Going to Vietnam! Any tips?
- Thread starter Scam
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Associate
I'm booking a short break to Phu Quoc at the end of Oct for 3 nights. The whole island looks like it is made entirely of nice hotels. Anyone been there before? Gives a totally different vibe than HCMC
Soldato
Thread revival, but I am also going to Vietnam in April for a while, I was wondering if you guys have any tips for what do to, not specifically what to visit but activities as such.
Beside the semi daily massage/spa treatments and normal Asia stuff, I wanted to go to a shooting range and shoot AK47's... Otherwise I'll be doing a few tours and visiting a few national parks.
What other activities can I do which are hard or expensive in Europe but hopefully dead cheap there?
I'm going for 3 weeks and 5 days, I will be starting in Hanoi and ending in Hcm. I will be buying a cheap 120 cc motorbike (Honda Win Chinese clone, almost a moped but with actual gearbox) in Hanoi and flogging it in HCM. I have had previous experience with motorbiking in Asia (Indonesia and Thailand). Got all my shots ( DTP, Hep A and B, got a Malarone cure with me, have Rabies vaccination and Covid booster/3rd shot and ofc I am familiar with the bug repellent stuff).
Hà Giang loop for 5-6 days is planned, obviously Ha long bay and Cat Ba island, and then north to south trip... I will skip Mekong delta and Phú Quốc because of time constraint (would love to visit the island while Mekong delta doesn't really interest me). I have about 1500-2000 euros as budget (ex flight) and will be mostly staying in private rooms in hostels with the luxury hotels as a variation once every x days. Going with a mate. I don't really need the basic tips, I know to be very cautious on the road, avoiding the usual tourist scams and keeping an eye out for the grab and go robberies.I also know about the night trains that take your bike onboard, grab to go to the hotel after a night out, etc.
So far my to go list ( I might not visit all but I have done some research with what to visit).
Any must have tips, locations or activities are much appreciated.
Beside the semi daily massage/spa treatments and normal Asia stuff, I wanted to go to a shooting range and shoot AK47's... Otherwise I'll be doing a few tours and visiting a few national parks.
What other activities can I do which are hard or expensive in Europe but hopefully dead cheap there?
I'm going for 3 weeks and 5 days, I will be starting in Hanoi and ending in Hcm. I will be buying a cheap 120 cc motorbike (Honda Win Chinese clone, almost a moped but with actual gearbox) in Hanoi and flogging it in HCM. I have had previous experience with motorbiking in Asia (Indonesia and Thailand). Got all my shots ( DTP, Hep A and B, got a Malarone cure with me, have Rabies vaccination and Covid booster/3rd shot and ofc I am familiar with the bug repellent stuff).
Hà Giang loop for 5-6 days is planned, obviously Ha long bay and Cat Ba island, and then north to south trip... I will skip Mekong delta and Phú Quốc because of time constraint (would love to visit the island while Mekong delta doesn't really interest me). I have about 1500-2000 euros as budget (ex flight) and will be mostly staying in private rooms in hostels with the luxury hotels as a variation once every x days. Going with a mate. I don't really need the basic tips, I know to be very cautious on the road, avoiding the usual tourist scams and keeping an eye out for the grab and go robberies.I also know about the night trains that take your bike onboard, grab to go to the hotel after a night out, etc.
So far my to go list ( I might not visit all but I have done some research with what to visit).
Any must have tips, locations or activities are much appreciated.
Last edited:
Associate
Pho and banh mi. You can go ahead and ditch the Vietnamese spring rolls unless it's the deep fried version.
Soldato
Make sure you say "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning" locals love it.
Yes we loved it there, plenty of great hotels a d beaches. I'd recommend the prisoner of War camp visit/tour they used the island as a prison during the war. Vin pearl land / water park is great and there's a safari that was pretty impressive. I remember the sea being really warm, although when we were there (January) the jellyfish spawn meant you got stung a lot, not overly painful, just a bit unpleasant
Soldato
Ninh Binh definitely such stunning scenery walk up Mua caves for beautiful views.
Then can go on boat that they take you on down the river cool experience.
Hoi an also a great place more so at night with all the lantern lit up. You also have Danang where they have the fire breathing dragon on the bridge also sprays water so you get soaked haha. Also has the beach in Danang but I travelled Vietnam a lot but wasn't blown away by beaches I see, even Phu Quoc sea was very dirty full of rubbish.
Recommend going on organised tour to Cu Chi tunnels (war tunnels) I went on back of a motorbike there which was cool in itself, you can shoot guns after aswell.
English isn't very well spoken by locals fortunately my ex at the time was Vietnamese so it was easy for me. I have also heard stories from travellers who have struggled definitely recommend using TripAdvisor forum and gathering as much intel as possible to not get stuck.
Then can go on boat that they take you on down the river cool experience.
Hoi an also a great place more so at night with all the lantern lit up. You also have Danang where they have the fire breathing dragon on the bridge also sprays water so you get soaked haha. Also has the beach in Danang but I travelled Vietnam a lot but wasn't blown away by beaches I see, even Phu Quoc sea was very dirty full of rubbish.
Recommend going on organised tour to Cu Chi tunnels (war tunnels) I went on back of a motorbike there which was cool in itself, you can shoot guns after aswell.
English isn't very well spoken by locals fortunately my ex at the time was Vietnamese so it was easy for me. I have also heard stories from travellers who have struggled definitely recommend using TripAdvisor forum and gathering as much intel as possible to not get stuck.
Associate
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Vietnam is great but was a bit disappointed with Halong Bay due to pollution in water......
Soldato
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