This page exists because I often get asked about info for organizing trips to Vietnam. Everything I know is on this page.

  • Vietnam has a lot of tourist attractions. You cannot cover everything in a week or even two weeks.
  • For booking tours, lookup the links in the last section after reading rest of this page.

What to expect on the trip?

  • Scenic views.
  • Lots of limestone caves.
  • Beaches.
  • Beautiful cafes (with wifi).
  • Good food.
  • Bespoke suits.

If you have one week and prefer to travel slow:

  • Land in Hanoi.
  • Go to Ninh Binh for a slow 2-day or 3-day trip.
  • Book a cruise for Ha Long Bay.
  • Exit via Hanoi.

If you have one week and prefer to see as much as you can:

  • Land in Hanoi.
  • Go on a Ninh Binh day trip with a tour group.
  • Go on a Sapa trip with a tour group.
  • Book a cruise for Ha Long Bay.

If you have more than one week:

  • Go on a trip to the places mentioned above.
  • Then checkout more places in Central Vietnam.

I haven’t visited all the places in Vietnam. This page also includes recommendations I’ve received from other people. This page is only a starting point for your research. Look up places mentioned below on the internet.

North Vietnam

Hanoi

  • Land in Hanoi. Treat this place like a juncture to travel to other places.
  • Old Quarter is the tourist area close to a lot of places (+ tourist traps).
    • Beer street is located there too.
    • Book some walking tours.
  • Where to stay?
    • Hostels are good if you are ok with dorm beds.
    • If you prefer private rooms, checkout Airbnbs and hotels.
    • If you like to stay in hotel chains, there are Mercure La Gare, Grand Mercure, Pullman, InterContinencal, Movenpick, Sofitel and Novotel.
  • If you have time to spare, try to visit the Vinhomes Ocean City. This is a private apartment complex of about 2600 acres (township?). This place is open to visitors. Look up pictures online 😀

Ninh Binh:

  • If not going with a tour group, then taking a 2hr train from Hanoi is an option.
  • Where to stay?
    • If your trip is more than a day trip, then you can stay at any of the homestays/hotels.
    • Look these up on booking.com. These are not exactly “homestays”. They have well-furnished rooms with air-conditioning.
  • For getting around in Ninh Binh,
    • Your hotel can rent you a motor bike.
    • It’s a small town. Most places are nearby. The drive to far away places are scenic and quiet.
  • Trang An boat tour
    • 👍 Highly recommend this.
    • About 2-3hrs of boat tour with scenic views. One of the route options include going through a 1km cave by boat.
  • Mua Cave (a bit of a misnomer, because this is a mountain to climb).
  • Thung Nham Bird Park - Get a map. This bird park has a lot of limestone caves.
  • Look up the pagodas/templates you want to visit.
  • Avoid the Tam Coc boat tour. Not worth going for this one. The Trang An boat tour is much better organized.

Ha Long Bay:

  • Book a cruise for 2 days and 1 night.
  • Which cruise to book?
    • A friend of mine booked Erina cruise (2023). He loved it. The pictures looked great.
    • I’ve also heard goo experiences from those that booked with Sapphire Cruise.
    • I went by Bhaya cruise (2018). I loved my experience too.
    • There are a lot of cruises. Feel free to find others too. Most cruise operators seem to have websites with online bookings.
  • The cruise operators will pick you up and drop you back in Hanoi’s Old Quarter area.
  • If you have dietary restrictions, please ensure to inform the cruise operator well ahead of your trip so that they can prepare to serve you appropriate food.

Sapa:

  • Trekking, rice fields, etc.
  • Go with a tour group. A day trip from Hanoi is possible. Three days would be better.

Central Vietnam

Da Nang has an international airport.

Da Nang:

  • SunWorld Ba Na Hills
    • Amusement park.
    • World’s longest nonstop cable car.
  • Marble mountains
  • Lady Buddha temple
  • Museums
  • Beaches

Other places:

  • Hoi An
    • Town with a UNESCO heritage site.
    • 1hr from Da Nang.
  • Hang Son Doong Cave
    • World’s largest cave.
    • 5hrs from Da Nang.
  • Hue
    • Ancient Citadel.
    • 45min from Da Nang.
    • If you are from India, this places offers the similar value for tourists like Mysore does (I would skip).

South Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City:

  • Land in Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
  • What to do? Good food, good cafes and good night-life. Safe city.
  • Where to eat? District-1, District-2 (Thao Dien), District-3
  • Cu Chi Tunnels - 70km from the city.

Other places:

  • Mekong Delta
  • Phu Quoc island - There are direct flights to this place from India.
  • Da Lat
  • Nha Trang

Notes on food in Vietnam

  • Tropical fruits. Consider yourself lucky if you are travelling during the Durian season. I love the RE6 variety (too sweet). Checkout other varieties too.
  • Iced Coffee and Iced Tea is more common here. You will have to request for hot if you want it so.
  • Checkout Salt Coffee, Egg Coffee and Garlic Coffee.
  • Meat in food is common here. But there are both Vegetarians and Eggetarians in Vietnam.
  • Chay means vegetarian food (this includes milk products). Use this keyword to look for places that serve vegetarian food. Check if the place serves egg in dishes (some chay places do use egg).
  • Will I find vegan food? Sure. Look it up.
  • Will I find Indian food? Find - Yes. Plenty. Good? I don’t know. I haven’t tried Indian food in Vietnam. But I’ve heard there are good restaurants. Beware: Like everywhere else, not everything that has good reviews on Google is true. To be able to judge better, read the bad reviews too.

Contacts & other links

  • Use 12go.asia to lookup bus and train bookings.
  • Checkout Airbnb Experiences for booking tours.
  • A friend went with AmitySmileTravel.com for Sapa tour and he enjoyed his trip.
  • Whichever airport you land, get a SIM card before exiting the airport. Viettel is a good network.
  • Install Grab on your phone for booking cabs.
  • If you are using international roaming, and if your phone calls aren’t working, then disable automatic network selection on your phone, and try manually selecting Viettel as your mobile network in your phone’s settings.

Currency:

  • Ensure to get atleast 5 million VND (Vietnamese Dong) if you have a debit/credit card with zero forex charges.
  • If do not have a zero/low-markup forex card, then bring your expenses as VND with you.
  • How much will you need? Probably 0.5 million VND per-person-per-day if you prefer having local cuisine for food (doesn’t include hotel bookings and airline tickets).

Visa to Vietnam:

  • Apply for Vietnam e-Visa on the immigration portal - https://evisa.gov.vn/.
  • Takes about 5 days to get your evisa. Please carry a printed copy of your evisa when you travel.
  • Indians can get visa on arrival to Phu Quoc island. But you need a valid Vietnam visa to enter mainland Vietnam from Phu Quoc or elsewhere.