glennaa11

Yes, it will also be cool in LP as it is also in the mountains. When I was there in December it was cool at night and warm during the day. Which meant a good bit of fog in the morning which eventually lifted by around lunchtime.

Yes, they are certainly different enough to do both. Two or three days is plenty for most people when it comes to LP. The old town is small. You can walk from one end to the other in 20 minutes or so.

Goldorak

I was there end february, for the 3rd time and 4 years after my last visit, and it still stay the same great place it was for my 1st and 2nd stays.

italdesign

Good to know!

Riadhou

Hi,!
i am programming the same trip as you did in Asia .
Previous time:March 2019.

Do you have visited Chiang mai .Is it an amazing city as Luanag Prapang is ?

​​​​​​As iam hesitating between Chiang mai and Hanoi, Could you please inform me how did you planned your itinerary , and how would you planned it if it will be your first trip in this region.
Thank you in advance.
Riadhou

889

Nothing wrong with Chiang Mai, but from a tourist standpoint I'd say Hanoi has a lot more character, and great food.

CrazyInteg

I've have been to both multiple times. I would reccomend visiting Trip Advisor and making sure to visit the top 10 sights of each city. In Chiang Mai that will consist of many temples and the night market. Optional elephant park or zoo. In Hanoi that will include walking around the lake, visiting the Temple of Literature, a few museums and seeing Ho Chi Minh. Both cities have optional day trips that you can take, both have international airports, both have food tours and cooking classes.

They are both touristy towns and you should not have trouble with people speaking English or restaurants with English/picture menus. Hotels can range from $10-$50 per night for midrange options, and can go way up from there. I also reccomend looking up the local specialty food dishes and trying those, but if you do a food tour, they will probably feed you those items. If you cannot eat certain foods, you should still be okay in either city.

Either option should be fine. If you have a low budget, you will probably spend less in Hanoi, but a Halong Bay side trip would quickly eat away any money savings.