dragon boat racing in Hue, and ride the Hai Van Pass on a motorbike
Hoi An: do a Lantern Making class
Dalat: Go canyoning

Hope this helps!

If you have any other recommendations let me know 😊

Love,
Priya x


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