Travel tips / advice for person looking to travel and holiday in vietnam?

I am looking to spend a couple of weeks in Vietnam in about sept/oct this year. I'm going with a couple of mates, but don't want to necessarily stick to all the touristy bars, beaches, etc. Would love to hear from anyone about good ideas for places to go, things to do, interesting stuff. Cheers :)Travel tips / advice for person looking to travel and holiday in vietnam?
You are Spoilt for choice, in your position get a flight only into Saigon and take it from there . There are so many things to see and do that the long two week break soon disappears . The war crimes museum , the Cu Chi tunnels the markets can not be missed in Saigon . Then take a train journey to Nha Trang , the journey itself is so much fun . Nha Trang is a bit touristy nowadays , and i prefer Mu Nie (Phan Thiet) for the beaches . Hoi An is a must for clothing its amazing , the full country is incredible . Get yourself copies of ';The Rough Guide To Vietnam'; %26amp; ';The Lonely Planet'; and read up and see what appeals . Personally i preferred the ';Rough Guide'; but both are great to compare against each other . Expect to get way laid and allow yourself time to make that flight home , it broke my heart missing my return flight 3 times hahaha(it is amazing). Enjoy yourself .Travel tips / advice for person looking to travel and holiday in vietnam?
I spent 3 amazing weeks in Vietnam, I flew into Hanoi and out of Saigon.





After exploring Hanoi - the water puppets are apparently a 'must see' I thought it was weird but a fun cheap evening all the same, from there I went to Sapa rather than Halong Bay. It was beautiful, you can trek through the mountains, paddy fields, villages and markets. Its much cooler up there so be warned. From there I travelled south and stopped in a few places including Tam Coc which was beautiful, not somewhere where many tourists bother to stop.





Hoi An is great for chilling out for a couple of days on the beach with a beer, get some cheap clothes made and party in the evenings - There is also an amazing patisserie down by the river which does the best croissants and cakes.





Nha Trang was also great fun, take advantage of the mud pools which is a great afternoon spent in hot springs and thick mud.


Also pick a nice day weather wise and go on 'Mamma Linhs boat trip'


a great day out, lots of drinking involved and a really good lunch onboard. There is a great beauticians in the main drag of shops where the proceeds go towards helping the kids who are caught up in the sex trade, I think its called Kims, enjoy a pampering knowing the money is going to a good cause.





Then of sourse in Saigon you have the tunnels and the museums





Whatever you do your have a great time, the country is beautiful and the people some of the best i have ever met.
Go to the Vietcong tunnels outside Saigon.


You can go through some tunnels, fire live ammo on an AK47/M16 and see the horrific traps fitted around/inside the tunnels.





Go to the war museum in Saigon. You will see the results of the defoliant the US sprayed over the forests (and people) - another horrific reminder of war!





Beware of the humidity and sun it's a killer!





Don't bother with Hanong Bay. It takes a long time to get there/get back and it is a real tourist trap. The ';rock formations'; in the sea are fantastic but the sheer weight of tacky tourism spoilt it for us!





Hanoi (the capital) was a beautful ';colonial'; town but is now decaying away, the commercial centre (Saigon) is much more westernised and alive.





Hue (to see the Palace bombed by the US etc) is interesting but again the damage done to the beautiful buildings make you so sad!





Hoi An for a BEACH STAY is OK but don't just stay in the ';western'; resorts which really are sanitised.


Do you into the town and wander around the various markets - a really interesting eye opener!


Ideal to ';people watch'; from a westernised cafe (don't even think about using the locals places!) for a couple of hours as you watch everything happening!





Lovely people - terrible damage done to their country - would go back again!
We spent three weeks and just stayed in the north and central part of Vietnam. If you want to do something different you could go to Lake Ba-be from Hanoi, although you would need to arrange a car...your hotel would do this. 4 sharing would be reasonable.Stay in a long house.





I don't agree Hanoi is crumbling .It is a beautiful and really great city to visit with so much to do and see.





Also the day trip to Perfume Pagoda is well worth it. This is from Hanoi and you get to go through lovely rural areas, then on a boat and up a gondola to the pagoda in a cave.





Hoi An is lovely. You don't need to go to a beach to enjoy it. It wasn't suitable weather in October as it is the rainy season. In fact it was flooded, but it didn't matter too much as it cleared quickly.





Hue is also great. After seeing the Citadel, we hired a dragon boat to go down the river, stopping off at three pagodas etc.This was a full day and most enjoyable. The mausoleum was well worth it.





To find out more information go to http://www.fascinating-travel-destinatio鈥?/a>
If you want to get off the backpacker trail and you have a limited amount of time I would suggest using a travel company and telling them that. I have traveled all over Vietnam, on my own and with a travel company. It is much harder to get off the beaten path if you dont know what you are doing and dont speak Vietnamese.





In my opinion, Focus Travel is the best travel company in VN.
I think the best place to go is HANOI, it's a capitol of Vietnam. There're so many new things you could find out in Hanoi such as Pho, Pho is a tradition kind of noodles in Hanoi. Bars, I think My Way is a cool bar in Hanoi, it's near Ngo Quyen Street. There're a lot of museums you could visit. Hanoi is best place to visit, trust me.
For something really extraordinary, I would suggest you to do a trip to northwest Vietnam on a motorbike or car.


If you are more active, do some trekking in Cao Son or Pu Luong then. These destination are new and not touristic. I came to Cao Son and Halong bay last year, quite impressive.





Good luck !
Never miss to get lost at Halong Bay. This is Vietnam's most-guarded secret of beauty and fantasy.
What really nice - exept all the things mentioned already - is Phu Quoc island.


It麓s still lind of ';untouched'; and a good chance to see ';the real Vietnam';.


Check out the Mango BAy Resort - beautiful and quiet cheap!