Ititerary Advice please 12 nights

Hi there, My wife and I ages 27-28 from Australia, flying in %26amp; out of Saigon unfortunately for only 12 nights. We want to see as much of Vietnam as possible so have decided to fly between destinations to save travel time. Does this iteneray sound OK? Any other recommendations?

Day 1 - fly into Saigon 20.40pm

Day 2 - Saigon

Day 3 - Fly Saigon - Hue - early morning flight, day in Hue exploring citadel, royal tombs etc. Stay overnight in Hue.

Day 4 - Hire car/driver from Hue to Hoi An via Hai Van Pass/Marble Mountains etc.

Day 5 - Hoi An

Day 6 - Hoi An (My son sunrise tour). Fly out of Danang in afternoon to Hanoi.

Day 7 - Hanoi

Day 8 - Hanoi - Halong Bay (overnight on junk)

Day 9 - Halong Bay - Hanoi

Day 10 - Hanoi

Day 11 - Fly Hanoi - Saigon (mid morning)

Day 12 - Saigon

Day 13 - Saigon - depart and fly home around 10pm.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Ititerary Advice please 12 nights

A whirlwind trip but doable. You will need a holiday once you return but if your limited to 12 days that will give you a good overall view.

I would even consider dropping Hanoi/Halong Bay so that you could spend more time in Hoi An and Hue.

We have some pics and stories of our trip here... www.bobandjanette.com which may help.

Happy %26amp; safe travels

Ititerary Advice please 12 nights

Thanks Bob %26amp; Jeanette for your reply. Unfortunately my wife is dead set keen on Halong Bay so we have to make it up north to Hanoi. Do you think it would be possible to fly into Hue in the morning, leave bags/cases somewhere, do half day motorbike tour of Citadel/Royal Tombs etc, and then taxi to Hoi An via Hai Van Pass/Marble Mountains? That way would have an extra night/day in Hoi An?

Kindest regards, Scott

Sorry, Sgtpompy, no way IMO would you have time to properly visit the sights in Hue and drive to Hoi An- it%26#39;s about a four hour drive.

Personally I%26#39;d recommend cutting your first day in HCMC as we weren%26#39;t really all that keen on HCMC as it turned out, touristy sites were quickly exhausted and then we were casting about looking for things to do (Cu Chi tunnels worth a visit though). Then you could have an extra day in Hoi An.

Thanks Yorkfoodie for your advice. Sounds like it might be best to stay overnight in Saigon our 1st night, and catch an early morning flight the next day to Hue. How far is District 1 from the airport? Perhaps we should stay close to the airport in Saigon as we only arrive at 8.40pm and will be leaving early the next day? Any hotel recommendations close to the airport? Thanks, Scott

Is there a way you can arrive in Saigon and depart from Hanoi for AUS? It would save you some time and traveling! I am in the UK and am arriving in Hanoi and working my way down to Saigon, flying back from there.

I have been researching some travel agents so if you want to know details or compare quotes just pm me, I think I know who I am going with :)

Dont miss Halong Bay, its wonderful. Your wife is right about going!!

I%26#39;m 24 from Melbourne, i just got back from a 14 day tour of vietnam. Started in Saigon (HCMC) and ended in Hanoi.

You seem to be going back and forth a fair bit? You should def do HCMC, it was my favourite place in Vietnam, for shopping and night life (not that i%26#39;m a big partier but there was just this nice atmosphere). It took a day or two to get my head around the place though, so very different/scary/amazing..

We had two nights there (do the tunnels, they are great) then drove to Dalat (nothing worth seeing here so you wouldn%26#39;t need to worry about that.) Nha Trang was next, it was nice, sort of Gold Coasty but dirtier. The beach was nice but nothing like Australia so try not to compare or you%26#39;ll be disappointed. Then Hoi An which was great, clothes were fantastic and we had dinner by the river one night, was really nice. Hue was good but you%26#39;d only need one night there (everywhere else we had 2 nights) and then Hanoi, which was okay, but you should focus more on Halong Bay then actual Hanoi.

Hope this helps.. enjoy your time over there!

It%26#39;s interesting how different people have different experiences. We preferred Ha Noi to HCMC and regretted we had not planned in enough time to look around properly, having just used it as a staging post between Sa Pa and Ha Long Bay. So we%26#39;re going back and spending as little time as possible in HCMC, and nine days in Hanoi.

Perhaps if you%26#39;d prefer to have a breather in HCMC on your arrival, you could take off a day at the end. You%26#39;d still have the afternoon and all the next day until your flight leaves to visit there.

Thank you everyone for your responses. We have decided to leave HCMC 1st thing on the 2nd morning to Hue and adding the extra night in Hoi An making it 3. We are now actually considering staying 4 nights in Hoi An and having one less in Hanoi? We were thinking we could stay in a beach resort such as the Palm Garden Resort for a bit of R%26amp;R. Is the weather OK in March for beach/pool etc in Hoi An or would 3 nights suffice and have the extra night in Ha Noi? Unfortunately can only get a morning flight from Danang to Hanoi for a reasonable price. Thanks in anticipation, Scott.

Hi.

We are definitely Hoi An fans. Going back for third time in June.

Palm Garden is supposed to be great but we have chosen to stay in town at Thuy Duong 3 and visit the beach from there. Thuy Duong 3 has a great pool, good rooms and great breakfast for around $45 a night. We prefer the location as it is an easy walk to the restaurants and bars and only a few dollars by taxi to beach.

Hoi An is for us a place where you can spend an extended time - just love sitting in a riverfont resaurant sipping a $1 G%26amp;T watching the world go by!!

Yes I second the review for Thuy Duong 3. Great hotel, location is central and the full buffet breakfast is fantastic