Vietnam

Finally a few night without the kids!!!! My husband and I want to have a few nights away together in Vietnam. We want to check out art etc, and some tourist things..... Any suggestions as where to stay? Thanks in advance.

Go to Hanoi, avoid Ho Chi Minh. I just got back from Hanoi (8 hours ago) and it was really great. Stay at one of the boutique hotels (try Asiarooms.com) - Zephyr has been highly recommended, although it was full during our trip. Spend lots of time in the Old Quarter, visit all of the art galleries, including 'Apricot' and 'Green Palm'.


Places to eat:

- Emperor (dinner)

- Brother's cafe (dinner)

- Metropole (drinks, buffet)

- Koto (lunch)


Visit Uncle Ho and spend a morning in that area. Google Hanoi for some interesting articles and information before you go. If there's any art you like, bring a picture and have it copied byt one of the many copy artists.


(If you have too much cash to know what to do with, stay at the Metropole. Gorgeous, but silly prices.)

Thank you both so so much. I am looking forward to investigating this further.

teenytiny, sounds like you had a blast!!

Yes, definitely Hanoi rather than HCM for your interests. If you have more time, head to Hue as well. Remember visas are a bit of a hassle, so try to apply a week before you go.



A good site for choosing hotels (which ranks them according to and along with customer feedback) is:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g293924-Hanoi-Vacations.html

Suggest you choose somewhere central rather than on the edge of the city. If you want to splurge, I can recommend the Hilton Hanoi Opera, right in the centre.



The website above also lists all major attractions, along with customer feedback.



Packages (although I try to avoid them in other places) are by far the cheapest way to go for Vietnam. Otherwise - as the price per kilometre is relatively high but the distance is short - the Hanoi flight is an efficient way to use up some Cathay air miles.



Regardless of your budget, do pop into the backpackers cafes to ask about cool bars .... the places they recommend give a completely different perspective/experience of the city and its people than the lobby bar of a 5 star hotel. The French influence still lingers in some great cafes in the backstreets, too - almost as relaxed as a provencal town, if you find the right ones.

I can't personally compare Hanoi and HCM as I haven't been to Hanoi yet, but HCM is definitely worth considering. Weekend packages to HCM are about half the price of hanoi packages. The HCM Caravelle and Sheraton are great hotels with a great location.


I've been told shopping for art is better in Hanoi, but we had no problem purchasing over 40 paintings in a weekend in HCM. You can also order art from Hanoi online before your trip and have it couriered to your hotel in HCM.


A few things to see within a relatively short distance of the hotels in HCM: the palace, war museum (some parts are graphic), market, cathedral, river etc. If you're only there for two or three nights, it's enough to keep you busy for a weekend.


It was 35C when I was in HCM two weeks ago, so even an afternoon/evening around the pool might be worthwhile.


I've heard great things about Hanoi, but I've enjoyed HCM too. Have fun!

Hanoi costs about 2x as much as flying to HCM, even though the flight is about half the distance. Burgundy's suggestion of using Asiamiles is very good if you decide to go to Hanoi. Only 15000 miles per ticket, instead of paying HK$3000+++. On the other hand, you can get some good deals flying to HCM these days.


Hanoi is more relaxing for a vacation. There are artists in both cities but Hanoi is more well regarded for its galleries. You can also find good fakes in Vietnam. The artists there are amazing in terms of copying images.


Best hotel in Hanoi is the Sofitel Metropole. Hilton Hanoi Opera, down the street, is not bad either. HCM has a lot of older colonial era hotels but they are all kinda shabby. Lots of character though. Personally, I like the Sheraton there.


For day trips, you can see the Mekong Delta out of HCM or Halong Bay out of Hanoi. Both are great places to visit. Lots of traveling though for a day trip but still worth it, especially when weather is good.

We took the kids for a 4 day trip to HCMC last October. Really enjoyed it. Stayed at the Renaissance Riverside. Didn't really do any shopping, but we enjoyed the day trip to the Mekong Delta, the Cu Chi tunnels. We also went to the war museum, although there was one part I wouldn't take the kids into as the pictures were too graphic. We also went to a great waterpark. I'm sure there was lots of interesting things to do without kids. It was certainly an amazing place with all the motorbikes.