Help/Advice: Travelling to Vietnam (Oct 2025)

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  jackvdbuk on 31/07/2025 - 18:54

  Also worth posting to r/travel

  Personally I much prefer ho chi minh for the cu chi tunnels and war museum in the city so try do that if you can especially if you are arriving there .

  Between the city's
  Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park is a highlight and fun too but that's a full day.

  You could easily fly between the city's as there's loads of flights of there's must dos for you.

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  Kiwi on 31/07/2025 - 19:31

  +1

  Sounds fun!

  Sort your visa ASAP: https://evisa.gov.vn/ make sure to print copies of the documents, once approved, to take with you to the counter upon arrival. Use the official site, it's $25 USD for the visa, but can be marked up a lot if you use 3rd party services. Be very meticulous with the details, as they can and will deny you entry or "fine" you if anything doesn't match.

  We were there last year for a month and would definitely avoid flying into SGN if possible, it's a hell of a slog, even at midnight the queue felt like thousands of people long and took hoursfrom landing to getting out of the airport. You wouldn't want to go too far from the airport for the overnight stay, but it's easily managable and there are a bunch of different hotel options at MEL in different price ranges, a bonus to arrive in Vietnam 10 hours earlier too, and have an extra half day to explore, and buffer incase of delays.

  Take a Wise card with VND and just withdraw as much as you think you'll need, mostly you can pay with your card or online except streetside or smaller familiy eateries, but we had no issue using our card for most transactions in most places.

  With 7 full days you might be better off mostly sticking to Hanoi and HCM. Da Nang/Hoi An are managable with just one day each, but that's really not enough to do more than just tick a box and see a couple of sites. We didn't take trains in Vietnam, only elsewhere in Asia, but if you're looking to avoid day travel and maximise your time at your destination then overnight trains with sleepers are a good option, then just drop your bags at the hotel in the morning (Or early check in if you have it) and get a whole day to explore.

  Good way to get around is Grab, you can sign up before you arrive and use your home number to verify your account, we also signed up to the premium trial (don't forget to cancel it) for a bunch of coupons and discounts on things. We used it from Hanoi airport to our hotel, it's a bit of a ride, but nothing crazy. Da Nang and HCM are both easy to get to and from using Grab, but we booked a transfer ahead of arrival just for peace of mind as we arrived pretty late and it wasn't much different in price.

  Pack well, October will be warm and wet, and it is during typhoon season, so keep that in mind. Get some insurance, free with some types of credit card, but relatively cheap for that length of stay anyway. If you need a sim card, you can get one from a local mobile network store, just need ID, was quick and easy when I got one, and cheaper than the Esim options that travel blogs will recommend. Then just dispose of it before you leave or after you get home.

  Google maps was useful, good for finding smaller eateries and family businesses too. Laundry is cheap, most will pick up and drop off, just arrange via Whatsapp and pay in cash after they drop it back off washed, dried, and folded. It's a good way to avoid having to do it when you get home, for an extra few $, having it all ready to just throw back into it's place when you get back.

  Loved the place and would definitely go back, especially if they can sort out their inbound arrivals process and better public transport.

  I'm sure there is more, I'll post them here if I think of any.

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  Sadie on 31/07/2025 - 20:13

  I would either do the South or the North in 7 days.. we have been 4 times now, the first 25 years ago when I joined a tour and did the whole country in 20 days.

  Second time we took the kids and just focused on the South, Ho Chi Minh City, down to Can Tho/Mekong Delta, Nga trang, Hoi An.

  Third time we were on a cruise and stopped at Vung Tau and cruised around war sites for the day.

  And fourth time we did Bangkok, Cambodia, then over to Hanoi, Halong Bay and down to Ninh Binh then Hoi An.

  If we were to go back again we would probably fly into Hanoi and head down to Da Nang/Hoi An, the night train is fun. Definitely stop in Ninh Binh.

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    boovohh on 31/07/2025 - 21:34

    Well i have the option of either flying in to Hanoi/HCM but flying out, I can only do that from HCM as I am going elsewhere after. Can i still fit Da Nang/Hoi An in or any other place

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  Slogan on 31/07/2025 - 20:48

  For a 7-day trip, HCM and Hanoi+Ha Long Bay are doable, but you'd be cheating yourself a bit if you try to cram in more places than that. Fly into one and out from the other to save yourself stress.

  About that first flight - fly into Melbourne in the morning and make a day of it, given that you'll have to stay overnight anyway.

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    boovohh on 31/07/2025 - 21:43

    cool, i am looking at the first option in flights tbh, fly in to hanoi and fly out of hcm

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  Lieutenantdave on 31/07/2025 - 21:42

  Just got back after 12 days over there, I think you should stick to HCM, Hanoi + day trip to Ha Long and Ninh Bin. Trying to squeeze in Danang, Hoi An maybe bit too rushed. If you can stretch out to at least 9 days you could fit in Danang, Hoi An. But I guess it depends if you want to rush around or chill.

  VP bank I found was best if not using Wise, got 10 mil dong out, and it was only $2-3.

  Make sure you have Grab on your phone, all up and running.

  If getting local sim card make sure you do it at a legit shop (Viettel has the best coverage) and not at the airport, only takes 10 minutes to set up an esim, can do that in Hanoi or HCM.

  If flying in and out of Hanoi or HCM in a busy time, be prepared to wait a while clearing immigration. When I flew into Hanoi, I got through immigration in 15 mins, however I was meeting my mum who flew in an hour after me and it took her almost 2 hours to clear immigration and collect her bags. When flying out get there like 3 hours early minimum, it took me almost an hour after checking in to clear immigration, security (this was at HCM).

  I'm assuming with the short time, you'd probably want to fly rather than train/bus.

  Getyourguide app is bit more expensive, however for booking tours, day trips etc on a tight timeline could be useful - recommended tours - HCM - scooter food tour, Chu Chi tunnels, mekong delta. Hanoi - day tour of ha long bay, ninh binh etc.

  Have lots of food/restaurant recommendations, feel free to pm me if you want any.

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    Lieutenantdave on 31/07/2025 - 21:48

    Not sure but trip could look something like this:

    Day 1 - Fly in Hanoi, chill, look around
    Day 2 - Ha Long Bay day tour (7am - 8pmish)
    Day 3/4 - either do a day trip to Ninh Binh (7am - 7pmish) or another chilled day in Hanoi, eating, sightseeing, shopping etc.
    Day 5 - Fly into HCM, look around, museums etc.
    Day 6 - Day tour to Chu Chi + mekong delta (7am - 7pm)
    Day 7 - HCM relax, massages, eat, shop. Fly out.

    Some of the day tours, depending on traffic you could be back to the hotel by 8:30-9pm.

    Personally for me, I enjoyed HCM more than Hanoi, especially if you're a foodie.

    As you can see trying to fit Danang, Hoi An maybe bit rushed.

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    boovohh on 31/07/2025 - 21:53

    so as of now, my plan is to reach hanoi 13:30 on 11/10 and fly out of Ho Chi Minh 19/10 21:00. GIves me 7 full days with half a day in the beginning and at the end.

    I did feel Da Nang and Hoi An would be a bit too much.

    Any other recommendations in and around Hanoi and HCM other than Ha Long and Ninh Bin

    • 

      Lieutenantdave on 31/07/2025 - 22:02

      Hanoi - The water puppet show at Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre (can book on the day)

      HCM - A O Show - Lune Production at the Opera House (need to book tickets way in advance)

      I think the above itinerary I posted, trying to fit more stuff in besides walking around looking, eating, shopping, getting pampered, museums etc you should be fairy busy.

      Some days its so hot, you'll be wanting to spend a couple of hours at a shopping mall to escape the heat.

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      Sadie on 01/08/2025 - 08:15

      For Ninh Binh, we took the train down from Hanoi in the morning and back at night. We organised a local motorbike tour that picked us up from the train station and we each sat on the back of a motorbike which took us to all of the attractions in Ninh Binh then dropped us back at the train.

      The second time we took the night train down to Da Nang from Ninh Binh.