Vietnam

Vietnam is a Southeast Asian country known for its beaches, rivers, Buddhist pagodas and bustling Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh cities and picturesque tourist destinations like Ha Long Bay, the Mekong Delta, and Da Nang. It’s also known for rich food and culture, as well as its beautiful national costume, the Ao Dai. Vietnam is also famous for the Vietnam War, historical cities, and its French-colonial architecture.

My Trip

• 2022 April 29 to May 14 (16 Days) : I travelled to Vietnam from Doha with a friend and visited most of the country from north to south covering many attractions. We mostly joined group tours from cities to the nearby interesting places and stayed in hostels and budget hotels. We had four local flights and few long bus rides besides trying out other means of transportation like motorbike taxis, boat cruises, and rowing boats.

Visited Places/Attractions

• Hanoi: Ho Chi Minh Museum, Thăng Long Imperial Citadel, Vietnam Military History Museum, Hanoi Train Street, Hoa Lo Prison Relic, Le Mat Snake Restaurant Village, Old Quarter Night Market, Hanoi Ta Hien Beer Street, Bia Hoi Corner
• Sapa: Town Market, Lake, Notre Dame Cathedral, Sử Pán Village (Trekking through village, and homestay overnight), Sun World Fansipan Legend (Roof of Indochina/Mount Fansipan's highest peak)
• Ha Long Bay: Lan Ha Bay, Ba Men Temple, Cat Ba island, Viet Hai village
• Ninh Bình: Trang An Scenic Landscap Complex
• Hội An: Hội An City, An Hoi Bridge, Chùa Cầu Temple & wooden bridge
• Hue: Imperial City of Hue, Tháp Phước Duyên Pagoda, Mausoleum of Emperor Khai Dinh
• Da Nang: Sun World Ba Na Hills (Golden Bridge), Cầu Rồng Dragon Bridge, Da Nang night market
• Ho Chi Minh City: Russian Market, Independence Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, Central Post Office, People's Committee Building, Saigon Centre Mall, Ben Thanh Market, Bui Vien walking street
• Mekong Delta: My Tho City, Vinh Trang Pagoda, Mekong River boat cruise, Unicorn island, Turtle island, Rowboat trip along small canals, Coconut candy factory, Honey farm, Traditional Vietnamese lunch, Bamboo products shop, Can Tho (fourth-largest city in Vietnam, and the largest city along the Mekong Delta region), Traditional Vietnamese dinner from a floating restaurant, Cai Rang floating Market/Rice paper and noodle factory, Trúc Lâm Phương Nam Zen Monastery, My Khanh Tourist Village
• Phu Quoc: Starfish Beach, Suoi Tranh Waterfall

Visa

Vietnam's e-Visa is now available to nationals of 80 countries including India. Required antigen test before 24 hours of departure and travel insurance covering a minimum of 10K$ including covid coverage when reopened after coronavirus pandemic. More details at https://vietnam.travel/plan-your-trip/visa-requirements

Day Plans

• Day-1: 29-Apr-2022, Friday
  Flight from Doha by Qatar Airways at early morning. Landed in Hanoi, Vietnam by afternoon and checked into the hotel. Visited streets and markets in Hanoi Old Quarter area.
• Day-2: 30-Apr-2022, Saturday
  Hanoi city attractions visit by taxi or walk. Visited Ho Chi Minh Museum, Thăng Long Imperial Citadel, Vietnam Military History Museum, Hanoi Train Street, Hoa Lo Prison Relic, and Phố Lệ Mật Snake Restaurant Village.
• Day-3: 1-May-2022, Sunday
  Early morning long bus trip to Sa Pa from Hanoi. Guided trekking through villages in Sa Pa and night at a homestay there.
• Day-4: 2-May-2022, Monday
  Trip to Sun World Fansipan Legend. Cable cars and then walking to the summit. Return to Sa Pa town, Visited Market, Lake, and Notre Dame Cathedral. Evening bus trip back to Hanoi.
• Day-5: 3-May-2022, Tuesday
  Early morning long bus trip to Ha Long Bay from Hanoi. Cruise boat trip from La Han Bay. Exploring islets in the bay by Kayak. Swimming in the bay. Night in the cruise boat.
• Day-6: 4-May-2022, Wednesday
  Biking in Cat Ba island and visit to Viet Hai village, Cruise tour ends and back to Hanoi.
• Day-7: 5-May-2022, Thursday
  Taxi from Hanoi to Ninh Bình. Trang An Scenic Landscap Complex and boat cave and temple tours. Return to Hanoi. Night local flight to Da Nang.
• Day-8: 6-May-2022, Friday
  Afternoon group bus tour to ancient Hội An City. Visited An Hoi Bridge, Chùa Cầu Temple & wooden bridge. Back to to Da Nang.
• Day-9: 7-May-2022, Saturday
  Group bus tour to Hue. Visited Imperial City, Tháp Phước Duyên Pagoda, Mausoleum of Emperor Khai Dinh. Back to to Da Nang.
• Day-10: 8-May-2022, Sunday
  Group bus tour to Sun World Bà Nà Hills. Visited Golden Bridge, French Village and other attractions. Back to to Da Nang.
• Day-11: 9-May-2022, Monday
  Local flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Visited Bui Vien walking street.
• Day-12: 10-May-2022, Tuesday
  Morning local flight to Phu Quoc island. Visited Starfish Beach. Stay in a resort on the island.
• Day-13: 11-May-2022, Wednesday
  Rented motorbike and visited Suoi Tranh Waterfall. Evening local flight back to Ho Chi Minh City.
• Day-14: 12-May-2022, Thursday
  Group bus tour to Mekong Delta region. Visited My Tho city, Vinh Trang Pagoda and did Mekong River boat cruise stopping at Unicorn island and Turtle islands. Rowboat trip along small canals, Coconut candy factory, Honey farm visits.
  Evening drive to Can Tho (fourth-largest city in Vietnam, and the largest city along the Mekong Delta region). Traditional Vietnamese dinner from a floating restaurant. Stay in Can Tho.
• Day-15: 13-May-2022, Friday
  Visited Cai Rang floating Market/Rice paper and noodle factory by boat, and Trúc Lâm Phương Nam Zen Monastery and My Khanh Tourist Village by bus. Return to Ho Chi Minh City.
• Day-16: 14-May-2022, Saturday
  Ho Chi Minh City attractions visit by taxi and walk. Went to Russian Market, Independence Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, Central Post Office, People's Committee Building, Saigon Centre Mall, Ben Thanh Market.
  Night flight back to Doha, Qatar.

Expenses

• Air Ticket: 4,090 QAR (Buddy Pass: 860 QAR), Visa 91 QAR (25$), Insurance 85 QAR, All other expesnes in Vietnam including local flights, hotels, tours, food, souvenirs - 4,000 QAR.

Tips

The blog https://wanderingwheatleys.com/vietnam-things-to-know-tips-for-visiting/ and many articles in it immensely helped me in my planning. It was up to date and had many practical tips including getting Viettel local sim card from aiport, using Grab app for taxis, etc. More are given in the links section.

To ask how much something costs you can say “bao nhiêu tiền” (sounds like “bao new thing”). And if you want to feign shock at the high price of an item, you can say “chúa ơi” (sounds like “choy oy!”) which means “oh my god!”.
Travel agency that was really useful for me: Lily’s Travel Agency, 20 Ngo Huyen Hang Trong Hoan Kiem Ha Noi Ha Noi Hanoi City, 100000, Vietnam | Location | +84 97 713 96 55

Links

• About
• Official Tourism
• Reopens after Corona
• Two weeks itinerary 1
• Two weeks itinerary 2
• Eating snake
• Sapa
• Ba Na Hills

Photos