Hanoi, Nha Trang and where else?
Mar 21, 2019, 10:17 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New York, NY, USA
Programs: SPG GL, AA GL
Posts: 2,591
Hanoi, Nha Trang and where else?
We currently have 6 nights in Hanoi, then have to be in Nha Trang on 7th day. First night we land really late, so doesn't count. Should I just stay 4 nights in Hanoi + 2D / 1N on Halong Bay tour? Or should I do 2 or 3 nights in Hanoi and go somewhere else before NT? I feel like it's too long for Hanoi but too short to hop to another location.
Mar 21, 2019, 12:24 pm
#2
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Omaha
Posts: 1,674
We currently have 6 nights in Hanoi, then have to be in Nha Trang on 7th day. First night we land really late, so doesn't count. Should I just stay 4 nights in Hanoi + 2D / 1N on Halong Bay tour? Or should I do 2 or 3 nights in Hanoi and go somewhere else before NT? I feel like it's too long for Hanoi but too short to hop to another location.
Cooking class, food tour, visit museums, tour Hanoi with a local, etc.
You could go Halong Bay as a 1,2 or 3 day trip. Day trip to Perfume Pagoda. Ninh Binh as a 1 or 2 day trip.
You could just cut your visit to Hanoi short and go to Hoi An for 2 days, and then fly Da Nang to Cam Ranh.
Mar 22, 2019, 5:35 am
#4
Original Member, Ambassador: External Miles and Points Resources
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Digital Nomad Wandering the Earth - Currently in LIMA, PERU
Posts: 58,607
IMHO, 3 days is plenty in Hanoi (it was too much for us). Do Halong.
Mar 22, 2019, 6:22 am
#5
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Australia
Programs: QF, LM, AA,VA Silver, Qatar, Accor Gold, CC Gold, HH Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott B Plat
Posts: 535
We currently have 6 nights in Hanoi, then have to be in Nha Trang on 7th day. First night we land really late, so doesn't count. Should I just stay 4 nights in Hanoi + 2D / 1N on Halong Bay tour? Or should I do 2 or 3 nights in Hanoi and go somewhere else before NT? I feel like it's too long for Hanoi but too short to hop to another location.
You can fly to Da nang and spend 2-3 nights there with a day trip to Hue or 1 night in Da nang and 2 nights in Hoi an.
If you go further south for beach areas there is the Grand Ho tram strip at Vung Tau with a free bus from HCM (2 nights, 1 night HCM) or you can fly to Phu Quoc island 3 nights.
Last edited by Rusell; Mar 22, 2019 at 6:23 am Reason: edit
Mar 23, 2019, 3:37 am
#8
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Dalat, Vietnam
Programs: Vietnam, Asiana, Singapore, EVA, Southwest
Posts: 934
Dalat is the true gem of Vietnam in my opinion. I'm just not a fan of Nha Trang at all. I far prefer Quy Nhon because this is the yet undiscovered beach resort in this country. I'm traveling to both Dalat and Quy Nhon in May. Too much of Vietnam is being overdeveloped (such as Hoi An & Danang).
Mar 23, 2019, 4:11 am
#9
Original Member, Ambassador: External Miles and Points Resources
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Digital Nomad Wandering the Earth - Currently in LIMA, PERU
Posts: 58,607
Dalat is the true gem of Vietnam in my opinion. I'm just not a fan of Nha Trang at all. I far prefer Quy Nhon because this is the yet undiscovered beach resort in this country. I'm traveling to both Dalat and Quy Nhon in May. Too much of Vietnam is being overdeveloped (such as Hoi An & Danang).
Mar 27, 2019, 3:03 am
#11
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: SGN/SIN
Posts: 44
No more than 3 days in Hanoi, a few in Dalat. Avoid Da Nang, as there are terrible choices for food unless you are nuts for seafood (questionable as it can be full of mercury etc). Saigon is a lot of fun, more night life and better choices of food. Nha Trang is nice as well.
Mar 28, 2019, 1:58 am
#12
Original Member, Ambassador: External Miles and Points Resources
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Digital Nomad Wandering the Earth - Currently in LIMA, PERU
Posts: 58,607
No more than 3 days in Hanoi, a few in Dalat. Avoid Da Nang, as there are terrible choices for food unless you are nuts for seafood (questionable as it can be full of mercury etc). Saigon is a lot of fun, more night life and better choices of food. Nha Trang is nice as well.
Hoi An was the opposite: great and reasonably priced food on every corner.
Mar 30, 2019, 2:08 pm
#13
Join Date: Apr 2010
Programs: AA EXP 6MM, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 265
No more than 3 days in Hanoi, a few in Dalat. Avoid Da Nang, as there are terrible choices for food unless you are nuts for seafood (questionable as it can be full of mercury etc). Saigon is a lot of fun, more night life and better choices of food. Nha Trang is nice as well.
I will be in Da Nang in May and I am planning to hit my favorite seafood shack on the drive by the ocean, and you comment makes me wonder.
Questionable food sources is a problem that seems to hit the local news at least once a month, and it also happened in Ha Noi, HCMC, i.e, basically could be anywhere, not only in Da Nang.
Apr 4, 2019, 5:20 pm
#14
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Dalat, Vietnam
Programs: Vietnam, Asiana, Singapore, EVA, Southwest
Posts: 934
I'm not crazy about Danang (Hoi An has the best food in VN) but you can't fault the seafood. Some people are just not seafood people, and seafood in Asia is quite different from that in the States or Europe.
Apr 10, 2019, 9:53 pm
#15
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
Programs: Frontier Gold, DL estranged 1MMer, Spirit VIP, CO/NW/UA/AA once gold/plat/comped gold now dust.
Posts: 38,151
Concur about food choices in Da Nang. We don’t eat noodles or rice so we struggled and paid a lot more for food there than we had expected to: https://readyjetroam.com/2019/03/25/...ts-in-da-nang/