[agastya]

Originally Posted by rst89

You will have to learn good amount of sign language and words to inform the street vendor to put tofu instead of meat patties in Banh Mi for example. There are vegan places in big cities like HCMC and Indian restaurants but will be costly. The basic essence of Vietnam is sitting on the small stool and slurping the delicious food and observing the local life.

Yes, agree completely. Personally, trying out the local cuisine is one of the best parts of traveling.

Ah well, perhaps I'll start eating non-vegetarian food one day. Will plan a trip then

[SakJel]

Hello,

It was a lovely writeup, i have visited quite a few times and visiting the entire country in one go, i e North to South, is quite a task.

Lovely people, fantastic food, even vegetarian, good bars and pubs, Vietnamese COFFEE, yum yum, which you haven't mentioned at all.

Anyways it was nostalgic and lovely reading your thread.

Cheers

[FlashMustang]

Wonderful write-up, rst89!
Nice to see that you had covered a good part of the country! Nice pictures!

Brought back memories from our trip to the northern part of Vietnam in 2019.

We visited Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Ninh Binh, and Sapa. This is a good option if one would like to limit to the northern part, and have limited time to cover the entire length of the country. We spent about 8 days visiting these places.

Sharing pictures of a few places from our trip.

Temple of Literature, Hanoi:
Among the places we visited in Hanoi, a trip to the temple of literature was quite interesting. It was originally built in the 1070, and was Vietnam's first university. It's dedicated to Confucius.




Trang An, Ninh Binh:
As part of our visit to Ninh Binh, we visited the Bai Dinh temple, and went on a boat trip in Trang An. Going on the waters, with limestone cliffs on either sides was an amazing experience. Though there were quite a number of boats in the water, it didn't takeaway the calmness of the place.
A quick visit is possible from Hanoi, as a day trip, and several tour operators run day trips, which include a visit to the Bai Dinh temple, coupled with either Trang An or Tam Coc. Some even call Ninh Binh as Ha Long Bay on land, due to the similar limestone cliffs dotting the waters here.

A related tidbit: Certain portions of the movie "Kong: Skull Island", which was released in 2017 was shot in and around Trang An.

Spot from where the boat rides start and end:


Boat ride in the waters, surrounded by limestone cliffs:










Certain sections go under caves in the limestone cliffs:


Sapa:
Sapa is a beautiful getaway, located about a 4 hour drive from Hanoi. Several mini buses connect the two places. We stayed for about 4 days in Sapa.
The place is picturesque, with beautiful valleys and mountains.

It's possible to hire a taxi for a day, and visit multiple spots around Sapa.

Silver waterfall:


Random stops along the way:



Valleys around Sapa:





Fansipan, Sapa:
Slightly expensive by Vietnam's standards, but, nevertheless a highly recommended visit while in Sapa would be the cable car ride to the Fansipan peak. It's the tallest peak in Indochina region, at 3,143 meters.
A modern cable-car station from Sapa is available to go to the Fansipan.
There's a train, and then a cable car, and finally, a funicular to reach near the summit.

Cable-car:




Views while riding the cable-car:






At the point/platform where the cable-car ends, and you switch-over to the funicular to near the summit:



View from near the top:


To the top left, you can see the town of SaPa:


The summit:


The actual summit, considered sacred:



Closing thoughts:

1. We went with low expectations, but, Vietnam exceeded our expectations quite a bit. The roads were great, at least in the parts that we visited: the road from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay, Hanoi to Binh Binh, and Hanoi to SaPa. We had a number of unique experiences, from experiencing a new culture, to the cruise in Ha Long Bay, along with an overnight stay on the junk ship, boat rides in Trang An, to cable car rides up Fansipan in SaPa, to cool, pleasant weather with picturesque views in SaPa for a relaxing way to end our trip.
2. People were quite friendly. The younger generation speaks decent to good English, and communication was never a problem. We found them to be very hard-working and sincere.
3. To exchange money in Hanoi, check out any of the jewellery shops in the Old Quarter. They usually give better exchange rates than the banks and other exchange houses.
4. You get what you pay for in Vietnam. While we mostly stayed at good places, and our experiences were wonderful and pleasant, we have heard not so pleasant experiences of those who went on super low budgets. My suggestion would be to pick options with decent and fair prices, pre-book as much as possible through reputed sites, and plan everything in advance for an enjoyable experience.
5. Vegetarian food: While the options are limited, you do get vegetarian food in Vietnam. And no, vegetarian pho is not a myth. We had good vegetarian pho at our hotels in both Hanoi and SaPa, and while on the cruise in Ha Long Bay. We even found a wonderful vegan restaurant in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, and we were treated to amazing Vietnamese food, all of them vegan, including pho! There are a few Indian restaurants in Hanoi, and we visited one of them, just curious to check out what they offer. Of course, street food would be a problem, if you are vegetarian. But, Vietnamese are not new to vegetarianism, and even if you are in a tight spot and can't speak Vietnamese, 'Chay' (pronounced 'chai') is understood by Vietnamese. Read more here: https://vietnam.travel/node/136
6. Vietnam is apparently one of the top exporters of coffee. Do try out Vietnamese coffee from the coffee shops. It's a sightly sweet preparation, with coffee brew and condensed milk. Worth trying! Another specialty in Hanoi was egg coffee, though we didn't try one due to being vegetarians.

Cheers and happy driving!

[rst89]

Originally Posted by SakJel

Hello,

Lovely people, fantastic food, even vegetarian, good bars and pubs, Vietnamese COFFEE, yum yum, which you haven't mentioned at all.

Cheers

Originally Posted by FlashMustang

Wonderful write-up, rst89!

We visited Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Ninh Binh, and Sapa. This is a good option if one would like to limit to the northern part, and have limited time to cover the entire length of the country. We spent about 8 days visiting these places.
[*]Vegetarian food: While the options are limited, you do get vegetarian food in Vietnam. And no, vegetarian pho is not a myth. We had good vegetarian pho at our hotels in both Hanoi and SaPa, and while on the cruise in Ha Long Bay. We even found a wonderful vegan restaurant in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, and we were treated to amazing Vietnamese food, all of them vegan, including pho! There are a few Indian restaurants in Hanoi, and we visited one of them, just curious to check out what they offer. Of course, street food would be a problem, if you are vegetarian. But, Vietnamese are not new to vegetarianism, and even if you are in a tight spot and can't speak Vietnamese, 'Chay' (pronounced 'chai') is understood by Vietnamese. Read more here: https://vietnam.travel/node/136[*]Vietnam is apparently one of the top exporters of coffee. Do try out Vietnamese coffee from the coffee shops. It's a sightly sweet preparation, with coffee brew and condensed milk. Worth trying! Another specialty in Hanoi was egg coffee, though we didn't try one due to being vegetarians.[/list]Cheers and happy driving!

Thanks for contributing to Vietnam thread, hope this acts as a reference for anyone who is vegetarian.

Frankly, I did drink the condensed milk coffee over there multiple times, I guess novelty wore off and it didn't feel special afterwards. The egg coffee involves raw egg yolk and I avoid anything that is not hot cooked.

I didn't carry any USD with me, relied on ATMs, so no exchange.

North Vietnam is the reason I want to visit Vietnam second time.

[Samfromindia]

Lovely & informative write up, was thinking about doing this next year. We need more solo & budget travelogues in our forum, which is mainly dominated by travelling with wife & kids and luxurious stays. It will be great if you could give info on the hostels you stayed and the indicative expenses breakdown for this trip Rated 5 *****

[IP_Man]

Excellent writeup and equally good photographs.

Did you managed travel yourself or through travel company?

[rst89]

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

Lovely & informative write up, was thinking about doing this next year. We need more solo & budget travelogues in our forum, which is mainly dominated by travelling with wife & kids and luxurious stays. It will be great if you could give info on the hostels you stayed and the indicative expenses breakdown for this trip Rated 5 *****

Most of the travelogues written here by me here are budget ones.
Hostels:

1. HCMC: City Backpackers Hostel around 7 USD per night
2. Hoi An: The Imperfect Downtown around 8.5 USD per night.
3. Hanoi: Central Backpackers hostel around 5.5 USD per night

My trip was planned at last moment, like air tickets were booked 7 days before departure. Costs was around 80k INR to 85k INR for a 9 day trip.

Originally Posted by IP_Man

Excellent writeup and equally good photographs.

Did you managed travel yourself or through travel company?

Yes, managed by myself.

[yzfaddict]

Hi, I am planning to visit Vietnam between 26 Nov - 8 Dec. Have a few queries as below:

1. Is it advisable to take a sim card there or go ahead with international plans from Indian carriers?

2. Which App/website should we use to book two-wheelers/4-wheelers?

3. Is there any transit app through which we can book buses/trains?

4. Is it advisable to take USD from India and convert it there or get VND from here itself?

5. Did you use any forex cards?

6. Is an Indian Driving license more than enough to drive there, or should we apply for an international driving license?

Any other suggestions you want to give us would be welcome.

[rst89]

Originally Posted by yzfaddict

Hi, I am planning to visit Vietnam between 26 Nov - 8 Dec. Have a few queries as below:

1. Is it advisable to take a sim card there or go ahead with international plans from Indian carriers?

2. Which App/website should we use to book two-wheelers/4-wheelers?

3. Is there any transit app through which we can book buses/trains?

4. Is it advisable to take USD from India and convert it there or get VND from here itself?

5. Did you use any forex cards?

6. Is an Indian Driving license more than enough to drive there, or should we apply for an international driving license?

Any other suggestions you want to give us would be welcome.

Ans:

1. Better take local SIM as they will cheap compared to roaming plans of Indian carriers which start from 3.5K INR and above for 10 days.

2. When you reach any town, search for rentals using Google search or simply ask the front hotel desk to arrange it for you.

3. There are aggregator sites for buses, read reviews.
Refer this guide for trains.

4. No need to carry USD if you have cards with international transaction enabled, can use it at airports to get cash.

5. Forex cards are stone age products. I used NiYo Global card as I can load it on the go and has very less exchange fees.

6. Already answered in the travelogue.

Just we aware about the surroundings and enjoy Vietnam.

[Mustang Sammy]

Awesome review. Thanks for putting down your experiences so nicely.

Have been to Vietnam (HCM city) many times for work but never got to stay over the weekend and so much sightseeing, except for one tour of the Mekong delta.
The food is AMAZING, I agree. Tasty and healthy.

[Car Stalker]

Thank you Rst89 for a brilliant travelogue with beautiful pictures !! It brought back fond memories of our travel to Vietnam in September, 2022 with our 10 months old baby !!!

Brief detail of our travel:

*Did our evisa from the below site (approved in 3 days)
https://immigration.gov.vn

*Double vaccination certificates were not asked anywhere and RTCPR tests were not required in landing airports.

*Hanoi Duty Free shops were closed early morning when we landed in Hanoi. If required duty free liquor & tobacco may be shopped from the departure airport.

*There is no concept of MRP (Maximum Retail Price) like India and items were sold at price the shopkeeper decided.

Vin Mart offers good prices for all commodities. Heck, even found a wholeseller selling water, beers and few other food items at a price cheaper than Vin Mart in HCMC !!

ITINERARY:

18 Sep- Ghy-Kol (late night)

19 Sep- Hanoi arrival early morning checked in https://abnb.me/1V21qZr0Aub (Lovely 2 bedroom service apartment with Lake View in a posh area with exceptional services :: they allowed for early check in on 19th as a kind gesture)

Rented scooter and drove around the city.

20 Sep- Hanoi - Car rented for sight seeing and booked a Halong Bay day tour

21 Sep- Hanoi- Halong Bay - Hanoi (Booked tour from a local agent near Food Street named Dragon Cruises). The Cruise was in great shape with great food, lovely ambience with pleasing staffs and charged ₹4000/- per head including pickup/drop from our hotel in Tay Ho.

22 Sep- Hanoi - Da Nang - Hoi An(Afternoon 2pm Vietjet Flight , economy class). The seats were the narrowest we have ever sat !!

The AirBnB (https://abnb.me/tCdyA0q1Aub) sorted our pick up & drop back from/to airport for an charge of ₹2200/- (A Fortuner for the 27- one way kms drive)

23 Sep- Day time chilled at An Bang beach and evening at The Ancient Town

24 Sep- Hired Scooty and went to Da Nang Beach and Marble Mountain. Evening again went to The Ancient Town

25 Sep- Hoi An - Da Nang - HCMC (Afternoon flight to HCMC) Checked in the AirBnB right in the middle of HCMC Walking Street (https://abnb.me/HJqdU0P1Aub)

26 Sep- HCMC sightseeing (Museum, Post Office, Cathedral, etc). Dong Khoi Street is a must visit for the colonial architecture.

Evening , back to Walking Street's session !!!

27 Sep- Shopping at HCMC (Ben Thanh Market & China Town Market) . Evening chilled at our AirBnB and departed late night for flight.

28 Sep- Early morning flight back home

My suggestions based on my travel:

1) Book tours from travel agent as they are cheaper than online sites (Offers by TAs may be compared in online sites such as TripAdvisor/Viator for genuinity & customer feedbacks)

2) Currency can be exchanged in local jewellery shops as they give you the best rate (calculated on Google) with absolutely NO commissions

3) Grab app should be downloaded & is extremely helpful in getting cabs or food !!

4) Four people travelling can opt for private car transfer rather than SIC for comfortable travel with no time restriction.

5) Bike/ car rentals are cheap and should be availed for city sightseeings.

My all time favourites were Banh Mi , Spring Rolls & Cold Coffee !!
Spent around 1.5 for three of us. Took AirBnb as we wanted kitchen to cook food for the baby.

We were all happy with whatever travel we managed with our baby !!! He was happy too as he enjoyed all flights and the boat rides & the stays !!!

Regret missing the Hai Van Pass and War Remnants Museum. Some other time maybe for sure

Love & Light
✌️

[CNMaLin]

Originally Posted by SakJel

Lovely people, fantastic food, even vegetarian, good bars and pubs, Vietnamese COFFEE, yum yum, which you haven't mentioned at all.

Very true. The people and food are fantastic. The drip coffee with condensed milk was so good, that I had to get the drip filter. Also bought Trung Nguyen coffee beans. Do check them out when you are visiting.

HCMC has a great New Year's Eve party with fireworks, public concerts!

[advstreak]

Anybody in Hanoi? I will there for sometime for work and would love to catchup.

[dsnaveen21]

Originally Posted by Car Stalker

Book tours from travel agent as they are cheaper than online sites
✌️

Hello, can you please let me the travel agent name which you hired.
My cousin wants to travel to Vietnam.

Thanks,

[Car Stalker]

Originally Posted by dsnaveen21

Hello, can you please let me the travel agent name which you hired.
My cousin wants to travel to Vietnam.

Thanks,

Hi, I meant the day tours only. The itinerary and all bookings were done by self. I booked a daylong Halong Bay tour from a local agent near Food Street named Dragon Cruises.