Things to do in Vietnam
Before you begin your journey in Vietnam, there’s a few important things that you should know. Remember not to be afraid to bargain the prices. Almost everything is up for negotiation, whether it's for a hotel room, a motorbike ride, a bus ride or street food. Bargaining is a part of vietnamese culture. At times, sellers will set the price as high as possible. Sometimes 5 times the real price.
You will need a minimum of 22 days in order to see the most of Vietnam. You can do it in less time but you will have to rush and miss out some of the most amazing destinations. The distances between most destinations in Vietnam are very long. As a rule of thumb, if your trajectory to a destination is more than 6 hours by bus, you should add 1 extra day to your itinerary so you are not tight on time. The easier and cheaper way to travel in Vietnam is by sleeper bus. Vietnam is a beautiful country with amazing beaches, mountains, deserts, awesome food and fun parties. However, if you are short in time, this guide is perfect for you. We will show you all the main destinations in Vietnam.
Hanoi
Hanoi is the Capital of Vietnam and it has lots of interesting things to see. It’s a very crowded city filled with all kinds of foods and parties. You can use this city as a base camp to launch your assault on Sapa and Halong bay.
When you land in the airport, the only available transportation are taxis. It will cost around 20$ to get to the old quarters which is where all the main attractions are located. Before getting in the taxi, make sure you ask the driver to turn on the meter.
A great hostel to party in Hanoi is Vietnam backpackers Downtown and Hanoi Rocks. However, this city has plenty of amazing hostels and hotels located within the backpackers area. You will have no problem finding a great hostel that will suit your budget and needs. The main attractions of this city are walking around the old quarters and letting the city absorb you in all it’s majesty. Seeing the "Maison Centrale" also known as The prison is a must. This museum is an old French prison that has been turned into a museum. It shows Vietnam’s struggle for freedom during the French and American occupation. They have a lot of touching stories and pictures that will make your heart soften and understand the Vietnamese culture and history.
The old quarters gets very busy and crowded on weekends but its interesting to watch the overcrowded streets. There's a beer street where you can sit down in little chairs on the street and enjoy a few drink and food. There’s also a weekend market which starts around 5:30 pm and attracts a lot of people.
If you want a nice view of the old quarters, you have to visit View Point Cafe which is located on a rooftop. It gives you a nice view of a beautiful small lake decorated with lights and the fountain plaza. Hanoi is a great city with a vibrant night life. If you want to party and have fun, Hanoi will meet all your expectations with lots of bars and clubs.I would recommend 3-4 days in this city.
Sapa
Sapa is probably one of the most beautiful and peaceful places you will ever see in your life. The town of Sapa is surrounded by mountains, rice valleys, and a refreshing weather with a cool breeze.To get to Sapa you can catch a train or sleeper bus from Hanoi. The bus ride is about 6 hours, you take the bus during the day or night. Sleeper buses are pretty comfortable and many of them have wifi. Just make sure you bring your own water and snacks. The price is between 13-18 $ USD.
Once you arrive in the town of Sapa, a bunch of ladies with traditional customs will offer trekking tours and guest houses. The best place to stay in Sapa is near the church where there's alot of restaurants and a few small bars.You can book trekking tours pretty much everywhere in town. if you feel comfortable driving a motorbike, I strongly recommend to rent one (5$ USD per day) and drive to the rice valleys. The ride is so amazing you can easily spend 4-6 hours wondering around the valleys. So make sure you wake up early to see the most of the beautiful sceneary.
The most beautiful and popular place to visit in Sapa, its the Moung Hoa Valley where the villages Ta Van and Lao Chai are located. First, drive to Ta Van village which is 40 minutes from sapa. You will have to pay a small entrance fee to the reserved area. After Ta Van, drive to Lao Chai village and from there you can go back to the town of Sapa. Remember to take your time and explore the scenery of the valleys.
The next day, you can drive to the village of Matra and then you can go to the town of Ta Phin. If you are done early you can go back to the town of Sapa and drive to the Silver Waterfalls which is a nice little stop.
There's a lot more places to visit in sapa but those ones are the most important. If you have more time, I would recommend you to just drive to the other towns and just get lost in the valleys. You can easily spend 3-4 days in sapa.
Halong Bay
You can get a 1-2-3 day tour to Halong Bay from Hanoi in any agency. I do not recommend the 1 day tour because is rushed, tiring and you won't enjoy it. The 2 nights tour or 3 nights are better but are more expensive. If you are backpacker and don't like touristic tours, I strongly recommend to book your trip to Cat Ba island with an agency in Hanoi. Cat Ba is an island located in the center of Halong Bay with lots of activities, restaurants, hotels and beaches. It cost around 17$ to get to Cat ba plus 5$ if you want to see the Sung Sot caves on the boat trip. Make sure you ask for a vip bus because the cheaper buses are very tight, crowded and the AC barely works.
You can do this trip without agencies but I do not recommend it because you will get scammed out of your mind.
The tour begins by taking you from Hanoi to Halong Bay city which takes around 3 hours if you are lucky.. if not it can take almost 5 hours because the bus has to pick up many people; it's slow and makes a lot of stops. Halong city is just a port and there’s nothing to see there. If you want to see the caves, the port is where you will have to pay 5$. Make sure you keep your ticket because you will need it to go inside the caves. From the port, they'll take you in 4 hour boat ride around the islands and to the cave.They also do a stop where you can swim or do kayak. Then, they drop you at cat ba island port.
Once you arrive in Cat Ba port, you will have to pay 30.000 dong (1.75$) to get access to the island. It's a 40 minutes bus ride to Cat Ba town. You will find many hotel or hostel once you arrive to the town. If you are going during the months of July or August, it’s better to book in advance. Its the holidays of the vietnamese so its pretty hard to find a good place to stay. From Cat Ba town, you can go visit the hospital cave and fort which were used during the war. You can also visit the beach and plan other activities. The night life of cat ba is also good, with lots of bars and clubs. A good backpacker bar is the rose bar.
Another way of seeing Halong bay, I recommended you to book the party cruise trip. Book the 3 days and 2 nights trip. You will not regret it. Here is a link to one of the most popular party cruises;
http://wwww.halongpartycruises.com
The price is usually around 120$ per person. You can easily buy the tour 2 days in advance in any travel agency or hotel. It is totally worth it and it's by far one of the best ways to experience Halong Bay. No need to spend 220$ on the mainstream party boat call cast away. With the cheaper tour you will still get an awesome party, great food and very good accomodation. This 3 days tour can easily be booked at almost any hostel. They will pick you up in the morning and drop you back three days later.Do not get the 2 days and 1 night because you will only sleep 1 night on the boat and miss out on the second night in a beautiful island in the middle of Halong bay. The scenery that you will see and the quality time that you will have are priceless.
Dong Hoi
How to get to Dong Hoi from Cat Ba? you can catch a bus-boat-bus-sleeping bus from Cat Ba to Dong Hoi. Sound a little complicated but is fairly simple. Don't worry, the agency will guide you through all your journey. You can book this trip with any agency in Cat Ba. It will cost around 550.000 Dong and the whole trip takes around 15 hours.
The first bus takes around 30 min to the port of Cat Ba where you will take a speed boat. The speed boat takes around 40 minutes. Be very careful where you put your bag in the boat, it can get extremely wet. Then they'll take you on a 30 minutes bus ride to Hai Phong station. After, you wait for the sleeping bus to be ready which usually takes about 1 hour. Make sure you use that time to eat well because some buses do not stop to eat. they only do quick pee stops on the side of the road. The ride is long but not difficult because the agency guides you all the way on which transportation to take next.
Dong Hoi is a hidden gem and is not very popular yet but in a few years it will be a must see. there's lots of hotels and hostels in front of the beach where you can swim and relax. I recommend at least 1 day here to relax in this amazing place.
Phong Nha
The most most beautiful and biggest caves in Asia are located in this area.To get to Phong Nha from Dong Hoi, you can catch a bus ride of 1h30 minutes. There are many caves with different price range. The most popular are the dark cave and paradise cave. The price for each cave cost between 180.000-350.000 dong. Paradise cave is good if you want to have an easy walk and see the cave being flashed with multiple lights. The Dark cave is more adventurous, you get to swim in pitch black caves, do a bit of zeppelin and walk through tunnels of mud that look like chocolate pudding! Once at the end of that tunnel you can take a mud bath. They offer you lockers where you can leave your valuables.
In Phong Nha town, you can rent a motorbike and explore the caves which are located about 40 minutes from the town. If you want to see the two caves in the same day you should start your journey very early. I suggest, one cave per day is more than enough.
The best place to stay is easy tiger Hostel. It has a pool, great food, it’s right in the centre of Phong Nha and near the caves. It is also a great place to party and meet people.
If you have the budget, you can also visit the biggest cave in the world, Song Doong cave which costs around 3000$ for a 6 day trek. If you want something similar to song Doong but more affordable, you can book a trek to Hang En cave which costs around 300$.
Do not attempt to go to song Doong cave or Hang En on your own. The rangers could give you a fine up to 300$.
From Phong Nha, you can catch buses to Huey or Hoi An. Across the street from easy Tiger, there is a travel agency. They sell night or early morning buses to Hoi An. The best choice is night buses but they are only available on high season.
If you’re tight on time, I would recommend booking a night bus at 9 pm.
Hue
Hue is a popular city between Phong Nha and Hoi An. This is a very small city and most travelers agree that there is not much to see in Hue. One of the only popular activities is to see the citadel which is a walled fortress and palace. Another popular activity is to rent a motorbike from Hue and drive to Hoi An along the coast line. This activity can by arranged by the hotel Vietnam Backpackers Hue. it's a really nice drive, but if you’re tight on schedule and you are not comfortable driving a motorbike, you can easily skip this destination and go straight to Hoi An. One day is more than enough to see Hue.
Hoi An
Hoi an is located about 8 hours from dong hoi. its an excellent place to do shopping, try amazing food and relax in the beach.
This cute little town is one of the main touristic attractions in Vietnam. There are two main beaches in Hoi An; An Bang and Cua Dai beach. Cua dai beach is closer but an bang is a lot nicer and bigger. The old town is really beautiful to visit around 6 pm when the sun set is starting to go down and it's less hot. Its central area is filled with shops, restaurants and lots of lights giving it a very romantic touch. Hoi an is one of the best places to do some shopping but remember to always bargain the price. If you are looking to get a suit this is the place for you. The suits are good quality and very well made. If you feel like partying you should definitely stay at sunflower hostel. If that hostel is booked, you can stay at green field which is a 2 minute walk from sunflower.
Nha Trang
The best way to get from Hoi An to Nha Trang is by night sleeper bus. It should take around 12 hours and you should be arriving early in the morning. Its a party city that stretches along the beach giving it a feeling of a mixture between Miami, Russia and Cuba. Almost all russians go to Nha Trang for their vacations. It is a place to swim in the sea, go mud bathing, visit the aquatic parc by the beach or go snorkeling to see beautiful corals and hundreds of fishes. I would recommend to stay in this city 1-2 days.
Mui Ne
Mui Ne is know for it’s beautiful desserts with red and white sand. It’s a magical place by the sea where you are sure to see some beautiful sightings.Day 16: Traveling from Nha Trang to Mui Ne A night bus from Nha trang to Mui ne should take around 6 hours. If you’re limited on time and have to choose between Dalat and Mui Ne, We definitely recommend Mui Ne because Dalat is really similar to Sapa more city. If you have been to Sapa, then you will definitely will want to experience the desserts of Mui Ne.
Dalat
Dalat is located about 4 hours from Nha Trang. The weather is quite refreshing and cool, very similar to Sapa’s. There’s a lot of coffee plantations so this is heaven for coffee drinkers. The best place to stay, it's near the square where there’s lots of restaurants and night markets. There’s not much to do in town of Dalat besides a cable car ride to a temple which is very peaceful if you like to meditate and you are sensitive to energies. The cable car is about 10 minutes away by taxi from the city center. Besides the cable car, there’s only day excursion like climbing down a waterfall, trekking and much more. You can book from those from any agency. Depending on what you are planning to do, you can spend 2-3 days in dalat.
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Ho Chi Minh city is located 7 hours away from Dalat. The most popular places to visit in Ho Chi Minh are the memorial war museum and the Cu Chi tunnels. The Cu Chi tunnels are located about 2 hours( 50 kilometers) from Ho Chi Minh city. You can book a guided tour with any agency. Prices are around 250 000 Dongs with guide, transportation and entrance fee included ( entrance fee is around 110 0000 Dongs). You can take a morning bus and get there early in the afternoon.
Ho Chi Minh is a vibrant and very sophisticated city that looks very much like Hanoi. The most popular area is the District 1 which is most probably where you hostel or hotel will be located. District 1 is the backpacker area and where all the bars, nightclubs, shops and restaurants are located. If you feel like partying, I recommend that you stay at Hideout hostel. They offer the best pub crawls in town. If you don’t feel like partying, you can easily find a large variety of hostels and hotels ranging from all types of prices that will satisfy your needs. One can easily spend 3-4 days in this captivating city.
DONATE TODAY
Your donation and gift will make a difference in keeping the content of Crystal Dreams available to the public. We have no third party advertisement on our website.
Thank you for your help!
