Two weeks in North & central Vietnam

Me and a friend are heading into Vietnam from China by bus and checking out a national park on the border, before going to Hanoi for some beer drinking and sight seeing. Will probably fly to Hue from Hanoi and check out the city, along with a day trip to the DMZ (Khe Sanh, Ho Chi Minh Trail, war cemetery, etc. Then we'll probably head to Hoi An for a day.

Beyond that we're needing some suggestions. We don't want to go to Saigon as we've both been there before, but would like to know of some nice places in the central or Northern parts of the country.

Does anybody have any ideas about a nice beach or island that'd be worth spending a day or two, or any other place that won't be overrun with tourists? We'll be heading back to Hanoi to catch the bus back into China so we're looking for somewhere North of Hue that's be worth seeing.

When will you be in Vietnam?

In the Central, Hoi An, Hue and Danang are great destinations. They are not far from each other, so you can easily move from place to place. An Bang beach in Hoi An is very fine. About the North, hiking and trekking are awesome. Some suggestions are Sapa, Mai Chau and Tam Dao.

You could do a long-weekend trip out to Ha Long Bay and CoTo Island. Ha Long Bay can be experienced on the boat ride out to CoTo Island, as you'll pass through it. CoTo has some of the best beaches I've seen in Asia (white sand) and not touristy and crowded like Boracay or Phuket. Plenty of activities to do like fishing, snorkeling, island hopping, etc. Highly recommend spending some time there!

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