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It can be booked at your hotel or at any tourist excursions kiosks. Just book one-way first and then book the return flight after you have built your itinerary. A good way to do it is to visit , enter the city, and check if there's something that interests you. Rest days" are those when you would be more relaxed.
You will also be asked where you will be staying in that country so make sure you know the address and contact number of your hotel. It's a breeze to travel through either by bus or by motorbike, it's relatively easy to communicate, and everyone travels on the same path so it's easy to make friends (either North to South or South to North). Accommodation: There is no need to pay more than $10USD per night for accommodation.
Keep in mind this is a rough guide to give you an idea of how much time to spend in each place. Take a peek at the Women's Museum to understand more about the women's role in the Vietnamese culture and make sure you find a spot to try some egg coffee. Then spend the afternoon on a street food tour of the city.
Most people who do it on their own will head to Cat Ba island which is the largest island in the area. And lastly take a walk up the 500 steps to the top of the mountain to admire the limestone formations from above. DAY 12: Take the morning to get yourself oriented in town and start getting ideas of what you want made.
Before or after you can roam the streets some more and visit any of the historical sites that interest you. Tickets can be bought in town the day of the show. On your last evening spend time walking by the river to see the lanterns and to explore the food and shopping markets in the area.
Head to one of the famous mud spa's and leave feeling refreshed and cleansed. There are multiple spas to choose from, I arranged one with a pick-up and drop-off through the recommended hostel below. Spend the morning lounging at the pool at the hostel I recommend below then go on a tour of the red and white sand dunes and the fairy stream.
Street food is always better and cheaper and Ho Chi Minh is one of the best places to find it. DAY 19: Arrive in Ho Chi Minh and prepare yourself for a somewhat somber day. First, you can head to the War Remnants museum to learn about the vietnam travel information war.
And lastly, you should see the Bến Thành Market for some shopping and dinner. I unfortunately, had to skip it because it is for those adventurous souls who like to jump from heights or go canyoning (these were not possible with my sprained ankle). Did you get all of that?!
Every place I mentioned is worth a visit and there are still more places to visit.
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Yet, I enjoyed the beaches near Hoi An and found them clean and well kept. The latter part of the hike didn't seem to last long after lunch. Saying that, confidence is key and if you like rural surroundings, there probably isn't a better place to go in the whole of Vietnam. I arrived at the airport at 12:45AM.
Water Puppet Show is something you wouldn't want to miss while you are in Hanoi. Don't bother about the more expensive $35 Hoa Lu-Tam Coc tour that some agencies offer promising better service like more comfortable bus or more delicious buffet lunch at a fancier restaurant as they're pretty much all the same. I was even lucky to get me soft seats for my preferred dates and time of travel to both Hue and Saigon as I was close to getting nothing at all.
Breakfast was at 6AM over Vietnamese rice, a slice of chicken and spam sprinkled with roasted peanuts and other herbs drizzled with soy sauce which I bought for VND25.000 from the roaming food cart inside the train. You may be required to leave an ID or your passport to rent either the bicycle or motorbikes. I planned to ride my bike there after seeing the Thien Mu Pagoda but it was already late so I just opted not to pursue it. I am reckless at times but I reckoned being out in the outskirts of a foreign land late at night is never a good idea.
This also gives you flexibility in choosing where to eat and how much to spend for your food. You will be surprised to see beautiful places only known to locals and kept hidden to foreign visitors. Hoi An is known to be the best place for foodies in vietnam travel that if you crave to get a taste of real Vietnamese cuisine then a trip to Hoi An would be the answer.
What you can do is book for a cooking class or stay in local homes who would be willing to provide you with not just a bed you can sleep in but a closer look to their style of cooking and better understanding of their daily living. There you can find cheap home cooked meals. I took the bus going to Danang to catch the train bound for Saigon.
Danang was almost an hour away from Hoi An. I alighted the bus at the terminal and walked my way to the train station which took about 20 minutes. At exactly 1PM commenced my not so comfy train ride to Saigon. A bridge connecting Bien Hoa and Saigon was destroyed when it got hit by a barge, disabling passage and will take months of reconstruction.
This transfer service was offered free of charge. I had a wonderful time in Ben Duoc Tunnels. I just didn't like the fact that he wanted to get the tour over and done with quick, asking us to hurry up when exploring inside the tunnels.
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Pretty cool to look around though and the temples were, odd. More on that disturbing story later. We arrived at Gia Bao Grand Hotel at about 8pm and they welcomed us in. Although, they did tell us we had a free upgrade and only had to pay $10 for the pleasure. I stayed outside and drank vodka and chatted to some crazy Ozzie guy about the import and export business in Sydney.
We actually ended up going back to the 72 Ma May Restaurant for dinner as it was so delicious on the first night, then polished off an awesome time in Hanoi with a few 15p Bia Hois. Nothing better to do than sleep, so we were well rested for our early morning flight. The staff treated us like celebrities and nothing was too much trouble.
We hung out and explored some more. It was nice to chill out with friends and not rush around like mad dogs trying to look at things as we'd spent the last few days doing. This itinerary worked perfectly for us. As we travelled we spoke to others and I said to a fair few I was sad to have missed out on Hue and Sapa, not one person made me feel bad about not going.
I'd recommend you spend two nights on the junk boat in Halong Bay if possible, rather than just the one so that you can see more of the bay and relax into it. I did a similar trip over a month! In Two days I'm going to do THAT!!!!, sweet Info, will help me a LOT!!!!
Hi Brett, I bought the tickets in advance, just because I knew exactly what I needed and when. But if you're happy to pay a little extra, wait! Do you think it is a must to go to the south.
I just went to vietnam awesome travel not too long ago and pretty much referred back to this blog; it was the perfect itinerary! Do you have a blog on that, too? We have booked flights to HCMC, just because it was cheaper to than fly to Hanoi.
What would be the cheap airline to fly from HCMC to Hanoi and how long it will take to travel from international airport to domestic airport, just that how long we should give us time to do the transfer, before I book domestic flight. Day 3. Return to HCM after Mekong Tour and catch evening Flight to Nha Trang for two night stay. I hate when you're in a group and you have a set time to do things, sometimes it's too long, others too short.
I'd definitely say to do it independently. I have been trying to decide on where my next trip in Asia lies and I think it's pretty nailed on to be Vietnam (I may incorporate some of Cambodia too). I would have loved to have spent another night there to be honest.
Ar, thanks for letting me know Matt.
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Recover from the heavy nights in Nha Trang and break up the journey to Dalat by venturing out to the tranquil and beautiful Lak Lake The largest natural body of water in central Vietnam. As well as tasting absolutely wonderful Vietnamese food is one of the healthiest foods in the world; prepared with fresh ingredients, vegetables, herbs and either rice or noodles each dish is different but delicious! Throughout backpacking Vietnam I used uTalk Go , a free language learning app, to get to grips with the language and learn a few phrases. Just stay safe & use protection, Vietnam still has a big AIDS problem.
UTalk is the backpacker's secret weapon when it comes to learning languages, I cannot recommend uTalk Go enough. I know first hand just how hard it is to be the one person in a group to say no when somebody comes up with a stupid idea that, for some reason, everybody is down for. You are not superior to these people, you just happen to be from a more privileged background.
Very readable I found this really helpful in understanding Vietnam. National Geographic Traveler: Vietnam, 3rd Edition - A great book guiding you through Vietnam. Also covers some parts of Cambodia as well as Plenty of awesome maps and guides to the main ‘tourist must do's' you'll want to experience when backpacking Vietnam.
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. Your support helps me keep the site going. Unfortunately I don't really have the funds to go south yet - as I want to do a massive long journey around South American in one go sometime in the future.
Riding an ostrich was a unique experience which I enjoyed, I'm not sure I would repeat it (I havn't yet had a chance), and I saw no risk of harm to the ostriches themselves. Sapa changes every year as rapidly do other great destinations in vietnam travel unfortunately! Despite having a history synonymous with war and conflict, little evidence exists today of any of this.
Bordering with China, Laos and Cambodia, Vietnam has become one of South-East Asia's number one destinations with backpackers over the last decade. Officially known as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the country has a population of over 74 million people. There are approximately 50 Vietnamese minority groups living in the highlands which include Muong, Sedong and Tai.
Finding three generations from the one family all under the one roof is quite common. As you would expect with a country with some of the biggest rice growing regions in the world, the vast majority of meals includes the white fluffy ingredient. There aren't as may spices either, in many instances.
If you are on a tight budget, food served in what are known as ‘street kitchens' are the best value. Restaurants are more expensive, but still excellent value when compared main courses in Western countries. If your taste buds can't take any more spices, you should be able to find European and Mediterranean restaurants in these cities.
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Though I usually travel independently, I soon found that organizing a tour is the cheapest and most hassle-free option to go trekking to Sapa. Though I had read that tips are sometimes demanded on other tours, our guides never gave the slightest indication they expected a tip and to my knowledge, no one tipped them. Get quick answers from Xin Chao Private Vietnam Tours staff and past visitors. This seems to work well, as many of our riders return again and again for more adventures across this beautiful Rider's Paradise!
These bikes are full sized motorcycles and are perfect for touring Vietnam, offering good comfort and smooth riding for both rider and pillion alike. Food is also one the many highlights whilst touring Vietnam, it's simply sensational… We will provide you with ample opportunity to discover and enjoy the diverse array of freshly cooked foods that Vietnam is world famous for, whilst also catering for any special dietary requirements, so please just let us know in advance if you have any allergies or needs. Ben, better known for his work as a TV host on long-running Australian lifestyle TV show ‘Blokesworld,' is a well-known rider throughout the motorcycling industry, with 40+ years riding experience.
If you haven't received an automated response within a few minutes, then there is a problem with your email or settings. Using an expansive portfolio of tours carefully crafted to show you the very best of Asia, our travel experts create tailor-made travel packages to match all your travel preferences and needs. In August I went to Vietnam.
Time was tight but I wanted to see as much as possible, without seeing too much and spending all my time worrying about my next sleep and how I was going to get there. I spoke to my colleagues at , I looked into what the top travel bloggers had done in vietnam travel information before me, and I consulted too many websites to list. The flight had cost £675 each about three months before.
Our hotel, the Saigon Mini Hotel 5 (now shut down, try nearby Bich Duyen Hotel as it was a great location), had already sent us an email detailing precisely how to get there, which was very helpful and reassuring. The other taxi drivers tried to pretend they were from these companies, or that these companies ‘didn't pick up here anymore': not true. It was about a 30-minute drive away from the airport and cost us 170,000 dong for the taxi (£5).
One night at Saigon Mini Hotel 5 in a private double for two was 532.800 VND (£15.75). The hotel let us leave our bags in their luggage room for free as we were leaving that night and we were picked up at 7:30am for the tour. We had dinner on De Tham Street at Five Oysters and just relaxed after a hard day of sightseeing.
The food was yum, and I would definitely recommend. Here we had an ice cream for dessert and got some water for the journey from the shop.
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Throughout the country, rice and noodles are integral to most dishes. Simply because it is one of a lifetime travels that you will be talking about forever. So trust me, these would be the most valuable 15 minutes of your life when in Vietnam! I have only been to Thailand in Asia, but would love to spend more time in that part of the world.
This route is popular for a reason. Don't include places that you can do without. Are there any other destinations that would be nice if you could visit?
You'll be surprised by how cheap rooms are in this part of the world. It's waaay cheaper than booking a private room. If you're a couple on a romantic getaway or a honeymoon, my god, please get a private room (haha!).
If you're a Filipino, you should definitely book an outgoing flight AND a return flight because the Immigration Officers will look for it before leaving the country. When I finally get there, I'd assess if I like the place. For dinner, you can spend whatever is left of your daily food allowance.
On average, set aside $30 per day for tours, but don't count the transit days" and rest days". You can still visit attractions but only near ones. You can round it off to P40,000.
To give you an idea, on one of my trips, I spent only $1000 (P50,000) over 1 month in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. You just need to fill out an arrival and departure cards at the border. If you're a budget backpacker then you are looking at the right country.
That means that you can spend as much time in the country as you want (and most people extend their time here) without worrying about breaking the bank. However, most people do love it and I have a feeling you will too. Luckily Vietnam caters to tourists in many ways.
My best advice is to make sure you give yourself enough time travel to vietnam see all of the country. It's easy to get a month long Vietnam visa so I recommend getting one and being able to extend your stay if you need to (as you'll probably want to!). For the most part you can walk pretty much anywhere in Vietnam if you're staying in the central areas (which you can do so cheaply).
You can also get taxi bikes through Grab (it's like Uber but in Asia). For that price breakfast (eggs with bread and sometimes fruit) will be included and most hostels offer an hour of free beer every day. Some will even have pools for that price.
Friends of mine joked before I got to Vietnam that it's the best country to be an alcoholic in because it's so cheap. Now that you know all of the budget tips, here's a rough Vietnam itinerary; what places to visit in Vietnam, for how long, and what things to do in Vietnam!
Vietnam Backpacking Tour Guides Once, Vietnam Backpacking Tour Guides Twice: Five Reasons Why You.
Otherwise just enjoy the relaxation of water front views, that book you've been lugging around, a cold beer and a little conversation. However most international visitors still require a visa to enter the country. Parts of this route feature in our mainland Southeast Asia Route , which also takes in Thailand, vietnam awesome travel Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and Singapore.
