I want to visit Vietnam

I am thinking of visiting Vietnam next Chinese New Year. I am going to be visiting there with my Dad and we will be staying for 2 weeks. We would like to go somewhere on the nicer side of things, but not too extravagant. I believe we will be flying in to HCMC and the travelling to a beach/resort type of place. I don’t really want to travel all over the place and see all the places there are to see. We’re more beach whores than travel junkies. In additon I would like something with a bit of a nightlife as my girlfriend will be coming with me and she will want to have some fun in that respect. One thing I must say is that I don’t want a city beach or travel to Hoi An as it is too far north.

Thanks for any help and advice
stare

Stare

Sounds like you should go to Nha Trang. I lived in Vn for a year and a half and I think it is the only place that will fit your requirements for the following reasons: -
Vietnam is like China and pretty much shuts for CNY (Tet in Vietnamese) so the best place to be for the few key days is in a hotel or resort
Night life at the closer beach resorts is non existent, I tried desperately to find somewhere to go out in Mui Ne several times
The flight up there is cheap or the bus is super cheap (but very hot)
There is diving and other Tourist type attractions there which is not always the case at the less developed beaches

Having said that you should aim to spend at least a few days in HCMC and you should make the effort to see the Tunnels even though they are thought by many to be just a scam put together for the tourists it is a great 1/2 day out and you can shoot M16s or AK47s if you so desire.

You will have a wonderful time, the Vietnamese are super friendly and even when they are ripping you off you will think it is cheap.

Have fun.

Vung Tao, formerly known as Cap St. Jacques.

Close to Saigon.

Vung Tao is where Gary Glitter got arrested/ is banged up. It is an old R&R town currently populated by oil men and hookers…fine if thats your thing but your gf may not appreciate it!

EA -
The OP asked about places close to Saigon and has nice beaches. Vung Tao meets those requirements. Also it has some very fine old hotels that have been rehabbed to current standards.
I think one can find hookers in any resort area of the world. As to the “oil men” comment thats quite beyond me. Inflated prices? Demand for better service? Boots in the lobby? Not sure about that one.
As to Gary Glitter, I believe he is currently in jail. Don’t think he’ll be doing the dinner shows.

Anyway, the coast north from Vung Tao offers some fine beaches and accomadations.

I agree fully with your comments about Nha Trang. Perhaps a nice trip north from Vung Tao up to Nha Trang might be rewarding for the folks. Phan Thiet, Phan Rang, Cam Ranh Bay and Nha Trang would be a lovely trip.

Perhaps even a day trip from Phan Rang over to Dalat. Cool off for a day or so.

Agree Dalat would be worth a visit. Don’t thinh Phan Tiet (Mui Ne) is really worth visiting unless there is time pressure and you must get to a beach from Saigon.

TC, how come you know Vn so well? Were you also posted there?

I spent a couple of weeks in Phan Thiet/Mui Ne a few Tets ago. Quite relaxing but sod all else to do but listen in to the nightly fights of the drunken German guesthouse owners and their Vietnamese wives while pondering how much longer these chaps had on the planet. The beaches are not that clean.

I hear very, very good things about Phu Quoc. I’ve wanted to go here for years, however, the only time I had a chance the airport had been trashed by a typhoon.

http://www.phuquoc.info/

HG

Nasty Sand flies at Mui Ne aswell.

What do people think, is 1 1/2 days enough for Ho Chi Minh City? What’s there to see (must do or other things)?

I will rendezvous with a friend in Hanoi but plan to leave a day or two earlier and fly to HCM, then do an internal flight and return directly from Hanoi. My friend made a plan for Hanoi (including Sapa and Halon Bay) already but I dunno what to do in HCM and if it’s worth going there for such a short time.

[quote=“Rascal”]What do people think, is 1 1/2 days enough for Ho Chi Minh City? What’s there to see (must do or other things)?

I will rendezvous with a friend in Hanoi but plan to leave a day or two earlier and fly to HCM, then do an internal flight and return directly from Hanoi. My friend made a plan for Hanoi (including Sapa and Halon Bay) already but I dunno what to do in HCM and if it’s worth going there for such a short time.[/quote]

HCM is not worth the flight, especially for 1.5 days. If you had longer and could go check out the Delta, yes, that’s cool. But HCM is no biggie. Hanoi’s a lot nicer.

Btw, my brother’s taking a 2 week tour of Vietnam over Christmas-New year with his family (leaving in a few days) and it just happens that they’ll be in Hanoi from 12/30 to 1/2, so what the hell my wife, daughter and I decided to fly to Hanoi and meet them there for the new year. It’s absolutely perfect. If one has only 3 or 4 days for Vietnam, then Hanoi, Halong Bay (and Sapa if you have the time), is definitely where one should start. Only if one has an additional week or longer should one start heading south to Hue, Hoi Anh, Nha Trang, HCM and the Delta.

Rascal -
For some people 1 1/2 days in Saigon is too long and for others 7 days would be too short.
Do some research on the city and see what you might be interested in there.
If its just a stop-over on your way back here, then that may just be the right amount of time for you.
Enjoy some fine dining, do some shopping and do a quickie tourist jog around the city.

What for it’s worth, I’ll add to the ‘visiting Vietnam’ files…

I went with a friend to Hanoi over millennium New Year’s 2000 for 5 days. Vietnam is truly a very interesting place. Awesome food. How can you resist authentic French bread every day?!
We hung in around Hanoi and area for 2-3 days and then rented these absolutely crazy old Russian motorcycles and drove 2 hours or so to Haiphong and took a boat to an island fishing village on the water getaway place…the name escapes me at the moment, for a few days, and back to Hanoi.

It was just a short jaunt, very enjoyable, but I don’t know how quick I would go back with so many other places in Asia I’ve not been. It’s very dirty, polluted, noisy, but was worth the adventure.

I enjoyed Hanoi. Great eating and a lovely city. I could quite happily spend another week there wandering about and enjoying the food and coffee shops and art galleries.

The central hotel district of HCMC is full of Japanese women shopping for the great clothing bargains (beautiful custom-made silk clothes for very low prices). Maybe your girlfriend would enjoy that-- mine did. For nice beaches and some moderate resort nightlife, you might spend some time in Nha Trang; you can fly there from HCMC in an hour.

Thanks MT and TC, I think I will skip HCM then.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good hotel in Hanoi? Middle to upper class, say max. USD100 a night but cheaper is ok if it’s a nice place.

We’re staying at the Hanoi Opera Hilton. The Sofitel Metropole was our first choice, but was fully booked. I believe those are probably the two best hotels in Hanoi. I’m almost certain they’ve got no rooms for $100, but maybe it’s worth a splurge.

Of course the best rates are not available directly but are through various agents but, beware, we’ve had some trouble with agents making promises they couldn’t deliver, etc., so get everything clearly confirmed in writing.

I’m flying there this coming Saturday morning. How about you?

[quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]I spent a couple of weeks in Phan Thiet/Mui Ne a few Tets ago. Quite relaxing but sod all else to do but listen in to the nightly fights of the drunken German guesthouse owners and their Vietnamese wives while pondering how much longer these chaps had on the planet. The beaches are not that clean.

I hear very, very good things about Phu Quoc. I’ve wanted to go here for years, however, the only time I had a chance the airport had been trashed by a typhoon.

http://www.phuquoc.info/

HG[/quote]

say it ain’t so!..i was planning to go there as the windsurfing is (reportedly) good.

We’re staying at the Hanoi Opera Hilton. The Sofitel Metropole was our first choice, but was fully booked. I believe those are probably the two best hotels in Hanoi. I’m almost certain they’ve got no rooms for $100, but maybe it’s worth a splurge.

Of course the best rates are not available directly but are through various agents but, beware, we’ve had some trouble with agents making promises they couldn’t deliver, etc., so get everything clearly confirmed in writing.

I’m flying there this coming Saturday morning. How about you?[/quote]
Against better advise (because my travel buddy made already flight arrangements) we will be going during CNY (19. to 26.2. I think, with 2 or 3 days in Sapa somewhere inbetween). I checked the Sofitel website, but that was USD150 or above. Well, will contact a few like Hilton, Sheraton, Nikko etc. and see what they got to offer. Thanks for the advise to get everything properly confirmed.

Have a nice trip!

Hanoi was beautiful, as always. My wife, daughter and I returned last night from 4 days there. It’s very close and convenient (direct flight – closer than Bangkok) and even 4 days was enough, though I would have gladly stayed longer.

Here’s a famous temple on an island in the lake in the center of the city.

Here’s the fantastic Halong Bay (we took a full-day boat trip on the Bay, with seafood on the boat and stopped to look at some awesome caves on an island).

The Temple of Literature, a 1000-year-old university.

The famous Vietnamese water puppet show.

Lots of great art and artists in Vietnam. Many fancy galleries selling terrific modern art (in the US$1,000 - $10,000 range) derived from Vietnam’s historical background in Chinese art, polished by many years of art training by the French. Here’s a few common street-shop artists mostly making copies of others’ art.

Here’s a typical street.

But to understand the traffic, you really have to see it in action.
youtube.com/watch?v=GqIL7Nhy1WE

Of course, we ate lots of delicious food, in particular bowls of pho, the traditional noodle soup. We also visited Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum and saw his dead body, a strange experience, as well as visiting his house and various other sights. However, the best sights are probably the nice lake (Hoan Kien) in the middle of town and the Old Quarter, with its French colonial buildings, tree-lined streets, and hustle and bustle. We also bought all kinds of cool souvenirs – beautiful lacquer trays and dishes and carved stone boxes for ridiculuously low prices, etc.

Hanoi’s just the tip of the iceberg. Vietnam is crammed full of awesome sights and tastes from top to bottom. But, Hanoi’s pretty damned nice. :slight_smile: