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 Traveller's Tales: Things to do in Vietnam
Learn about leisure and recreation in Vietnam. You may read about their travel activities and adventures. Find out their travel tips and guides and discover fun things to do in Vietnam.Also, you might want to read our
Central Vietnam city guide,
Halong Bay city guide,
Hanoi city guide,
Ho Chi Minh city guide,
Phan Thiet city guide,
and Hoi An city guide.
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| S Fleck |
29 March 2004 |
Stayed at De Syloia Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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The only monument/local attraction that we visited was the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum and museum complex. It was very interesting. It is neither expensive nor does it take a long time to do (we covered it in less than 2 hours).
If you are a runner, there is a local Hash House Harriers group in Hanoi that has regular weekend runs. It might be worth investigating if you want something different to do. We took part in an "agricultural run" through some farms located about 45 minutes outside of Hanoi. A bus was arranged for the transportation. The meeting point in Hanoi was "The Spotted Cow" which is one of the expat bars.
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| A Lewis |
26 March 2004 |
Stayed at Majestic Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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We did a day tour with Buffalo tours to Cu Chi and the Cau Dai temple-well worth doing. Whilst in the city we got around on motor bikes-this is by far the best way to travel and despite appearances, they dont go very fast.
We then had 3 days in the Mekong delta with Buffalo-again, well worth doing. Buffalo are on the up-market side but worth the money for individual trips.
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| D Mayer |
22 March 2004 |
Stayed at Lucky Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Don't miss taking a tour of Halong bay. One, two and three day trips are available from many locations in Hanoi. We booked through our hotel for the 1 day trip and found that sufficient to get a good overview of the bay.
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| S Lewis |
12 March 2004 |
Stayed at Sunway Hotel Hanoi - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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In Hanoi we can recommend the Emperor restaurant for good but relatively expensive food and the Hoa Sua restaurant which trains street children for jobs in catering-it serves excellent Vietnamese and French food.
We used Buffalo Tours for a trek in the Mai Chau area, Cuc Phuong National Park and Halong Bay. Halong Bay was amazing, even in the mist!
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| K Subramanian |
12 March 2004 |
Stayed at Green Park Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Everything for a tourist in Hanoi is Lake-centred. You can spend a few good days riding the cyclo around the city, walking round the tranquil Hoan Kiem Lake, shuffling thro the myriad street markets, and not fail to be impressed by the quiet charm and peace of this place and especially its beautiful people. The motorbike traffic is unstoppable and, if you follow traffic light traditions, you would end up waiting at the light from morn to evening. Just pull up your socks, place your heart firmly in your mouth, do not look too much at the oncoming traffic and cross slowly. They slow down and let you pass, or wind their way around you, and you manage to stay alive and get to the other side as well. Ocassionally you might see a few of them bumping into each other but there is no argument, no chaos, they just get up, dust themselves off and proceed. A busy city that retains its peace and tranquility.
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| L Innes-small |
08 March 2004 |
Stayed at Lucky Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Vietnam is a wonderful place to visit. Feb/March was a great time to go weather wise if you dont like it too hot and humid. Saigon - First destination and favourite place (once we got over the shock of the volume of traffic and mastered the art of crossing the road). Vibrant city and lovely people, friendly and genuinely interested in talking to you. Delta Adventure Tours for trips, very reasonable and well organised with great guides. Do not forgot to tip them as they are on a low wage (we were the only people who tipped).
Excellent trip to the Chu Chi tunnels. Only did day trip to Mekon Delta but would recommend going for 2 days. Most interesting sites for me in Saigon were the Presidential Palace (take one of the free tours)and of course the War Remnants Museum. Food was very good. Great vegetarian restaurant in back packer area - Bohdi Tree. Very disappointed with rooftop garden at the Rex hotel. The cocktails were expensive and I was not offered any change from the money I handed over. Biggest disappointment of whole trip.
Hoi An - A bit disappointing. 2-3 days is enough time to spend hereif you are not getting clothes made (we were there for 4 days). Fed up with hassle from shop keepers and cyclos. Also trip to beach a nightmare as accosted by a constant stream of peddlers. The food is amazing here, lots of sea food. Try the wontons at Ms. Lys cafeteria. Tour to the Cham Ruins worthwhile, as is Old Quarter walking tour. We were invited into one of the lovely old French colonial houses by the owner for a private tour. One of the highlights of the holiday.
Hue - Excellent. Only spent 2 days here but wish I had stayed longer. DMZ day trip very interesting but long day. Citadel very worthwhile to visit. Food is fantastic. Every restaurant recommended in the Lonely Planet is great. Best memory of Hue was sitting having a drink on a floating restaurant at the river watching the sun go down.
Hanoi - Was ok, but didn’t like it as much as Saigon, even though a lot of people on this website seem to prefer it. Found the people in Hanoi more reserved. Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum worth seeing and the Temple of Literature. Trip to Halong Bay spoiled as the weather was bad, but good for exploring the caves. A day trip is enough. Water puppet theatre is great - pay a bit more to get front row seats and book early.
Did not think much of the food in Hanoi. Had not had a bad meal in the whole of Vietnam until arriving in Hanoi. Also left it until Hanoi to do shopping, but wish I had got stuff in Saigon or Hoi An as more choice. Transport: Getting to and from places is easy. As we were time limited, took domestic flights. very reasonable and good service $60. Would liked to have taken a train journey. Would definitely go back to South Vietnam and take a trip into Cambodia (any tour operator can arrange it). Have recommended lots of friends to go to Vietnam – can’t describe how wonderful it is!
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| K Mercier |
08 March 2004 |
Stayed at New World Hotel Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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I had liposuction in Ho Chi Minh City! A lady dentist friend of mine living in Saigon recommended me to a plastic surgeon to whom she was also having the same surgery. I paid $1,000. The experience was frightening. But so far I am okay, able to travel to Danang, to the Faruma Beach Resort Hotel. This hotel is beautiful and the beach is quite stunning from the balcony of my room. Although it was overcast the day I was there. I only stayed for one night. They have a free shuttle bus taking you to 4 different sight seeing destinations. One is Hoi An.
I had a lot of clothes made there. The quality of the material is not good, but the workmanship is excellent at Trinh 95 on 95 Phan Chu Trinh - Hoi An. I brought a dress that I love and couldn't find another like it. Well, they made the exact replica of my dress. The only problem was the dress didn't feel same cause the material was not same. So I suggest if you are having clothes made...bring your own material.
You can buy an airline ticket for about $100 round trip. If you wish to visit Hanoi and other places while visiting Ho Chi Minh City. It's only an hour away by air. I have been to Vietnam twice in the past 2 years and one thing I always needed was another suitcase to carry all my gifts. The quality of the bags there are cheap and will tear by the end of the day. So don't forget to bring along a good duffle bag big enough to hold all your gifts. If you are staying at the New World Hotel, they will furnish an empty box and some tape for you. No problem.
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| S Smith |
03 March 2004 |
Stayed at Yasaka Saigon Nhatrang Hotel - Nha Trang, Vietnam.
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I would highly recommend the island tour offered at the hotel for about 8 USD. We were given (by the hotel) a lovely straw hat and a couple bottles of water. The staff on the boat was very attentive and friendly and the food that they served for lunch was excellent, especially given that we were on a boat, away from any kitchen facilities.
We got around primarily by cab, which was very inexpensive. A couple of times we used one of the motorcycles that consistently asked us if we needed rides, very cheap, but hang onto your hat! We had laundry done, about 3 kilos, which was washed, dried and ironed (and returned within 24 hours) for 12,000 dong/kilo. The laundry facility name is escaping me at this moment but I can look it up if anyone is interested.
We visited Chong Rocks, but only had limited time. It would be a nice way to spend a relaxing day, lounging around on chaise chairs having cocktails and snacks. We hired a local tour guide, she's very good and I can provide her contact details if anyone would like to know. She was born and raised in Nha Trang so knows all the good places to visit, and her brother owns a cab so transportation is quick and easy. We were given a day-long tour of Nha Trang and driven around, quite inexpensively. We saw the Palace, Dam Market, the temple along the bay, Chong Rocks and had a fantastic Vietnamese lunch at a local restaurant. Plus had some terrific discussions about Vietnamese culture. Her english is excellent.
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| L Cooker |
22 February 2004 |
Stayed at De Syloia Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Hanoi is a fantastic city. It's good just to wander around. Try to see a Water Puppet performance and take the time to head out to the Museum of Ethnology - it's well worth it.
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| E Wright |
21 February 2004 |
Stayed at Lucky Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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We took a tour to Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island. Halong Bay was very nice, caves interesting and the trip on the big wooden boat was wonderful, but Cat Ba was a bit basic and the food on the tour was terrible! Restaurants around Hanoi were all good, especially a group of restaurants in Ma May and another group in the street near the Catholic church. There were also some wonderful designer shops (homewares, gifts and clothes) around near this church. We walked mostly but also took cyclos, and taxis when it was raining. All very cheap and we enjoyed being taken in the wrong direction and being lost by our drivers a few times...all in the price and part of the adventure. The whole feeling of Hanoi is very 'safe' for an 'older' female traveller. Crossing the roads is another story though. Just have to look straight ahead and do it!
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