RECOMMENDED ROUTE

The route in Vietnam is pretty self explanatory, everyone either goes south to north or north to south. We found it the easiest country to travel so getting to your next destination isn't hard. The main places of interest to visit are:

Hanoi, Sapa, Ha Giang, Cat Ba, Halong Bay, Ninh Binh, Phong Nga, Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Da Lat, Mui Nei, Ho Chi Mihn.

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MONEY

Approximate Conversion Rate - 1 GBP = 30,000 VND

Average Costs Per Day:

Accommodation - 5 GBP

Food - 2 GBP

Transport - 7 GBP - this is for the longer journey costs such as sleeper buses. When going short distances you can get a grab bike for super cheap and if you do everything yourself this cuts costs dramatically as well.

Monthly budget - 1000 GBP - includes all activities such as Ha Giang, Halong Bay, etc. If you were to do these on your own you could save a lot of money.

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Visa

If you're from the UK you can stay in the country for 15 days without a visa which is what we opted for.

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Useful Apps and Websites

Grab - useful for all over Vietnam

Rome2Rio

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Vietnam is an amazing country with so much to offer including the culture, food and activities. We found it very easy to travel in comparison to other places we’ve been, so even if you’re pushed on time it’s not hard to get to where you want to go the next day. We were happy with the route we took in 15 days but one big thing EVERYONE mentions is you NEED to do the Ha Giang loop, which is a 4 day bike loop up to the Chinese border. We gave this up to make clothes in Hoi An lol. Other places we missed if you have more time - Sapa (north), Phong Nga (north - after Ninh Binh), Nha Trang and Da Lat (south - we skipped these as we flew from Da Nang straight to HCM). I have still left recommendations for some of the places we didn't get chance to visit under the Other section at the end.

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Hanoi

• Accommodation - Hanoi Central Backpackers - centrally located in the old quarter, great free walking tour, helpful tours desk, rooftop bar, bag storage

• Other Recommendations - Little Charm Hanoi Hostel, Hanoi Buffalo Hostel 

• To Eat - 4Ps Pizza (YOU MUST GO), Loading T, Lifted, Banh Mi 14 (try the duck one), Hanoi Social Club, try “Bun Cha” - Bun Cha Ta Hanoi, egg coffee - cafe giang  

• To Do - Train Street, Beer Street, War Museum, Free walking tour, note cafe

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We flew into Hanoi and opted to go north to south. You'll find yourself going back to Hanoi a fair bit because it's a good base to get to places such as; Halong Bay, Cat Ba, Sapa, Ha Giang, etc. When we first arrived we were a bit overwhelmed by all the chaos of the city but after a few hours finding our feet we fell in love with it. I would definitely recommend doing one of the hostels free walking tours, it really helped us to get our bearings and meet people. One thing you need to try whilst you're there is 4Ps Pizza, I know what you're thinking. I'm in Vietnam, amidst some of the best food in the world but trust me, the pasta and pizza is devine and you get to watch all the pizzas being made right infront of you, it's especially tasty after a long hungover day.

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Bus to Cat Ba, a couple more buses and a boat to get to boat - all included in tour price

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Halong Bay

Hideaways - booked through Central Backpackers 

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You'll hear most people talking about Castaways but you hear some crazy stories and we weren't really ready for all of that. Hideaways is a good mix of activities and party. They let you enjoy yourself during the days and do a variety of activities but then drink to your hearts content on the evening. We booked it the day before at the hostel at their tour desk.

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From Hanoi we booked a bus with the hostel

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Ninh Binh  

• Accommodation - The Banana Tree Tam Coc - great location - good food - sociable - bike rental

• Stay in Trang an if you want to be away from everything and have some amazing views to wake up to but very quiet area.

• Things to do - Hang Mua Viewpoint, Thung Nam Bird Park - rent bikes and cycle through, Tam Coc/Trang An river boats 

• To eat - Chookies, The Banana Tree

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When looking to stay in Ninh Binh everyone stays in either Tam Coc or Trang An. Based on a recommendation we stayed in Trang An but one of our biggest regrets was not staing in The Banana Tree in Tam Coc. Luckily we had friends who were staying there so we basically got up went straight there and only went back to Trang An to sleep. We honestly loved that hostel and made some great friends there. Two things you must do whilst you're there are; rent bikes and cycle through Thung Nam Bird Park, it's like something out of Alice in wonderland and then for sunset climb the 700 steps and get to the Hang Mua Viewpoint. These two things were honestly amazing and we managed to do them both in one day along with many other activities. We also booked our sleeper bus to Hue through The Banana Tree which was ideal because the bus leaves from right outside the hostel and they let you use the facilities.

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Sleeper Bus to Hue 

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Hue

• Accommodation - Hue Sweethouse 2 Homestay 

• Things to do - Abandoned water park, night market

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The main reason we came to Hue was for the Hai Van Pass which is the stretch of road from Hue to Hoi An. The city is very beautiful but 1 or 2 night is more than enough.

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Hai Van Pass

Hue to Hoi An - Booked with Le Family Riders

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This was one of my favourite days in Vietnam, we booked with Le Family Riders based on a recommendation but once you get to Hue you'll be flooded with offers. They give you the option to ride your own bike or be on the back of someone driving for you (easy rider). Even if you can ride a bike, I'd say get an easy rider anyway because you can take in all of the views. You get multiple stops included in the price; fishing village, elephant springs, lunch stop, top of the Hai Van Pass and marble mountains. 

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Hoi An

• Accommodation - Tribee Bana - great location in old town - social events - single beds - free breakfast

• To Eat - Morning Glory (get the prawn curry), Babas indian, Claypot, Rosies Cafe 

• To Do - Old town, Coconut River and Cooking Class (Bay Mau), Make Clothes (Skyline Tailors) 

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Hoi An, wow what a place. We fell in love and spent our longest time here. There's so much to do from going to the coconut forest to getting clothes made. It's just such a beautiful place and everyone there falls in love with it. We had our best Vietnamese meal here at a place called Morning Glory and I got the prawn curry which was unbelievable.

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Fly to Ho Chi Minh 

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Ho Chi Minh

• Accommodation - Flipside OG - I probably wouldn't recommend this hostel, it was okay for a couple of days but there was no real atmosphere and the staff weren't particularly helpful so it might not be the best place to start your travels in Vietnam.

• To Do - War Museum, Tunnels, Mekong Delta, Ben Tahn food market, Mui Ne day trip

• To Eat - My Bahn Mi, the hungry pig, nonla guys, 4Ps Pizza 

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We did a day trip from Mui Ne to Ho Chi Minh which we booked through Mui Ne Happy Tours. If you’re pushed for time and want to do the sand dunes this is a great option, the company were so good and even though it’s a long day we thought it was worth it (it's 10 hours of travelling in one day so if you have time stay in Mui Ne). Another thing we did whilst in HCM was the war museum which was very raw and eyeopening.

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Recommendations for places we didn't get chance to go to:

Ha Giang Loop

• We got recommended to book with Jasmine Hostel who are based in Ha Giang, they do fairly big group tours so it's whatever suits you. There are plenty of choices in Hanoi to pick from.

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Phong Nga   

• We heard phong nga and ninh bihn were similar so we decided to skip it 

• Accommodation- Easy Tiger, gecko hostel 

• To Do - waterfalls, caves, throwing ducks 

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Da Nang

• Hai van pass tour included trip to marble mountains. Might be worth doing a night or two if you have an early flight to catch 

• Accommodation - Rom Casa 

• To Do - marble mountains, golden bridge (we didn’t do the bridge because entry was 750,000 vnd and we didn’t think it was worth it) 

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Nha Trang

• Accommodation - VBH - all inclusive hostel on the beach with pool, drinks etc about an hour out of the town, iHome hostel  

 

Da Lat

• Amazing place - much colder town up a mountain, very quiet but known for its canyoneering and abseiling/waterfalls, flowers 

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Mui Ne

• Accommodation -VBH

• To do - Sand Dunes - Mui Ne Happy Tours

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