Vietnam suggestions

[DisneyDaffodil]

Thank you for all the information. It sounds lovely. I just don't feel we will have enough time to do it all and originally I was worrying there wouldn't be enough to see and do 😀. I will check out all these suggestions, I can see we have a lot of planning ahead.

[pinkcandy]

Hi,

We have just come back from Vietnam and LOVED it!

We stayed in Central Vietnam, flew into Da Nang airport from Hong Kong, and stayed there for a few nights, then moved onto a place called Hoi An, this is quite possibly the most beautiful place I have ever seen! At night it just comes alive, it has lanterns everywhere and it is just stunning. The food is lovely and it is so very cheap. We went on loads of days out around the area just by using taxis.

We are planning on coming back to HCM and then going up north to Hanoi so I cant help with that but if you need any info on Central Vietnam please ask!

[DisneyDaffodil]

Originally Posted by pinkcandy

Hi,

We have just come back from Vietnam and LOVED it!

We stayed in Central Vietnam, flew into Da Nang airport from Hong Kong, and stayed there for a few nights, then moved onto a place called Hoi An, this is quite possibly the most beautiful place I have ever seen! At night it just comes alive, it has lanterns everywhere and it is just stunning. The food is lovely and it is so very cheap. We went on loads of days out around the area just by using taxis.

We are planning on coming back to HCM and then going up north to Hanoi so I cant help with that but if you need any info on Central Vietnam please ask!

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Thank you, glad you had a lovely time.
Our son teaches in HCM so we asked him for suggestions for our visit as he will be joining us. He has also said we will like Hoi An so we have looked at it and you are so right, it is stunning 😀. We will definitely be spending time there.
At the moment, our loose plans are flying into HCM for a few days, then fly to Hanoi to spend around 5-7 days in Hoi An, then a few days in Hanoi before flying home.

Are there any 'must-do's' you would suggest? Anywhere else we should visit? Did you find taxis easy to use, no problem with language or the driver not understanding where you wanted? If we can tear ourselves away from Hoi An, where did you visit in the area by taxi?

Our son says most people speak enough English to understand us (due to his teaching skills he says 😀 ) and are very helpful. At first we felt the trip was really to see our son, which of course it is, but as we look into it more we are discovering that Vietnam looks a beautiful country with lots to see. We are looking forward to it.

[pinkcandy]

Hello,

These are the places we visited while in Vietnam, Da Nang, it has a massive beach if thats of any intrest to you, it was a lovely place to relax at night, the town is worth a visit but its very un touristy, we felt like we were the only tourists in Da Nang, which was interesting!

Aisa park was a theme park near by, a nice place to have a walk round at night, it was very quiet when we went so a little strange atmosphere but cheap to enter.

Lady Budda was very interesting and lovely views. Marble mountain was a lot of caves and again once at the top the most amazing views, so worth it. Ba Na Hills was another tourist attraction, all these places are accessible by Taxi.

Only use the green or yellow taxis. The taxi drivers all spoke English and are desperate to take you everywhere, they love staying with you for the day and will literally sit and wait anywhere for you. Lovely people.

In Hoi An try and rent push bikes, we went everywhere on them, the trip to the beach through the rice paddies was amazing. But if you dont fancy leaving Hoi An at all, dont be worried as there is so much to look at you wont get bored.

We was just like you when we started reaserching Vietnam,≈ we couldnt believe how much there is to see, I think you could actually fill a few months there and not see everything! Have fun!

[DisneyDaffodil]

Thanks Pinkcandy, i will be looking up all the places you have mentioned. My son has also said how nice the Vietnamese people are too. He previously taught for a year in South Korea which he enjoyed but he prefers Vietnam and has been there for nearly 3 years now.

[letty]

I was in HCM in April for 3 days as weekend trip (staying with friends in Singapore)
It was amazing, we absolutely loved it. Our friends had been before so it was great to be led for a change. Im sure your son will be able to do the same. I would love to go back and see more of it.

[justacey]

I'm bumping this recent thread as me and my friends have decided we will do Vietnam next year as they don't have to pay to take their (now 18 year old) son.
All the threads on here have sold me on Hoi An. Now I need to decide where else.
We will more than likely be going in March as my brother-in-law and his wife have booked their flights and we'll try to tie up with them.
The people who've been - did you have a package or do it yourselves. I had a quick look for flights and they are coming in at around £500pp and that's with BA and Ethiad.
I believe you need a visa - was that easy to sort?

[Omega1]

Originally Posted by justacey

I believe you need a visa - was that easy to sort?

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From the Vietnamese Embassy website:

Until 30 June 2018, visa is not required for British, French, German, Italian and Spanish citizens with passport having at least six-month validity travelling to Viet Nam for up to 15 days for all purposes.

The 15-day visa exemption is for single entry only and includes the date of entry and the date of exit.

You must have a visa before entering Viet Nam if you want to stay longer than 15 days.

[justacey]

Thank you Omega1. That's great news.

[DisneyDaffodil]

Originally Posted by justacey

I'm bumping this recent thread as me and my friends have decided we will do Vietnam next year as they don't have to pay to take their (now 18 year old) son.
All the threads on here have sold me on Hoi An. Now I need to decide where else.
We will more than likely be going in March as my brother-in-law and his wife have booked their flights and we'll try to tie up with them.
The people who've been - did you have a package or do it yourselves. I had a quick look for flights and they are coming in at around £500pp and that's with BA and Ethiad.
I believe you need a visa - was that easy to sort?

See more...

We have definitely decided on Hoi An too, it looks beautiful. We have looked at flights on Skyscanner for Easter time and they are around £400 pp with BA and Vietnam airlines. I have looked at reviews for Vietnam airlines and they seem quite good.
We are going to do 14 days so we don't need the visa. At the moment we are thinking of flying into HCM (where our son is working) for 4 nights, then Hoi An for around a week, then 3 nights in Hanoi before flying home from Hanoi airport.
Hope we, and you, have a good time. It looks a beautiful country