Thanks for all the replies, and sorry for not responding sooner, I'd been checking to see when this post was approved, but stopped checking after several days.
Anyway, thanks again for all the info and advice. We have 13 days to explore, and are thinking that since we don't get to take many long trips we wanted to explore more than one country. I certainly understand that we wont be able to explore all that Bali has to offer in 6-7 days, but hopefully we'd be able to hit a lot of the highlights.
Originally Posted by
JonB110
I agree with the previous post that 5 days in Hanoi is too much. As someone else mentioned you could do a day or two in Hanoi and then an overnight cruise on Ha Long Bay, or visit Hội An. I have also heard great things about Da Nang, but did not visit on this trip.
We seem to have the same interests . . . my girlfriend and I were more interested in the food and culture then the museums. We used, and I would highly suggest, a student tour guide (hanoi kids). Our guide took us to hole in the wall restaurants throughout the city and provided us an insight into her daily life and culture. If you do Hanoi or Saigon, I highly highly recommend trying to book one of these student guides.
In terms of weather, we just visited at the end of June 2015 and it was HOT! It reached 110 fahrenheit one day and was in the high 90s at night. We were sweating after a couple of blocks.
As others have mentioned, Bali is amazing and I would probably choose it over Hanoi for a honeymoon. In fact, I am in the process of planning a destination wedding for this December in the northeastern part of the island. Nusa Dua is going to be your touristy area, a compound of world class hotels. I would avoid Kuta/Legein, and either stay in Sanur (laid back beach town) or Jimbaran Bay. You could easily split up the beach time with a couple of days in Ubud.
Good luck!
Thanks, the student guide is a great recommendation. Finding the local spots and learning more about the culture is right at the top of our list of to-do's. ^
Originally Posted by
IceTrojan
Another vote for 5 days being too much for Hanoi, especially at the fast clip OP went in Istanbul.
Thanks, I think we'll be revising our plans to re-allocate more time in Bali and less in Hanoi (and throw in a visit to Ha Long Bay