mordy2000

We've never been to Vietnam and are planning a trip this summer (late June-early July) -- would love to get feedback or suggestions on this itinerary:

Arrive SGN Thursday PM
Park Hyatt
Suggestions for what to do Friday-Saturday?

Depart Sunday morning for CXR
Amanoi

Depart late Wednesday for HAN
Sofitel in Hanoi
Suggestions for what to do Thursday-Sunday?
Depart Sunday from HAN

invisible

Have you tried to read Wikivoyage pages about Saigon and Hanoi as well as read threads at Tripadvisor forums for each city? It will give you enough information.

dinhoecotour

In HCMC:
Friday: Cu Chi tunnels tour and Saigon city tour
Saturday: A day trip to Mekong Delta
In Hanoi:
2D1N tour in Halong Bay (Overnight on junk or on Cat Ba island), Halong Bay private transfer to Ninh Binh (Trang An and Tam Coc - 1 night stay in Tam Coc) and the remainder time for Hanoi.

invisible

Anyone suggesting tunnels in Saigon immediately loses credibility.

Nothing personal.

CrazyInteg

Just to clarify, this is a typical comment with typical places from a Vietnamese tour agency. Many many many tourists visit these few things.

They are okay to visit on your first visit to Vietnam but not really representative of Vietnam. You will be surrounded by Western tourists the entire time and not be eating the most flavorful food. Again, this is okay if it's your first time and you plan on coming back in the near future.

You probably posted on FlyerTalk because you want better recommendations though.
HCMC. Skip the Cu Chi tunnels. Stay in the city. I would recommend doing a city food tour. There are a few options for that. Check-out the Bitexco tower if you're into tall buildings with observation decks. There are some museums that are worth visiting, depending on your interests. Bến Thành Market is okay to visit, but insanely overpriced. You can find the same items a couple streets away for half the price. I highly recommend going to a Trung Nguyen coffee shop and ordering some of their fancier options. There are several craft breweries in HCMC.

By CXR, do you mean you will be staying in Nha Trang, or where? If Nha Trang, I just like to relax. Either on the beach, or near the beach. Food, coffee, beer, ocean. Walk on the walkway by the beach. I've never been to Vinpearl, so I cant comment on that. Long Son pagoda and Po Nagar are good sights to see.

Hanoi. Yeah, Halong Bay is nice. You will want to do at least 2 days, 1 night. You can look into Ninh Binh. You will probably want to pick one or the other. I'm not really a big fan of Hanoi, so it is hard for me to make recommendations. Obviously visit Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum, the museum, and One Pillar pagoda. Walk around Hoan Kiem lake.

invisible

I have not much favorable opinion about Trung Nguyen after being told by their local salesman that their profit margins come from diluting coffee with soybeans and grinding and mixing them together.

mordy2000

Exactly -- thanks. Your suggestions are very helpful. Re: CXR, we were planning on splitting the sightseeing with some R+R and stay at Amanoi for a few days.
The wife and I are actually still undecided -- either Vietnam or Japan... weighing the two.

invisible

They are no comparable by any means.

Annalisa12

Whole reason I went to Vietnam was to see the Chu Chi tunnels.

For various reasons, it gave me a new perspective for those that fought in Vietnam .

Go and see them.

invisible

I might know way more about Vietnam war than you do - I personally know two locals from both sides (who are in their late 60s right now) fighting there that time.

mordy2000

I assume you mean Vietnam is FAR better?

Not sure this is a contest
All opinions welcome...

invisible

It is to compare kilograms with meters. Two completely different countries, different experiences, different spent requirement (outside of flights in/out - expect that Japan will cost 5x-10x more comparing to Vietnam) and you are going there for different purposes.
It is not. But going to visits so called tunnels with the purpose to understand vietnam war is self-deception. What they show near Saigon is a modern creation (read - fake) and not much to do with the reality.

wxman22

Living for the most part in Vietnam and HCMC for almost a year now, I like everything Invisible and CrazyInteger said above.
Everything.

The only thing i could add is that Vietnamese really like Americans, unlike Japanese (who hide true feelings).
The true cost difference is about 10 to 1; but if staying in western hotel in District 1, then 5 to 1 is about right.

Have fun.

CrazyInteg

Agreed. There is nothing really similar between Japan and Vietnam. Easiest way to compare/decide is to watch some YouTube videos.

invisible

One of the thing I would recommend to avoid in Saigon is staying at D1, as well as another thing to avoid is Ben Thanh market which is common scamming area.

Personal opinion: starting from Saigon to get introduced to Vietnam might create quite bad first (and as we know - long lasting) impressions about the country. I would skip Saigon entirely if possible. Instead go to Dalat for three days or to Hanoi. For next iterations I would add Sapa, Da nang and couple of more places.

Vietnam (and I'd say Bali) is like a multi-flavored spicy dish. You can't eat six portions of it in one set hoping that you would enjoy it and learn/experience everything. It will have opposite effect.

The best way to enjoy it is NOT to follow busloads of lemmings (sorry - tourists on packaged tours) while staying at western brand hotels. Instead go somewhere else (like listed above), stay at homestays/B&B or local hotels. Prices for these properties are ridiculously cheap and you can keep your points for Japan, where you would really needs them.

Good luck.