Our Stops
Ho Chi Mihn, Feb 18th to 22nd
We arrived at Somerset House apartments in the afternoon ready for some luxury in the middle of our trip! My family flew over and we were able to spend a couple of days with them which was a lovely treat. That first day was Tet, which is the Vietnamese New Year, which meant an amazing night of celebrations and fireworks. We had a western dinner at Hard Rock Cafe with the family as soon as they got a taxi from the airport, and had the best evening seeing the crowds celebrating and joining in the festivities. We headed around town the next day, looked at the flower street and went to the botanical gardens, which is also linked with the zoo. The Zoo was quite horrible, the animals were in cages which definitely looked too small, and it really wasn't nice to see. The following day we went to Dam Sen Water Park, and then to The Refinery for dinner, and on the final day of the family being here we went to the War Remnants Museum, wandered round and went to the Sky Bar. The next day the family headed off so we got packed up, stayed by the pool, ordered pizza and caught our train to Nha Trang.
Nha Trang, Feb 23rd to 24th
After our first overnight train we arrived super early and camped out for the morning in a coffee shop. We stayed for 1 night at Easy Rider Hostel. The first day we went to the amazing Thap Ba Spa where you sit in mud baths, and then went for dinner and drinks that evening. The following day we lay on the beach and had a lovely breakfast at the Sailing Club. It was a very quick stop, but it wasn't worth staying longer as everywhere was quite empty due to Tet.
Hoi An, Feb 25th to 27th
We arrived early in Hoi An and checked into the Sunflower Hotel. Hoi An was absolutely beautiful, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site and it really well preserved. We wandered round town and had dinner out by the river. The next day we got a ticket which enabled us to visit much more of the Old Town, and we spent the evening getting amazing street food and sending off lanterns down the river. It was beautiful! There was so much shopping I could have done but I definitely did not have room in the backpack!
Hue, Feb 27th to 28th
We caught a bus to Hue the next day, and stopped for one night there. We stayed at the Tigon hostel. That afternoon we had lunch and then went to the Citadel. It was lovely going round without a tour guide as we were able to walk round at our own pace and see the things we wanted to see. We had an interesting dinner which was meant to be at a well recommended restaurant, but wasn't actually that nice, followed by a night out at Brown Eyes, which we LOVED!
Hanoi, March 1st to 4th
Our final stop in Vietnam after our third and final overnight train was Hanoi. We stayed at Central Backpackers Downtown which I would highly highly recommend. The first day we went into town, watched the water puppet show and had a really nice meal with the friends we had met in Cambodia as they were heading off after our Halong Bay trip. The following day we had a day trip to Halong Bay. This was lovely but unfortunately the weather really didn't hold out for us, and the views weren't amazing in all the fog and mist! It was still worth a visit and I would love to go back and actually stay. We had a tourist day in town the next day seeing Hao Lo Prison and the Women's Museum. We chilled for the rest of the day with friends at the hostel. On our final morning there we saw Ho Chi Mihn's mausoleum which was a strange experience and got Egg Coffee before catching our flight to Laos!
Vietnam Spending
Transport: 2,804,000
Accommodation: 1,582,000
Day trips, museums etc: 1,857,000
Food and Drink: 1,975,000
Shopping: 180,000
Total in Dong: Approx. in GBP £226.62
Days spent in Vietnam: 14 days
Average per day: £22.66 (over 10 days as family covered accommodation and food for the duration of their stay!!!)
We arrived at Somerset House apartments in the afternoon ready for some luxury in the middle of our trip! My family flew over and we were able to spend a couple of days with them which was a lovely treat. That first day was Tet, which is the Vietnamese New Year, which meant an amazing night of celebrations and fireworks. We had a western dinner at Hard Rock Cafe with the family as soon as they got a taxi from the airport, and had the best evening seeing the crowds celebrating and joining in the festivities. We headed around town the next day, looked at the flower street and went to the botanical gardens, which is also linked with the zoo. The Zoo was quite horrible, the animals were in cages which definitely looked too small, and it really wasn't nice to see. The following day we went to Dam Sen Water Park, and then to The Refinery for dinner, and on the final day of the family being here we went to the War Remnants Museum, wandered round and went to the Sky Bar. The next day the family headed off so we got packed up, stayed by the pool, ordered pizza and caught our train to Nha Trang.
Nha Trang, Feb 23rd to 24th
After our first overnight train we arrived super early and camped out for the morning in a coffee shop. We stayed for 1 night at Easy Rider Hostel. The first day we went to the amazing Thap Ba Spa where you sit in mud baths, and then went for dinner and drinks that evening. The following day we lay on the beach and had a lovely breakfast at the Sailing Club. It was a very quick stop, but it wasn't worth staying longer as everywhere was quite empty due to Tet.
Hoi An, Feb 25th to 27th
We arrived early in Hoi An and checked into the Sunflower Hotel. Hoi An was absolutely beautiful, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site and it really well preserved. We wandered round town and had dinner out by the river. The next day we got a ticket which enabled us to visit much more of the Old Town, and we spent the evening getting amazing street food and sending off lanterns down the river. It was beautiful! There was so much shopping I could have done but I definitely did not have room in the backpack!
Hue, Feb 27th to 28th
We caught a bus to Hue the next day, and stopped for one night there. We stayed at the Tigon hostel. That afternoon we had lunch and then went to the Citadel. It was lovely going round without a tour guide as we were able to walk round at our own pace and see the things we wanted to see. We had an interesting dinner which was meant to be at a well recommended restaurant, but wasn't actually that nice, followed by a night out at Brown Eyes, which we LOVED!
Hanoi, March 1st to 4th
Our final stop in Vietnam after our third and final overnight train was Hanoi. We stayed at Central Backpackers Downtown which I would highly highly recommend. The first day we went into town, watched the water puppet show and had a really nice meal with the friends we had met in Cambodia as they were heading off after our Halong Bay trip. The following day we had a day trip to Halong Bay. This was lovely but unfortunately the weather really didn't hold out for us, and the views weren't amazing in all the fog and mist! It was still worth a visit and I would love to go back and actually stay. We had a tourist day in town the next day seeing Hao Lo Prison and the Women's Museum. We chilled for the rest of the day with friends at the hostel. On our final morning there we saw Ho Chi Mihn's mausoleum which was a strange experience and got Egg Coffee before catching our flight to Laos!
Vietnam Spending
Transport: 2,804,000
Accommodation: 1,582,000
Day trips, museums etc: 1,857,000
Food and Drink: 1,975,000
Shopping: 180,000
Total in Dong: Approx. in GBP £226.62
Days spent in Vietnam: 14 days
Average per day: £22.66 (over 10 days as family covered accommodation and food for the duration of their stay!!!)
