12 days: Northern Vietnam & Laos?

12 days is not really enough time.

You know about the new visa cost for Vietnam?

The north will still be a bit cool so maybe not good for beach. War memorials probably more in the centre around Hue. Jungle you will see some in Laos.

After Vang Vieng where are you going?

Yes - luckily I am exempt from the visa cost as I am Canadian and EU citizen, but my boyfriend will have to pay the visa fees.

Given the time of the year, what's the weather like in Ha Long Bay around May?

After Vang Vieng we would fly back to US. Sadly, because of both our work schedules we have limited time to travel but don't want to miss out on traveling to these types of destinations. I realize we will be missing a lot of great stuff, therefore I want to try and put together an itinerary that makes the most sense.

I think it will help if you state how many days you have available, once you take out your travel time to and from your own country, and also where your main international flights will arrive and depart from.

Dale164, we have not yet booked our flights. But we should have 11 full days, given that we will arrive on Day 2 and depart on Day 12. Another option I have considered is just taking Laos out of the itinerary and focusing only on VN. (Ninh Binh province and Phong Nha are places we would also love to explore) In this case we would likely start in the north in Hanoi and fly out of HCM.

Dale164, we have not yet booked our flights. But we should have 11 full days, given that we will arrive on Day 2 and depart on Day 12. Another option I have considered is just taking Laos out of the itinerary and focusing only on VN. (Ninh Binh province and Phong Nha are places we would also love to explore) In this case we would likely start in the north in Hanoi and fly out of HCM.

With only 11 days, your trip would be rushed whether you spend the whole time in Vietnam, or include Laos. If Laos, you should plan on flying out of Luang Prabang at the end, and not including Vang Vieng. There is plenty to explore in north Laos; a visit to Nong Khiaw and maybe to Muang Nguy would take less time and be more culturally interesting than Vang Viang.

Or if Vietnam, you shouldn't try to go all the way to HCMC in 11-12 days. You'd go south by bus or train to Hue and Hoi An in central Vietnam, and then fly back from Da Nang airport to Hanoi for your flight back home. The region around Hue is particularly good for "war monuments".

@mstep thank you for the excellent advice. I am honestly not really interested in going South. I prefer staying north/central and going as far down as Hoi An - I have heard it is very rich in culture and excellent food? Is this a must considering our time limit? How about Hue?

Here are 2 alternative rough itineraries:

N Vietnam & Laos:
Hanoi - Ha Long Bay - Ninh Binh - Hoi An - Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng and fly back out from Luang Prabang. (Leaving out Sa pa as I don't think we'll have time)

Vietnam only:
Hanoi - Ha Long Bay - Sapa/Mai Chau - Hanoi - Phong Nha - Hue - Hoi An - fly back out of Hanoi

Please, any recommendations are really appreciated as we are still really early in the planning stages :)

N Vietnam & Laos:
Hanoi - Ha Long Bay - Ninh Binh - Hoi An - Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng and fly back out from Luang Prabang. (Leaving out Sa pa as I don't think we'll have time)

Hoi An is central Vietnam, so not possible with this itinerary. If you do this and want to include Vang Vieng, you'd fly out of Vientiene, Laos at the end. That's a pretty city, so you might want to save a day for that.

Vietnam only:
Hanoi - Ha Long Bay - Sapa/Mai Chau - Hanoi - Phong Nha - Hue - Hoi An - fly back out of Hanoi

I like this itinerary better, but I still think you have at least one too many places on the list to see in 11 days, considering the transport time. If going to Sapa, you'd want 3 days for that, because you'd want to trek to a minority village in the mountains there, and stay overnight.

In the North Vietnam, you can take a Halong cruise for 1 or 2 night. Choosing Sapa or Mai Chau, you have opportunities to experience local cultures and food. However, I am afraid that 7 days are not enough for including both Laos and Vietnam in your trip.