| J Zee |
18 September 2003 |
Stayed at Lucky Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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We visited the History Museum, Revolution Museum, water puppet show, and the market. Hanoi is not too big so you can walk around, and the bike taxi also helpful when you are tired.
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| D Bressem (1st call) |
15 September 2003 |
Stayed at Bong Sen Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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Don't take a taxi next to hotel! Many of them will cheat you. Often the taxi meter is manipulated, so you are charged 2-3 times more than usual. Just walk 200 meters around the block. The fare to the airport is approx. 50.000 Dong. Often they demand $10 (150.000 Dong!) to take you there.
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| B Wilson |
11 September 2003 |
Stayed at Green Park Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Mainly got around by walking. Excellent Italian just round the corner if you fancy a change from traditional Vietnamese. Il Grillo - great owner - Alberto! Used Sinh Cafe to book tour to Perfume Pagoda - picked up and dropped off again at hotel.
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| G Watkinson |
31 August 2003 |
Stayed at Equatorial Ho Chi Minh, Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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The Cu CHi Tunnels are worth a visit (Ben Dinh). The Ben Duoc tunnels are artificial. Visiting the Mekong Delta is difficult as the boat trips are fixed route and fixed price (US$20/person) so you don't get to see the 'real Mekong'. Around Saigon a cyclo is better and cheaper than a taxi, also the cyclo will wait while you look around or go shopping. The pagodas of Giac Vien & Giac Lam are well worth a visit.
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| D Mullett |
03 August 2003 |
Stayed at Novotel Dalat - Dalat, Vietnam.
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Dalat is a wonderful destination if you want to partake in some outdoor activity away from the oppresive heat in other parts of Vietnam. It's mountaneous terrain (and cooler temperatures) make it a great place to get out and enjoy the outdoors. Our raison d'etre for this holiday was to go mountain biking. We organized a trip with Phat Tire Adventures, located in Dalat, to do a one-day mountain biking tour. Our chosen ride was aptly named Hill Billy and consisted of a 6-hour ride on various types of terrain (including paved roads, dirt/gravel roads through minority villages and single track paths through the forest/fields). It definitely lived up to its name. Despite the weather (it poured for 2/3 of the day), it was a very rewarding experience. I would highly recommend mountain biking in Dalat as a way to enjoy the natural beauty of Vietnam. From personal experience, it definitely beats sitting in a tour bus all day....
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| S Venga |
21 July 2003 |
Stayed at Empress Hotel Ho Chi Minh City - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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First visit to Vietnam, you should fly into Hanoi and work your way down to Saigon via coach or train (it takes about a week to 10 days for a comfortable, sight-seeing trip). Must dos in Saigon include river cruise at night (choose the boat which has classical vietnam music if you prefer quieter music), Ben Tanh market, Cu Chi tunnels (a must see). Enjoy the seafood as their meats (esp. chicken) are not a great buy.
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| L Michals |
21 July 2003 |
Stayed at Asian Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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Saigon is a very busy city. We traveled by motorbike - not recommended for the faint-of-heart.
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| G Francis |
19 July 2003 |
Stayed at Empress Hotel Ho Chi Minh City - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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Beware of cyclo drivers especially in Chinatown. They conveniently forget the agreed rate and then proceed to use aggresive means to extort money from you.
Most of the city sights can be reached on foot. You need only 3 days max, one for sightseeing, one for shopping and then trips to Mekong / Cu Chi tunnels are half day each.
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| R Bale |
13 July 2003 |
Stayed at Riverside Hotel Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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We took the usual tours from Saigon to the Cu Chi tunnels and 2 days in the Mekong Delta. Both were amazing places to visit and cannot be recommended enough. The miriad tour agencies in Pham Ngu Laoh are all very similar so just book with any of them.
We also visited Mui Ne beach (idyllic if you are after a quiet beach getaway) and Dalat - full of interesting things to see and do.
We travelled by tourist bus - long, frustrating, uncomfortable - and internal flights - cheap, prompt, much better use of time and money.
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| A Tomasov |
10 July 2003 |
Stayed at Sofitel Metropole Hanoi - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Found it very easy to find a local motor bike guide to take me to the silk village and ceramic village. I initially did a few short trips around the old quarter with different driver until I found a driver I felt comfortable with and asked him if he would ride out of town - a bit of map pointing and clock diagrams later we had a meeting time and destination. He was more than happy to stop whenever I wanted to tke a photo or buy something from a shop. Just be aware that it rains in the late afternoon - so if you are on a bike then - have a raincoat with you. Oh yeah, a scarf to cover your mouth helps as well!
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Traveller's Tales: Getting around in Vietnam
