Arrival in Hanoi, I would definitely suggest staying in some hotel in the old quarters area. Pick up a map from the hotel and just walk around.
We stayed at Boss Legend Hotel. There's hotels all around that area and most are very good ,4 star and above.It's a crowded area, but you have all the time in the world to walk around, explore the area, experience the street food.
The lake( Hoa Keim Lake) is also walking distance, and if you happen to be that side over a weekend the evening around the lake is worth a visit . It's like a carnival.
Street performances, dancing, live music board games. My favorite was the life size Jenga towers being built all around. The most lively place to be around in the city on a weekend.
An early morning walk around the lake is absolutely worth waking up for. It's peaceful, calm and a very good time to just watch the locals have some amazing coffee and just relax in general.
The city tour can be booked with individual guides or as a part of a group tour. We did all our bookings with inside tours which included pick up and drop off. Even the group tours pick up from hotels. ( Peak season time it's advisable to make bookings before hand)
Places to see in hanoi include :Ba Dinh Square, Temple of Literature.
Hiring a scooter and going around on your own is again an option.
Suggestion: If you're not the biggest history buff and not into museums and monuments, Sapa is an excellent option. From what I figured, it's best if you stay one night there. Everyone I spoke to loved Sapa. There's trekking and hiking and beautiful homestays as well there. The drive is long so a night stay there is advisable.
This one is an absolute must. Halong bay cruise.
There are two options, we went for a one day cruise with Estella cruises. Picked up from hotel at 7:00 and back at 7:00 in the evening. There is also an overnight cruise with bigger ships. The itinerary covers pretty much the same thing in both, but the bigger cruise ships do have a longer time in halong bay, beautiful rooms with views of the bay. Some of them even offer additional activities like speed boat.
The usual activities include a kayaking trip they stop at places where you can take a swim in the sea.
Suggestion: we ended up spending all our free evenings walking around the streets of old quarters,hogging on the street food. But there are a few places that can be visited in addition train street and tran quoc pagoda.
My personal favourite place.
First thing, stay in HoiAn. The Vinh group has about 5 hotels there, we were at Vinh Hung Riverside Resort. It definitely has the best view available. Use the day to walk around ancient town, it's a very walking and cycling friendly city. And the cafes are just beautiful. They have innumerable cooking classes, lantern making classes and what not.
The entire ancient town is transformed by night with lanterns. The night life is good fun, lots of live music, street food, night market. Suggestion: We went during the monsoon season, but March to September the sea is much calmer and suited for diving, snorkelling etc.
The entire ancient town is transformed by night with lanterns. The night life is good fun, lots of live music, street food, night market. Suggestion: We went during the monsoon season, but March to September the sea is much calmer and suited for diving, snorkelling etc.
Cham island is the best, even includes a scuba diving if interested. Even otherwise the beaches are a must visit. There is a whole lot of them around Hoi An, Danang is nearby too, a much bigger modern city with good beaches.
My Son ruins, it's an ancient Hindu temple of the Champa dynasty, nestled in the middle of the mountains. Most of it was destroyed by American bombing, but the location is beautiful. And the ruins are still worth seeing .One hour drive from Hoi An.
If you're a foodie then definitely make a visit to Traque organic village. They will make you have a traditional Vietnamese lunch/ dinner. All home-made using fresh produce from their garden and right by the river. It's the best food I had all along. They even make vegetarian dishes if informed beforehand.
Saigon is like Mumbai. Cosmopolitan city, lots of traffic big shops and a very good food and nightlife scene. Again pick a hotel in District 1, everything worth visiting is walking distance.
Cu Chi tunnels is about half a day trip, you'll need a guide or opt for the audio guide there. I loved the trip, brilliant military planning. Most of the tour is over the ground, just about 100m in the tunnels, which are pretty tiny. Not the best idea for anyone who is claustrophobic.
Evening was our food tour with Tiger Tours. Tiger tours is an organisation that employs young college girls, they work part time with the tour agency to fund their college education. The sweetest most adorable bunch of girls. It's a 4 hour tour on scooters, including 11 dishes and 4 eating joints. The best part is these girls speak good English and it's an excellent way to get to know more about the local life.
Tiger tours also has a city tour, a spooky tour, tpur of the Mekong Delta and many others. So do try to go for one with them, since they are very professional, safe and just a wonderful experience in all. They are pretty booked December onwards so pre - booking is needed.
This tour again needs to be booked with an agency/ group tour. There's tour operators at every corner of the city.
A long drive, but worth it. 2.5 hours long.Package usually includes a visit to the village, seeing the local life. You can cycle along the village, ride a sampaan and eat local food by the delta, see the floating market.
The war remnants museum worth visiting, at least if you are interested in the history of this little war ravaged country.
Benh Than street food is again a good foodie experience. Shopping is decent at benh tahn market as well as Saigon square and Saigon Center.
FEW places we dint have time for, but was on my list of places to visit.
1.Hang son doong caves in ninh binh province, supposed to be one of the largest caves in the world.
2.Ban gioc waterfall, falls in North Vietnam.
3.Dalat hill station close to ho chi Minh.
4.Ninh Binh province in general seemed to have a lot of places to visit .
5.Cat ba beach's , weather permitting.
Other tips:
Veg food isn't too easy to find, but if the concerned tour operator/guide or hotel is informed beforehand they make arrangements.
Tipping is a big deal in Vietnam, everyone specially guides, boatmen, drivers performers expect a tip and everyone complies because they go out of their way to make sure you are comfortable, having a good time and enjoying the outing or stay.
The best blogs about Vietnam are Australian, Australian tourists are very common in Vietnam and they have some very good suggestions for tourists.