5khours

Just apply for a 30 day e-visa (you can select either business or tourism) through one of the online visa services. I've done a couple recently. Hassle free.

boonkoh

Do any of you have recommendations for drivers between the following locations? Ideally a bigger car, as there are four adults (with their 4 medium/large check-in bags).

Danang to Hue
Hue to Phong Nha
Phong Nha to Dong Hoi airport

I will be asking the hotels I'm staying at for their services, but I do expect it to be very expensive. So looking to see if there are any tried and tested drivers that you guys and girls have used on your trips to Vietnam!

boonkoh

Any restaurant recommendations for the following places?
Hoi An, Da Nang, Hue, Phong Nga, Hanoi

Looking for local cuisine, or fusion.
Mid-to-high end type places, rather than hole-in-the-wall or casual eats.

breakinggood

Do you still have your guides contact info? I'm interested.

breakinggood

I have planned a trip and would like to know what you think. It will be for January of next year. Arrive HanoiDay 1 rest and relax stay at La Siesta Classic Ma May 105 per night

Day 2 do a food tour, stay at La Siesta Classic Ma May 105 per night

Take a egg coffee class https://www.cookly.me/do/1875-make-v...ref=wanderlush

Day 3 La Siesta Classic Ma May 105 per night

Eat at Bun Cha Huong Lien

Day 4 leave for Ha Long and La Hon Bay on Orchid cruises

Transfer fees 36 per person or 72 per couple from Hanoi

Or check out the Dragon Legend about the same price 7

Orchid Classic two night three day cruise 890 total for 2

Price doesn’t include drinks

Day 5 Orchid Classic La Hon Bay

Day 6 leave the ship and head to Ninh Bihn at 11:30 private car to Ninh Bihn will be 105
Day 6 Ninh Bihn stay at Friendly Home 25

Day 7 Ninh Bihn or stay at Friendly Home 25

Or stay at https://libertyhallvilla.com/ $45.
Day 8 take the night train to Dong hoi
Day 9 stay at Phong Nha Be Farmstay

https://phongnhafarmstay.business.site/ 60

Day 10 stay at Phong Nha Be Farmstay 60

Day 11 stay at Phong Nha be farmstay 60

Day 12 take a private car to Hue from Phong Nha Be 125

Day 12 Hue stay at Hue Riverside villa 35

While in Hue pronounced hway, while in hway eat at Quan Banh Khoai Hanh ask for the snack platter

Day 13 Stay at Hue Riverside villa Day 14 Hue take a private car to Hoi An stop at marble mountain on the way Stop at Bebe tailor that day for a dress in hoi an Day 15 Stay at Allegro Hoi An Hotel and Spa 95
Day 16 Stay at Hoi An Allegro Hoi An Hotel and Spa 95
Day 17 flight to Luang Prabang from Da Nang 250 per person 500 Day 17 fly to Luang Prabang stay at Mekong river hotel 120 Day 18 Mekong River Hotel [ame=https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFL Uhqbl80RzlBRzNHaHpKbFZHVGlKank3TmdqQ2tBZ3xBQ3Jtc0t tMVU1ajFlZFBPM0twRFpSZG43ek9uc0dRRFhhaFBQOEN6Y0M2S 05MZU9QSVdWaG5BZDlHbVlJMGJ0c2VGczVMUW9lS2hkNDNhaXh O...lZ1pTWnlMWDN5LVZQM1VYdVJTamUzdTNFZUlFUWFkREpod w&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.orangerobetours.com%2F&v=uFa QzOsjTXE]https://www.orangerobetours.com[/url] Day 19 Mekong River Hotel Day 20 Mekong River Hotel
Day 21 fly to Hanoi or BKK Day 22 fly home

We're open to changes and suggestions

Tardis_mom

We were in Vietnam in December and have personal experience with some of the places you mentioned. I definitely agree with La Siesta Classic Ma May. Great location in the Old Quarter, excellent breakfast buffet, and helpful and lovely staff. If you'd like to explore the Vietnamese coffee culture in Hanoi I would recommend two other places in addition to your egg coffee class: Cafe Giang (where the egg coffee was invented: http://www.giangcafehanoi.com/) and C.O.C. Legacy Coffee https://cocsaigon.vn/search, where we learned so much about the various coffee growing regions of Vietnam and tasted various coffees. Both of these places are within a couple of blocks from La Siesta Classic Ma May. We also ate at Bun Cha Huong Lien or as they call it over there "Obama". Is it touristy? Absolutely! And it's probably not the best bun cha in Hanoi but it was cool to see where President Obama and Anthony Bourdain ate (tip: go upstairs for more seating and to see the actual table where they ate). Ha Long Bay: we did the overnight Ha Long Bay cruise on the Dragon Legend and we liked it. The food was great, and I think the excursions are going to be pretty much the same regardless of which cruise you take (the cave and the fishing village). If you decide to do Saigon, we LOVED the Hotel Central Riverside. Have a great trip!

breakinggood

Thank you for the advise.

KH1989

Looking to travel to Vietnam for three nights from Laos in October/November for a few days relaxing on a beach before heading back to the UK. Is there any recommendation on where to go near Hanoi, and what it is like travelling from Laos to Vietnam?

Thanks in advance

Firemansam

Beaches from Hanoi are 2-3 hours away.
If Hanoi is your outgoing airport maybe better to go to somewhere like Nha Trang, Da nang or Phu Quoc then fly to Hanoi.
Perhaps Laos to Danang would be doable direct.

KH1989

Thank you

dinhoecotour

October/ November is not a good time (Flood/ Typhoon) for Danang as well as Central VN so head south for beach time is better.

KH1989

Great to know, thanks for the advice. Will maybe look to fly out from Ho Chi Minh instead!

global_b

Hi all,

I've been searching both on FT and on Google, but haven't been able to see any examples of this. I have 3 nights to visit somewhere from Singapore in September. I was thinking about going to Vietnam, and Halong Bay specifically. Is it possible to go straight from Hanoi airport (SQ192 arriving at 11:25am) to a Halong Bay overnight cruise? Ideally, I'd like to fly in on Thursday morning and then get transferred straight to a Halong Bay cruise. Spend 2 nights aboard the cruise and then on Saturday morning be transferred back to Hanoi where I would stay overnight before flying out on Sunday at noon.

From what I've seen so far, the transfers from Hanoi to a Halong Bay cruise have all be in the morning, say 9am or so from various hotels in central Hanoi. I'm wondering if anyone has had experience flying in and then being transferred straight to a cruise from the airport.

I'm also looking at various cruise lines/boats, but if there are some that specifically have itineraries like the one I'm proposing, then it would be great to hear about them. If this doesn't work, then it looks like I might end up with just a one night cruise, which seems a bit too quick.

Thanks very much!

dinhoecotour

You can consider doing 1 night on Cat Ba island and 1 night on board.

FFSaver

I land in HAN at 2pm and wondering if I should:
(A) stay overnight in Hanoi and catch the early bus to Sapa or
(B) catch the overnight bus to Sapa

for both options, I’ll stay 2 nights in Sapa

with option A, I’ll end up with just 1.5 day in Sapa. Is it enough?

with option B, ill get 2 full days in Sapa. However, I’ll have probably a new big luggages so will have to find a place to store them since I don’t feel like carrying them all to Sapa. I’ll return to Hanoi afterwards for a few days.

any suggestions?