March 2025: A quick run through Vietnam

Drive from Hoi An to Hue (pronounced kind of like Whě) included a stop at the Champa ruins of My Son Monastery (built from the 4th to the 13th centuries), with as long to wander as I wanted (I spent 1 1/2-2 hrs). After what seemed like a shopping stop to see all the marble carvings in Danang, we drove past the lovely Danang beach and then we stopped at Hải Vân Quan (Pass) for views and a quick wander through the bunker and fortress (originally built in the 1800’s and added on to by the French and the Americans). After coming down the mountain, we stopped for lunch further along where I could pick my own seafood (I went with crab) sitting right over the ocean to eat. This was a long day but enjoyable.

Hue - after arriving late and only having one full day, I toured the Citadel (reference BB’s lovely pictures on her report), had my first salty coffee (amazing), and took a walk to street food for dinner recommended by my driver (pork skewers and lemongrass - although I accidentally also got something else really good but I don’t know what it was).

Drove from Hue to the airport with a stop at City of Ghosts, which is essentially just an extensive area of extremely elaborate and large mausoleums (tombs?). They are designed and decorated in all sorts of ways and I could easily have spent a couple of hours wandering through (which we were free to do) instead of just one hour. This was one of my favorite sites. Afterwards we stopped somewhere for coffee at a lovely lagoon clearly built for tourists - but I just had another salty coffee, a bathroom stop, a wander on the beach, and a quick run through the cultured pearl store. No buying pressure.

Then it was on to the airport for my (delayed) flight and my introduction to the chaos that is Hanoi.

There was so much in Hanoi I didn’t see. What I did do was attend the cute water puppet theater show, wander the temple on the small lake nearby; take a 2 hour motorbike tour past some major sites that included stopping at train street for coffee while the train roars by 2 feet from you; and take a full day trip to Ninh Binh (options abound, but I used a tour booked through Viator). I met people who stayed in the Ninh Binh area for a couple of days for the hiking and nature.

Tips: Expect to tip. I don’t know the right thing but I tried to average about 10%. Tip at the restaurant, the tour guide, the driver, the coffee shop, the - well, everyone. In cash.

Cash/Currency: The number of dong to dollar is so high I had a hard time keeping it straight. Enter constant currency conversion on my phone. I prepaid a lot of things, and some places could take a card/Apple Pay. But a good number of places preferred cash. I found ATM’s charged a fee of $2-$2.50. Due to restrictions on how much you could get at one time, I got cash twice.

Food: I am not an adventurous eater but I loved every single thing I had. I had street food several times (even after one day riding past the meat being prepared for sale). So much of the food is prepared with fresh herbs - really good! I did not drink tap water, but I did brush my teeth with it, ate all the fresh fruit served for breakfasts and dinners, and had fresh salad stuff in some places. Someone posted about a peptobysmol routine so I did take one at night for about a week. No stomach issues.

Chaos: Hanoi is chaos (and people said Ho Chi Minh is worse). My first day almost got me. But I got the hang of it; did a motorbike tour riding with a guide through all the alleys, big streets dodging and weaving; and could cross the street with the best of them by the end of my 3 days. Still, it’s a lot. I do think this is a place that would have been easier for me with a friend.

Service: Everywhere I went in Vietnam had the tourist process down to a science. People were kind, friendly, helpful - and there is a system for anything you might want to do or see as a tourist. I haven’t been anywhere else quite like that.

Halong Bay Cruise: This was the splurgiest part of my trip. I took a 2 night 3 day ride on a 24 cabin boat through Halong Bay - with the bonus of the 2nd day being getting out into the quiet Bai Tu Long Bay. Amazing food, amazing views, a good mix of activity and relaxation. Some people do this as a VERY long day trip and others as a 2 day 1 night trip. Options abound!

The cruise dropped me back at my Hanoi hotel, who sent me on to the airport for my late night flight.

thanks for sharing your report! Brought back good memories of my visit there. You covered quite a lot of ground for your quick visit. I also did a motorcycle ride but in Hue to some of the places you went - seeing the city from that vantage point was an experience for sure. And sorry Hoi An got the short end of the weather department, it really is a beautiful city.

Hanoi is chaos (and people said Ho Chi Minh is worse).

I think it's a tie! In HCM I was trying to cross the street during busy morning rush hour to go to a museum. A nice traffic cop spotted me, walked over, and escorted me across traffic. No one was going to mess with him! By the end of my stay I found the best method was to track along behind a local as best you can.

PS I reported the spamity-spam post above mine.

CL, agreed on the crossing technique. One of my first drivers said “Hold your arm out, don't stop or change your mind. Keep going so drivers know what to expect and act accordingly.” LOL. I would tend to move with a group flow, but not at the front - let someone else get hit first. 🤣

And yes, Hoi An got the short end of the stick from me. First day was hot and humid and I had jet lag. Second day turned rainy in the afternoon - but I got a good morning and evening out of it. I could well have stayed longer.

Hue was my favorite. :)

Oh, how wonderful. Your report brought back a lot of great memories for me. Thanks for sharing.

(I know EXACTLY what little lake and temple you mean in Hanoi. Our hotel was very close to there.)

BB, your report tipped the scales for me on this trip. I was planning weary by the time I got that far (it came after NZ, Australia, and before Japan) and was having a hard time deciding where to use my 11 nights. Sending you huge thanks!

TTM or BB, Could you post a link to BB's travel report. And thank you TTM.

Here you go!
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-taipei-vietnam-and-cambodia

What a great report!!! Thanks!

Thanks for sharing TTM! We would love to get to Vietnam!

Such adventures! I must admit Asia seems much more intimidating to me than Europe.

Thanks for sharing.

This sounds like a lot of fun. Was it humid every day?

Saving this report to my files. Planning a month long trip to Vietnam for February 2026.

Hey, Tammy, I linked BB’s report above in the comments. Vietnam was part of a longer trip for her.

Thank you, Eef! I always feel like I make them too long.

Beth, you aren’t wrong. I was a little nervous about Vietnam on my own, but was surprised at how easy it was (except for the chaos in Hanoi - no chaos in Hoi An or Hue). I have lived in Japan and visited Hong Kong and Thailand (although not Bangkok). The tours make it easy. And I really liked the “touring while getting from place to place” set up.

Mary, only one day - my first full day in Hoi An. I was surprised to not have hotter weather than I did. But truthfully, that has been the story since I started this trip in January. I have no idea what it might usually be like end of March, but it was cool to pleasant this year. I often wore a sweater.

brushtim, I hope it’s helpful! And it would be easy to spend a month and see more (I feel like I skipped most of the country) and stay longer in places. I hope you have a great trip!

I enjoyed reading your report, TTM. I don’t know if I will ever make it to Vietnam, but if I do, I will use this in my planning. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks, Carroll!