Vietnam

I traveled to Vietnam in 2022 and lived there for some months in 2023. I really loved it! The best way to travel to Vietnam is from North to South or from South to North. The typical route which I also followed from North to South is as follows: Hanoi - Sapa or other rice terrace places – (Ha Giang Loop) - Halong Bay or Cat Ba Island – Ninh Binh – (Phong Nha) – Hue – (Da Nang) – Hoi An – Nha Trang – (Da Lat) – (Mui Ne) - Ho Chi Minh City. I only had 2 weeks in Vietnam so I skipped the ones that are mentioned in brackets (). But if you have one month I would definitely recommend doing all of it. If you travel from South to North you can go with the same route but reverse. You have the possibility also to enter and exit Vietnam from or to Laos in the North (from or to Hanoi or Sapa) and Cambodia in the South (from or to Ho Chi Minh City).

Hanoi was the first city I visited in Vietnam. I got my first impressions over there with all these motorcycles, the ladies wearing the traditional hats, the noise, and the food. I recommend you stay 3 days in Hanoi. Things to do: 

• the train station: This place is so beautiful with all the colorful buildings and restaurants. Try to go there on the weekend as the train passes more often on the weekend. When we were there it passed around 11 or 11.30 am so we had breakfast over there. On normal weekdays it only passes at 6.30 am and 6.30 pm.
• Hoa La prison: This prison is a museum nowadays that represents the time of the independence struggle against the French and also talks a little bit about the Vietnam War. The entrance fee is 30.000 Dong (1.20$)
• the literature temple: Here you can find many different temples inside of a park and also some traditional Vietnamese Art. The entrance fee is 30.000 Dong (1.20$)
• the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum: The mausoleum is situated in a park. The entrance is free but you need to cover your shoulders if you want to enter out of respect.

Sapa is one of the most beautiful places to see the rice terraces in Vietnam. It’s important to know that the rice terraces look different in each season. The green rice terrace pictures you see on the internet are not available throughout the year. During some seasons the terraces are brown so keep that in mind. To visit Sapa you can take a 2 or 3-day trip from Hanoi on your own or as a tour. I recommend you book a tour because these tours are usually offered by local people (from ethnic minorities) and you stay in their house and village which is less touristy than staying at a hotel in Sapa city. The tour we took was amazing. Here the link (unpaid publicity). On the first day, we arrived in Sapa, were picked up at the bus station, had lunch, and walked through the rice terraces to a remote village. It was so nice and peaceful. Our hosts were from the Black Hmong so we learned a lot from their lifestyle. When we arrived at the house had a tasty home-made dinner and a good night's sleep. The next morning we had breakfast and did some more trekking through other rice terraces and villages. Then we had lunch and went back to Hanoi. It was 70€ per person and included transport, food, overnight stay, and activities.

Halong Bay is a must-visit if you are in Vietnam as it is considered one of the 7 natural world wonders. Usually, it's very expensive to visit Halong Bay because you have to book a cruise for a minimum of one night which costs around 150-300$. We didn’t want to spend that much so we did our research and found a cheaper way. We took a bus to Cat Ba Island from Hanoi for 220.000 Dong (9$) and stayed in a hostel for 2 nights (5$ a night). From Cat Ba, we took a full-day boat tour for 750,000 Dong (30$). It was worth it! First, we visited Lan Ha Bay which is next to Halong Bay. Then we went to Halong Bay and had some time to go swimming. After that we had lunch and in the afternoon we went kayaking for around 2 hours. We visited some caves which you can not visit with a boat – just with a kayak. It was great – and we saw so many jellyfish! After the Kayak we went to a beach and then we also visited a fishing village. I liked it.

After visiting Ha Long Bay we took a bus from Cat Ba to Ninh Binh, specifically to Tam Coc. The bus took about 5 hours and the price was 350.000 Dong (14$). If you go to Ninh Binh I recommend you to stay in Tam Coc and not Ninh Binh itself, because there is not much to do there. Most activities are around Tam Coc. I also recommend you stay in a homestay in Tam Coc – they are amazing! We stayed in Tam Coc for 2 days (from which I spent 1 day sleeping because I was sick) but you can even stay longer. We did an amazing boat tour! The price is 195.000 Dong (8$) per person if you are two people – for one person it’s 270.000 Dong (11$) because you can’t split the price for the boat. Then we got ourselves some bicycles and went to Bich Dong Pagoda. If you go there you should also check out a small place hidden behind the lotus lake. This place is insanely beautiful and there is nobody there. Just make sure you don’t get lost! In the afternoon we wanted to go to the Mua Caves but the rain stopped us while we were driving through the rice fields. Instead, we stopped at a village and got to know so many people! It was great! Other things to do in Ninh Binh: Trang An boat tour, Hoa Lu City, Van Long, Bai Dinh Pagoda.

From Ninh Binh, we took the night bus to Hue for 400.000 Dong (16$). It took us around 12 hours. Many people skip Hue but I wouldn’t recommend doing that. Hue is really beautiful. We only stayed for 1 day which is enough to see the Imperial City and spend the afternoon and the sunset at the bridge which is lightened in rainbow colors after sunset. Hue was Vietnam's capital for 150 years so the imperial city is full of palaces and temples from different dynasties etc. The entrance fee is 200.000 Dong (8$) and you can spend hours inside walking around the parks and palaces.

From Hue, you can get easily to Hoi An by direct bus. There is also another option to go on a motorcycle tour and visit many places on the way but we decided against that because we were a little sick and just wanted to get to Hoi An ASAP. Unfortunately, the direct bus was fully booked and the train too - so we had to get a taxi, 3 different local buses and walk for 3 km. To be honest I wouldn’t recommend that to anyone. It took us 8 hours instead of 4 hours and it was super confusing because nobody knew if there were busses to Hoi An (or at least they didn’t tell us if they knew) and when they were leaving. Anyway … we made it! We stayed in Hoi An for 2 days. It’s a beautiful city although it's very touristy. It's especially beautiful at night. We went to the night market and took a boat tour for 150.000 Dong for two people so 75.000 Dong per person (3$). The next day we went to the beach Cua Dai which was really beautiful!

From Nha Trang, I took the night bus to Ho Chi Minh City for 350.000 (14$). I only stayed in Ho Chi Minh for a day so I visited the things in the city. If you stay longer in Ho Chi Minh you can also visit the Cu Chi tunnels or take a tour on the Mekong. Things to do in the city:

• visit the Independence Palace: This place is full of history and very interesting. The entrance fee is 40.000 Dong (1.5$)
• visit the War Museum: This museum is a must-visit in my opinion if you are in Ho Chi Minh City. The museum is about the Vietnam War with very shocking but also interesting information. The entrance fee is 40.000 Dong (1.5$)
• Walk around and see the Notre Dame Cathedral and the post office